Coshocton's shuttered coal plant inspiring art and conversation with 'Calling Hours'
COSHOCTON − A theater project on the American Electric Power plant in Conesville closing will hopefully lead to greater dialogue and community input on recovery in the aftermath.
"Calling Hours" was presented last May at the Coshocton ArtPARK to commemorate the third anniversary of the coal-fired power plant closing and the end of Conesville Elementary School. Students were consolidated this school year at a cost savings to the River View School District as the shuttering of the plant led to them losing $2.2 million in tax revenue.
The project was a collaboration between the Pomerene Center for the Arts and Ohio State University, which did a research project looking at three communities where power plants closed, including Conesville. "Calling Hours" was funded by an ArtsNEXT grant from the Ohio Arts Council of $14,757.
The play was presented as a eulogy to the plant with local talent providing music and playing characters talking about how the closure of the plant impacted them. Anne Cornell of the Pomerene Center wrote the play with direction by Tom Dugdale, assistant professor in the Department of Theatre, Film and Media Arts at OSU.
Cornell said about 200 people attended each of the two presentations and it led to a story on National Public Radio. Cornell and Dugdale will be attending summits in London, England, in March and Atlanta, Georgia, in June to showcase the project.
"It did really nice things out in the world. It's opened opportunities for us as an arts organization, but also forward the being heard component. It's being looked at at OSU as a model for an interdisciplinary community based research," Cornell said of "Calling Hours." "It's something that marries a couple different worlds that need to be married and working together so we can move forward. There really is a cultural divide."
An encore performance with most of the original cast and musicians will be at the Global Coal Transitions Research Network Conference July 17 to 19 on the campus of OSU in Columbus. The event will also feature a field trip to the Eastern Ohio coal region, photography exhibit, several speakers and different presentations and breakout sessions.
The goal of the conference is to coordinate academic and policy work focused on coal transitions and foster mutual understanding and sharing of insights from diverse experiences. Reductions in coal production and consumption occurring unevenly around the world is driving a wide variety of social, economic, political and environmental impacts, according to a press release on the conference.
Cornell would like to have representation at the conference from Coshocton County leaders. She's reached out to Coshocton City Council, Coshocton County Commissioners, Superintendent Chuck Rinkes of River View, Bruce Wallace of WTNS Radio and Tiffany Swigert of the Coshocton Port Authority so far.
Cornell would also like a committee formed of stakeholders prior to the conference to formulate what they would like to address and have those at the conference know about Coshocton and how the closing of the coal plant affected the community. She feels the conference would make a great networking and educational opportunity.
"One of the outcomes pinpointed in the research project was an opportunity to have community conversations about energy transition, about policy, about programs that help with economic resiliency," Cornell said of what was hoped for the initial outcome of "Calling Hours." "We didn't have people (at the performances) that could form the conversation, that could carry a conversation forward for the community. We're still working on that."
Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with more than 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @llhayhurst.
This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Shuttered coal plant inspires art, conversation with 'Calling Hours'
