Saving the Planet with Ecodrama: Transformational and Experiential Theatre within a Living Stage

Ecodrama can be defined as theatre which explores the reciprocal connection between humans and the ‘more-than-human’ world. This paper focuses on an ecodrama event performed in Armidale at the Black Gully Music Festival as part of the EcoArts Australia Ephemera project (November 2016). Integral to this work was the concept of the Living Stage – a recyclable, biodegradable and partially edible performance space, which combines stage design with living plants and community engagement. Armidale’s Living Stage (entitled The Bower Stage) was central to the celebration of the newly restored Black Gully, behind the New England Regional Art Museum (NERAM) which has increasingly become a hub for environmental and creative activity. Using the Bower Stage as our Performance space, we created an ecodrama which engaged students from three local High Schools in devising theatre that explored environmental issues. Theatre and music created an immersive and experiential performance. The style was vaudeville, and the audience were invited to enter on a journey into “The Environment”, which was presented as a pristine and precious commodity. The themes included: our connection with the natural world; climate change; water security; human impacts on the environment, and our individual and collective responsibility. This paper examines how ecodrama can be used as a tool for the Arts to contribute to environmental issues.