The Team

Andrea is an eco-scenographer, performance maker, artist, facilitator, mentor and advocate/activist. She brings extensive experience as an ecological designer working actively in this field for over 30 years bringing vitality to ecological and social themes. She is an original Ecostage Pledge (2015) founder and has spoken at a range of national and international talks and symposia on eco-scenography. Exploring materiality and interrogating the cradle-to-cradle model are major focuses in her work. As a Process Oriented Psychology (Processwork) student, she brings insights into the concept of Deep Democracy, change-making, and the relationship between the individual and the collective.

Her work has been exhibited in the Society of British Theatre Designers (SBTD)’s Staging Places, at the V&A, London (2019-20) and the National Centre for Craft and Design, Sleaford (2020), and at World Stage Design (WSD) 2017 and 2022, where she received a special mention for eco-scenography. The Rubbing Out Project, in collaboration with filmmaker Gemma Riggs, was on at the Prague Quadrennial (PQ23).

She is a member of Society of British Theatre Designers (SBTD), where she is an active part of the Sustainable Design Working Group.

Mona is a Breton Scottish ecoscenographer and shamanic practitioner with a strong interest in socially and ecologically conscious design. She questions traditional ways of working within her creative practice, which is embedded in holistic expanded scenography, looking at the whole, not just the parts. She combines stage design, Permaculture & ecological design thinking to actively instigate positive transformation for people, ecosystems and Planet Earth. She brings her passion for Nature connection and wellbeing to the Ecostage team with the intent to walk her talk, an ever-evolving practice.

Her MA in Ecological Design Thinking culminated in the thesis ‘Seeking wholeness: An ecoscenographer’s deep journey in and within Nature’, exploring the notion of wholeness, interconnectivity and authentic community engagement through Nature connection. Her paper on ‘Ecoscenography in action: Bridging stage design with nature connection to shape sustainable communities and wellbeing’ has been published in the peer-reviewed Scene Journal. Her design for Glimpsing Air Pockets is featured in Tanja Beer’s book Ecoscenography and won the WSD22 tied 1st prize at World Stage Design 2022 in ‘Alternative Design’.

Mona regularly runs ecological workshops and interventions for educational, theatre and corporate organisations. She is a member of the SBTD and Equity.

Ruth is a designer and visual artist based in Wales, where she trained in Theatre Design at Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. She likes developing little and lovely community theatre projects and designing for the great outdoors. Ecological practice is a key principle of her work, specifically cradle-to-cradle design, drawing inspiration from the hyper-local ecological landscape, and the exploration of traditional techniques and processes.

She also engages with arts education projects, including as a Creative Practitioner on the Lead Creative Schools programme across Wales. She has run workshops on theatre and climate change at the NT Connections Festival at the Sherman Theatre, and participated in panel discussions around arts and sustainability with Sustainable Arts in Leeds and University of Plymouth. She was Co-Sustainability and Impacts Manager for GALWAD with Collective Cymru, advising the design and production team on implementation of sustainable strategy, including the Theatre Green Book, and analysing carbon emission data.

​Ruth is a member of SBTD and Equity, and an active member of the SBTD Sustainable Design Working Group. She is part of the Wales regional team curating SBTD’s Hello Stranger/Helo Dieithryn exhibition for PQ23.

Paul is a designer, director and artist. Since training at Motley, he has designed for a wide range of venues in the UK and abroad. He is the artistic director of Daedalus Theatre Company, where his work focuses on collaborative processes that connect diverse communities and professionals to explore big ideas, including work around community storytelling and documentary theatre. He is a musician with an interest in English and Jewish traditions and has performed in numerous ensembles. He is an activist on environmental and LGBTQ+ issues, and an officer in his local Green Party. He brings passion and insights into social and environmental justice.

His work has been exhibited in the SBTD’s Staging Places, at the V&A, London (2019-20) and the National Centre for Craft and Design, Sleaford (2020).

An Equity and SBTD member, he is on the SBTD committee and coordinates the Sustainable Design Working Group. He has spoken at events including the National Theatre’s Making Theatre Green. He regularly contributes to international conversations on sharing cultural sustainability tools and sits on the Environmental Responsibility subcommittee of Queens Theatre, Hornchurch.

Based up north, Kira is a theatre researcher and maker with key interests in scenographic exploration of historic theatres, and contemporary community involvement for climate change. Having studied at the University of Hull, Kira has studied theatre and performance across various sectors specialising in set and construction, production management and directing. Through current and future projects, Kira is keen to utilise eco-scenography to involve local northern communities in sustainable arts.

Laura is a theatre producer and general manager, based in London. She has worked on West End and touring productions, after previously working in London fringe theatre, and for a community arts centre.

Laura is interested in live performances which put ecology and environmental justice at the heart of both their content and production, including putting the Theatre Green Book into practice. In her spare time she is involved in climate activism, and volunteers with Culture Declares Emergency in their Declarer Support Working Group.

Serena is a holistic set designer, based in Italy. She first graduated in Industrial Design, and since then she’s always been deeply interested in the production processes and circular economy. She decided to re-orient her studies towards theatre, and since 2018 she’s been involved in many opera productions, both in the theatre’s technical departments and in the artistic team as set designer and set designer assistant, gaining a broad view on opera and theatre industry.

During these years, she pursued her education towards sustainability, firstly with the Design Science Studio program, promoted by the Buckminster Fuller Institute, and then taking a certification in System Thinking by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Some of her recent works are the exhibition The Nature of Plastic, the virtual 3D installation Micromégas and the project ArtRenewsPeople (a network to let artists and performers meet and share about sustainability). In opera she debuted in 2020 with the set, costume and animation design of Falstaff Chronicles at Wexford Opera Festival (Ireland), where she also designed the set of I Capuleti e i Montecchi in 2021.