Heart of Practice

A framework for embedding ecological values at all stages of personal practice and projects.

The Ecostage initiative and its seven intersecting Principles seek to articulate and identify some key ideas that we can all use, and steps we can take to contribute towards regenerative cultures. The Ecostage Principles are available to download, along with the Introduction to the Principles and an at-a-glance diagram.

If you would like to take the Ecostage Pledge to the Principles, please click ‘pledge’ at the bottom of the page and follow the instructions.

Help generate momentum for sector-wide change.

The Seven Ecostage Principles

1. Implement the 7 Rs

Principle: Sustainability

“The 7 Rs - A commitment to Reuse, Refuse, Reduce, and Recycle sparks transformative, creative opportunities for the performing arts to Rethink, Reimagine and Regenerate for the collective sustainable journey.”

Ecostage

  • Embed ecological thinking and the 7 Rs from the outset
  • Work towards zero waste
  • Audit usage, track impacts, take action
  • Listen to what materials have to say
  • Recognise no decision stands on its own

2. Run the Marathon Not the Sprint

Principle: Wellbeing

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”

Lao Tzu, Taoist philosopher, I Ching

  • Care for yourself and the team
  • Uphold the right to fair pay, safety at work and universal rights
  • Go slow to go fast
  • Optimize access, inclusivity and equal opportunities for everyone
  • Find what makes your eco-heart sing

3. Nurture Nature

Principle: Interconnectivity

“Now is the time to share with all life on our maltreated earth through the deepening identification with life forms and the greater units, the ecosystems, and Gaia.’”

Arne Naess, philosopher of Deep Ecology

  • Acknowledge that humans are inextricably part of Nature's deep ‘web of life’
  • Recognize environmental personhood, which designates Nature the status of a legal person
  • Let Nature nurture, inspire and teach us
  • Value co-dwelling on Earth with ‘the more than human world’
  • Be a custodian of the Living Planet

4. Cultivate Co-Creation

Principle: Creativity

"The arts comes from the idea of being an active participant in the stories we make. [...] Not just the storytelling, but the gathering, the hosting, the cooking, the making, the doing, and how we use a creative frame to interpret and translate that world in terms of the way we’d like to see the world."

Lucy Neal, theatremaker & author, Playing for Time

  • Value creativity and imagination in all forms
  • Engage creativity and play as tools for change, and dream up new possibilities together
  • Co-create with Place
  • Connect with communities and explore participatory, interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches
  • Nurture curiosity, a beginner’s mind, joy, awe and wonder

5. Be a Changemaker

Principle: Transformation

“We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed. Everything needs to change – and it has to start today.”

Greta Thunberg, environmental activist

  • Challenge the status quo, and inspire systemic change through advocacy, activism, kindness and a spirit of generosity
  • Embrace regenerative culture and create new narratives
  • Work towards decentralisation, and celebrate regional and cultural diversity
  • Team up to explore collaborative leadership, cross-pollinate ideas, embrace the spirit of learning, and take creative action
  • Recognize that our spheres of influence are greater than we think

6. Grow a Deeper Democracy

Principle: Inclusivity

“I am in the business of narratives and storytelling that counter violent dehumanisation, that build community. My medium for this rehumanisation is the arts - as a space for dialogue, for envisioning, re-imagining, focus.”

Zena Edwards, poet & performer

  • Welcome everyone and all parts of everyone, and engage with the complexity of our stories, feelings and dreams
  • Foster different styles of engagement, enabling us all to turn up as we are
  • Facilitate awareness of the intersectionality of social, climate and environmental justice
  • Be proactively inclusive, from making space for quieter voices in the room to inviting in voices that are missing
  • Acknowledge the bigger picture and appreciate the small steps

7. Build Positive Legacy

Principle: Regeneration

“Becoming an eco-ancestor brings powerful opportunities to express shared humanity, challenge assumptions, and inspire joy and wonder, dreaming and building solutions for a fair, flourishing, greener future.”

Ecostage

  • Recognize that, whatever art form, whatever communities we serve, we can shape ecological thinking and contribute to regenerative culture beyond projects
  • Acknowledge our unique position to take meaningful action at this tipping point in history
  • Support climate justice and work towards decolonising the arts
  • Embrace the ‘Seventh Generation Principle’ and welcome local and indigenous knowledge
  • Become an eco-ancestor

“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”

Arundhati Roy, writer