The Living Stage: a community project that celebrates Lorne’s flora and fauna

The Living Stage is arguably the world’s first recyclable, biodegradable, biodiverse and edible performance space. A centrepiece of the Lorne Sculpture Biennale 2018, the project will provide a platform for celebrating Lorne’s vibrant and eclectic mix of flora and fauna, as well as hosting performances by local artists and musicians. Part theatre, part garden and part growing demonstration, the work will feature a portable plant-lined stage amongst a corridor of suspended botanical sculptures.

Created by Melbourne designers Tanja Beer and Ashlee Hughes in collaboration with local community members (including Helen Smith, Anne Nadenbousch, Colin Leitch, Sue Grant and Grace Nicholls), the Living Stage aims to bring theatre, sustainable design and gardening together to provide a tangible example of how ecological and artistic initiatives can sow the seeds of community vitalisation and environmental stewardship. At the end of the project, all plants and materials will be returned to the community who helped build it. Physical structures will become garden beds and community spaces, plants become food, and waste becomes compost.

Since making its debut at the Castlemaine State Festival in 2013, Tanja Beer’s Living Stage concept has travelled to New York, Glasgow, Cardiff and Armidale as well as being featured at the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space and the V&A Museum in London. As each living stage evolves out of a direct response to the localities of site, ecology and community, no projects are ever the same. However, ideas of facilitating ecological connection, celebration and contribution are central to the concept. The Living Stage (Lorne) is the first project situated by the sea and community members Anne Nadenbousch, Helen Smith and Colin Leitch have been instrumental in procuring soil, plants and objects for the stage, with more than 45 boxes of plants actively growing in preparation for the Lorne Sculpture Biennale opening.

By activating the space as an outdoor performance stage that doubles as a community garden installation, it is hoped that The Living Stage will become a central activity hub for residents, artists and visitors at the Lorne Biennale. The Living Stage concept transforms public spaces into vibrant social gathering places created by the community, for the community. At the heart of the idea, is the desire to build social connectedness and resilience in times of increasing environmental challenges. It’s all about making sustainability fun, embracing people’s creativity, and inviting people to have a nibble at the stage. The team looks forward to showcasing and celebrating the work with the wider community in March.

For more information about the project, head to tanjabeer.com and ecoscenography.com

The Living Stage also has a Twitter account, which can be found at twitter.com/TheLivingStage

If you would like to get involved in the making of The Living Stage (Lorne) or would like to take part in upcoming plant-crafting workshops, please email Tanja Beer at [email protected]

The Sculpture Committee would welcome the assistance of a co-ordinator of stage performances. If you would like to offer your services, please contact Fay Valcanis at [email protected]

Sponsored by the Thrive Research Hub (Melbourne School of Design, The University of Melbourne), the Great Ocean Road Coast Committee and Graham Blashki & Evelyn Firstenberg. Assistant designer: Pia Guilliatt. Set builder: Tim Denshire-key. Plants donated by Batesford Nursery, Bushland Flora, Flinders Nursery, Tavistock Nursery, Tree Growers Advanced (TGA), Warners Nurseries, Rhodo Glen Nurseries.

Tanja Beer