We’re back with another post about sustainable theatre! I’ve been putting off this post about eco-friendly scenery because scenic design always seems like a behemoth topic to cover, especially when it comes to creating environmentally friendly sets. But in reality, the same principals apply to scenery as they do in other departments I’ve discussed in previous posts. It does feel that the task of creating and maintaining a more sustainable attitude towards scenery is more burdensome and overwhelming simply because scenery is such a (literally) huge part of the theatrical process. It may be easy to find props or costumes that are sustainably sourced, but to do that for a whole set? Seems futile.
Arguably, though, that makes it even more important to discuss ways in which we can craft sustainable scenic design in the theatre world. The attitude towards scenic design tends to be more lenient in terms of catering to the designer and director’s vision: when catering to the vision calls for purchasing whichever materials best serve the design rather than using what is already in stock, it can lead to waste. However, by being more conscious of how designing and implementing a set can lead to environmental degradation, we can start to find ways to create more sustainable scenic designs. If you are interested in reading more on sustainable theatre, be sure to check out more posts in my series.
Related: Sustainable Stage Management
ways scenic design harms the environment…
resource consumption
Current models of scenic design often require mass amounts of new materials to build the set. Things like lumber require raw materials to be extracted from the earth, and our current process for extracting these materials leads to extreme habitat loss and pollution. The chain of resource extraction doesn’t stop at the lumber we use for wood; creating a piece of theatre requires a horde of materials, and as Annie Leonard mentions in her book The Story of Stuff, “we soon find out that each key ingredient requires a lot of other ingredients just to get it out of the earth” (Leonard, 2010). She goes on to explain how each element of the “stuff” that we buy requires more raw materials to build the tools used to extract, process, and manufacture the items we use in our work. We won’t go down the never-ending spiral of resource extraction, but the point is that there is a lot more to getting materials for our scenery than we think about. Every time we purchase new materials (in any part of our lives) we begin this extraction cycle all over again.
carbon emissions
The next way we can think about environmental degradation in relation to scenic design is carbon emissions, and like I mention above, emissions start at extraction of raw materials. We need heavy machinery in order to harvest materials, they need to be transported to factories and plants where the materials are processed, and then they need to be shipped to a retail facility, and again to their final destination. Carbon emissions come into play at every step of the material’s lifecycle, even while being transported to the landfill after they’re done being used.
material waste
Material waste is probably the most popular concept we think of when we talk about “going green”. While this is truly only a fraction of the whole idea of creating a sustainable lifestyle, it is still important to recognize this part of the cycle. Many of our scenic elements get thrown away after a show; they are rarely recycled properly, which means they get thrown into a landfill where the materials cannot naturally decompose and, as a result, emit more greenhouse gases (Annie Leonard, 2010). Not only that, but much of our trash in the United States gets shipped overseas and dumped in other countries, causing toxic pollution that has detrimental health effects on the surrounding communities (The True Cost, 2015; Annie Leonard, 2010).
Related: Create a Sustainable Props Department
ways you can reduce your impact…
I think scenic design is the best example for why the theatre community needs to start making an effort to use what we already have available to us. Not only is scenic design on such a large scale, I would venture to say it is the one department that purchases the most new materials. With that, though, comes the opportunity to have the greatest impact in terms of sustainably producing theatre. If we can make it our goal to use what’s in stock, a theatre company can cut its carbon emissions tremendously. A study done by Gotham 360 and Barnard College’s Department of Theatre suggests that a production built from all used materials has the potential to cut carbon emissions by 75% (Sustainable Production Toolkit). Equally important is the idea that we can stop these materials from ending up in landfills, where they will take up to 4 times as long to decompose, and emit more greenhouse gasses in the process (Annie Leonard, 2010).
tips for reducing your impact…
as a designer:
- Design your shows with stock pieces in mind. Find out what the theatre already has, and try to design your set to accommodate those pieces.
- Design your set with an afterlife: think about where these materials will end up once the show is over, and design in a way that allows the theatre to reuse or recycle most of the set pieces.
- Use eco-friendly materials: aim for materials that, at the very least, can decompose. Wood is better than plastic-based foam.
as a technical director or production manager:
- Keep an updated inventory of stock. Knowing what you already have is the first step to building a low-impact set. Give this list to designers in advance in order to encourage the use of stock materials.
- See if you can rent materials before buying them new.
- Put a monetary value to used items. Instead of thinking of reused items as zero-cost, put a dollar value on them as if they were being bought new. That way, you see the exact value of reusing those items (Sustainable Production Toolkit).
- Find out how to recycle your scenic materials locally. Often, this means getting in touch with municipal recycling programs.
- Build for disassembly: this mostly means using hardware that ensures the set can be taken apart carefully and not just destroyed at strike (Sustainable Production Toolkit).
more places to learn about sustainable theatre…
The Sustainable Production Toolkit
The Sustainable Production Toolkit is an all-inclusive resource for creating sustainable events and productions! You can download their FREE guide on their website.
Julie’s Bicycle
Julie’s Bicycle is a London based charity organization founded to help the creative community act on climate change and sustainability.
Broadway Green Alliance
The Broadway Green Alliance is an initiative created to educate, motivate, and inspire theatre practitioners and patrons to adopt more sustainable practices.
@GreenTheatreUK
@GreenTheatreUK is an instagram account based out of the UK that shares tips and resources for theatres to make their practices more sustainable.
Staging Change
Staging Change is an artist-led, sustainable theatre network designed to support theatre practitioners who are responding to climate change.
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for further reading…
- Berners-Lee, Mike. How Bad Are Bananas?: The Carbon Footprint of Everything. Vancouver: Greystone Books, 2011. Print.
- Production. (n.d.). Retrieved August 23, 2020, from https://www.broadwaygreen.com/production-1
- Leonard, Annie. The Story of Stuff: [how Our Obsession with Stuff Is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities, and Our Health-and a Vision for Change]. New York: Simon & Schuster Audio, 2010. Sound recording.
- Morgan, Andrew, Michael Ross, Lucy Siegle, Stella McCartney, Livia Firth, Vandana Shiva, and Duncan Blickenstaff. The True Cost. , 2015.
- The Sustainable Production Toolkit, 2019