Our Mission, Vision & Impact
Ecotheatre is a journey home
Combining theatre and ecology, we aim to deepen a sense of belonging and strengthen a community consciousness where community is made of humans and other-than-humans. We offer activities and journeys of self realisation through community performances, eco-plays, ceremonies, courses, and workshops.
We use theatre with its original purpose: as a form of personal and collective inquiry that makes the performers and the audience aware and capable of change. We dream together into the future through the medium of art.
Our sense of community and belonging does not just include humans. We also consider other-than-humans; other species of life, who we connect with and include in our theatre-making.
We believe that the climate crisis is an identity crisis, a consequence of humanity’s separation from all other living beings: what we call the other-than-human world.
Our Core Principles
The work of T7D is rooted in three core principles: Self-Discovery, Nature-Connection, and Community-Building.
Using these as our main motivations, we aim to generate emotional and social wellbeing at this tumultuous uprooting time of Earth’s history.
By focusing on the relationships between us humans and all that is around us, we form a collective identity and kinship. The art of expression through theatre expands our awareness, empowering us to discover who we truly are in relation to what is around us.
Self-Discovery
We learn more about ourselves through the chance of self-expression that theatre brings. This opens up the realisation of how that self is profoundly interconnected with others – humans and the rest of nature. The ultimate maxim of philosophy is ‘know thyself’ – knowing who you truly are and embodying what your heart wants is the path to harmony.
Nature-Connection
By connecting with nature through the art of ecotheatre, our thoughts and actions towards nature change. Not because they ‘should’, or because of morals, or because we’re afraid of what might happen otherwise. This change comes about because we begin to see the aliveness of the world, and to feel it as part of ourselves. Dostoevsky once said, “beauty will save the world”.
Community-Building
Theatre is inherently a community-based art-form. It requires a community of actors, writers, producers, stage and costume-designers, audiences, and a hospitable living environment to make all of this possible. Making theatre is building community. Building a stronger sense of community is a direct solution to many of society’s current hurdles.
Our Impact
Through feedback surveys, we’ve collated common benefits mentioned by participants and audience members across a wide variety of our programmes.
Benefits identified by participants:
- Increased connection, sense of belonging with and sense of responsibility to nature, community, and one’s own self
- Increased autonomy, confidence, self-worth, self-esteem
- Feeling encouraged to explore creativity
- A new sense of community
- New artistic and social connections
- A better sense of what community can be and how it is built
- Accountability to a group (especially important for young people)
Benefits identified by audience members:
- Eliciting important thoughts on humanity’s relationship and connection with nature (our shows are often described as “inspiring”, “poignant”, “enlightening” and “thought-provoking”)
- Heightened sensibility towards themes discussed in plays (audience’s descriptions of the shows usually include the words “moving” and “touching”)
- Better understanding of the self (many audience members claimed that the plays “resonated with me”)
- Exploration of community issues and building a new sense of community (the term “community” is a recurring one in audience’s feedback)
- An improvement in mood is often detected by the audience when comparing before vs after the plays
- Many have described our shows as learning opportunities
Loving Words
Find out why our past campers call our Summer Camps the BEST in Scotland!
Our Collaborators
Teatro del Buratto, is a leading Italian venue for young audience’s productions. They are our co-producers for 3 productions currently touring in Italy. These productions were created when our company was still called Charioteer Theatre and our aims were focused primarily on teenagers and their wellbeing. Since then, we expanded our aims and deeply intertwined our work with ecology, boosting our outreach and educational programmes in Scotland and becoming Theatre of the 7 Directions. However, this collaboration is still in place and contributes to increasing our reputation internationally. In 2023 we co-produced Nettle and I which is our first ecotheatre production destined to a wider audience. We are currently looking at touring it in Scotland, France and Italy.
Università degli Studi di Milano
Part of our running each year is assisted by students coming from the University of Milan (Italy) as part of the Erasmus+ Programme supported by the EU. Rebecca Milanesi and Giacomo Matelloni, young aspiring theatre-makers from Italy, assisted the artistic director in the organisation of the Ecotheatre Summer Camp in 2023, and Sofia Morganti has been working with us for the first part of 2024. Erasmus+ Programme is also another chance for Laura to pass on her theatre experience to students whose links will spread across to other countries.
Our Sponsors
Findhorn Bay Holiday Park sponsored our 2023 summer camp t-shirts and the accommodation for the actors of ‘Nettle & I’.
Newbold Legacy Trust have awarded us three grants to subsidise Summer Camp 2024 places for three local Moray youth who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford this phenomenal opportunity.