Imogen Ross is a Sydney-based scenographer, writer, and educator whose career has come full circle. Growing up in a theater family in regional Armidale, New South Wales, she learned early on that a lack of resources was often the best spark for innovation. Those early days of “making do” eventually became the foundation for her global leadership in sustainable practice. Today, she serves as the Sustainability Manager at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), where she works to bridge the gap between traditional stagecraft and modern ecological frameworks.
Over the years, Imogen has navigated the industry’s shift from the wasteful “take-make-dispose” models of the 1980s to the circular economies of today. Her work is defined by the concept of ecocenography, which is a practice that looks beyond the visual impact of a set to consider the entire lifecycle of its materials. Whether she is implementing the Theatre Green Book standards at NIDA or experimenting in her “kitchen laboratory” with SCOBY to grow biodegradable projection screens, her approach consistently redefines how designers interact with the living world.
In this episode of the StageLync podcast, host Anna Robb connects with Imogen to discuss how sustainability acts as a catalyst for what she calls eco-creativity rather than a simple constraint. Imogen shares her fascinating journey of collaborating with living organisms and the vital importance of First Nations-led pedagogy in the arts. Together, they explore why the theater industry needs to step off the “hamster wheel” of fast production and embrace a “slow river” approach to the creative process.
Credits for the StageLync Podcast
Host: Anna Robb
Editor: Rose Anne Fermocil
Music: Jeremy Willi
Design: Em Holt
Production Coordinator: Roselle Bernardo
Producers: Anna Robb and Andrea Honis