After a milestone year, SEE is taking the time to listen, breathe, and let the next works emerge through care and conversation. 2026 is about the foundations -  the artist development, partnerships, and slow-built trust that shape everything we create. Here’s what’s growing next.

Tilley, musician and artist used the used the residency to work on the development for a future touring, collaborative show, creating a space for people to be with grief in community, guided by music and art. To gather material for the project, she invited ten artists and community members in to share about their experiences of grief in conversation.

At Second Echo Ensemble, art isn’t just what we make, it’s how we live. Creative Director Kelly Drummond Cawthon reflects on visibility, courage and belonging, why representation on stage matters, and how radical equity is built through shared creativity. Because when every artist can take the stage, every story counts.

Ursula Woods shares why it’s hugely important to support independent artistry. She reflects on how dedicated space, time, and resources enable artists to take creative risks, build new work, and contribute to a thriving arts community.

Nicole Simms-Farrow reflects on why it matters to keep artists on the floor at Second Echo Ensemble. From collaboration to bold new ideas, she shares how time in the studio gives artists the chance to experiment, connect, and create work that pushes boundaries.

Michael Fortescue reflects on the role of artists to inspire and provoke. He shares how Second Echo Ensemble creates work that challenges perceptions, sparks dialogue and invites audiences to see the world through new perspectives.

Elise Bagorski is an emerging talent evolving their practice through stage management with Second Echo Ensemble. Their experience highlights how supporting new artists to develop their creative and technical skill contributes to unique opportunities and purpose.

The Peacock, Chicken and the Pony They Rode Upon. Review by Anica Boulanger-Mashberg, Stage Whispers, 27 September 2025

Anica Boulanger-Mashberg is a Hobart-based writer, editor and reviewer.

Photos by Pete Mellows

From Fine Arts student to cosmic costume maker – Lou-anne Barker shares her journey from UTAS industry placement to building spinning solar system headpieces for The Adventures of Peacock, Chicken and the Pony They Rode Upon. Her story captures the collaborative heart of Second Echo Ensemble’s creative process.

Twenty years ago, a small performing arts company was born in Tasmania. It brought together people with and without disability, eventually evolving into a community program within a theatre company that prides itself on exceptionalism.
Danielle Kutchel from Link Disability Magazine reports.

It's called Second Echo Ensemble (SEE).

Annalise Haigh beams as she shares her pride in working on The Adventures of Peacock, Chicken and the Pony They Rode Upon. As a self-described ‘backdrop diva,’ she loves moving sets and keeping the show alive alongside artists with and without disability. Performing at the Sydney Opera House, Annalise proves that true confidence comes from stepping forward and shining together.

Nicole, Dave and Annalise from Second Echo Ensemble step boldly onto the world stage in The Adventures of Peacock, Chicken and the Pony They Rode Upon. Together with Midnight Feast and composer Mia Palencia, they’re taking their Tasmanian-grown creativity to the Sydney Opera House for the first time - showing what’s possible when local artists dream big.

Performer Nicole Simm-Farrow shares what it means to bring The Adventures of Peacock, Chicken and the Pony They Rode Upon to life at the Sydney Opera House. From the freedom to be truly herself to the power of collaboration across Second Echo Ensemble and Midnight Feast, Nicole reflects on the creative courage and radical trust that have shaped this bold, joyful production - and how standing on one of the world’s great stages validates a life spent staying true to her art.

When Second Echo Ensemble connected with Midnight Feast, they found more than a collaborator - they found a like-minded company pushing the boundaries of truly inclusive theatre. In this story, founder Kylie Heart shares how Midnight Feast began, what radical inclusion looks like in practice, and why this partnership matters for artists, audiences, and the future of performance.

Composer and vocalist Mia Palencia shares her journey creating original music for The Adventures of Peacock, Chicken and the Pony They Rode Upon, a bold new musical by Second Echo Ensemble and Midnight Feast premiering at Sydney Opera House and Theatre Royal Hobart in 2025. A powerful collaboration celebrating diversity and new Australian work.

Second Echo Ensemble is proud to welcome Judith Abell as our new General Manager. With over two decades of experience spanning public art, design, teaching, and cultural leadership, Jude brings a unique blend of strategic thinking and creative insight to SEE’s next chapter.

My Name is Zee by Danielle Fox was read by William Webster at the inaugural Fiction Out Loud event at Rosny Barn on 30 March 2025. All stories shared on the night explored the theme of Mistaken Identity.

I like Second Echo.  They have now made potent work for many years; they make consistently experimental work, and they do this from the basis of being a genuine artistic community that interrogates itself with some constancy, and pushes up against the conceptions of what Second Echo even is, or is supposed to be. They don’t exactly do what you might expect.

Response by Andrew Harper, Make and Do
7 April 2025

The film’s 16mm analogue-to-digital-to-analogue journey encapsulated Relâche’s whimsical humour and striking imagery, serving as a visual tapestry of the production’s motifs.

★★★★☆

Written by Lesley Graham for Arts Hub
28 Feb 2025 15:00

Tasmania’s Second Echo Ensemble celebrates its milestone, where a 20-year legacy of ‘every story counts’ is supported with creativity and ambition.

Written by Celina Lei, Arts Hub
15 Jan 2025 9:00