Lana Schwarcz is a performer firmly grounded in ancient traditions of fire twirling, circus, stilt walking and puppets.

Her most recent performance is a true product of the digital technology age. She was one of only five budding filmmakers selected for the 2007 series of the popular ABC2 show, Video Lives.

ABC2 provided her with a camera kit and high quality broadcast film. Lana wrote and produced a five minute story about her life every fortnight, for about six months.

In “A taste of her life” Lana describes herself as a performer, would-be comedian and guide dog fosterer.

Within half an hour of being broadcast to a national TV audience, Lana’s Video Diaries (www.abc.net.au) were available online, on the ABC website.

“It was a very intense time. My computer became a one-woman post-production unit. And once the stories were available online, I could also put them onto my own site That Girl Entertainment (www.thatgirlentertainment.com), because I’ve got high-speed broadband,” Lana said.

“In my business, we still depend on agents to get bookings. But if you’re serious about your work these days, you have to be plugged into the web.

“For me, a simple website is enough. It gives me a professional email address and it serves as a great resource. When I’m selling a new work, or going for a job, I refer people to the website for information and photos. It saves me sending out heaps of paper.

“Last year I also joined MySpace (www.myspace.com) and was surprised at how easy it is to use. I promote my latest work there first – like my video diaries and my show at the Melbourne Fringe Festival.

“I make the technology work for me. I’m very strict about who I accept as my online friends, because I don’t have the time to sit at a computer and chat,” says Lana.

You can catch Lana’s puppet show Grandpa Sol and Lily’s Grandma Rosie at the Melbourne Fringe Festival (www.melbournefringe.com.au)until 13 October, 2007.