The lights are out and the curtain is down, but Dubbo’s renowned “gang” of youth theatre producers are keeping creative, transferring their energy to the writing room during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Several participants of Dubbo Regional Council’s (DRC) Black Box Creatives (BBC) program have spent the last twelve weeks putting pen to paper, exploring local themes and plot ideas to conceive their very own playscripts.
The first Black Box Creatives’ Playwriting Challenge’ commenced in late April (2020), allowing local youth to develop and publish their own playscripts, with the support of Black Box Creatives coordinator, Andy Carolan and local mentors Val Clark and Donna Spillane. The recently crowned ‘Challenge Champions’, 23-year-old Kirra Hampson and 16-year-old Lorna Mitchell described the experience as a rewarding way to withstand the social restrictions of recent months. Dubbo Regional Council’s Education Officer from the Cultural Development Team, Phil Aitken, says that the idea of the competition is to encourage young people to step outside their comfort zone and try something new, while being guided by mentors.
“The BBC program is open to anyone aged 10-24 years living in the Dubbo region with a strong interest in theatre making, including writing, designing, acting and directing, covering an array of areas that might be useful in any future career in the arts,” said Mr Aitken.
Ms Mitchell’s final product, a playscript titled ‘Band of Totality’ explores pivotal themes of friendship and teen values as a group of misfits compete in a regional ‘battle of the bands’ competition.
“The playwriting challenge has given me so much more confidence with script writing and being able to articulate my ideas through theatre. It was amazing just how much I have learnt in such a short space of time,” said the year 10 student of Dubbo’s St. John’s College.
Young people participating in the challenge appreciate the effort and work put in by established playwright and drama teacher, Donna Spillane.
“Donna really taught me to trust myself when writing, because we can always go back and edit later. I began so uncertain about what I was doing and felt maybe my ideas were strange or invalid but Donna’s advice to just start writing really changed all of that,” said Ms Mitchell.
Mr Carolan, praised the participants’ innovation and determination to keep creative throughout the pandemic. “When COVID-19 first hit, I was concerned about how the participants would handle the decision to halt production of Serpent Valley High (a show they were midway through rehearsing), but the group’s optimism and passion for creativity has kept us motivated behind the scenes and ready in the wings for a show-stopping return to the stage.”
“Black Box Creatives fills a gap in our region by providing a platform for young people to collaborate, create and produce their very own theatre,” said Mr Carolan.
The group plans to showcase several sneak-peek recordings of new work over the coming months via the Black Box Creatives Facebook page and website. To learn more about the program and how to get involved, visit www.westernplainsculturalcentre.org/bbc
The BBC would like to thank Dr Michael Dineen and Dubbo Orthodontics for their generous ongoing support.
Source: DRC
Featured Image: Playwriting mentor Val Clark with BBC Participant Kirra Hampson and Program Coordinator Andy Carolan workshopping during the 2020 BBC Playwriting Challenge