Community theatre on Tasmania's west coast

Community theatre on Tasmania's west coast

By Julia Perkins

ROSEBERY — The "Big hArt" community theatre company is developing a theatre project with young people here. With funding from DEETYA and the Arts Council, two Melbourne community workers and artists are living in Rosebery for five months with the aim of involving young people and community members.

Similar projects are in other rural and isolated communities of Australia. The ultimate aim is for young people from each project to perform their final productions at the Adelaide Festival in 2000.

On June 24, the first part of the project — the production of Tasmania's largest book — was launched at the council chambers in Queenstown. This book was produced over a six-week period by primary school children. It displays photographs of them in their community alongside stories written by the participants.

The launch included a preview of the second part — a performance titled SLR 5000, for which workshops are being run in Zeehan and Queenstown by a professional actor from Sydney. More than 40 young people are taking part.

The performance is a powerful piece dealing with life on the west coast, taking up hard-hitting issues ranging from domestic violence to youth crime. It uses music, puppetry and classical acting.

The third part of the project will be another performance developed with the same young people over a longer period. Participants plan to use the skills developed during this five-month process in continuing theatrical projects.

Developing a "culture of expression" rather than silence is crucial to the survival and well-being of young people living in areas such as the west coast of Tasmania. The Big hArt project provides a voice for young people in an area typical of rural Australia in having limited, if any, recreational or social services.

From GLW issue 323