Melbourne Theatre Company Ambassador

Congratulations to Year 11 student

Lisette Wilkinson

who has been selected as one of the 2022 Melbourne Theatre Company Ambassadors.

Timothy Roach

Head of Learning - Performing Arts

The MTC Ambassadors Program is an enrichment program for passionate performing arts students, and provides opportunities for young artists to watch live theatre, to engage with industry professionals, and to meet like-minded peers from schools all across Victoria. 

Schools from all across Victoria are able to nominate only one student to participate, and then the MTC Education team has the difficult task of whittling that number down to just 15 young people. There are now over 145 alumni of MTC Ambassadors, pursuing careers in a range of areas including teaching, film, arts management and design. MTC Ambassadors take on a leadership role which has two functions; to act as youth representatives within the Company, and to act as advocates for MTC within their school and social communities. The program is offered free of charge thanks to the generosity of the MTC Youth Ambassadors Giving Circle.

Brunswick Secondary College has had several students participate in the program before, including Josie Coyle, Elise Louey, and Amelia Newman – all of whom have gone on to act, direct and produce live theatre post-school as part of their professional or social lives. Being an MTC Ambassador provides students the opportunity to see a huge number of shows in a year, which allows them to learn from those experiences and to develop their own performance-making style. Meeting the cast, crew and creatives from a show helps to develop my knowledge of theatre, as they tell the students about their experiences and what it is like to work in theatre.

Lisette Wilkinson

Year 11

Being offered a place in the MTC Ambassadors program means a huge deal to me. I am super excited that in just a few short weeks, I’ will be meeting students from all over Victoria with a vested interest in theatre like me. With this group of people, I will be able to extend myself in discussions about theatre and learn so much, which is amazingly beneficial to me as a VCE Drama student. I am also really excited to meet the cast and creatives of the shows that we go see, because this provides so much insight into professional theatre and play-making processes, which are really important for VCE Drama, because devised ensemble and solo work is a key part of the  VCE curriculum. It is really enriching to hear about how a show moves from being an idea, to a production, to a story that leaves a lasting impact on audience members. As someone who has written scripts and performance works, I cannot wait to learn more about playmaking processes.