Drama Queen

Emily Lynch

Year 11

This year I have been given an incredible opportunity – to be a Youth Ambassador for Melbourne Theatre Company! 

Along with 15 other students from all over Victoria, I  attend every MTC show throughout the 2025 season. Before the show we all meet at the MTC headquarters in Southbank,  and enjoy and information and Q&A session with a professional worker from a different area of company.  We get to ask them questions as they talk about what they do at MTC.

So far we have met:

• Paris Leveque  - a former MTC Youth Ambassador now starring in The Book of Mormon

• Anne-Louise Sarks  - Artistic Director and co-CEO of MTC

• Isobel Morphy-Walsh - Writer and Dramaturg

These theatre professionals all provided us with incredible insight into working in the industry, and I am so lucky to have met each of them.  After each show we get a chance to meet the cast and ask them questions. It’s so cool to be able to talk to the people we were just watching on stage!

This year we will get to see eleven different shows, but so far we’ve only watched four. My favourite of all of these wasThe Removalists. It is a play set in Melbourne in the 1970s that grapples with some pretty intense topics in a really interesting way. I thought the acting was exceptional and the direction was different to what I’m used to.  

I am really grateful to have been given this opportunity, and I can’t wait for the rest of the year!

Tim Roach

Head of Learning - Performing Arts

As a drama teacher, I have seen first-hand the transformative power of arts education - and Emily’s experience as a Youth Ambassador for Melbourne Theatre Company is a perfect example of this. Opportunities like this don’t just deepen a young person’s appreciation of performance, they broaden their understanding of the world, foster empathy, and develop critical and creative thinking. By engaging with industry professionals, Emily has gained huge insight into the many pathways in the arts and is building confidence in her own voice. 

It is a joy to see Emily so inspired - not just by the performances she’s watching, but also by the conversations she’s having and the questions she is asking. The arts offer young people space to explore ideas, challenge perspectives, and imagine new possibilities. Emily is a fantastic ambassador for our school community, and for the Arts more broadly.