MELBOURNE THEATRE COMPANY REPORT

In the first week of the holidays, I attended an event called the Youth Scholarship Program at the Melbourne Theatre Company. On my first day there, it was very awkward. Nobody knew each other and we were just trying to go around and meet everyone, but we ended up bonding really well. By recess on the same day, it felt as though we had known each other for years. 

We did a class called composing where we had five minutes to make a one minute play. Everyone's ideas were spectacular and it was amazing to watch. 

On day two, we learned how to control our voice and when to use it as well as when we shouldn’t. I came out of that with all new skills in that area. 

On day three, we composed a 5-minute play but only had 10 minutes to do so. All the ideas we came up with were put into the final performance. Later that night we watched a video recording of the theatre play, ‘SLAP, BANG, KISS’. It was an amazing and exciting play. 

The next day, we were taught how to make our clothes look old and raggedy using cocoa powder, baby oil, and dirty water. All the costumes were cool and fit well into the theme of the play we will perform. 

On day five we started rehearsing for the play, which we were presenting later that day. We were then told that all the scenes we performed to each other on day three would be a part of the performance. So, we went off into groups and started rehearsing. Some groups were given extra scenes to do, including a Greta Thunberg dance party. By the end of the day, we had a 30-minute play ready to perform to 85 people. It went well, with plenty of tears by the end of it. 

It was an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience and I feel so very grateful that I was able to attend. 

Photo credits: Jacinta Keefe