By Casey Neill
Greater Dandenong youths will star in an original play built from their own thoughts and feelings.
Work in Progress is part of the Emerging Writers Festival, which made its first reach into Greater Dandenong last year.
Playwright Didem Caia ran writing workshops at Dandenong Library and jumped at an invitation to return as head writer on a project with theatre group SeaACT.
The project had support from City of Greater Dandenong, Drum Theatre and Melbourne Playback.
“We had a six-week intensive process where for two hours once a week, all the guys would get together with me and we’d do a whole bunch of immersive writing,” Ms Caia said.
“After those writing workshops, the director would work with the language that the participants had written themselves and we’d do a bunch of improvisation and use the language in different ways.
“I was surprised at their openness.
“I thought I’d have to work a bit harder to get people talking.
“It was about empowering their voices in a space where that’s allowed and that’s welcomed, everyone was just really getting involved.”
Ms Caia took all the material generated and created a play.
“Now we’ve got this incredible script,” she said.
“It’s bilingual as well.”
As well as Arabic dialogue it features music, poetry and dance.
“It’s shaped up to be something pretty special,” she said.
Within the material Ms Caia found commentary on identity, loneliness, isolation in suburbia, finding a place in society, the strange limbo between adolescence and adulthood, and worries and anxiety about socioeconomic barriers.
“Reading about those sorts of things was really surprising to me because of the complexity of these people’s thought processes,” she said.
“That’s empowering to express that darkness.
“We’ve got a few participants who’ve experienced intense post-traumatic stress from where they’ve come from.”
They’re heavy topics.
“But I’ve really tried to work with comedy as well so there’s lightness running through it also,” she said.
The 14 to 25-year-olds will now perform their collated words.
“It was super exciting for them, especially the first time we had a round-table read,” Ms Caia said.
“Seeing themselves reflected back is really special as well.
“I’ve left their words to be their words, but I’ve shaped it and moulded it into something that has an arc.”
Walker Street Gallery and Arts Centre, corner Walker and Robinson streets, Dandenong, will host performances of Work in Progress on Wednesday 14, Thursday 15 and Friday 16 June at 7pm.
Bookings are essential.
Visit www.eventbrite.com.au/e/work-in-progress-tickets-33840082598.
