By EMMA CARINCI
A group of 11 multicultural youths are getting ready to take centre stage at the Walker Street Gallery theatre tomorrow night.
The group are members of the Adult Multicultural Education Services in Dandenong and have been taking drama sessions with the support of La Mama Theatre in Carlton, to produce an original play.
After visiting the Multicultural Arts Victoria Heartlands Refugee Fine Art Prize exhibition in June, the group decided to base the stories in their performance on the imagery from the exhibition.
La Mama producers Anna Loewendahl and Caitlyn Dullard have been working with the group on their performance, aptly titled Heartlands: The Play. Dullard described the group’s enthusiasm as “amazing”.
AMES Education Dandenong manager Catherine Heywood said the play not only promoted the issues facing refugees and migrants but also helped the youths develop their English language skills in a unique way.
One budding actor, Massod, 22, speaks English with some confidence. “The experience [AMES] is better than class because we are talking a lot. We learn a lot of things from Caitlyn and Anna, like pronunciation and the Australian accent.”
The performance will be colourful with traditional dance and costumes.
Heartlands: The Play is on tomorrow (Tuesday) at 6pm at the Walker Street Gallery Theatre, 226 Lonsdale Street, Dandenong. Details: 9938 4772.
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