Overview:

In The Making is a creative development program led by Blue Joy Theatre Co., bringing together early-career and/or underrepresented artists with young people aged 13-19 to collaboratively workshop and create new theatre performances for young audiences.

Through a series of facilitated workshops, young participants contribute ideas, stories, and lived experiences that directly inform the development of new work. Young people are positioned as active, creative collaborators, shaping the direction, themes, and content of the performance without the expectation of being on stage.

Working alongside them, a cohort of early-career and/or underrepresented artists engage in a supported creative process, listening, responding, and translating youth perspectives into a theatrical outcome. This process culminates in the development of a new performance, created with and for young people.

The work is further developed by early-career and/or underrepresented theatre makers in collaboration with selected Year 12 students, who are embedded in the process as both collaborators and performers, gaining hands-on experience within a professional theatre-making environment.

The program centres collaboration, experimentation, and youth-informed storytelling, resulting in theatre that reflects what young people want to see, hear, and experience.

Core Intentions:

• Centre young people as active collaborators in the creative process

• Support early-career and underrepresented artists through meaningful creative development opportunities

• Foster genuine collaboration between early-career and underrepresented artists, and young people

• Create safe, inclusive, and engaging spaces for youth expression

• Develop new theatre work specifically for teen and young adult audiences

• Provide a paid mentorship pathway for a Year 12 student

• Establish a repeatable and scalable model for youth-led theatre development

Program Features:

• Youth Workshops - Interactive sessions where young people share ideas, stories, and creative responses

• Collaborative Idea Generation & Story Development - Artists and participants explore themes, lived experiences, and the kinds of stories young audiences want to see

• Artist Development Process - Early-career and underrepresented artists translate workshop material into a structured performance with mentorship and support for young people

• Year 12 Internship (Paid) - Students work closely with the lead artists as collaborators and performers within the development process

• Public Sharing - A presentation of the developed work, including excerpts or a live read-through

Who It’s For:

• Young people aged 13–19 interested in storytelling and creative expression

• Teens passionate about drama, music, poetry, theatre, or performance

• Young people who want to contribute creatively without needing to perform

• Early-career and underrepresented artists seeking collaborative development opportunities

• Year 12 students looking for hands-on experience in theatre-making

Why In The Making?

• Because young people know what stories they want to see, but are rarely invited into the process of making them.

• Because collaboration between Early-career and underrepresented artists and young people leads to more authentic, relevant, and engaging theatre.

• Because supporting early-career and underrepresented artists alongside young people creates stronger, more inclusive creative futures.