On monday morning my colleague Sarah Woods and I met 10 students from the Coomealla High School who signed on for the workshop. Thy are a fantastic group of young people who have a wide range of interests and who come from really different experiences within the local community. They are all interested in storytelling which is fortunate for us because that exactly what we are doing this week.
Monday and tuesday were spent doing drama and acting exercises and playbuilding activities. This work is always a lot of fun but it also has a serious side in that it gives people more confidence and sense of self. It gives people a voice about their own lives and allows them to think and feel in a deep way about what they want from life.
We worked with the kids talking about stories from the area from their own lives, special places that they felt safe in or felt connected to. Places that gave them a strong sense of belonging and identity. Our plan was that each young person would develop these ideas into a short film about themselves and their relationship with their special place.
This morning, armed with cameras and tripods, we set off for some of these places. We filmed on the banks of the Murray and Darling Rivers, in the Perry sandhills near Wentworth and on a homemade bike track just out of Wentworth at Curlwaa. At each locations a young person told a story about their lives and gave us a insight into what it is like for young people growing up in the country today. What they feel, think and want.
Tomorrow we go to three more locations and on Friday we edit and create soundtracks in the form of music or narration.
It's been a fast exciting but deeply rewarding process. and we all learned so much about ourselves.
More tomorrow, Fred Copperwaite
Will have photos then!!!!!
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