Carclew: This Was Urgent Yesterday
Youth | Regional isolation | Storytelling | Representation
When South Australian arts organisation CARCLEW continued to hear criticism among their young regional participants about the lack of relatable or relevant stories to engage with, they decided to devise a CACD project to meet the demand.
Over eight days, emerging regional writers aged 18-26 from across Australia gathered to learn, connect and write, mentored by leading Australian playwrights. Each participant generated and refined a short monologue for teenage performers.
The result was This Was Urgent Yesterday, a collection of published single-actor scripts, as well as a range of facilitated youth-led creative responses, presentations, and publicly accessible education tools.
Young writers, particularly in regional areas, need assisted pathways and networks to help boost their professional development and encourage them to create relevant work for young regional performers; strengthening regional voices.
- Young people are facing a multitude of challenges, particularly those in regional areas that have less access to training opportunities, wellbeing support, connectivity, and community (Regional Youth Insights Report, Office for Regional Youth, NSW).
- Young regional writers and storytellers need connections and pathways as well as support to foster their crafts, but the importance of Australia's youth arts sector is not well understood in all parts of the community.
- Interestingly, more Australians living in regional areas attend arts events to improve their wellbeing compared to those living in major cities (National Arts Participation Survey 2022) – and research shows that the benefits of investment in youth arts extend into health, education and civic engagement.
“The development of regional arts and culture has been criticised for having audience development strategies in place, without first strengthening the foundation of the arts within regional areas.”
Fostering writing development as a professional development and networking opportunity for emerging writers.
- The program 'Writing Place' was established in response to consultation with young people and teachers from regional South Australia who expressed concern over the lack of scripts for teenagers. Regional stories are often stereotypical and outdated, and lacking perspectives from young people.
- Inspired by the success of Australian Theatre for Young People's National Studio, an established program nurturing young playwrights for over a decade, ‘Writing Place’ aimed to bridge the gap between stories shared from regional towns and major cities.
- Carclew is a multi-art form and cultural institution in South Australia committed to nurturing artistic endeavours by and for individuals aged 26 and under. It serves as a platform for young people to explore diverse art forms, supports emerging artists in honing their skills, and advocates for the advancement of youth arts practice.
“This project made the value of long and deep and deliberate relationships obvious. The art could adapt if the relationships were strong. If the relationships were weak (or new), the art quickly fell away.”
The artistic outcomes
- This Was Urgent Yesterday involved the development and publishing of a group of monologues that originated from a nine-day residency in regional South Australia called Writing Place. At Writing Place, fourteen emerging writers from regional Australia were joined by three professional mentors to develop ten-minute monologues written for teenage performers.
- Artistic outcomes included high school plays interpreting the Writing Place monologues, which were directed by students and supported by local mentors. One presentation included seven young people from Port Augusta and Whyalla who were paid to perform their work and connect with industry leaders and other artists.
- An online book club called 'Mono Club' was created, — a digital resource for communities to facilitate their own explorations into the scripts from This Was Urgent Yesterday.
"The experience has opened many doors for me through working with directors, fellow actors and industry personnel, performing monologues, participating in first reads and drama camps, working on a set, writing my own material, and gaining confidence to audition for other roles.”
55
young people connected to the This Was Urgent Yesterday mentors and facilitators.
40
artists and collaborators were involved in the project, ranging from writers to photographers and performers.
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monologues were published by 14 young, regional writers between 18-26, written for teenage regional performers.
The impact
- The community and professional connections developed for participating young people led to increased confidence and visibility of creative career pathways.
- 100% of the regional playwrights described their experience within the Writing Place component of This Was Urgent Yesterday as having had a positive impact on them.
- The digital learning resources developed via Mono Club ensured ongoing impact for new young people to engage with the This Was Urgent Yesterday monologues and explore their own creative responses.
“The project made me feel like I had finally found a place where I belonged, which is within the arts industry. It has provided me with personal goals and ideas of what I could do with my future."
Project Credits
- Caleb Lewis, Writing Place Mentor (Lead Practitioner)
- Mary Anne Butler, Writing Place Mentor (Lead Practitioner)
- Emily Steel, Writing Place Mentor (Lead Practitioner)
- Eloise Holoubek, Writing Place Film/Photography Documentation
- Fraser Corfield, Writing Place Sharing Evening Director
- Edwin Kemp-Attrill, Writing Place Sharing Evening Director
- Meg Wilson, Design Mentor
- Alexander Ramsay, Design Mentor
- Connor Perry Director - Keith Performance Outcome
- Stu Nankivell Film-maker - Port Augusta Outcome
- Michal Hughes Writer, Creative Producer - Port Augusta Film
- Alex Travers Writer
- Betty (Bethan) Sweetlove, Writer
- Catherine Robbins, Writer
- Charlotte Smith, Writer
- Danielle Aquilina, Writer
- Emma Richardson, Writer
- Isidora Pandilovska. Writer
- Jordan Clayden-Lewis. Writer
- Lily Hensby, Writer
- Lisa Semmler, Writer
- Rebecca Duke, Writer
- Rosemary Cann, Writer
- Wallea Eaglehawk (Ross), Writer
- Remy Catchlove, NYWF reader for Emma Richardson
- Ashton Malcolm, This Was Urgent Yesterday Online Launch Host
- Alysha Herrmann, Creative Producer and Mentor
- Alyson Evans, Mono Club Lead Facilitator
- Kirste Jade (Vandergiessen), Mono Club Assistant Facilitator
- Nathan Lambert, Port Augusta Local Mentor
- Tanya Allen Keith, Local Mentor
- Phillip Parslow Clare, Local Mentor
- Umeewarraa Media, Port Augusta rehearsal and interview filming
- Logan Remy Keith, Photography/Filming
- Cherokee Johns, Writing Place Sharing Evening Reader
- Jazmyn Stevens, Writing Place Sharing Evening Reader
- Joseph Matthews, Writing Place Sharing Evening Reader
- Kimberly Parrington, Writing Place Sharing Evening Reader
- Logan Wagner, Writing Place Sharing Evening Reader
- Tyrone Woods, Writing Place Sharing Evening Reader
- Nicole Turner, Writing Place Sharing
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Acknowledgements
This resource is dedicated to CACD practitioners everywhere, working to address disadvantage and bring Australians together.
It has been created by research agency Patternmakers, with assistance from the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.
Thank you to the practitioners who participated in the creation of this resource and to the many partners involved in each of the projects profiled. For any questions, please contact info@thepatternmakers.com.au.
We respectfully acknowledge the traditional owners of the land: the first artists and storytellers. We recognise the contribution of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia, past, present and future.
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