Arena Theatre Company
School in Melbourne

Our artistic vision is founded on the belief that theatre creates a space that is surprising, explosive, fertile, alive, dangerous and inspiring. Arena's longevity is a testament to our ongoing investigation of the central question "What is the role of performance for young people in today's world?" Over the past five decades the responses to this question have ranged from our modest beginnings as an amateur drama group performing school holiday pantomimes, to our current incarnation as a leader in contemporary theatre practice. For this reason we include a wide range of direct engagement processes through all stages of development, presentation and evaluation. We believe that deep, authentic and ongoing dialogue with our audience is essential in maintaining a program that is authentic and engaged. This demands rigorous processes; to this end we foster long-term artistic collaborations and undertake thorough creative development processes for each new show. At Arena, some of Australia's most skilled artists are invited to make theatre which engages with the specific demands and possibilities of young audiences. We seek to harness this power by creating experiences which place the live presence of the audience and performer right at the heart. It investigates and celebrates the experiences of young people in the here and now. In a world in which interpersonal relations and exchanges of meaning are increasingly communicated through electronic media, the immediacy of the real-time performer-audience relationship has developed special power. It is not merely preparation for adulthood, a form of education, or a marginal version of theatre for adults. We believe that theatre for young people has intrinsic value. It is a space to which everyone is entitled, on equal terms. It is a space where contemporary human experience can be uniquely expressed, felt, celebrated and reinvented. (more).