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ABSTRACT
Malthouse Theatre’s The Suitcase Series celebrated ten years in 2020. As a participatory theatre making program for young people in Years 9 and 10 of secondary education, it holds a unique position in the Victorian and, arguably, the Australian theatre education landscape. Since 2010 Malthouse Theatre has commissioned an original script by a new playwright every two years, then challenging young people to give voice to their thoughts and feelings to the issue through the interrelated roles of creator-performer-audience-critical peer. This paper offers critical insight into the origin, intentions, process, and social and artistic impacts of the program across ten years. It positions the Malthouse as a key contributor to the field of participatory theatre programs in Australia, and considers how theatre can create ‘something very forceful, something that we believe, then offer to students in a way that doesn’t crush them’ (Lynch, 2010).
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Dr Megan Upton
Dr. Megan (Meg) Upton (B.Ed. M.Ed, PhD) is a lecturer and tutor in Drama Education, pedagogy and curriculum in initial teacher education at Deakin University. She is the recipient of several Deakin School of Education awards for teaching excellence. Meg also works extensively in the arts industry as a teaching artist, resource creator, and program evaluation consultant. As a researcher her interests include theatre and young people, the social impacts of learning in and through the arts, and sustainability.