Creativity abounds for Logan drama students

For 10 weeks throughout Term 4 of 2022, a group of young artists met weekly in the Kingston Butter Factory Cultural Precinct’s Butterbox Theatre to explore their creativity and imaginations and produce a short performance based on the myth of Robin Hood. 

That performance, to a closed audience, took place on 8 December – and the experience has left the Logan high school students, all from Year 9 to Year 11, enriched and with a range of new skills, says director and group facilitator Helen Stephens. 

Helen is the Head of Youth and Engagement at Dead Puppet Society, a design-led production company based in Brisbane, which often works with young people to enhance their skills across the breadth of visual theatre, storytelling, writing and puppetry. 

Over 10 weeks, she helped develop the relationships within the Robin Hood Satellite Theatre Ensemble, as they are called, led discussions and analyses, and guided the students into acting selected scenes from their development of the myth. 

She says the project involved discussion about the perceived meaning behind the story and how to make that relevant for a contemporary audience. The students experimented with visual theatre stagecraft using minimal props: a wooden beam could transform from a bed to a house to a carriage – as well as plenty of creative thinking when it came to acting and visual storytelling.

‘The students were selected specifically for this project by their drama teachers because they were so creative,’ Helen says ‘They were a diverse group with a range of experience in this kind of work, but what really stood out was the deep sense of fun and joy they brought to it, and the willingness to learn. it’s very fast paced and quite intense, and the students really took to it. 

‘During this process, they took ownership of every stage of the production – from acting, to set design and using simple objects as props, to puppetry for side characters. 

‘It is a real balance between logistics and total creativity.  I was so impressed with how far they came and how creative they were in what is an unusual, new environment. 

‘In the group, we had a mix of people whose passion was acting, some who really identified as writers – it went across the mix and that made for a really positive dynamic.’ 

Helen says these intensive short-term projects offer a great creative outlet for students to discover new skills, step outside their comfort zones, and to have discussions about contemporary themes within the context of an older myth. 

‘We talked about the story of Robin Hood, and its themes of stealing from the rich to give to the poor, and how that might look in today’s world; there were discussions of class warfare, character archetypes and some really rich conversations,’ she says. 

The project was co-funded by Queensland Theatre Company and it is hoped that it can continue in 2023. Those interested in finding out more can head here: Company | Dead Puppet Society