Friday 31 May, 2024
We caught up with our Emerging Playwright Commission Winner for 2023, Sonia Dodd – and asked her all the exciting questions about her work, her journey, and her relationship to the arts!
We are on the look-out for young artists in school years 4–7 for the next creative development of Sonia’s play, which will take place over two weekends, 22nd & 23rd, and 29th & 30th June from 10am–3pm each day at Gorman Arts Centre. This is a free opportunity to be involved in creating a new play, ensuring that the voice of youth is at the very heart of the work! If your young artist is interested in getting involved, please fill out the expression of interest form here.
What’s this play you’re writing for the Emerging Playwright Commission?
My play is called “How to Destroy the Beep Test in 5 Days”. It follows a group of Year 6 Prefects when they find out the dreaded beep test is approaching, and they scheme to destroy it from the school’s curriculum, believing that it’s an unethical measure of success. The students emphasise the redundance of evaluating physical fitness in a way that provokes unhealthy competition and diminishing self-confidence. Along the way, the students also navigate through the classic array of Year 6 problems; deciding on a theme for the Year 6 farewell, serving time in detention (or “community service”) and preparing for the spelling bee.
What’s the process of the Emerging Playwright Commission been like so far? How has the input from the Young Artists in your creative developments influenced your writing?
In this early stage of the process, I’ve been researching and absorbing as much as I can in relation to the worlds of 10-13 year olds and approaches to playwriting. At the start of the year, the freedom of not having to get something down on paper was liberating as I allowed myself to just purely soak in information. I spent a lot of watching Little Lunch and Mortified, observing characters’ mannerisms, language and motivations.
The highlight of the first development was simply being in a room with a diverse bunch of energetic, insightful and hilarious young artists. We played drama games, discussed injustices we were passionate about, and improvised silly skits. However, the part I enjoyed the most was simply hanging out with them between tasks and at lunch time. I loved observing the way they moved through the world.
Following this development, my focus turned to the script. The aim for the first draft was to get material down on the page, which is often the hardest part. I’m about to work towards my second draft, where I’ll refine the characters and stories. For the third draft, I will focus on refining the meaning.
When starting this process, I got a little caught up in figuring out what the “rules” are in writing theatre for young people. Over the past couple months, I’ve realised that there aren’t any, and I have the agency to determine what my own rules are for this work.
What’s been your own journey in youth arts?
Although I currently live in Sydney, I sincerely love places that are “not Sydney”. I grew up in Newcastle and attended uni in Bathurst prior to starting work in the big smoke. I love feeling a part of a close-knit community that celebrates the collaborative nature of a creative process.
While I’m not yet too well acquainted with Canberra (I had only been for Year 6 camp!), I’m excited to connect with another “not-Sydney” city and immerse myself in the arts community. When attending the 2024 launch for the announcement of the commission, there was a real vibrant sense of warmth, support and passion from the young people and their families. This is exactly the kind of environment I love being in, and it is a privilege to be a part of it.
I’ve had so many formative experiences in my youth arts career as a performer, deviser and stage manager. Being involved in youth arts created a platform for personal growth and connection with others whom I wouldn’t have interacted with otherwise. And the stakes felt so high! This high-pressure environment taught me a lot about resilience, managing emotions and communicating with others. And it’s what made the highs feel very high indeed!
I always knew I’d be working in the arts. I’ve been lucky enough to practice in multiple facets of the arts, and foresee myself here for a long while.
What other exciting things are you currently doing in the world of theatre?
I’ve worked as a theatre producer in Sydney for a few years in both the independent and commercial sector. Currently, I’m working with Poetry In Action, a touring theatre-in-education company that performs in schools across Australia and New Zealand. The mission of the company is to unlock the power of words for everyone. Playing a part in instilling these values in young people is a privilege and a joy.
The highlight of my career prior to Poetry In Action was producing with Darlinghurst Theatre Company, who prioritise access, equity and inclusion in their programming and practice.
Why should people apply for the Emerging Playwright Commission?
It is truly a privilege to receive this commission and undergo such an exciting creative process. I’ve enjoyed having agency over how I want to work and figuring out how to best serve my playwriting practice, whilst having access to a wonderful support network through Canberra Youth Theatre. The creative timeline for this script has been really ideal; plenty of time to drive my own productivity, have ideas sit and marinate over several weeks, and have scheduled workshops scattered throughout the year at crucial moments of the play’s development. What an incredible opportunity to have as a playwright! I’m thrilled that I’m only partway through the process, as the trajectory of this play is very exciting.
Applications for the 2024 Emerging Playwright Commission close on 3 June. For all the details and to apply, see our website.
Sonia Dodd is a Malaysian-Australian creative, originally from Newcastle. Sonia works as a freelance independent producer, actor and writer. She was the winner of our 2023 Emerging Playwright Commission for her play, How to Destroy the Beep Test in Five Days, which she has been developing with the young artists of Canberra Youth Theatre through a series of creative developments.
