Fairfax Youth Festival Masterclass series
The 100 young people taking part in the Fairfax Youth Festival will have the opportunity to work alongside world-class artists in this series of masterclasses.
Fairfax Youth Festival Masterclasses Round 1 & 3
-
Shape-shifting movement workshop - the power of bodies to express the story with Rinske Ginsberg
This fun physical session offers ways of playing with shape, space and bodies (your own and others). It introduces structures for exploring chorus work and for creating small and big group movement pictures and tableaux. Working alongside one of Australia’s most highly regarded movement coaches and directors, Rinske Ginsberg.
-
Learn to swear like a Shakespeare villain with Lachlan Woods
Get your bodies, voices and imaginations stuck into some Shakespearean sonnets. We are going to swear our love… and hatred… OUT LOUD! Work Lachlan Woods is an Australian actor who portrayed Draco Malfoy in the Melbourne Princess Theatre production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
-
Feel the beat- the power of rhythm and sound in performance with Mark Leahy
A workshop where participants will get hands-on exploring sound design, rhythm composition (beats), sampling, drones, editing and rhythm performance of those sounds. Learn new skills and open your ears to new possibilities. The sounds we create will shape the final performance outcome of Square Pegged. Work with percussionist and sound designer Mark Leahy.
-
It’s all about the voice - composition and voice in space Nate Gilkes
In this workshop, we will create sound, rhythm, song, and connection - preparing for In Full Voice and Square Pegged with Helpman Award-winning composer, music director and voice coach Nate Gilkes. Especially important - If you have a musical instrument, bring it.
-
Culture, connection and country - building our collective connection to First Nations culture and our cultural awareness Marruk Project
Members of the Marruk Ensemble will lead Fairfax Youth Festival participants through dance, Dreamtime stories, and connection to culture. This workshop will strengthen our collective connection to place, community, and our own history and will lead to a moment of shared movement/dance with all young people in Square Pegged, led by the Marruk Ensemble. The workshop will be led Imparja Pettit, Nikita Moore, Bayden Clayton, and Jharrad Simpson
Fairfax Youth Festival Masterclasses Round 2 & 4
-
Devising Theatre: Long story short with Ant Crowley
Movement, text, music, space, art and seventy-two thousand seconds. Generate theatre rapidly with words and our body, shape our body. Shape our words, images, movement, image, space, momentum and abstraction. We will devise an exceptional piece of theatre within seventy-two thousand seconds with the award-winning playwright and director Ant Crowley.
-
Comedy, Connection and Clowning with Kayla Hamill
Release your inner clown and celebrate stupidity with your peers! This session will be focused on curiosity and play, discovering your clown and connecting with your audience and ensemble members.
-
Songwriting from the heart - Aimee Volkofsky
Born and raised in the arid lands of western NSW, on the banks of the Barka, Aimee Volkofsky sings about dust, ghost stories, the harsh realities of life in the bush, and the ancient beauty of the Australian landscape. Weaving folk, country, and blues into a tapestry of new and old. This is her truth and story. What’s yours? A workshop in song, songwriting, voice, and connection to place, country, and your truth.
-
Beatboxing & Vocal Percussion Workshop with Laura Burzacott
This session will include a vocal and physical warm-up, an introduction to beatboxing and how a vocal percussion line is created, learn a few riffs and get up close and personal with the mic.
-
Culture, connection and country - building our collective connection to First Nations culture and our cultural awareness with the Marruk Project
Members of the Marruk Ensemble will lead Fairfax Youth Festival participants through dance, Dreamtime stories, and connection to culture. This workshop will strengthen our collective connection to place, community, and our own history and will lead to a moment of shared movement/dance with all young people in Square Pegged, led by the Marruk Ensemble. The workshop will be led Imparja Pettit, Nikita Moore, Bayden Clayton, and Jharrad Simpson
Engaging with over
100 young people
from rural Australia
A gathering like no other.
The festival's centrepiece is a transformative camp from October 1 to 8, where over 100 young participants from rural Australia will collaborate with 20 world-class professional artists.
Toni Mia Scalora (20), a Fairfax Youth Associate from Swan Hill
"It's more than just learning skills; we create something amazing by uniting young people from rural places. This year, expect incredible performances that will resonate throughout our community."
2023 Fairfax Festival Guest Artists & Mentors
-
Rinske Ginsberg
Living Legend of Melbourne Fringe & Former Head of Movement at the Victorian College of the Arts
-
Nate Gilkes
Helpman Award-Winning Music Director, Composer & Theatre Visionary
-
Fleur Kilpatrick
Award-Winning Writer & Artistic Director of Riverland Youth Theatre
-
Lachlan Woods
Star of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Theatre, Film and TV Actor,
-
Christian Leavesley
Artistic Director of Arena Theatre Company
-
Chelsea Zeller
Comedian, Improvisor, Writer, Film Maker & Actor
-
Imparja Pettit
Marruk Project Director, Didgeridoo player, Aboriginal Educator & Alumnus of the Fairfax Youth Festival and The Marruk Project
-
Laura Burzacott
Actor, Singer, Cabaret & Theatre Maker
-
Angela Frost
Multi-award winning community cultural development artist and theatre maker.
-
Morgan Rose
Artistic Director Rawcus Theatre
-
Nikita Moore
Contemporary Indigenous Artist, Cultural Facilitator and Storyteller
-
Mark Leahy
Percussionist, Musician, Sound Designer & Community Artist
-
Michal Hughes
Creative Producer from D’Faces and Drama Tutor
-
Bayden Clayton
Performer, theatre maker & Creative Producer of the Marruk Project
-
Kat Kats
Writer, Curator, & Theatre Maker
-
Kayla Hamil
Clown, Comedian, & Theatre Making Superstar
-
Jharrad Simpson
Musician, performer, & and Marruk Project participant support
-
Michael Gosden
Award-winning filmmaker, director, producer
-
Alysha Herrmann
Creative producer, writer, performance-maker and community organiser
-
Anthony Crowley
Multi-award-winning playwright, composer, director, designer, dramaturge and educator.
-
Bryce Ives
Director, Theatre Maker, Broadcaster & Artistic Director of the Fairfax Youth Festival
-
Jo Porter
Theatre Producer, administrator and the CEO of Regional Arts Victoria
-
Aimee Volkofsky
Singer, songwriter, radio broadcaster and audio producer
Emma Kelly (24), one of the Artistic Associates and a local from Swan Hill
"As a teenager, I was part of the festival, collaborating with professionals in physical theatre, puppetry, Shakespeare, and cinematography. The connections I made during that time still inspire me today. Fairfax is where young minds unite, ideas flourish, and creativity knows no bounds."
Our 2023 Fairfax Festival theme
Back To Normality
What is Normal? Are you normal? What are the typically normal things you do? What is the not-so-normal stuff you do? Is ‘normal’ what we should aspire to? Or is there something beyond normal? Who makes our norms? If somebody created the norms, and each of us is somebody, then perhaps we can make a new normal that includes anybody, perhaps even everybody.
Bayden Clayton (27) Creative Producer of the Marruk Project & Fairfax Youth Associate
"Marruk aims to enhance cultural bonds and promote intergenerational connections within the community by embracing the tradition of storytelling. This endeavour will involve young artists working alongside Elders and experienced Aboriginal facilitators to create and practice performances rooted in Indigenous heritage. Additionally, participants will engage in a range of Fairfax Festival workshops and immersive experiences."
Powered by our team of incredible youth associates
-
Emma Kelly
Musician, actor, theatre maker, from Swan Hill and currently studying education at Latrobe University Bendigo
-
Meg Richardson
Singer, actor, dancer, theatre maker & musician, recent graduate from the Ballarat Arts Academy at Federation University, originally from Gol Gol in the Sunraysia District
-
Bayden Clayton
Creative Producer of the Marruk Project. A young and creative First Nations leader and a long-term associate of the Fairfax Youth Festival
-
Toni Mia Scalora
Vice Chair of Swan Hill Theatre Company, passionate about promoting performing arts in Swan Hill and studying education.
-
Claudia Cox
Fom Sealake, Claudia is a social media and communications whiz, has led the social media and communications for Rural Inspire and is a former Rural Youth Ambassador and ABC Heywire participant.
-
Deniz Karakaya
Deniz is from Red Cliffs, is a creative young leader with experience in performance and dance. She is currently studying a Bachelor of Pharmacy at the University of South Australia.
-
Sammy Mullan
Sammy is 19, and from Lalbert. A young leader passionate about creative expression and an alumni of the Fairfax program. A key driver of the Fairfax Film Project.
-
Deaken Fawcett
Musician, songwriter, and creative leader. Gannawarra Shire Council Young Citizen of the Year. Deaken is 19 from Kerang.
Led by a champion of rural communities & rural Australia
Bryce Ives, our Artistic Director, has led some of regional Australia's most significant game-changing and creative projects. He is highly regarded for his work with young people from rural and regional Australia.
Honouring an incredible legacy
The Swan Hill Rural City Council has been the proud custodian of the Fairfax Youth Festival for 27 years. Beginning in 1997 as The George Fairfax Memorial Regional Schools’ Theatre Festival, the Festival has regularly been presented in the Mallee region based around Swan Hill, Robinvale and Mildura.
The festival celebrates the memory of George Fairfax AM, a leading light in the Australian and international theatre scenes, who grew up in Nangiloc, a small town in the region. George was a driving force in establishing the Victorian Arts Centre in Melbourne and a youth arts and creativity champion.
Councillor Les McPhee, the Mayor of Swan Hill Rural City Council