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Photo: Jacinta Keefe
Education

A Truly Unique Program

Jaimee Doyle reflects on her year as a Youth Ambassador.

Jaimee Doyle reflects on her year as a Youth Ambassador.

Once a month throughout 2018, sixteen selected Youth Ambassadors from schools across Victoria would meet up at MTC HQ. Across ten months, we viewed a wide range of interesting shows and participated in various workshops. We had the opportunity to listen to professionals discuss all aspects of their jobs including how they started in the theatre industry. During our informal dinners, we would also talk with each other, the MTC Education team, and the MTC donors before heading to Southbank Theatre or Arts Centre Melbourne to watch the latest MTC production.

The MTC Ambassadors program is aimed at high school students who are interested in theatre and are passionate about pursuing a career in this field. Throughout the program, we learnt about all the different areas of theatre, including costumes, set and directing. We got a backstage look at how the plays are designed and created. The staff and donors who fund and run the program are extremely professional and passionate about theatre education and created a safe space for us to relax and learn.

Youth Ambassadors is a truly unique program. At our farewell event, each of us were given the opportunity to speak about our highlights of the year. Imogen Prictor said MTC is an incredible environment to be in, because ‘you can speak directly to the people involved in the making of these plays and have your voice and opinion not only heard, but valued’. Bailey Metz-Graham spoke of how his academic scores in Theatre Studies and Drama had improved, which he believed was due to being part of MTC Ambassadors and how it had taught him how to talk and write about theatre in a more analytical and evaluative way. We spoke from our hearts and relayed what we had learnt and loved about this program.

As a 2018 Youth Ambassador, I can say with confidence that this program was a highlight of my year. I loved meeting other passionate students every month, and talking about musicals and plays in a professional environment. Being an MTC Ambassador gave me a valuable opportunity that not many teenagers get! I feel very grateful. All the students in this program have passion and ambition that you can feel, and this excitement spread throughout the room every time we met.

Throughout this program, we have meet Logie winners, international stars and theatre professionals who have successfully made a career working in the arts. Being able to talk to these people and ask their advice has been truly rewarding. Being able to hear firsthand about the theatre industry can be daunting, but the actors and crew were always positive and encouraging.

Getting to meet this inspiring group of students every month has been amazing. Seeing their ambition and passion grow as we learn more has been a pleasure. A big thank you to the MTC staff and the donors for making this program possible.

To any Year 11 students who are passionate about theatre I would highly recommend talking to the drama department at your school and would encourage you to apply to be a 2019 Youth Ambassador. I have met many fabulous people who are now close friends as well as people I hope to work with in the future.

Jaimee

MTC Ambassador Jaimee Doyle

 

To learn more about Youth Ambassadors, click here.

This program is generously supported by the Youth Ambassadors Giving Circle. To learn more about supporting our Education programs, click here.

Published on 7 February 2019

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