Currently in its eleventh year, The Drug Aware YCulture Metro funding program has helped over 100 projects grow and countless young WA artists develop their creative skills. We sat down with some of these artists to chat about their projects and to see where they’ve taken their art. 

Charlotte Otton is a Sydney-raised, Perth-based performer, writer and theatre maker, best known for her award-winning shows Let Me Finish., Feminah, and 30 Day Free Trial (with Andrew Sutherland). We chatted to Charlotte about the development of Let Me Finish, funded through the Drug Aware YCulture Metro program. 

The development of Let me Finish began in 2018, with the support of the Drug Aware YCulture Metro funding program. How did this support help you to create the final product?  The support allowed me and four other creatives (Adrienne Patterson, Izzy McDonald Phoebe Sullivan, and Samantha Nerida) to have time and funds to really explore the lived experience of the female identifying. The funding paired with the Fremantle Artist Residency award (from WAAPA) gave us three weeks part-time to dive in and interrogate each idea. Phoebe Sullivan and I applied for the funding and knowing that we could pay the creatives for their time was paramount to us.   We ended up using a good amount of the material developed in the development in our Blue Room Season. 

Describe your experience during the development process and what did you take away from the project?  It was by far the most rewarding and refreshing development I've been a part of to this day. The team created an incredibly safe, honest, and vulnerable space to divulge personal stories and emotions. The energy in the room was so kind and respectful and Phoebe Sullivan did an amazing job of carrying that into the devising/rehearsing process when directing for the Blue Room season.  

Since you wrapped up Let me Finish., how has your arts career progressed and what other projects have you begun working on?  Once Let me finish. wrapped I had already been working on a solo show in a similar vein to the themes explored in LMF (but a more hard-edged, R-18 exploration). I debuted Feminah (Summer Nights, The Blue Room Theatre) in 2019 and it picked up some awards that allowed me to tour the show to Sydney, Melbourne, and New Zealand Fringe Festivals. Earlier this year I collaborated with my friend Andrew Sutherland to make 30 Day Free Trial, exploring pornography and performance. And in-between my self-driven creative processes, I performed with The Last Great Hunt (Perpetual Wake), Spare Parts Puppet Theatre & WASO (Carnival of The Animals), Rorschach Beast (French Over and Hive Mind), and Variegated Productions (Frankies). 

How would you describe your approach to creating theatre, and the sort of stories you are driven towards telling?  I'm certainly driven to create auto-biographical works. I love personal storytelling on stage, and I love seeing a performer be vulnerable and open in a really exposing setting. I think there's a lot of power in that sort of theatre. I've been feeling a big shift in the last eight months or so with what I'm interested in making and I'm certainly taking this historic period of social and political upheaval in the world to regroup and reflect on what sort of art I want to produce.  

Do you have any advice for young artists in WA wanting to pursue their passion?  I still consider myself a new (maybe not young) but a relatively new artist in Perth. But one thing I would say is to take note of everything and observe the scene and world around you. Go deeper with your thoughts and interrogate your ideas. Meet and talk to artists of all walks of life in Perth and get out of any safety bubble you may find yourself in! 

YCulture Metro is committed to promoting the Drug Aware and Healthway message. What kind of things do you do to keep up your own health, both physically and mentally?  

I love my heated Vinyasa yoga classes and a good sweaty gym session! I'm also fortunate enough to have access to really healthy foods so I've enjoyed making plant-based recipes during the downtime 2020 has brought (I make a delish vegan nacho cheese made with veggies and cashews). I find exercise and eating well put me in a good mental space and if they ever don't, then I try to spend quality time with my best mates.

Learn more about Charlotte and her work at her website, and be sure to check out her Linkedin.

Are you aged 12 - 26 and looking to develop skills and experience in your creative field? You can make new contacts, work with people in the industry and learn more about arts management by challenging yourself to build your own project from the ground up. Apply here for a Drug Aware YCulture Metro Grant, secure up to $3000 and make your project idea a reality. 

Interview by McCusker Centre for Citizenship Intern Julia Schwab