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. 

Scott McArdle is a Perth-based writer, director, actor and founder of independent theatre company, Second Chance Theatre. We chatted to Scott about his two Drug Aware YCulture Metro funded projects, the developments of both Laika: A Staged Radio Play (2017) and Josephine! (2018). 

The development of Laika: A Staged Radio Play began in 2017, with the support of the Drug Aware YCulture Metro funding program. How did this support help you to create the final product, and what did you take away from the project? 

Laika simply wouldn’t have happened without this support. It had originally been a bit of pipe dream and a passion project – I’d retreated away from making theatre for a while and had been treading water about what my next show would be. On a whim, I applied for a YCulture grant with a friend of mine who experiments with sound and foley so that we could have a play in the room. The funding allowed me to pay a few trusted collaborators to come into the room and play around with sections of script, as well as to hire Alexa Taylor, a former tutor and trusted artist, to dramaturg what I’d written. After this development, I’d formed a clear image in my mind of the work and, with the help of the documentation, applied to The Blue Room Theatre who snatched up the concept. 

Our development had built rapport amongst the team and so we entered our rehearsal period with a sense of trust and openness that allowed for us to create something that we were all really proud of. If we hadn’t had that early experimenting time to play, I really doubt we’d have made something as polished. We then went on to win the Member’s Choice and Judge’s Choice Awards at The Blue Room Theatre Awards, and the Best Independent Production Award at the Performing Arts WA Awards (PAWAs). It sent my career on a certain (pardon the pun) trajectory that has been fulfilling, collaborative, and filled with important lessons. 

The YCulture grants are so important to the development and growth of young artists. Emerging artists are often the first to feel the impact of funding cuts – our government expresses such little interest in fostering young voices. The YCulture funding program is a great place to experience how to write an application (it’s the perfect preparation for harder, lengthier apps), how to manage a realistic budget, and how to play around with a little bit of cash that isn’t from your own savings. Also the Propel team are great ambassadors for the program and really work hard to give you the best shot at getting the grant. 

After Laika: A Staged Radio Play, you began work on your second YCulture Metro funded project, the development of Josephine!. Can you describe your experience working on this piece? 

Josephine! was the total antithesis of Laika. It was a brand new kids show, very energetic, very active, and very earnest. We were programmed at The Blue Room just as Laika was finishing its season run and so there was a significant overlap there. Our intention with Josephine! was to create something polished and professional, rather than the typical raw or ‘undercooked’ new works. With the YCulture funding we managed to pay our artists to focus on this work for two weeks in January before our season. Inspired by the likes of Bambert’s Book of Lost Stories, we were aiming for specificity and detail which takes rehearsal time and I feel we achieved that. The process was a little more hectic than Laika simply due to less rehearsal time as is often the case with Fringe but the team had all worked together before – some carried over from Laika – and it was a blast reuniting and creating the show. Pretty proud of this little one – it went on to be nominated for Best Children’s Performance at the FRINGE WORLD Awards and I won Best Director of an Independent Production at the PAWAs.

Apart from these two, what other projects have you been working on, and how has your arts career progressed? 

These two shows really helped me establish myself in the industry and within myself as an artist. I’ve been making theatre for 8 years now and spent most of my uni days messing around with style and form. Since working with Propel and The Blue Room on shows like Laika and Josephine! I’ve found my signature style of working. Following Josephine! in 2018, I’ve continued to make theatre and am now branching off into film. In 2019, I directed 6 works (4 of which were new works) including the graduating class of Murdoch University in Anne Washburn’s dystopic blockbuster Mr.Burns, a post-electric play, and Playthings which went on to all sorts of acclaim and has a bright future ahead of itself still. I’m currently directing a short sci-fi film entitled Work From Home that touches on global warming and human existence in virtual worlds. That shoots in November and we’ll be doing the festival circuit for most of 2021. 

How would you describe your approach to creating theatre, and the sort of stories you are driven towards telling? 

I’m very focused on new works that tell the stories of our contemporary world. Often my inspiration comes from stories of injustice or failings within the systems of our society. I work with a lot of young people and so I’m often impacted by what’s happening in their lives and what’s important to them. I’m very narrative driven and draw inspiration from the likes of Lucy Kirkwood, Dennis Villeneuve, Lin Manuel-Miranda, and Annie Baker. 

How important was the mentorship part of the program to you and your projects? 

I think for emerging artists, finding the right mentors is as important as finding your complementary collaborators. Laika began my relationship with Alexa Taylor who has since worked on all of my projects and I trust her as much as I do any of my own senses and judgements. With Josephine! we brought on Matt Edgerton, former Artistic Director of Barking Gecko Theatre Company, who gave invaluable advice and guidance all the way through to our opening and beyond. Matt has been someone who has helped guide me through the larger industry questions and hoops around publishing plays, directing professionally, and more. Both are two valued mentors who have had very distinct impacts on myself and my career, and both were hired for projects that they had a wealth of knowledge in that they openly shared. 

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? 

It’s so easy for young people and young artists to neglect their physical and mental health. I’m not perfect in either way but there’s a few things I do to keep my head above water. 

1. There is no difference between physical and mental health, both need to be maintained and cared for to have a healthy balance. Understanding that and knowing how to keep both healthy is a real skill and takes time. 

2. See a therapist. Therapy isn’t just for people with trauma or mental illnesses. It’s the perfect way to understand your mind and your circumstances, and reflect on how you manage the world around you. The more you understand that, the more in control you are of your life. 

3. Exercise. I never reeeeeally listened when I was young about exercise making you happier but lockdown had me exercising religiously and changed my disposition entirely. 

4. Make time to find hobbies that aren’t work related. I find that when I’m doing something I love that doesn’t involve monetising it or engaging in the capitalist rat-race that my mental state vastly improves. Switching off from your work, particularly when you don’t have an office or you take your work home with you, is so vital to the quality of your work. You can’t be at your best if you don’t allow your brain to rest.

Find out more about Scott’s theatre company, Second Chance Theatre, on their website, and follow them on Instagram and Facebook. 

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.