Goulburn Mulwaree Library runs Mighty Playwright Program for second year

Maybe some will come from those participating in the Mighty Playwright Program.

The program, run by Goulburn Mulwaree Library, in partnership with the Lieder Theatre Company, Greg Angus, and Field and Film, features children from local schools (usually year 5 students).

In its inaugural year 12 months ago, Bobby Gordon took part in the program and said it was a great experience.

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"The thing I learnt most was how a musical comes together from start to finish, or any play for that matter," Bobby said.

"There's a lot of steps.

"I really enjoyed creating back stories for each character."

The participants have to write a play that is eight to 10 pages long in about six weeks and meet with a mentor every week for an hour and a half in the library

David Cole was Bobby's mentor last year and he spoke very highly of him.

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"He wrote an amazing musical called 'The Monster Under the Theatre', which was about a monster who gets locked out of his monster world and has to live under a theatre to hide from humans," Mr Cole said.

"He becomes friends with a human kid in a play at the theatre who is overcoming his own shyness.

"The Monster child teaches the human kid how to sing and dance and be more confident.

"The friendship between the two children helps breaks down the barriers between humans and monsters, and even the adults come around at the end to sing a song called 'We might be different, but we are united'."

Mr Cole said his role was to help the kids write their play.

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"It is all the children's words and ideas, but I just help them structure their ideas and get them to dig deeper into their imaginations so they can create the best story they can in the timeframe," he said.

Some of the benefits of joining the program include the fact it helps with children's literacy and confidence.

"The kids chosen for the program were not necessarily the duxes of the school or the most confident, but they really benefited from the program because it boosted their self-confidence and the belief that they could complete a play," Mr Cole said.

"That is a huge thing to write and to keep working on over many weeks."

The Mighty Playwright Program is the first of its kind in the country, though similar programs have been run in Canada.

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