Rebus received seed funding to develop a school holiday film program providing social connection and creative expression opportunities to LGBTQIA+ youth aged 12-17 years. Acting Out – On Screen was a 4-day intensive program led by drama tutors and trained counsellors, some of whom identify as LGBTQIA+.

The mentors guided the participants in writing, directing, shooting and editing their own original short film. The participants formed strong social bonds quickly, sharing stories about their experiences of being misgendered or bullied in school, and created a social media group chat to continue connection beyond the program. One parent informed Rebus staff that for some of the participants, this was their first time knowingly interacting with other LGBTQIA+ people their own age. Parents and participants alike have expressed interest in the continuation of the program, requesting it be longer in future.

Feedback from participants about what they enjoyed about the project:

• ‘Meeting people with interesting and similar views and opinions.’
• ‘Safe and comfortable space.’
• ‘We were supported by both peers and facilitators.’
• ‘New Friends.’
• ‘Not all people are bad and some are actually nice.’
• ‘I think it is a really good space to be in and just be you.’

In this program participants:

• Take part in team building games and exercises
• Learn film and screen techniques in an inclusive and supportive environment
• Devise, shoot, and edit a new work about themes that are important to them

Acting Out On Screen was previously funded by the Chief Minister’s Charitable Fund (2019 & 2020) and brought to you by Rebus Theatre in partnership with Meridian and the Canberra Inclusive Partnership.

Rebus would like to continue this program up to twice per year with the assistance of sponsorship and philanthropic donations. If you would like to donate to this program just click here and make either a one off or regular donation, and be sure to enter Acting Out into the ‘In honour of a person or occasion’ field.