Platform Youth Theatre [1] was a theatre company for 16- to 26-year-olds based in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. that was operational for the eighteen years from 1998-2016. The Company was acknowledged as being reflective of the cultural melting pot of the Darebin area, and was originally a program within the Darebin Council [2]. The diversity of participants in Platform's programs and Platform's commitment to including marginalised young people (recent migrants, young people with disabilities and at risk youth) and youth governance model set Platform aside from other youth theatre companies creating a similar calibre of work.
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Platform operated programs that dealt with multiple facets of the performing arts. These programs varied from group learning models to one-on-one mentorships, and were facilitated by some of the most esteemed professional artists in the Australian theatre industry. Since Platform's first production in 1998, the company created a niche for itself within the youth and theatre sectors of Victoria. The company was well respected for the manner in which it combined an inclusive cultural development process with the creation of highly regarded art.
Platform had the very strong belief that theatre is an inordinately powerful in tool for skill building and self-expression/determination. The public performance outcomes of all Platform's programs gave young people a voice.
Platform is an award-winning company, having been awarded Australian Writers Guild Awards and Green Room Award nominations.
Previous productions
Supporters
Platform has received support from; the closure of the company was tied to the loss of ongoing support by the Australia Council of the Arts at the end of 2015 (in which PYT was one of ten out of thirteen youth arts organisations to lose funding), and Creative Victoria at the end of 2016:
Leadership and Artists
Platform was a unique organisation in that, for the bulk of it's operative years, it ran with a board almost entirely of young people aged 16–26.
In this time the company was variously headed by Rose Godde, Jim Rimmer, and Kath Melbourne; and variously administered by combinations of staff including Myf Clark, Michelle Lee and others.
Notable artists who've worked with Platform include Adam Cass, Patricia Cornelius, Christos Tsiolkas, Nadja Kostich, Susie Dee, Lucy Freeman, Leticia Caceras, Angus Cerini, Wes Snelling, Wally Gunn, Caitlin Dullard, Richard Vabre, Marg Horwell, Emma Valente, Kelly Ryall and Matt Scholten.
Media quotes
"So much of what good theatre is all about is giving everything you’ve got to a performance, passionately and without self-censorship. Shimmer…is the embodiment of these ideals. It is community theatre at its most enriching, both for the performers and the audience." Melbourne Times
"No, it wasn’t the MTC. But it was much, much better than any preconceptions of community would have had you believe. At shows end the packed audience gave rousing appreciation to all for delivering a night of heartfelt, engaging, but above all, entertaining - theatre." Jo Roberts, The Age [3]