A Comprehensive A to Z of Missing Persons Australia
Aiming for $100,000
About
Each year 54,000 people go missing in Australia, which comprises over 2% of the population. That figure is growing. Why do so many Australians go missing? Do they want to be found? The Comprehensive A-Z of Missing Persons Australia explores this ‘why’ and gives voice to 800 missing persons listed in the Australian Missing Persons Register. WAYTCo has commissioned 23-year-old Asian-Australian playwright, Grace Chow (Griffin Award, 2022) to write this ambitious play. Directed by WAYTCo Artistic Director Amelia Burke, A-Z will star a cast of ten youth performers - some of Boorloo’s most dedicated emerging actors. Together the cast and creative team will work across disciplines, utilising physical theatre, verbatim, and multimedia. Inherent in this new Australian work is a call to better look out for one another, as family members, friends and neighbours. Whilst the police cannot, on their own, deal with an issue of this scale, together, as a community, we can address the unspoken crisis. Image credit: Georgi Ivers
Each year 54,000 people go missing in Australia, which comprises over 2% of the population. That figure is growing. Why do so many Australians go missing? Do they want to be found? The Comprehensive A-Z of Missing Persons Australia explores this ‘why’ and gives voice to 800 missing persons listed in the Australian Missing Persons Register. WAYTCo has commissioned 23-year-old Asian-Australian playwright, Grace Chow (Griffin Award, 2022) to write this ambitious play. Directed by WAYTCo Artistic Director Amelia Burke, A-Z will star a cast of ten youth performers - some of Boorloo’s most dedicated emerging actors. Together the cast and creative team will work across disciplines, utilising physical theatre, verbatim, and multimedia. Inherent in this new Australian work is a call to better look out for one another, as family members, friends and neighbours. Whilst the police cannot, on their own, deal with an issue of this scale, together, as a community, we can address the unspoken crisis. Image credit: Georgi Ivers
Each year 54,000 people go missing in Australia, which comprises over 2% of the population. That figure is growing. Why do so many Australians go missing? Do they want to be found? The Comprehensive A-Z of Missing Persons Australia explores this ‘why’ and gives voice to 800 missing persons listed in the Australian Missing Persons Register. WAYTCo has commissioned 23-year-old Asian-Australian playwright, Grace Chow (Griffin Award, 2022) to write this ambitious play. Directed by WAYTCo Artistic Director Amelia Burke, A-Z will star a cast of ten youth performers - some of Boorloo’s most dedicated emerging actors. Together the cast and creative team will work across disciplines, utilising physical theatre, verbatim, and multimedia. Inherent in this new Australian work is a call to better look out for one another, as family members, friends and neighbours. Whilst the police cannot, on their own, deal with an issue of this scale, together, as a community, we can address the unspoken crisis. Image credit: Georgi Ivers
Impact
WAYTCo attracts a diverse audience, welcoming people from as young as 6 through to octogenarians; people from a range of cultural and sub-cultural backgrounds, including a strong LGBTQIA+ following. With themes of safety and mental health, A-Z has the capacity to attract a broad-ranging 15+ audience. Specifically, it will interest those fascinated or directly impacted by missing person cases (e.g. family members of missing persons, police and health professionals and their families). The play draws directly on publicly available data on active missing persons cases and explores the stories of key people involved in the issue of missing persons. It raises awareness. Audience members will gain a better understanding of how many people go missing, why people go missing, and who is currently missing. This project serves a critical audience development agenda, platforming youth voice and demonstrating youth arts excellence. Ten young performers will be upskilled and empowered to pursue their theatre making careers. A-Z will be Ms Chow’s WA debut of a fully resourced and commissioned play.
WAYTCo attracts a diverse audience, welcoming people from as young as 6 through to octogenarians; people from a range of cultural and sub-cultural backgrounds, including a strong LGBTQIA+ following. With themes of safety and mental health, A-Z has the capacity to attract a broad-ranging 15+ audience. Specifically, it will interest those fascinated or directly impacted by missing person cases (e.g. family members of missing persons, police and health professionals and their families). The play draws directly on publicly available data on active missing persons cases and explores the stories of key people involved in the issue of missing persons. It raises awareness. Audience members will gain a better understanding of how many people go missing, why people go missing, and who is currently missing. This project serves a critical audience development agenda, platforming youth voice and demonstrating youth arts excellence. Ten young performers will be upskilled and empowered to pursue their theatre making careers. A-Z will be Ms Chow’s WA debut of a fully resourced and commissioned play.
WAYTCo attracts a diverse audience, welcoming people from as young as 6 through to octogenarians; people from a range of cultural and sub-cultural backgrounds, including a strong LGBTQIA+ following. With themes of safety and mental health, A-Z has the capacity to attract a broad-ranging 15+ audience. Specifically, it will interest those fascinated or directly impacted by missing person cases (e.g. family members of missing persons, police and health professionals and their families). The play draws directly on publicly available data on active missing persons cases and explores the stories of key people involved in the issue of missing persons. It raises awareness. Audience members will gain a better understanding of how many people go missing, why people go missing, and who is currently missing. This project serves a critical audience development agenda, platforming youth voice and demonstrating youth arts excellence. Ten young performers will be upskilled and empowered to pursue their theatre making careers. A-Z will be Ms Chow’s WA debut of a fully resourced and commissioned play.