General News
26 June, 2026
Youth acting workshops on offer
Local youth are encouraged to register for a free performing arts workshop held in Maryborough next week.
Local youth are being offered something new with a free performing arts workshop held in Maryborough next week.
Central Goldfields Shire Council are breathing new life into their old youth space on July 1 and 2 with a renewed focus on creative opportunities.
Those between 12 and 25 years old can register for a two-day workshop run by experienced performer and teacher Kate Stones.
Ms Stones said she has had a “long and winding road” in the performing arts as an actor, director, writer, producer and educator.
She is the creative director of CreateA, organising performances for people with disability, and president of Castlemaine Theatre Company for the past decade.
Each workshop day, between 10 am and 3 pm, she’ll explore methods of performance and the basics of acting culminating in an informal show for family and friends.
Ms Stones encouraged young people to have a go.
“All those things are super important for everyone but particularly young people growing up in our uncertain times,” she said.
Council’s youth officer Kyan Laslett O’Brien said the workshop will give young people the opportunity to access the arts and build their confidence.
“This is a sporting country but if you’re into the performing arts there’s a lot less for you. We’re trying to give young people access to those opportunities,” he said.
Ms Stones agreed it was important young people could see a pathway to a professionally creative life.
“They should feel confident there’s a way through,” she said.
“There’s lots of opportunities and we want to create more.”
Mr Laslett O’Brien agreed.
“More than ever young people need that hope to understand things are possible,” he said.
“It’s a really hard time to be a young person.”
It’s a renewed approach which has found a home in the Engage Youth Space, behind the council offices, which closed a number of years ago.
Mr Laslett O’Brien described the workshop as a “soft launch” of the facility.
“That’s going to be one of the major uses of the space. It’s going to be somewhere you can come and be creative,” he said.
“There’s going to be plenty more workshops and opportunities … over the coming year.”
To register email youth@cgoldshire.vic.gov.au including name, age, phone number, and any accessibility or support needs.