Say Something Do Something

Say Something Do Something

concept/facilitator/director/script arrangement

An intergenerational multi-arts mash-up about the potential of words, actions and theatre to change the world

Chris first developed Say Something Do Something as a workshop and performance blueprint for intergenerational exchange during his time with Spark Youth Theatre (an initiative of Inner West Council). After the success of the original iteration at Ashfield Town Hall in 2018, Chris repeated the process in 2022 with a new group of teenagers (12-18) and seniors (55+) from Lake Macquarie, presented at the cutting-edge Multi-Arts Pavilion (MAP mima) in Speers Point through the support of Tantrum Youth Arts and Lake Macquarie City Council.

Facilitated by Chris during each two-month process, ensemble members were asked to respond to different questions and provocations in a way that worked for them. What’s a headline you’d love to wake up to? Do you have a bucket list? What’s something you’ve dreamed of doing onstage? Is there something we can say or do, right now, to change the world? Each group’s responses were used to generate text, performance, video, sound and more that was then woven into distinct multimedia pieces of theatre (with the help of local VJ and DJ artists), creating a snapshot of each community through the stories, opinions and ideas of its young and older members.