Mount Scopus College 2010 production of The Outsiders.

Choosing a play for young actors is never easy. The challenge is to find a text that is powerful, relevant, contemporary and appropriate for young performers to tackle. When I read  the stage adaptation of S.E. Hinton’s famous novel, The Outsiders, I felt I had found a play that ticked all the appropriate boxes. It’s a coming of age story, about young people discovering themselves and their place in a complex world.

It’s about love and loyalty.  It deals with violence and social values and confronts us with issues that face young people today. Although this play is set in the mid 60’s in Tulsa Oklahoma, it remains a play that is fresh and relevant. The violence between the two gangs and the deaths that result from that violence, portrayed so vividly and with great sensitivity in The Outsiders,  has deep resonance in contemporary society. Territorial battles and gang violence are issues that we face living in Australia today.

Working with the cast on a project like this over the past three months has been a wonderful experience for me as an educator and as a director. We have learnt much from each other. The cast loved this play and loved the experience and I hope that other schools consider this piece for future productions.

Evie Gawenda

Director / Head of Performing Arts

Mount Scopus Memorial College