Do you ever judge a book by its cover? Or a play by its name?

If you're guilty of instant dismissal, the Canberra Youth Theatre wants you to take a plunge into the unknown.

The group's artistic director, Karla Conway, said that, in the past, when they had introduced new works that the public mostly hadn't heard of, people were resistant to take the plunge. "So, we decided to undertake a season of secret theatre and embrace the idea of risk," she said.

Over three nights from August 28, the Canberra Youth Theatre will perform The Secret Underground at Gorman House in Braddon. Theatregoers won't know what they're seeing until they arrive.

"The concept originated in the UK. There was a company that was put out of their venue while it was being renovated, so they started a season of secret theatre and it created a whole new audience for British writing," Conway said. "We wanted to be able to try to engage audiences in a new way and encourage them to take the risk."

While the company is staying mum on what plays will be performed, Conway said there are three one-act plays a night, with one locally Canberra generated work, one Australian premier of an international work, and one that embraces the idea of classic theatre.

At the helm of the productions will be directors Karen Vickery, Alison Plevey (pictured) and Nicola Tyndale-Biscoe.

When willing participants book, they will be given a password, a dress code and a task to complete for the night. "The task will be something that they have to bring and something that they will engage in on the night," Conway said. "It's all about placing the trust in the company."

Bookings are essential: how else will you know the password? Tickets are $10 from cytc.net or on 6248 5057.

She's won awards in the past for her work on TV series Underbelly, and now local writer/producer Felicity Packard (pictured) is back in the spotlight thanks to the success of her most recent project, ANZAC Girls.

The first two episodes of the six-part series have aired on the ABC, telling the untold stories of Australian and New Zealand nurses who served during World War, with the first episode attracting over attracting an audience of over one million viewers.

Having written the series with former Canberran Niki Aken, Packard says ANZAC Girls is a story that was, "crying out to be told".

"I am a proud Australian and I have looked all my life at the Gallipoli story and wondered where I am – there is no room for women in that story," she said.

"And while I don't want to diminish anything the men went through, I feel that by 2014 surely we're big enough to look at that story, to look at those qualities we associate with ANZAC and see how they might be interpreted when you look at some of the women that were there as well."

The series is drawn from the book The Other ANZACs by Canberran Peter Rees, combined with diaries, letters, photographs and other historical documents.

"We were going through Peter's book as a starting point and going on to find the diaries and the letters. Of course we spent a lot of time at the War Memorial," she said.

"They're great women. They're great characters that went through great events and grew and developed into such interesting people."

You can watch ANZAC Girls on ABC, on Sunday nights at 8:30pm.

Last week we mentioned that three University of Canberra students were trekking around the country with nothing but Red Bull cans as their currency.

It turns out that they not only survived the jaunt, they managed to snag themselves the win, arriving first in Cairns out of all 20 teams.

Daniel Tuddenham, Rhys Hartwig and Jack Hall (pictured) met last year while living on campus and jumped at the chance to take part when they saw the Red Bull Can You Make It? competition.

"I'm so happy we did it. It was an adventure of a lifetime," said Hartwig, who studies sports management.

Calling themselves 3 Pigs, the students travelled from Sydney to Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and then on to the finish line in Cairns.

The trio had to use their charm, creativity and cans of Red Bull to convince people to help them get to their destination.

"With the flight from Brisbane to Cairns, we were going around Brisbane all day and we found this great little chocolate factory and just told them our story and he decided to buy the flights for us and we just gave him some cans of Red Bull and some shout-out on social media," he said.

"I think the thing I gained from it was [that] you just find out there are a lot of good people out there."

Overall the team used 264 cans of Red Bull, which, on top of their flights and transport, got them a helicopter and speed-boat ride, plus entry into Movieworld on the Gold Coast.

The three have now returned home to study, but all get to jet off to south-east Asia next year on a tour as part of their prize. Congrats, 3 Pigs.

The ice bucket hast cometh

The ice bucket challenge has arrived in Canberra.

In case you've been in a coma for the past week, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has been sweeping the globe, raising funds and awareness for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known here as motor neuron disease.

Once nominated, people have 24 hours to post a video of themselves having a bucket of iced water poured over their head, or donate money to the relevant association in their area.

This week we've spotted three locals getting dunked for a good cause.

Hockeyroo Anna Flanagan took part, pouring a large bucket of iced water over herself, while letting out a scream. In a less impressive effort, tennis star Nick Kyrgios copped a tiny, plastic cup of iced water poured on his head.

We think Hyatt Hotel Canberra general manager Mikael Svensson takes the cake, though. Dressed in a full suit, he endured two bellhops showering him with two full buckets of iced water.

It's a tad cooler here than in the US where the trend originated, so we're pretty impressed with the local efforts so far.

To keep an eye out for who else is getting involved, follow the hashtag #ALSIceBucketChallenge.

What's on

There's only a week left to enjoy the best of winter at the Fireside Festival. There are still degustation meals, horse rides among the vines, master classes and live music events. Tickets are still available. For a full line-up and booking information visit poachersway.com.au.

On Sunday, August 31, the ANU Film Group will host a Robin Williams tribute screening to honour the life of the much-loved actor and comedian. At 6pm it will screen Dead Poets Society, followed by Good Morning, Vietnam at 8.15pm. Coombs Theatre, Acton. Tickets from $15 at the door, with $5 donated to Lifeline Canberra. Visit anufg.org.au.