First Seen at the Street Theatre shows plays in progress to audiences

When you see a theatre performance, how often do you think about what it took for it to be stage-ready?

It's there, before you, in a shiny package of costumes, lighting, and actors who know their lines.

First Seen takes you to an earlier stage of the performance process.

Presented by The Street Theatre, the series gives Canberrans the chance to play an active role in the development of works-in-progress.

From April to July, four writers will be supported in progressing their works to the production-ready stage through creative development workshops with directors, dramaturgs, and actors.

After a public showing, audiences are invited to converse with the creatives, to share constructive feedback.

The season starts in April with Outsider by Peter Cook, followed by Milk by Dylan Van Den Berg in May, and Zebracorn by Hanna Cormick in July.

Canberra theatre-maker David Atfield selected the four works from 12 script submissions.

The chosen scripts explore "intensely personal" journeys of illness and mental health.

Peter Cook, who has appeared in previous Street Theatre productions The Chain Bridge, The Eisteddfod, and Breathing Corpses, brings a one-man play to First Seen.

"Outsider is about a jobbing actor who is battling mental health issues," Cook said.

"It's about his journey bouncing around from audition to audition, and we get insight into his private world.

"It's about searching for meaning in life."

Cook lived in Kings Cross for a while, meeting people who were struggling with addiction.

He has also struggled with his own mental health issues.

These life experiences have helped to shape his story.

"It's a culmination of stories from people along my journey.

"It's a way to explore what it is in life that we're all searching for."

Cook has performed in theatre productions across the country, from television shows such as All Saints and Redfern Now, and he co-produced the documentary Cunnamulla Dreaming.

"It's a great initiative in terms of giving artists a pathway to the stage so it can get out there into professional production."

Each writer will be provided a weekly wage and given a week-long workshop to develop their script.

First Seen, supported through artsACT, is now in its eighth year.

Arts Minister Gordon Ramsay said, "In First Seen 2018, Christopher Samuel Carroll presented his wordless play Icarus, which went on to receive additional investment from the ACT Government.

"It was incredibly exciting to see the play was awarded the Fringe World 2019 Dance and Physical Theatre Award in Perth.

"I'm hopeful First Seen 2019 will see the same calibre of work created and that writers can continue to flourish and showcase Canberra's unique arts sector to the rest of the world."

Other productions to emerge from First Seen include Michele Lee's Rice, which won the Queensland Premier Drama Award and Sandy France's ARIA-nominated opera From a Black Sky.