WEST is a weekly theatre, dance, music and puppetry program for young people aged 11–17 in Lithgow, run in partnership with Milk Crate Theatre. It’s a space to be loud, be quiet, be silly, be seen — and to build something real with a group of people who’ve got your back.

What happens in WEST

There’s no script waiting for you when you walk in. Every session is shaped by whoever’s in the room that week — through games, devising, movement and story. Some weeks are about building a scene from scratch. Other weeks are about making puppets, trying something new, or just figuring things out together.

Renata Commisso  leads WEST as Artist and Creative Producer, alongside facilitators Sam Bucca, Abby Smith and youth worker Chloe Mas-Stephens.

The moments that matter

Last year, we decided to share what they’d made with a real audience — and it turned out to be one of the best things we’ve done. Watching people’s faces change once they had eyes on them, cheering them on, was something else. We do it regularly now.

The ensemble also joined our Let’s Fly puppetry project, building  bird wings for the Hartley Discovery Day parade. One participant told us it was “the best day ever, I want to do it all over again.”

This year, we’re heading to Bathurst to see  All In, – connecting with the western sydney’s Dance Makers Collective.

Why we do this

WEST is about having a place to grow — where your ideas matter, your voice gets heard, and you get to try things without anyone telling you you’re doing it wrong. Friendships get built here. Confidence gets built here. And it keeps growing every week, because it’s never really finished — it’s made by whoever shows up.