Rollercoaster Theatre Inc.

A vibrant, bold new generation of Neurodiverse and Mixed Ability performers who are passionate about theatre making. Rollercoaster Theatre Company is an independent, not-for-profit ensemble of trained actors with inte Rollercoaster Theatre has achieved a great deal over this past year despite the constant and inherent disruptions of COVID19. Though it was necessary to move some of our planned projects to 2023, we continued our commitment of a weekly workshop program with the ensemble. We moved online through lockdowns and periods of high risk. Our regular sessions provide great structure, purpose and connection. For some, our workshops are the only peerrelated social interaction they have. For others, it is the only place they can express themselves fully. We have been very blessed to have such a terrific team continuing to work supportively together. Despite all of this turbulence, through our workshops, we devised and performed a new work exploring text and movement called Hunt or Be Hunted. It was momentous to be back on stage again, in front of an audience, doing what we do best. We were also shortlisted to pitch at the Funding Network Virtual Live Event in February 2022. We emerged from the pitch victorious with a whopping $47,030 for our twopronged project: the inclusive and collaborative script project Rollercoasting and an OnScreen Diversity Masterclass for up to 50 Neurodiverse and Mixed Ability Artists. 2022 also marks our first and most exciting steps towards creating a social enterprise model for our company, delivering Acting Workshops for Neurodiverse and Mixed Ability actors outside of our core ensemble. We aim to offer more people across Melbourne and Victoria the opportunity to participate in our innovative work. This year we delivered two hugely successful 8week Screen Acting Workshops. With the support of a grant from State Trustees, we were able to offer scholarship positions for 20 Neurodivese and Mixed Ability actors to participate in this groundbreaking program. This initiative also allows us to provide paid employment for members of our ensemble to work as Support Workers in these workshops. Based on the wonderful success of this pilot program, we are confident we will be able to roll out an ongoing workshop series for many more actors in 2023 and beyond. This will generate a new revenue stream for Rollercoaster as well as create employment opportunities for our ensemble members and further expand our reach in the years to come.