Youth show their scars in production

The performance, The Scars You Don't See, is the culmination of an issue-based theatre program, through Job Placement Education and Training.

For the past six months the participants, aged between 15 and 17, have developed the play from their experiences of family life and living out of home, which they chronicled in journals.

The performance features a range of monologues and songs the participants have written and recorded.

Jodie Barnett, 17, first moved out of home two years ago.

She described the play as a performance about family life.

"It is about the bad and good stuff that affects us... what causes us to live out of home," she said.

"It is good to be in a group and let everyone know what we have been through - arguments at home, living out of home and having to be independent at a young age.

"Some people see we are teenagers who live out of home and think we are just troubled kids, but there is actually a story behind it... we are not that bad."

Job Placement Education and Training youth services worker Jordan Edmeades said the performance was a way for the participants to reveal their emotional scars, which were not always visible from the outside.

He said the focus of the performance was on family, which was used to explore broader issues such as neglect.

"It transforms feelings into action," he said.

Mr Edmeades said many of the stories presented in the performance could be confronting for audiences because they don't shy away from issues which are in the community.

"It is not made up, it is about eight young people who live in Bendigo.

"It has given them the confidence to want to be up on stage and participate in other local productions... we hope it is something we can do again in the future."

The Scars You Don't See will be performed on December 15 at 11am and 2pm at the Salvation Army Performing Arts Centre.