Indigenous theatre students had the chance to enhance their skills at a free workshop at the Western Plains Cultural Centre at the weekend.
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Staging Stories, hosted by Orana Arts, was a free, two day workshop for Indigenous Australians aged 16 and over, and focused on bringing Indigenous actors together to share stories.
"It's more than acting, it's getting people out of their comfort zone and building confidence," Orana Arts Aboriginal Arts Development Officer Melissa Ryan said.
"The integrity of the project is about Aboriginal people working with Aboriginal people."
Moogahlin Performing Arts is the only Indigenous theatre company in NSW, and leading actors Frederick Copperwaite and Lily Shearer were on hand at the weekend to share their knowledge.
"It's about finding stories and getting people up to feel confident, it's about learning acting skills and making a piece for stage that's not script-based," Ms Shearer said.
"We're the oldest storytellers in the world and whether we're singing, dancing, painting... It's about harnessing those stories."
She said the workshops are an important part of tapping into the experiences of Aboriginal people of all ages, and teaching the youth how to share their stories is "empowering for the Aboriginal community".
"Community is where you find the best stories, and they're real," she said.
"It's really important. I'm interested in that shared history that's all there bubbling under the surface.
"And it's reciprocal. We're learning from each other, we're sharing our stories of living in modern Australia."
The Staging Stories workshop will return to Dubbo on May 16 and 17 and on June 13 and 14, and are open to Aboriginal people from anywhere in regional NSW, aged 16 and over.
Small travel subsidies are also available for people living outside the Dubbo area.
"Come along and join us," Ms Shearer said.
"You just have to be interested in storytelling and sharing it, and taking risks on learning something new."