Students from around Western Australia will fill the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre for the rest of this week as the local heats of the Youth on Health Festival (YOH Fest) continue.
Bringing in talent from every corner of the state, from Albany to Broome, the festival promotes health education among young people through drama, dance, visual art, music and short film.
Now one of Australia's biggest health themed youth performing and visual arts events, the Act-Belong-Commit festival rose from humble beginnings after starting in Mandurah in 1997.
Peel heats got underway on Monday and will continue until September 6 with Halls Head Primary School, Mandurah Baptist College, Halls Head College and John Tonkin College among some of the talented groups to take to the stage.
Ahead of their performance on Tuesday night, Halls Head College students Monique, 16, and Nathaniel, 15, told the Mandurah Mail they felt privileged to be a part of the experience.
"Because it is student driven, we can choreograph it and have our own input and intake which is good," Monique said.
"We all came up with this idea that belonging to the arts is who we are and it's been amazing to be a part of it all."
Nathaniel, who wrote his own song for the music category, said the opportunity had allowed him to expand his horizons.
"My song shows a contrast between belonging and not belonging and we incorporated it, and dance, into our drama piece," he said.
"It's really rewarding to be showcased like this."
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The Makers chief executive Deanne Johnson, who is also responsible for running YOH Fest, said the event was a "great Mandurah success story".
"It's a peer-led program so it looks at young people delivering the program for other young people," she said.
"In addition, it is also an action-based program so the students themselves are actually acting, belonging and committing and actually end up with behaviour changes."
Ms Johnson said the festival also had a positive influence on the community with audiences flocking to the local entertainment hub to check out all of the talent on offer.
"The Mandurah heats are the biggest and we have many schools coming from Perth and Bunbury to MPAC because of the facility, it is the preferred place for schools to perform," she said.
"Because we're averaging about 400 spectators to each of the shows, these really powerful messages about what young people feel about mental health and health are also reaching parents and the community."
It's one thing to go and talk about these health topics in a classroom but this is action-based and hands on.
- The Makers youth officer Kaylee Miller
The Makers youth officer Kaylee Miller, who oversees this year's group of volunteers, agreed that the impact of YOH Fest could be felt beyond the students participating.
"It's one thing to go and talk about these health topics in a classroom but this is action-based and hands on," she said.
"They put so much effort into it and become so passionate about what they are learning.
"Then to watch back, even when you're not involved in the pieces, just to see the passion on stage really engages on you and I know I just learn so much more when I can see that passion."
Kaylee, who is also a year 12 student at Halls Head College, said it was particularly exciting to work alongside her fellow school peers.
"It's amazing to have the connection with Halls Head and see what they are doing," she said.
"It makes me so happy how much the school is putting in to this and how much the students get out of it.
"I love working with kids my age and that YOH Fest is for the youth, by the youth."
For more information, or to purchase tickets to the YOH Fest heats, visit the MPAC website.
