Mental Illness Education Canberra (MIEC) is pleased to announce the release of 13 scripts designed for high school students that explore what it’s like to live with a mental illness.

Casting Light: scripts for young adults from people living with mental illness are now available for free download at www.mieact.org.au/castinglight.

Casting Light is the result of a 12-month collaboration between Australia’s leading educational playwright Sue Murray and MIEC.

The challenging and engaging scripts for young adults are based on the stories of people who have a personal experience of mental illness or care for a family member.

The “teacher-friendly” scripts are ideal for educators looking to explore mental health issues in the classroom. While they are perfect for use in the classroom, drama clubs and youth groups - or indeed, anyone with a passion for drama - are welcome to use them.

The scripts:

• are free to download
• are free to copy and use for educational purposes
• are tailor-made for Years 10, 11 and 12
• come in a range of styles and genres
• designed to suit a range of cast sizes, from one person to the entire class
• come with support material
• are linked to ACT curriculum and MindMatters resources.

The Casting Light scripts were written using the real life experiences of people who live with mental illness, are engaging and professional, and designed to give young people a better understanding of mental illness.

Funding for Casting Light was received from ACT Health Promotion Grants and project partners include MindMatters and the ACT Drama Association.