Nepean School Students Premiere Short Films at Arts Centre Melbourne’s Smorgon Family Plaza

Using music soundscapes and shadow puppetry, students from Nepean School – a specialist school located in Seaford – have collaborated with professional sound designers, puppeteers and filmmakers to transform their own stories into cinematic short films. Their storytelling is now on public display at Arts Centre Melbourne’s Smorgon Family Plaza until 31 August 2025 as part of the creative learning program Stories in the Wall.

For over 11 years, the Stories in the Wall program has partnered students from Victorian primary schools with professional working artists to guide them through the storytelling process. Developing their stories into original radio plays, through scriptwriting and sound recording workshops. This year’s program, titled Secret Surprises, is the first to offer workshops specifically catered to a specialist school. It extends the students’ storytelling into music composition and the visual medium through puppet workshops.

The students – aged from 5 to 18 years old – teamed up with working creatives including composer and sound designer Di Drew who facilitated jam sessions with students, puppeteers Sarah Kriegler and Tim Sneddon from Lemony S Puppet Theatre and filmmaker Zi Gul Sadeqi who captured and edited the student’s shadow puppet creations.

Located in the outer suburbs of Melbourne, Nepean School creates an innovative, inclusive and supportive learning environment for children and young people with a physical disability and/or complex health impairment.

Lemony S Puppet Theatre’s Sarah Kriegler said: “It was an immense joy to work with the kids and staff of Nepean School to create Stories from the Wall.  Shadows are such an accessible art form and even the smallest thing, like adding some cellophane to your wheelchair, can look astoundingly beautiful.  Tim, Zia and I had such a good time on this project, and we’re thrilled the kids did too!”

Completely free for participating schools, Stories in the Wall is part of Arts Centre Melbourne’s commitment to making the performing arts accessible to everyone. This year’s program is made possible by the generous support of the Marian and E.H. Flack Trust and Wendy Kozica.

Stories in the Wall: Secret Surprises is now on display in the Smorgon Family Plaza in a public activation designed by Mattea Davies. The Nepean School students’ stories are also available to view online here.

Photo credit: Mark Gambino

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