Entertainment
1 November, 2025
Unique blend for all geeks
FOR the first time, JUTE Theatre Company and Launch Y(E)P (Youth, Entrepreneurship, Pathways) are joining forces to deliver a free and fast-paced theatre and innovation adventure across the region including the Cassowary Coast.
Blending science, theatre, storytelling, and entrepreneurship to ignite STEM confidence and celebrate First Nations creativity across Far North Queensland, the Encore for Innovation tour featuring the show, Get Your Geek On and workshops, was launched at Bulmba-ja in Cairns in October, before hitting the road and travelling to 14 communities from the Cassowary Coast to the Cape, inspiring the next generation of innovators in regional and remote towns.
Open to students, families and curious minds, the tour features a jam-packed day of performances and hands-on workshops tailored for primary to Year 9 age groups, celebrating creativity, problem-solving and big ideas.
A highlight of the touring program is a professional performance of Isaac Drandic’s Get Your Geek On supported by practical activities that are designed to help children think big and dream even bigger.
Supported by the Queensland Government through Advance Queensland, the program demonstrates how creativity and enterprise can spark pathways for young people across diverse communities.
Get Your Geek On is a two-hander production written by Isaac Drandic, directed by Raymond Blanco and features an all-First Nations cast, actors Maurice Sailor (Kevin) and Maci-Grace Thomson (Djirra).
According to playwright Isaac Drandic, the lead character Djirra is a 12-year-old ‘girl geek’ whose interest in science was created to reflect First Nations peoples’ age-old knowledge about the physical world, as natural to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as football or netball.
“Aboriginal preacher, author and inventor David Unaipon (1872-1967) is a brilliant example of what is possible, while the boomerang and the woomera are absolutely genius inventions using the science of physics to fulfil practical needs,” Mr Drandic said.
Launch Y(E)P director Tara Diversi said her team are incredibly excited to be partnering JUTE Theatre Company to inspire youth to consider a career in science, innovation or entrepreneurship.
“Arts and theatre-based activities have a way of bringing out creativity and breaking down barriers, which is an excellent starting point for innovation,” she said.
JUTE Theatre Company Creative Producer Monica Stevens said she’s excited to branch out into the STEM space with this collaboration. “I am quite the ‘geek’ myself. Following my professional dance career, I completed a master’s degree in motion capture at Deakin University. I was the first person to create a Bama (indigenous) dance avatar in Australia as part of my research, which is a perfect example of how the creative arts and science can merge.
“I hope that with this program, we can inspire the next generation of innovators, scientists, entrepreneurs and creatives,” Ms Stevens said.
Cassowary Coast stops for the touring program include Innisfail Library (Wednesday 5 November), Cardwell State School (Thursday 13 November), St Clare’s School Tully (Friday 14 November).
Read More: Cassowary Coast