Mia Boonen is a Melbourne-based theatre maker, advocate and mental health worker, who is also the CEO of Dramawerkz Theatre Inc.

A selection of work from 2021-2025

Theatre Maker

“Ultimately, Ivy and Sylvia is a triumph of local theatre: beautifully acted, inventively staged and politically resonant.” - Jessie Williams, The Dialog

Performed first in March 2025, Mia Boonen’s original play, Ivy and Sylvia, returned to the stage for Melbourne Fringe Festival in October 2025.

“Staged in the intimate confines of the Louis Joel Arts and Community Centre in Altona — a site rich with history, once housing the very hospital that inspires its narrative — Ivy and Sylvia offers a compelling, quietly radical exploration of women’s roles in early twentieth-century Melbourne healthcare. It’s written by Mia Boonen, directed by Azmy Azurite and Amelie Barham and performed by local artists Scarlett Rose and Mia Boonen in collaboration with their community theatre group. This two-woman play weaves together historical documentation, creative storytelling, and living memory to bring to life two figures: Ivy, the first matron of Altona Hospital, and Sylvia, a community midwife and holistic healer. The result is a work that is both moving and provocative, blurring the boundaries between past and present, fact and fiction.” - Jessie Williams, The Dialog

Publications and Coverage

Peacemongers - The People Make Theatre

Darebin Arts Speakeasy, April/May 2024

"Thought-provoking" - The Age (Cameron Woordhead) review of Peacemongers by the People
"It is the performers that make this piece truly extraordinary" - Theatre Travels review of Peacemongers by The People
"Rich, energetic, humane and challenging" - Stage Whispers review of Peacemongers by The People

Projects

Lead Consultation Coordinator - Young Carer Consultation on Mental Health and Wellbeing Connect Centres (Gippsland and South West Regions)
Host and Facilitator - Writing for Lived Experience Author Panel, featuring Maxine Beneba Clarke, Sian Prior and Justin Haezlewood
Youth and Consultation Coordinator (3 years) - Role at Satellite Foundation, implementing the reforms outlined in the 2021 Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health Services, with a focus on young carer initiatives.
Attendee and Youth Expert - Inaugural Meeting of Parliamentary Friendship Group for Youth Mental Health

Facilitator

As an educator and facilitator, I have run programs, consultations and workshops with a variety of festivals and organusations across Melbourne, including Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), Satellite Foundation, City of Stonnington, the Department of Health, Williamstown Literary Festival and more. My approach is centred on embracing the strengths of participants, “passing the mic” as often as possible, and creating environments where every participant has the opportunity to be engaged.

Alongside one-off workshops, consultations and events, I have coordinated several projects that are led by, and co-created with young people. I am passionate about co-design, especially in the youth mental health space, and have utilised both my unique approach as a creative, and a Model of Care framework to bring young people’s ideas to life; both in the mental health space, and their creative endeavours. You can view some of these creative outputs below.

I am the CEO of Dramawerkz Theatre Inc: a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing positive arts experiences for young people in Melbourne’s west.
Dramawerkz was founded by Lisa Collins in 2006 and, in the years since, we have worked with more than 200 young people, produced more than two dozen performances, organised tours to both Singapore and regional Victoria and coached more than a dozen students through Trinity College (London) Acting Exams. I became CEO of the organisation after the company was passed down to me by Lisa in 2019 and, in late 2020, I established Dramawerkz Theatre Inc. as an incorporated association, Since then, I have established a mentorship program for young playwrights, co-devised works with an ensemble of youth performers to be toured regionally, and facilitated 18 months of online learning and connection upon the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.


Find out more about Dramawerkz and our projects here.

Advocate

  • Work with YDAS VIc

    Tweet by YDAS Vic reads: "Whenever I feel like I'm burning out, I remind myself that by existing and by being happy, I am living a form of protest against a #ableist society." - Mia

    Across 2020 to 2022, I worked with YDAS as a lived experience advisory board member, consulting on the Covid-19 pandemic and shaping work both with their organisation as well as with the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, the Department of Education and the Elgar Research Handbook on Disability Policy.

  • Hobsons Bay for Palestine, 2024

    Caption for Instagram Post linked here: Thank you Mia Boonen for speaking at the Hobsons Bay rally and calling on our council to pass a strong motion in solidarity with Palestine. Mia is a local artist and educator and a mental health worker, as well as being Hobsons bay citizen of the year for 2023. Given that young people are resoundingly in favour of a free Palestine, Mia is here to urge local councillors to listen to their people and act with compassion. As a group member of Hobsons Bay 4 Paelstine, Mia’s hard work and dedication are imperative in keeping the focus and growing the campaign.🇵🇸

  • Violence Against Women at Melbourne University

    In 2022, Mia Boonen, Sinead Fernandes and Antoinette Tracey took the University of Melbourne to mediation, following their mishandling of sexual assault and harassment complaints in the prior year.
    This work involved sharing experiences of abuse on the ABC, news.com.au and outlets across the nation. More than 1750 people signed an open letter penned by the trio demanding policy changes and a commitment to zero tolerance for abuse on campus. Ultimately, survivors received a written apology from the university that outlined the changes in policy, procedure and attitude towards survivors that had been enacted following the public campaign and open letter’s demands.

  • YACVIC Covid-19 podcast

    This episode of ‘Locked Down, Speaking Up!’ discusses young people in education and the arts have been some of the hardest hit by the pandemic. For young people who are still yet to set foot on their university’s campus, or who are waiting for their postponed shows to finally happen – what can you actually do in this situation that feels so out of control?

    From the podcast: Speaking up today is Mia, who uses she/they pronouns. She's both a student and teacher of performing arts, so she’s a pretty solid expert on COVID’s impacts on young students and artists. If you’re looking for how can we do better by and with young students and creatives in this pandemic, or just want to know how to advocate for yourself, this is for you – Mia’s doing it, and she’s going to share what works, and what we should elbow bump goodbye.

  • Get Real Podcast: Talking Mental Health

    Satellite Foundation is focused on the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people where a family member, like a parent or sibling, has a mental illness or mental health challenges. The youth they support are aged 8-25 and live in Victoria, Australia. Programs are centred on the power of creativity in harnessing lived experience and promoting positive wellbeing outcomes.  CEO Rose Cuff and former Youth Coordinator Mia Boonen are the guests for this episode of ERMHA's podcast.

  • Discussing Young Carers

    "One in four young people have a parent or guardian with a mental illness. Not all get the support they need"

    This article by Georgia Lenton-Williams is an important step to raising the profile of this cohort of youth, and discusses the role of young people in mental health caring relationships and their experiences.