It might be hard to imagine being an eight-year-old pondering your one true purpose in life. However, that is exactly what AJZ Productions director Alirio Zavarce is encouraging a young audience to do with his DreamBIG production I AM.

Inspired by conversations he had with members of theatre company True North Youth Theatre Ensemble about the things that excited and scared them, Zavarce created I AM in collaboration with writer and previous True North performer Tahlia Hope.

Hope and Zavarce found the young people they were working with were questioning what their purpose and pathway in life is, or should be, as they faced making decisions about their future.

I AM performer Alyssa Glanowski. Photo: Alirio Zavarce

“The show is kind of like a call to help and says, ‘Listen, wherever your path takes you is fine. You just need to relax. You don’t need to work it out’,” Zavarce explains.

I AM is a project that combines AJZ Productions’ theatre groups True North Youth Theatre Ensemble and True Ability, an ensemble of performing artists who are living with a disability.

“One of my pleasures is working across ability and across generations, just making sure that everybody is supporting each other,” says Zavarce.

“We’re working with professional and emerging performers that are mentoring younger people. Some of them have a lot of experience in theatre but we’re also working with people that don’t have as much experience, but you don’t notice it during the show because everybody is working together.”

He describes I AM as “a multi-universe in the library” that takes participants through an immersive experience in a labyrinth of multiple rooms and multiple worlds with multimedia installations, music and spoken word.

The Adelaide City Library became the perfect backdrop for a show about exploring the self and pondering some of life’s biggest questions, with users of the library becoming part of the performance stage.

“It [the library] is a place where you go to find answers,” says Zavarce.

“We have a lot of provocations where the audience can laugh and reflect and be entertained and open a conversation about ‘What do I want to do in my life?’,”

True Ability co-founder and creative director Kelly Vincent is involved in the show overseeing creative direction and inclusion. The production aims to work with each performer and their ideas to tailor the experience to them and make sure they are included.

“I’ve seen great progression in performers that haven’t [got] a lot of experience in theatre or are neurodiverse and handling being in a room with people doing other things,” says Zavarce.

He tells the story of a young performer who began the rehearsal process uncomfortable wearing anything but their school uniform. They gradually progressed to being in costume and performing, having created a character for themself.

“To see the progression that performers are having in terms of having a disability but working with able-bodied actors… they’re working side-by-side and mentoring each other and helping and learning from each other. It’s a beautiful bringing together of both of the companies. We try to do that on every level of what we do.

“There is no barrier to ability in what we do, so we really believe in that integration.”

I AM explores the big, existential questions that everyone grapples with at some point in their life, despite ability or age, as they ponder their own existence and journey through life.

“Our purpose is to live, and life is beautiful,” says Zavarce.

I AM is being presented at the Adelaide City Library from May 19-20 and May 26-27 as part of the DreamBIG Children’s Festival, which is presented by the Adelaide Festival Centre and this year has the theme “Our World”.

The festival opens today (May 17) with an event at the Festival Theatre that will be attended by 1500 students from 17 schools and also livestreamed to 27 regionals schools across the state. It features The Mighty Choir of Small Voices, a mass dance event by youth dance ensemble Dusty Feet Mob, and performances from DreamBIG artists.

DreamBIG show Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge. Photo: Daniel Boud

Other highlights of the festival, which continues until May 27, include:

BIG Family Weekend (May 20-21): A weekend of free family events, performances, exhibitions and more including Patch Theatre’s immersive installation Sea of Light, silent disco walking tours and a “massive maker space”.

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge (May 20-21): An immersive adaptation of the Mem Fox and Julie Vivas picture book featuring a new score by composer Paul Stanhope performed by a string quartet from the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Erth’s Prehistoric World (May 20-21): A fusion of touring company Erth Visual and Physical Inc’s Dinosaur Zoo and Prehistoric Aquarium which uses physical and visual theatre to bring prehistoric creatures to life.

Here and There (May 20): A show by Adelaide’s ActNow Theatre which uses livestreaming technology to bring together six stories from six different and diverse artists (three Australians, and one each from Malaysia, India, and Singapore).

We Come from Far, Far Away (May 27): With shadow puppetry, storytelling, comedy and live music, this road-trip-type show (to be performed in a traditional Mongolian yurt) follows two boys from Aleppo who travel to Norway.

The full DreamBIG program is online here.