They have raised the Titanic, set alight 60 foot replicas of the British Houses of Parliament and sent a giant pair of Queen Victoria's bloomers up a town hall in England - and next week the theatre company that created these events will set their sights on Bathurst.

John Fox and Sue Gill, founders of Welfare State International will be on the Bathurst Campus of Charles Sturt University next week to conduct a workshop on how to create celebratory theatre events. Over 70 drama teachers from across the State and 50 CSU theatre media students will take part in the event.

The teachers are participants in the Devising Celebration course run by CSU's School of Communication with funding from the Department of Education and Training. The course has been designed to provide innovative approaches and new ideas for drama teachers developing performance within schools.

Under the direction of Welfare State, the teachers and students will produce two special events in Bathurst as part of the city's traditional October long weekend motor racing festival. An Artists Masked Ball is planned for Friday 1 October featuring Afro-Cuban music, fireworks and live performances. On Saturday 2 October the streets of the city will be the stage for a parade featuring spectacular characters and street theatre.

Theatre media lecturer Bill Blaikie said the University was very privileged to have Welfare State International directing the workshop and being able to pass on their expertise in such large-scale dramatic theatre events.

"The workshop participants will learn valuable skills in site-specific performance - from designing and building large scale images and mask making to creating parade theatre - knowledge that they will take back to their schools and pass on to their local communities, providing inspiration for new and exciting developments in community events for many years to come."