{"id":690402,"date":"2026-05-23T23:35:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T23:35:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/690402\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T23:35:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T23:35:15","slug":"farmers-take-to-the-stage-to-leave-stress-of-the-land-behind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/690402\/","title":{"rendered":"Farmers take to the stage to leave stress of the land behind"},"content":{"rendered":"

For most of the week, you can find stockman Jack Dodds on a tractor, rounding up cattle or mustering sheep on his farm.<\/p>\n

But on Fridays, the 28-year-old lives out his other passion: performing on stage.<\/p>\n

“It’s \u2026 escapism,” Dodds said.<\/p>\n

“We’re getting away from our world and going into something that’s completely fictional or that has happened in history.<\/p>\n

“We’re stepping out of our world and into someone else’s, which is actually quite refreshing.”\"Man<\/p>\n

Jack Dodds has written and co-directed a number of musicals that have toured the country.\u00a0 (Supplied: Jack Dodds)<\/p>\n

Big stages<\/p>\n

Growing up in the rural town of Molong, in the NSW Central West, Dodds knew he would end up back on the family farm.<\/p>\n

But before committing to a life of livestock, he gave his passion for theatre a crack.<\/p>\n

Now he enjoys the best of both worlds, writing musical comedies including Schapelle Schapelle, which has toured Australia, and Murder Horse.<\/p>\n

Dodds said his outside interest was a way to handle the daily challenges of life on the land.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Jack Dodds runs a farm in Cumnock, in Central West NSW. (Supplied: Jack Dodds.\u00a0)<\/p>\n

“I need [theatre]; it’s just the way that my brain works,” he said.<\/p>\n

“For anyone that is on farm, tapping into a creative outlet \u2026 takes the pressure off the reality that you can be living in, which is a very stressful world.<\/p>\n

“I think having that creative outlet, a lot of farmers paint and a lot of farmers are into sport, and I love sport too, but this is my main outlet.”<\/p>\n

For \u00a0Dodds, theatre is vital for the survival of rural communities.<\/p>\n

\"man<\/p>\n

When not mustering sheep or driving tractors, Jack Dodds (left) can be found writing the next musical comedy. (Supplied: Jack Dodds)<\/p>\n

He said it offered an opportunity to step away from the stresses of farm life.<\/p>\n

“Once you step out of your comfort zone, especially doing theatre or being involved, that broadens your horizons for other things and sets your mind at ease,” Dodds said.<\/p>\n

Amateur theatre\"Woman<\/p>\n

Geraldine Brown has found her passion for being on stage with the Molong Players.\u00a0 (Supplied: Peter Donner)<\/p>\n

A few times a week, Geraldine Brown leaves the stresses of her farm at the front gate and travels a few kilometres to the Molong community hall.<\/p>\n

She is not there for a book club or for a Country Women’s Association meeting.<\/p>\n

Instead, she is writing the next Molong Players show, to be performed later this year.<\/p>\n

“It is a joyous outlet for living in the country, particularly when times get tough because you can check all your emotional baggage at the door and have a good time,” Brown said.<\/p>\n

\"Woman<\/p>\n

Geraldine Brown lives on a farm a few kilometres from Molong town, in Central West NSW. (ABC Central West: Emily Middleton)<\/p>\n

Still going strong after almost 40 years, Molong Players has provided a creative outlet for generations of amateur thespians and theatre lovers.<\/p>\n

“Anybody who wants to be involved pretty much gets a guernsey,” Brown said.<\/p>\n

\"Group<\/p>\n

Molong Players has been operating in the state’s Central West for more than 40 years.\u00a0 (Supplied: Molong Players)<\/p>\n

“[Farmers] certainly have helped out in backstage roles as well, in set building and where we can utilise their technical skills.”<\/p>\n

Brown, who is a mixed farmer, has been part of the group for almost 20 years.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Geraldine Brown has been stepping away from the farm for Molong Players for almost 20 years.\u00a0 (ABC Central West: Emily Middleton)<\/p>\n

“Whatever it is that gets you off the farm, particularly if you’re on it 24\/7, is an invaluable event or community group to be part of,” she said.<\/p>\n

“If it’s dry, it’s tough. If it’s wet, it’s tough. If the market’s down, it’s tough.<\/p>\n

“And it gets you out of your head if you get off the farm and get involved in something.”<\/p>\n

\"Three<\/p>\n

A range of community members come together each year to form the Molong Players cast. (ABC Central West: Emily Middleton)<\/p>\n

Actor and co-writer Mario Samir said the Molong Players shows also offered a night off for the community.<\/p>\n

“It gives a small community an outlet, gives them a night out during the year that they all look forward to, because they know it’s going to be fun, it’s going to be lighthearted,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It’ll be a bit of a release of tension that perhaps you had to deal with all year.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For most of the week, you can find stockman Jack Dodds on a tractor, rounding up cattle or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":690403,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[62414,64,63,134,13330,336965,312342,15021,4089],"class_list":["post-690402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-acting","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-farming","tag-jack-dodds","tag-musicals","tag-stress-relief","tag-theatre"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=690402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/690403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=690402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=690402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=690402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}