Youth, by the Stage X definition, extends from the haziness of "beyond childhood" to the rather definite age of 25, though in practice, this festival mostly catered for the high school-aged cross section of youth. The sprightly Guy Redden and Felicity Meakins noticed this target age, feeling somewhat conspicuous as audience members of Five to Midnight and Jimbo, Shanno, Cazza, Shazza and Yuan .. Go Dancing. However, according to Sam Carroll, who was last seen wearing sequins tights and a sparkly leotard, Vulcana Women's Circus's Blissed Out appealed to a broader spectrum of youthful types.

In marking a space for youth culture, Stage X also managed to create the interesting dilemma surrounding the younger generation's attempt to reject the older generation's constrictions and conventions within a space provided by this institution. This dilemma was played out in the joint QPAT/QUT production of Blurred, which Marc Richards suggests portrayed a negative adult view of Schoolies Week only mediated through youthful voices. And finally Kirsty Leishman addresses this and other concerns around youth arts and funding sources in a review of the Artex99 conference..

So hitch up your sags, pluck out those grey hairs, gain a spring in your step and read on...