The 2009 Young & Hungry Festival will be comprised of 3 new New Zealand scripts written specifically for youth audiences, developed and performed in a professional theatre context.

The rehearsal/design process runs over 8 weeks to ensure that enough time is given to both the actors' development of their characters and the technical students' realisation of their design.

Professional theatre practitioners mentor these young people in all facets of theatre production - acting, lighting, sound, publicity, costume, set, stage and production management.

The Festival runs over a two-week season at BATS Theatre, with each of the 3 productions being performed every night.