Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine characteristics of resilience among Australian adolescents, the extent to which resilience might be strengthened through participation in a dance/drama competition, the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge (REC), and the impact participation may have on health related behaviour. Design/methodology/approach: Students completed questionnaires at the commencement of the REC planning and rehearsals in schools. The survey was repeated immediately after completion of the competition. Three groups of students were compared comprised students engaged in the REC (participants), students from Rock Eisteddfod schools who did not participate in the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge (REC school non-participants) and students from schools that did not participate in the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge (control school students). The questionnaire was designed to measure changes to key modifiable elements of resiliency and selected health behaviours. Findings: The majority of participants in the REC were girls, and the analysis of results was restricted to a matched group of girls from Year 9 (age 13-14) and above. Girls in this group from REC schools scored significantly higher in measures of overall resiliency during the rehearsal period than students from control schools. Within REC schools, participants scored higher for a combined measure of resiliency than non-participants. High scores for resiliency were consistently associated with lower prevalence of reported substance misuse across the whole sample. In general, increases in substance use observed over the time period from baseline to follow up was less in the REC group than the control group. Research limitations/implications: Several methodological problems were encountered in this study, including identification of adequate measures of personal skills and characteristics, difficulty in obtaining a true pre-intervention point to commence the study; and in identifying a large balanced sample of students that would allow for meaningful analysis of results; as well as the normal difficulties of identifying and maintaining contact with a large cohort of students in many different sites. For these reasons, the results need to be treated cautiously, and "causal" conclusions about the intervention could only be preliminary. Practical implications: The study indicates the potential benefits of participation in programmes like the REC, and the results are consistent with other studies indicating positive associations between participation in the REC and a range of positive personal, social and behavioural outcomes. Originality/value: The paper highlights some of the methodological challenges in conducting a prospective assessment of the effects of participation in a health oriented dance/drama event. It indicates the potential of this type of activity as a vehicle for the communication of health messages, and the possibility of a more direct influence on personal skills and health related behaviour. (Contains 1 figure and 3 tables.)