National Institute of Dramatic Art
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| National Institute of Dramatic Art |
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| Motto: | Excellence, Innovation and Access in Arts Education |
| Established: | 1958 |
| Location: | Kensington, New South Wales,  Australia |
| Website: | www.nida.edu.au |
The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian national training institute for students of theatre, film, and television, based in the Sydney suburb of Kensington. It is supported by the federal Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. NIDA is located adjacent to, and has a strong relationship with, the University of New South Wales. It is a member of the "Australian Roundtable for Arts Training Excellence".[1]
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[edit] History
Established in 1958, The National Institute of Dramatic Art was opened in 1959 with only 23 students and two staff members. The only course offered was in acting. Over the years, courses in areas such as film production, design, theatre director, and theatre crafts were added.
[edit] Admission
Admission into the National Institute of Dramatic Art is extremely selective, and its auditions highly competitive; on average, only one out of every hundred applicants is accepted. Each year, approximately 24 actors, 13 production students, eight designers, four properties students and four costume students are admitted. Every two years, up to three people are usually admitted to the scenic construction diploma course.
Graduates from the institution's three-year tertiary education program have gone on to national and international success.
[edit] Campus
In April 2002 the new NIDA complex was opened. NIDA's facilities include:
- A 725-seat proscenium arch style theatre with stalls, two galleries, a large stage, fly tower and orchestra pit (Parade Theatre)
- A self-contained flexible studio theatre, seating 155, with a wrap-around mezzanine and steeply raked seating (Parade Playhouse, formally the NIDA Theatre)
- Two intimate 80-120 seat spaces with flexible seating arrangement (Parade Studio and Space)
- Reg Grundy Studio for film and television training and production
- A new library to accommodate NIDA's theatre and media collection of books, videos, CDs, audio-visuals and multi-media
- New rehearsal rooms for training, outside hire, and NIDA's Corporate Performance and Open Program courses.
- A foyer space for formal occasions such as product launches, conferences, and sit-down dinners for 300 people.
- Scenery, Properties and Costume workshops for manufacturing and maintaining production elements of NIDA productions
- Lighting and Sound studios for the training of students
[edit] Courses
The National Institute of Dramatic Art provides excellence in training for entertainment professionals including; full-time courses, short courses and corporate performance coaching. The award winning theatre complex hosts in-house and commercial productions. NIDA houses Australia's largest performing arts library and a broad range of theatre resources and archives.
[edit] Full-time
Full-time courses at the National Institute of Dramatic Art include:
- Acting
- Directing
- Design
- Voice Studies
- Production
- Movement Studies
- Production Crafts – Costumes
- Scenery Construction
- Production Crafts – Properties
[edit] Short courses
The National Institute of Dramatic Art also offers a range of short courses, each relating to the dramatic arts. Such subject areas include acting, design, Production, directing and voice, all of which are offered to members of the general public.
[edit] Staff
The National Institute of Dramatic Art has many prominent industry professionals visit the institute throughout the teaching year to assist in the training of students in their selected fields. The 2007 full-time staff are:
- Director: Aubrey Mellor OAM
- Deputy Director: Peter Cooke
- General Manager: Elizabeth Butcher AM
- Head of Acting: Tony Knight
- Head of Voice Studies: Bill Pepper
- Head of Movement: Julia Cotton
- Head of Design: Peter Cooke
- Head of Directing: Egil Kipste
- Head of Production: Moira Hay
- Head of Stage Management: Sophie Clausen
- Head of Production Crafts: Nick Day
- Head of Costumes: Fiona Reilly
- Head of Properties: Krishna Thomas
- Head of Scenery: Tony Pierce
- Head of Open Program: Amanda Morris
- Head of Corporate Performance: Barbara Warren
- Head of Administration: Julia Selby
- Operations Director: Russell Mitchell
- Technical Manager: Robert Kelly
- Facilities Manager: Peter Fisher
- Venue Manager: Les Currie
[edit] Program
Each course at the National Institute of Dramatic Art is dependent on all the others. Actors, stage managers, designers, costume makers, crafts people, and people who look after the audience, are all part of an interdependent team. The creative and professional dynamics of that team is the core of good theatre. Play productions are NIDA's most important teaching activity, with around 25 plays being produced at NIDA each year.
Each course is centred on training practitioners for work in a demanding and unpredictable industry. Each day provides students with a structured series of activities, which balance the acquisition of vocational skills with artistic excellence.
All the full-time courses are conducted in two modes. The first, the Teaching Program, consists of formal class work, practical instruction, seminars and research, often supplemented by periods of secondment in the industry. As part of the teaching program, students attend formal classes, seminars and/or discussion groups each morning.
The second mode, the Production Program provides practical learning experiences. Each student is given the opportunity to practice the intellectual, imaginative and technical skills acquired in the Teaching Program, working in the performance, design, manufacture or management of productions for presentation to the general public. Production work involves afternoon, night and weekend rehearsals or performances.
The NIDA School Year consists of three terms of 11 to 16 weeks. Courses usually commence in early February and end in mid-November.
[edit] Productions
Play productions are the National Institute of Dramatic Art's most important teaching activity. Actors in particular learn by repetition, by performing a role many times in the theatre before different audiences. Once they have acquired the basic skills, students in the other courses learn by taking on the kind of responsibilities they will be faced with in the industry.
All NIDA plays are a microcosm of the industry, with every element of the production from lighting and set construction to costumes and properties being produced by the students.
[edit] Graduate careers
Graduates of the National Institute of Dramatic Art's full-time courses go on to work in a range of careers, in industries including film, theatre, television, opera, dance, animation, puppetry and events.
Career options for the NIDA graduate include:
- Actor
- Movement Coach
- Voice-over artist
- Voice Coach
- Performance Artist
- Choreographer
- Stage Manager
- Director
- Production Designer
- Scenery Maker
- Set Designer
- Special Effects Technician
- Costume Designer
- Properties Maker
- Lighting Designer
- Scenic Artist
- Sound Designer
- Costume Maker
NIDA courses are professionally effective and there is a high rate of employment of graduates in the expanding Australian and international arts entertainment industry.
[edit] Alumni
Notable graduates from the National Institute of Dramatic Art include: Robyn Nevin, Mel Gibson, Helen Morse, Pamela Stephenson, Baz Luhrmann, Judy Davis, Hugo Weaving, Philip Quast, Colin Friels, Jacqueline McKenzie, Jeremy Sims, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette, Catherine McClements, Steve Bisley, Tom Burlinson, Richard Roxburgh, Susie Porter, Simon Baker, Tom Long, Sam Worthington, Emilie de Ravin, Ian Roberts, Bridie Carter, Miranda Otto, Dennis Olsen and Timothy Conigrave
