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Bachelor of Dramatic Art (Acting)
Acting stream
Good my lord, will you see players well bestowed? Let them be well used, for they are the abstract and brief chronicles of the time; after your death you were better have a bad epitaph than their ill report while you live... Take them in.
- Hamlet to Polonius
A successful actor requires versatility, truthfulness, openness, vulnerability and common sense, intelligence, imagination and industry, generosity, courage, vocal and physical skills and a secure technique. These are the qualities NIDA sets out to develop.
- Tony Knight, Head of Acting, NIDA
NIDA trains exceptionally talented people for careers as performers in the entertainment industry. The school accepts up to twenty-five students into the Acting course each year. In addition to basic skills classes in Voice, Movement and Music, they are introduced to a variety of acting "methods" and encouraged to develop their own individual approach over the three years of the course.
DURATION
The Bachelor of Dramatic Art (Acting) is a three-year, full-time course.
AIM
The Acting course prepares students for a career as a professional actor by providing a practical approach to acting in theatre, film, televison and radio.
APPROACH
The course provides a practical approach to acting in theatre, film, television, and other contemporary performance contexts.
Students develop a personal work method as well as expressive communication skills throughout the course. A commitment to professional discipline and the process of individual development is encouraged through group activity and achieving personal objectives. The course is continually enriched by improvisation and spontaneous activity, by observation and awareness, by contact with all the associated arts and by exploration of the creative impulse.
Areas to be studied include Acting, Movement, Dance, Music, Voice, Performance History, Arts & Ideas and Screen Studies.
The Acting course is offered in two streams Acting and Music Theatre. Please note all applicants audition for the Acting course. For those applicants seeking addmission to the Music Theatre stream, music and dance skills will be explored during the audition recall process. Applicants are invited to apply for the Acting stream or the Music Theatre stream. If you are interested in the Music Theatre stream, you need to apply for that stream but you do not need to also apply for the Acting stream. NIDA reserves the right to offer a place within either stream as a result of the audition process. Offers are non-negotiable and it is normally not possible to transfer between streams once accepted into the course.
ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Applicants seeking admission must:
- have reached the age of 18 before the commencement of the course (in exceptional circumstances this may be waived)
- hold a Higher School Certificate or its equivalent from any State or Territory in Australia or overseas (in exceptional circumstances this may be waived)
- show at an interview a high level of intelligence, practical ability, artistic sense, authority, tact, potential and motivation
- be fluent in spoken and proficient in written English language (equivalent to an overall band score of 8.0 IELTS).
All subjects are compulsory. NIDA students are required to complete a confidential health questionnaire to demonstrate their medical fitness to undertake the course and to assist NIDA in its duty of care to students.
The primary criterion for admission to the Acting course is evidence of an applicant's talent and his/her potential for making a career as a professional actor in the arts entertainment industry.
For more information about applications click here.
FIRST YEAR
First year work deals with the technical skills of acting, voice, movement, music. All skills classes are linked with the acting classes, which emphasise open communication and the exploration of each individual’s personal resources. Students are expected to suspend previous acting habits and seek to develop a personal, organic work method. Towards the end of the year the students work on presentations in the rehearsal rooms. Acting stream students present scenes from a play while Music Theatre stream students present from a musical exercise.
First year subjects in the Acting stream are Acting 1, Voice 1, Movement 1, Music 1, Arts & Ideas and Performance History 1.
SECOND YEAR
First year work is extended and developed. Students continue to evolve individual work methods approaching character in action as they work on increasingly complex texts. Skills such as singing, dialect and various forms of dance are added to the course. Students participate in practical workshops involving works by Shakespeare, comic and musical scene work and film and television exercises. A variety of styles of productions and performances are rehearsed and performed.
Second year subjects for the Acting stream are Acting 2, Voice 2, Movement 2, Music 2 and Performance History 2.
THIRD YEAR
The third year of the course enables students to consolidate and refine individual work methods. There is a reduced timetable of formal classes, with time provided for private tutorials and greater emphasis on rehearsal and performance. There are also classes in theatre, film and television audition techniques. Students develop their own repertoire of audition scenes. Advanced film and television exercises and workshops are held at NIDA by industry professionals and visiting specialists. In addition, projects are run in association with the Australian Film, Television and Radio School.
Third year is organised to prepare students for the profession. Productions are rehearsed and presented to public audiences. Professional directors, producers and agents are invited to productions and to audition showings. They work with students whenever possible. A professional orientation program focuses on the practical realities of the entertainment industry, how to enter the profession and build and sustain a productive career.
Acting stream students perform in a graduation play.
Third year subjects for the Acting stream are Acting 3, Voice 3, Movement 3, Music 3 and Screen Studies.
Title of Qualification: Bachelor of Dramatic Art (Acting)
Head of Course: Tony Knight
Commencement Date: Monday 31 January 2011
Age: 18+
Tuition fees: Annual tuition fees must be paid on or before the course commencement date. For more information please refer to the Fees section of the website
Location of Course: NIDA
Contact Details:
215 Anzac Parade
KENSINGTON NSW 2033
Tel: +61 2 9697 7600
Email: contact form
Applications: If you are thinking about applying for entry into the Acting course, please refer to the Applications section of the website
Subject Descriptions for the Bachelor of Dramatic Art (Acting) PDF
Course Information for Bachelor of Dramatic Art (Acting) PDF
Career Snapshots of a Range of NIDA Graduates PDF
Short courses in Acting are also available through NIDA Open Program
CRICOS Provider Code: 00756M
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