The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) has announced the winner for the inaugural Jim Sharman Future Award. This AUD$50,000 award was presented to Daniel MacKenzie, for his concept The Next Stage in Character Costume Mask Technology.
The Jim Sharman Future Award was offered by the NIDA Future Centre for groundbreaking young artists aged 16-30 from Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, encouraging bold, game-changing ideas that have the potential to redefine the arts landscape.
The event was hosted by NIDA alum Ash Hodgkinson (aka TikTok’s Ash Magic, illusionist) with the winner selected from six incredible finalists who presented their ideas to the judging panel in a 5 minute ‘shark tank’ style pitch in front a live and online audience.
Award-winner Daniel MacKenzie said: “I’m very grateful and excited to receive this Award. I want to thank Jim Sharman, the judges, the NIDA Future Centre and my immensely talented fellow Award finalists. This Award will help me to focus on the design concepts that I have been thinking about for the past 5 years and I’m excited to be able to start building and creating from these designs.”
Daniel successfully pitched a development in the technology for controlling facial expressions on worn character costumes, which would allow the freeing of the costumed actor from any external control of their character’s facial expressions. The masks would read the performer’s facial expressions and directly mimic them on the character mask, regardless of the size of the mask.
The judging panel comprised of respected members of the arts and creative industries, including Sarah Christie, Head of Australian Originals at Amazon MGM Studios; Kris Nelson, Festival Director of Sydney Festival; Kyas Hepworth, Head of Screen NSW and Jason Phu, a boundary-pushing multidisciplinary artist.
The judging panel said: “It was exciting and an honour to be the final jury for the first ever Jim Sharman Future Award at NIDA. Jim and the NIDA Future Centre have created an admirable prize – backing talented artists and thinkers across Australasia whose ideas are poised to expand and shape our future. We encountered some intrepid artists. We were struck by how those in the cohort examined the potential of technology and storytelling, and who are doing so while drawing on spirituality, myth, and by merging traditional methods with the new.
“We were given criteria to work with around vision, feasibility and impact. For us, the project that spoke the most strongly to these pillars, was brought together with a clear vision and purpose. We’ve awarded the inaugural Jim Sharman prize to Daniel MacKenzie for his proposal to look at the sensory potential of mask-making – bringing an old practice into the 21st century with potential for applications in theatre, theme parks, film and tv, special effects and even cosplay or perhaps prosthetic research.
“We were very happy to award an Honorary Mention to Elham Eshraghian-Haakansson, a singular artist based in Perth who is exploring myth, empathy and connection. We think she is a leading artist, and her work will have a powerful impact on how we tell stories. Overall – what a great experience and an inspiring day to hear from so many emerging artists. Kudos to Jim Sharman for supporting this award and investing in young talent.”
The Jim Sharman Future Award is part of the NIDA Future Centre’s mission to bring emerging technologies and future thinking into storytelling. Open to visionary concepts across performance, technology, and cultural expression, the Award fosters radical thinking among the next generation of artists.
The NIDA Future Centre would like to extend their gratitude to five finalists; Ovation by Oliver English and Thomas Bizzell, Flow Through the Eternal Realm by Supawich Weesapen and Kanokwan Sutthang in Thailand, The Virtual Architecture of Empathy: Rohan by Elham Eshraghian-Haakansson, Retreat Corporate by Vishesh Kalra and Promise (Best Of) by Kalu Oji all from Australia.
About Jim Sharman
With a career spanning over 80 productions in theatre, musicals, opera, and film, Jim Sharman is one of Australia’s most influential directors. A NIDA alum, he has left an indelible mark on global culture with works like Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. He has received numerous accolades, including the JC Williamson Centenary Lifetime Achievement Award and the Sydney Theatre Awards Lifetime Achievement Award (2025), and continues to inspire emerging creatives through this impactful initiative.
About NIDA
The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is Australia’s leading dramatic arts educator and innovator. Since its founding in 1958, NIDA has delivered world-class training across stage, screen, and digital platforms. Its alumni are celebrated globally, with graduates excelling as actors, directors, designers, writers, and innovators in new media. NIDA remains committed to driving diversity and inclusion in the arts, actively encouraging applications from historically excluded communities.
*Header image: From left to right: Oliver English, Vishesh Kalra, Kyas Hepworth, Head of Screen NSW, Kris Nelson, incoming Festival Director of Sydney Festival, Daniel MacKenzie, Jim Sharman Future Award winner, Jason Phu, a boundary-pushing multidisciplinary artist, Sarah Christie, Head of Australian Originals at Amazon MGM Studios, Jim Sharman, the Award Patron and Liz Hughes, NIDA CEO.