NIDA Class of 2003 20 Year Reunion
At the end of December, the NIDA Acting class of 2003 held a 20-year reunion, with alumni flying in from across the globe to attend a weekend celebration in picturesque Patonga on the Central Coast. The cohort is still very close, bonded by the formative experiences as young hopefuls during their time at NIDA. Patonga was a haven for them during that time, slipping away for weekends to recharge. So, it’s only fitting that they returned to party, share industry stories, and toast their hard-won and sweet success over their 20-year careers.
The journey for many of the cohort may have been long, but their tenacity has brought success that is even sweeter when you can savour it later in life with many achieving their big career breaks in 2023 and with more success to come in 2024.
AACTA winner, Kate Box achieved global acclaim as detective, Dulcie Collins in Amazon Prime’s crime mystery, Deadloch alongside fellow alumna, Holly Austin as prime suspect Skye O’Dwyer.
Former rugby league player, Ian Roberts is set to star in his biggest acting role in 20 years in the feature Mad Max: Furiosa alongside Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth. 'My advice would be to have patience, always be your true self, trust in your own choices and know you are unique. No one does you better than you.'
Adriano Cappelletta is the creator, writer and executive producer of ABC’s musical drama series In Our Blood, nominated for 2023 Logie Awards and 2024 AACTA Awards. He will next appear alongside Sam Neil and Annette Bening in Apples Never Fall and The Twelve S2.
Adriano said: 'NIDA taught me that a creative life is possible but it requires rigor, discipline, patience and preparation - and I think that's good advice for anyone wanting to have longevity in the industry. I was blessed to have the support and kindness of my NIDA year group and they have become collaborators in life and art. We are so close 20 years later because we see the beauty in each other, and we share an optimism and curiosity for life. When we are together it feels life magic - there's a joyful thread binding us that has become stronger through time. We celebrate one another and are each other's greatest champions. That is the secret to long lasting friendship.'
NIDA Class of 2003 20 Year reunion. Photo by Kitti Gould
Los Angeles based Trilby Glover scored roles in The New Normal, Glee and Scream Queens and in 2023 appeared in Netflix’s Dahmer Monster – The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
Trilby said: 'The depth of creativity I witnessed from people in my year, blew me away. The kindness, the imagination and the types of artistic exercises that we got to take part in which revealed people’s innate abilities was so bonding as we got glimpses of each other’s souls. Also, some of these people are just very, very funny. What’s not to like? It was also a pretty stressful period at times. We really went through something together and our year was known for being affable and sweet and kind and really supportive of each other which is why this reunion is happening at all. People were always creating which is why I love writing too and so many others from my year remain creative, writing books, teaching, running theatre companies and creating screen projects. We had some wonderful teachers.'
Acting coach, Les Chantery has helped hundreds of actors book major Hollywood roles and recently published Life in a Mid-Shot, a must have bible on the art of auditioning, which has topped the Amazon best seller list around the world. Rowan Schlosberg recently appeared in his breakout role as Connor in Netflix’s Sci-fi series Lost in Space.
Dinner was catered by Rigatoni For Toni, Wine by P&V Liquor Merchants, Cocktails by Curatiff and the event by We Are Neighbourgood.
