First and second year

In your first year, undertake core subjects in: Body and Voice, Acting and Performance, and Contextual Studies along with Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) students.

In second year, adapt stage and screen material, and become familiar with the processes of: development, generation, rehearsal, performance, and evaluation. Develop a new work for presentation at a nationally recognised fringe festival.

Third year

In third year, you will continue your core training as well as travel overseas as part of the program to immerse yourself in the theatre and art of another place and culture. In  the final semester, you will develop your own works and present these to professional producers and industry figures at a locally hosted Performing Arts Market, alongside graduate students in Writing and Directing for Performance.

self-marketing

Along with BFA (Acting) students, you will learn how to develop promotional and technical materials to support your careers as performers, theatre makers and ensemble members in both mainstream and independent theatre.

Subjects in focus

Body and Voice 1

Develop a functional, efficient and flexible voice and body by addressing idiosyncratic habits that affect the moving and speaking performer. You are trained to possess physical awareness of breath in the body, muscularity, resonance, active listening and kinaesthetic awareness. You will experiment with physical improvisation, dynamic imagery, mask work, and rhythmical play to activate sensory perception. This unit is co-delivered with Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) students.

Theatre Lab 1

Develop your knowledge of  devising, staging, dramaturgy and performance making processes via scene work and contemporary rehearsal techniques. Working within an ensemble, you will explore historical, emerging, collaborative and mediated theatrical paradigms through practical exploration of extant texts in a variety of studio contexts.

Theatre Lab 2

Working within an ensemble, you will explore working processes and be involved in the development, rehearsal, performance and evaluation of new material. You will generate the first phase of a new work to be presented in a national festival context, and continue to develop your own performance making methodologies.

Theatre Lab 3

Develop and extend your performance, collaborative and devising skills. Engage with professional theatre artists and companies through development residencies and mentorships. You will travel overseas to immerse yourself in the theatre and art of another culture and begin developing your own new works in this new context. You will refine your own performance and performance-making methodologies via ongoing classes, intense exercises, generative projects and performances.

Theatre Lab 4

You will adapt and reframe the skills you've acquired in a capstone project as part of a VCA Theatre Festival,  refining your capacity to excel in production processes via the development, rehearsal, performance and evaluation of executed material presented to industry in a festival format.

Industry Prac 1

This subject introduces students to the necessity of self-promotion and industry awareness. You will conduct surveys of current practices and processes and develop an awareness of the multifaceted nature of the industry in the Asia-Pacific region.

Industry Prac 2

This subject extends students' awareness of, and readiness for, graduation as professional, industry-ready performers and theatre makers. You will develop your own professional development plan as well as individual and ensemble promotional materials, and  engage with industry professionals and networks.