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Aboriginal Performance

Go behind-the-scenes, plus see and hear more from our students on our ECU YouTube channel.

Notable alumni

  • Shareena Clanton (Wentworth, The Cry, Last Cab to Darwin)
  • Isaac Drandic (Resident Dramaturg, Queensland Theatre)
  • Eva Grace Mullaley (Artistic Director, Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company)
  • Shari Sebbens (Top End Wedding, The Sapphires)
  • Meyne Wyatt (Mystery Road, The Turning, The Sapphires)

The 10908NAT - Certificate IV in Aboriginal Performance course prepares Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to enter the performing arts industry as a theatre, film and television actor.

This one year, full-time course offers students intensive training in acting and improvisation, dance and stage movement, voice and singing, script analysis and the audition process. All areas are performance based, where workshops feed into rehearsals, and rehearsals feed into performance.

In addition to the highest calibre of daily tuition from WAAPA’s professionally acclaimed staff, students also benefit from access to a range of visiting guest directors, actors and industry practitioners. Aboriginal Performance boasts a dedicated, fully equipped studio space.

On completion of the course, students will have integrated dance, singing and acting into a consolidated performance skill. Graduates will also have a basic knowledge of Indigenous culture as it relates to performance.

Numerous graduates go straight into the industry, establishing solid careers as professional actors and performers. Other graduates go on to further study in higher-level acting and dance training courses at WAAPA, the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), and National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA).

View our Aboriginal Performance brochure

Courses offered in this discipline

These course pages detail entry requirements, fee and interview information. You can also apply from these pages.

Eligibility

This course is open to anyone of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent, 17 years of age and over. Nationwide applications are accepted. No acting or performance experience is required. However, the course demands 30 hours per week in practical workshop so a high level of self discipline and maturity is preferred.

Successful applicants may be eligible for Centrelink benefits such as Abstudy. Limited on-campus accommodation is available through Edith Cowan University Student Housing, Mount Lawley campus.

For further information, please contact the Course Coordinator.

More information

The Course Coordinator for Aboriginal Performance is Mr Rick Brayford.

To view all Performance staff, please visit the WAAPA Staff listing web page.

For domestic student enquiries please go to Future Students.
For international student enquiries please go to International Students.

Audition and interview information

Other courses that might interest you

To find out more about WAAPA courses, please visit the WAAPA Study areas web page.

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