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Matt Edgerton joins WAAPA as Course Coordinator of Acting

Monday, 29 January 2024

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  • Matt Edgerton will be the new Course Coordinator of the Acting program at WAAPA.

    Matt Edgerton will be the new Course Coordinator of the Acting program at WAAPA.

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Multi-award winning director, actor and dramaturg Matt Edgerton has been announced as the new Course Coordinator of the acclaimed Acting program at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.

WAAPA’s three-year Bachelor of Arts (Acting) course has an international reputation for excellence, built on the success of its many graduates over 40 years – alumni such as Hugh Jackman, Jai Courtney, Frances O’Connor, Ewen Leslie, Virginia Gay, Geraldine Hakewill, Dacre Montgomery, Sam Corlett and Shalom Brune-Franklin, to name just a few.

Currently based in Melbourne, Matt brings a wealth of experience from a highly successful career in the Australian arts industry to his new appointment. He has held positions as Resident Artist at Bell Shakespeare, Core Company Member at Sport For Jove, founding Associate Member of Moogahlin Performing Arts, Artistic Director of Barking Gecko Theatre Company and, most recently, Head of New Work at Melbourne Theatre Company.

Matt has directed and acted for numerous companies and festivals around Australia, his work also touring to Asia, Europe, Africa and North America. As a director and dramaturg, Matt has made a broad spectrum of work including plays from the classical canon, new writing and formally inventive devised work, his shows winning Helpmann, PAWA, Glug and AWGIE awards.

Taking up this new role is a ‘full circle’ moment for Matt, who graduated from WAAPA’s Acting course in 1999. Since then, Matt has continued to develop his skills through regular training and professional development, including with influential theatre director Anne Bogart at the internationally renowned SITI Company in New York, and as a member of the Melbourne Festival Directors Lab.

As the recipient of a Winston Churchill Memorial Fellowship, Matt travelled to Vanuatu and London to study Theatre for Development. He has used these skills in numerous Australian theatre projects promoting social development in marginalised communities.

WAAPA’s Executive Dean, Professor David Shirley, says that Matt is well placed to deliver the best possible training to the Academy’s students.

“His work and collaborations with artists across the world enable him to bring a rich, well connected and hugely empowering training to our students. All of us at WAAPA are delighted with his appointment and we look forward to working alongside him at this exciting point in our development.”

Matt says: “I loved my own time studying at WAAPA and am honored to be returning to this great engine room of creativity, to help shape the next generation of Australian actors.”

“WAAPA has a truly exceptional team of lecturers and this was a huge drawcard for me to make the move back west.
I look forward to working alongside these passionate and brilliant teaching artists in the years ahead as we evolve the training to meet the demands of our changing industry.”

Matt will take up his new role at WAAPA in March 2024.

For full bio and shows, visit the Matt Edgerton website.

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