Ballarat on the Rise

The Arts Academy in Ballarat is beginning to have a big impact on the Australian and international scene due to the quality of the training and graduates.

Arts Academy Performing Arts Program Co-ordinator Associate Professor Kim Durban said the $30 million facility allowed aspiring performers to take the first step in their careers.

“We may be regional, but our focus is national, and we will be auditioning nationally and in NZ between September and November. Dedication to the craft without interruption is more than possible and easy access to a beautiful environment prevents insularity,” Ms Durban said.

“For younger students away from home, the Arts Academy community is supportive, so studying here is safe and manageable. The virtue of Ballarat is its history as a bustling commercial centre and its reality as a regional town, which makes living, working and studying a pleasure.”

Outstanding Performing Arts staff include Dance lecturer David Wynen, recently returned from 400 performances in Billy Elliott, Tracy Bourne, who has presented at international conferences as a expert in Music Theatre singing and is currently MD for Dust; playwright and director Ross Hall, Actor and writer Dr Angela Campbell, Music Theatre accompanist Wendy Rechenberg who works regularly with David Hobson; Alexander expert Julianne Eveleigh and well known director Kim Durban, recent recipient of an Australian Learning and Teaching Citation.

This team is regularly augmented by guest artists, most recently Terence O’Connell (Bat Boy, Cabaret, Gypsy), Brian Woolland (The Devil Is An Ass, UK), Meg Bussert (USA), Anthony Cranwell (UK), Tom Hodgson (Resident Choreographer on Billy Elliott Australia), Shaun Murphy, Susan-ann Walker, Vincent Crowley, Peter Rutherford (The Hatpin) and David Wicks.

Third Year Graduating students have performed at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre and Theatreworks, and in 2007 took their production ofThe City Wit to London.

In 2009, graduate Kim Smith won the MAC New York Cabaret award. Another graduate Cristina D’Agostino won a Green Room Award for the Best Featured Ensemble Member in Guys and Dolls.

Other high-flying graduates include Glenn Quinn and Matthew Heywood (Mamma Mia, Spamalot) Bert La Bonte, Cristina D’Agostino and Elise Brennan (Guys and Dolls), James Smith (Wicked, recently promoted from Ensemble to the lead role of Boq for the Sydney season); Jaz Flowers (Shane Warne the Musical) Casey Gould (Crazy For You), Jennifer Robinson (Respect);  Leanne Marsland and Samantha Riley (The Boyfriend); Alister Smith (Short and Sweet Dance Festival Director, Australian Opera, Damn Yankees, Sunset Boulevard and 42nd Street); Lara Thew and Liam Kilgour (Damn Yankees); Sam Ludeman (Damn Yankees, High School Musical); Bessie Holland (The Lower Depths), Jez Constable (City Homicide) Edward Howard, Sam Wright, Sebastian Bertoli and Wil Greenway (Steven Spielberg’s The Pacific) Cassie MacIvor, Eliza Brian, and Claire George (Tokyo Disney), Chris Durling (Bindi the Jungle Girl, John and Jen, Damn Yankees, High School Musical), Adam Stafford (Neighbours), Mischana Dellora-Cornish (Cats Asia tour), Graham Foote and Josh Piterman (The Ten Tenors), Libby Tanner (All Saints), Peta Brady (Mullet), Michelle Pitcher (Oliver) and Adam Lubicz (We Will Rock You).