This post last updated 8 June 2011

EDIT: I used to host a list of links at my website for looking for Aussie work. The list had not been updated since 2006 and is likely about as useful as anything would be after five years. This list is now linked below at Theatre Australia (way at the bottom of the post). I hope it contains something useful; if not, please do your own legwork and update it yourself.

I used this list of links to scour the net for Australian theatre work for more than four years, and to produce content for my (now defunct) theatre publication. They cover a range of topics, as well as performance styles (circus, drama, improv, MT, etc.)

There's a whole bunch of links listed in the 'job hunting' category, divided by state. Those that are in the 'job hunting' category, but not divided by state, cover the whole country. There's also a small list of agents, plus a lot of unsorted links. There are also plenty of places to look for tech work, including a range of tech sites, production companies, theatre companies, and councils local to your area. There are additionally links for grants, funding, and other peak bodies, courses, etc.

I can recommend the following sites for ALL cities: Arts Hub Australia, QuietOnSet (both paid subscription, but well worth the money. You can check out some of the jobs available from the Arts Hub site in the news section on this site). These are probably the best two sites for job hunting. Arts Connect is another good one, which is more for calls for artists (ie. voluntary stuff), but it's for free.

The site mentioned as 'The Program' has been gone since early '08 The Program is a government run site, which doesn't often has auditions, but is aimed at youth, and is an excellent resource for grants, funding, and other events.

Many of the professional companies advertise roles on their own sites as well, so even though it's time consuming to go through them, you will find it's a much more affordable way of finding news of jobs than to sign up with the paid-subscription sites (not a guarantee of finding out about all of the jobs out there, but a good start).

You should also sign up with the many free online newsletters that are around, or regularly read arts/theatre/screen news sites. They are a wealth of information, and if you find out that a show is being produced, or someone's gotten a grant, you can then consider contacting the relevant people and seeing if there's any auditions or jobs going.

Local newspapers are also good, especially The Age's A2/Saturday Arts section. For the most part, jobs advertised will be for amateur groups, profit-share, or for council jobs.

For the most part, auditions aren't advertised, so your best bet is to get an agent. However, the sites listed above will help you to do your own search. The same goes with tech work, and a good way to get in the door is to do voluntary work with a local group, venue, festival, or performance. Signing up with a large crew-based production company (like Showtech in Melbourne) is a good way to start.

Please note: the links do NOT cover amateur groups, only professional companies, and ONLY for theatre. For a screen auditions site, try Screen Hub. For amateur auditions, check the auditions page on this site, or contact the companies listed here in the companies section. Some links may also be out of date.

While there is no easy way to learn what a dodgy advertisement looks like (it's mostly a gut instinct), here's some tips:

A good ad will have some verifiable information about the advertiser, the work available, and some basic details about who to contact and whether or not it is paid work.

Do your research: if you haven't heard about the person or company before, look them up. Ask around. If you feel wary about the job/advertisement/person, then DON'T apply. If it's too good to be true, it probably is, and there will always be another role just around the corner. If you are ever unsure about attending an interview, take someone else with you - and NEVER attend an interview at someone's home, unless they are already friend's of yours. Additionally, you can always call the advertiser and ask them some questions - if you feel comfortable with the answers, go ahead with an application. Interviews/auditions are a two-way street: don't forget that you have the right to say no to any job offer if you're uncomfortable.

Do a google for the text of the advertisement. Does it come up on many other sites? If not, you may want to ask yourself why.

Worst places to look

For further reading on how to judge a good website from a bad one, read this:

http://www.theatre.asn.au/book_page/audition_websites_how_to_spot_the_dodgy_ones

This is only a basic guide to finding work on the net. Any more advice can be given if requested, and feel free to add and extend to this post.

(written by Na)

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