There is also the Arts Academy in Ballarat BA of Music Theatre.

My friend saw the first years perform last week and said they were brilliant. They had to write their own musical and perform it. They did everything from scratch. The lyrics, the musical score, the dialog, the choreography, the humour lol, the costumes, the set. She raved about it.

Apparently the first years have been invited to perform at Federation Square and are appearing in a musical next year. Its the first time its been done.

Suppose thats a good thing about Ballarat, you have agents hovering around all the time cos Melbourne isnt too far away.

Some of the 3rd years have parts in musicals already

Hi,

NIDA has a year long course in music theatre called Singer Dancer Actor which is held in Sydney. At the end of the course graduates perform a showcase production for agents and music theatre producers. Graduates have played starring roles in many major musicals in Australia and overseas including Priscilla, Titanic, Les Miserables and Fiddler on the Roof.

For more details visit the website www.nida.edu.au or email open@nida.edu.au. Applications for this year's auditions close on 14 November.

NIDA is a great course but really expensive. Check out the ones you have to pay from your own pocket and the ones the govt subsidises. WAAPA and BAPA are full time and subsidised Depends what you want.

Didnt someone say in another thread that music theatre course is under a different category at the con

I have just completed first year at the Ballarat Arts Academy, and I absolutely loved it. I was in the performances that Janine was talking about.The support that was given by my teachers and fellow peers blew me away. Something that seems to be quite unheard of in a performing arts training institution. Such a warm and welcoming atmosphere! The teachers are fantastic and we have had many great guest lecturers visit us. Another highlight was working with Mark Seymour on the "Dust" project, that Janine also mentioned.
The standard of the graduates from last year and this year is outstanding. People are too quick to judge the course as it is still very young. But it wont be long until everytime you see a professional show that Ballarat Arts Academy will be filling up the pages of the program.

A few people have now posted some interesting info about the different performing arts schools around Australia - although very little about the two that you asked about...

As stated by many people, the WAAPA course is subsidised by the government the same way most university courses are. I'm not sure about the con's course - I would suggest you investigate that.

Experience tells me that it doesn't really matter which school you go to - educators will need fantastic credentials to get a teaching position there, so your instructors will be great. Course material will vary from institution to institution, the best way to find out what the coursework at each one is would be to contact them directly.

I've been to WAAPA myself and I had a ball there and learnt heaps (although it was many years ago and in the end chose to withdraw because it wasn't what I really wanted so I don't feel I am the right person to tell you about their course), but I also know that people who have studied at NIDA, VCA and the Arts Academy (formerly BAPA) learnt just as much.

I think the most important thing for you to think about is what you WANT to do?? Where are you located? Moving interstate for school can be really hard, especially because you leave all of your support networks behind. You'll make more, but those first few months can be REALLY lonely. However, you also get to see a whole new place and meet a new set of people who will open you up to new perspectives on things.

By all means, gather as much info about the different courses that you can, but your final decision should be based on what YOU want to do. Keep that in mind while you're thinking about all of this

Keep it real
Darren