Succession star Sarah Snook reveals gratitude for school drama teacher Nicola Triglau
Award-winning actor Sarah Snook has revealed in a heartfelt message why she is grateful to her school drama teacher.
Education
Don't miss out on the headlines from Education. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Emmy-award and Golden Globe-winning actor Sarah Snook wowed us as Shiv Roy in Succession and is currently earning rave reviews starring in The Picture of Dorian Gray in London’s West End.
That may seem like a world away from Scotch College in Adelaide, but in a heartfelt reflection, the Hollywood star expressed gratitude for the skills her school drama teacher, Nicola Triglau, passed on after Snook successfully auditioned for a scholarship at the prestigious school when she was just 11 years old.
Snook, who is still in touch with the teacher she affectionately refers to as either “Sheldy” which is a play on her maiden name Sheldon, or “Mrs Trig”, said one of her greatest memories was nabbing the lead role of Wendy in the school production of Peter Pan.
“I remember doing Peter Pan with Sheldy and I remember feeling so special to be rehearsing and performing that play in the Barr Smith (theatre),” she said.
“We were learning to be people, really learning to be human, learning to communicate. And that’s such an important part of being human. You could have the greatest ideas in the world, but if you haven’t learned how to communicate them lucidly and eloquently, the world will never benefit from them. You could love somebody so deeply and richly, have grand ideas about the adventures that you could have together, but if you haven’t learned to be yourself around them, then they might never know how wonderful you are.”
Mrs Triglau fondly recalled working with Snook, highlighting her dedication and ability to foster creativity and camaraderie among her peers. She said despite her young age, Snook showed a natural talent for acting and a strong work ethic.
“She was the kind of young person who just wanted to soak up everything you had to say and just grab every opportunity,” Mrs Triglau said. “In real life she was quite shy, but once she got on the stage, she came alive, experimenting and taking risks.
“She learned her lines really quickly. Her passion and her natural, instinctive talent just made her really easy to work with.”
As Sarah’s career progressed and she achieved success in Hollywood, Mrs Triglau watched with pride and admiration. She was thrilled to be her “plus one” for the red carpet opening of the film The Dressmaker at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Adelaide in 2015, in which Snook starred alongside Kate Winslet and Judy Davis.
“It was a beautiful night, she was right on the cusp of her career really taking off.”
Mrs Triglau said it was important young drama students in the classroom can dream big, inspired by those who have come before them.
“I just hope that her story inspires other young people,” she said. “That’s the whole reason I became a teacher.”
Meanwhile, Marnus Labuschagne was instantly transported back to his student days when he saw some familiar faces on campus at Brisbane State High School.
“It brought back a few memories and I saw a couple of my old teachers, which was out of the blue. They just do relief teaching now so that was quite cool,” he said during a recent visit to support the Australia’s Best Teachers campaign.
The Australian Test player and Brisbane Heat star said it was reassuring to know the current cohort of students he met on campus were being taught by some of his favourite teachers — Ms Moore, Ms Goodall and Mr Brett Sue See — alongside a new generation of inspiring educators.
“Ms Moore was my maths teacher, and I don’t know how much maths I actually learned because I was always up and down, but she was great. She was one of the teachers I got along with really well. She was nurturing and had a very exciting sports class. It’s been wonderful to go back and relive a few of those memories.”
Labuschagne said his focus on classes outside of sport and playing cricket was “probably not as good as it could have been”.
“But my teachers were so helpful and they got me to where I needed to be, including my Year 12 English teachers who helped scrape me through”.
Labuschagne, who graduated from high school in 2011, said he was always very respectful of his teachers and aware of the vital role they were playing in his life.
“Teaching is such an important job. And it’s such a tough job to get the balance right with building relationships and nurturing kids academically through school along with the development part.
“I definitely don’t think teachers get enough credit for the job they do.”
CELEBRITIES REVEAL THEIR FAVOURITE TEACHERS
Juliet Godwin
Actor, Ch 7 Home & Away
St Hilda’s Anglican School for Girls, WA
“My most memorable (school) experience was probably my maths class because of my beautiful maths teacher, Yvette Moran. She created a very safe and joyous space where I felt like she saw all of us for who we are. So. Mrs Moran definitely led with kindness and understanding. She used to spend hours, after school in the tutoring centre, helping us. Maths was not my strong point, but yet she found a way to make maths very understandable and easy for me. Because of Mrs Moran and the way she taught me and catered the teaching, to how my mind worked, maths, which was my weakest subject, actually ended up being one of my highest marks and in my top four TEE (Tertiary Entrance Examination) results. The message I probably have for her would be, thank you so much. You made me feel seen in high school, and I will never forget how special our classes were with you.”
Kumi Taguchi
Host of Insight on SBS on Tuesday 8:30pm, and podcast Insightful
Frensham School, NSW
“Ian Cooper, and he was one of my music teachers at high school. He taught me how to listen to music properly, how to read music, how to write music. And as I was a violinist, he often accompanied me on the piano. The most incredible thing about Ian Cooper was that he was blind, and it was just such a privilege to watch him move through this world without a lot of assistance. He didn’t use a walking cane. He basically used to walk around our huge school campus over fences, through playing fields, down little alleyways, finding exactly which building he needed to be in. Literally, by clicking his fingers he would hear the sound bouncing off walls and he would know whether he was too close to something. The person with a disability was actually the person who had the most ability, and I’ve never forgotten working with him. He was such an inspiration.”
Melissa Leong
Co-host of SBS documentary series The Hospital: In the Deep End, premiering on SBS on 6 June at 8:30pm
Inaburra School, NSW
“My favourite teacher was my year 12 business studies teacher, Miss Eastment. She spoke to us like the young adults that we were. She spoke to us of the world in real terms, and I think that really set us up for. What was to come and post that really coaxing cocoon that was high school.”
Sam Wood
Fitness advocate, entrepreneur and founder of the 28 By Sam Wood program
The Friends’ School, Tasmania
“Mr Nic (Nicholas) was a really good sounding board for just not getting too overwhelmed and giving me the message: things will work themselves out. You don’t have to know what you are going to be doing for the rest of your life in Year 10, Year 11, even Year 12. Even when you’re 25, you know it will work itself out. You’ve got plenty of options. The world is your oyster. Don’t stress yourself out and get anxious that some people may know what they think they’re going to be doing at this stage, and some don’t, and that’s okay. I was a bit lost. That was what I needed to hear at the time. I’m forever grateful for it. I think back to those calming conversations often, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”
Tippah Dwan
Queensland Firebirds netball player
Somerville House, Queensland
“The teacher that had the greatest impact on me was Miss Walker. She was just so lovely. She cared about all of her students. She was our English teacher in grade 12; she just knew what we needed when we needed it, and she was always there for us. I think she taught me how to balance, life and netball and all the things that you have to do in grade 12, which was really great. She always helped you if you needed a little bit of extra help as well, especially for the sporty girls and the girls with extra-curricular activities, which was really nice. Hopefully she be proud of me.”
Jaynie Seal
Sky News anchor
Mosman High School, NSW
“One of my standout teachers would have to be Mrs Green, our home science teacher. One my memories from Mrs Green was when we had to cook up something from a different country and I chose Switzerland and decided to cook up a cheese fondue and I thought it was a cup of Kirsch (I had to get my parents to purchase the alcohol and Mrs Green allowed that) … by the time we all ate it, we’d know it was a nip. We all put it to the side, it was a very good memory, but not a good meal. Mrs Green you are amazing.”
Matt Stanton
Author of Funny Kid series, The Odds and Fluff
Covenant Christian School, NSW
“Mrs O’Sullivan. She took me for extension creative writing when I was seven. She was also my year 12 English teacher and she encouraged my writing the whole way through to the point that I wrote a story and I lost it. And I visited my school many years later when I was promoting my books, and she had kept it. She gave it back to me. Never doubt the amazing gift that encouragement coming from a teacher can really be. It can change your life.”
Bianca Chatfield
Former Australian netballer and Fox Sports host
Flinders College, Victoria
“My PE teacher Karen Brown encouraged us to do every sport. I just loved her enthusiasm, but also just her positivity to go and have a crack at everything and anything and not necessarily always focusing on playing netball. I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I finished school, and I thought, you know, maybe I’ll be a PE teacher. And so not only myself, but my two sisters are teachers as well. Not that I do that these days, but certainly glad I did my degree and had a go at PE teaching because it really does help the athlete. Life and sport all kind of collide into one.”
Sarah Jones
Fox Sports presenter
St Joseph’s College, Echuca, Victoria
“I had great friends and really marvellous teachers, including Grant Kemp or Kempy as we called him, he was so much fun and I think admired by all the kids. We really had great affection for him. So Kempy was my PE teacher, so I suppose he helped foster a love of sport. I remember doing biomechanics in PE and him talking about Nathan Buckley and the way he kicked footy. So talking in ways that I could understand and certainly be interested in and just fostering that love of sport. My dad plays golf with Kempy occasionally and his son (Brodie Kemp) was drafted to the Carlton footy club a couple of years ago … so it’s still a really nice connection.”
Katrina Nannestad
Author of We Are Wolves, The Girl Who Brought Mischief and The Travelling Bookshop series
Peak Hill Central School, NSW
“My favourite school teacher was my year 11 and 12 English teacher Mrs Jones. She was a very quiet woman, but incredibly intelligent and passionate about her topic. She obviously loved words and reading and writing. She loved poems and plays and stories, and she loved them so much and was so good at teaching these things that I caught her passion for literature. Up until that stage, I’d been a good student, but never really that excited about English. But all of a sudden, with Janelle Jones leading the way, I was able to see what the fuss was about words and writing and telling stories.”
Gabriella Power
Sky news presenter
Avalon Public School, NSW
“My Year 6 teacher was my hero. His name was Rob Richmond. He was strict and he was known as being a bit scary among some of the students, but he was actually very fair and he wanted his students to excel. Being in his class, I remember feeling inspired and I just really wanted to do my best. I would say that he absolutely influenced my career path, because it was in Year 6 that I decided I wanted to be a news presenter, and it was at that time that I realised I loved public speaking. I loved debating, dance and drama, and Mr. Richmond would always encourage me to just keep trying in those areas. I haven’t had the opportunity to reconnect with Mr. Richmond, but I would love for that day to come. So I could say I really have the best memories of being in his class, and his encouragement to keep pursuing areas that I felt naturally drawn to has stayed with me.”
Celebrating inspirational and impactful teachers across Australia. Follow the series and nominate.
More Coverage
Originally published as Succession star Sarah Snook reveals gratitude for school drama teacher Nicola Triglau
Call to get cops involved in ‘smash or pass’ elite school TikTok scandal
Parents are demanding further action after their children were caught up in an online “smash or pass” scandal using leaked photos.
Andrew Tate’s toxic talk: How it harms girls
A rise in toxic masculinity driven by the likes of influencer Andrew Tate is making more Aussie schoolgirls feel unsafe. Watch video.