Griffith Uni’s musical theatre course puts students on the stage
Griffith University’s music theatre course has achieved an Australian first, training students full-time in a performing arts centre.
Griffith University’s music conservatorium has achieved an Australian first – an agreement for its musical theatre program to be housed in a professional theatre centre.
Starting next year, the university’s highly sought after musical theatre degree will be taught at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre at South Bank, in central Brisbane.
Paul Sabey, head of performing arts at Griffith’s Queensland Conservatorium, said the new partnership was exciting for students.
“For students to be based within QPAC will not only give them first-class facilities, but give them the opportunity to engage with people in the industry and talk to them about how the industry works,” Professor Sabey said.
“It will give them the opportunity to immerse themselves into life in a theatre, and also provides the opportunity for master classes.”
Professor Sabey said students in the course would not only be mixing with performing artists, but also with people in the many other roles of a working theatre – technicians, designers and costume people.
Griffith University vice-chancellor Carolyn Evans said the partnership with QPAC would create “an absolute powerhouse”.
She likened it to the relationship between New York’s Juilliard School – renowned as a performing arts conservatory – and the Lincoln Centre, where it is located and where its students learn.
“I’ve talked about the Juilliard-Lincoln Centre relationship. We won’t be there next year, but we will be in 10 years, in 20 years,” Professor Evans said.
Charlotte Page, a second-year student in Griffith’s musical theatre degree, said having their course based at QPAC “could open a lot of doors” for her and her fellow students.
“Networking is such a vital part of what we do,” Ms Page said.
“There’s no other musical theatre degree in Australia that works alongside an institution like QPAC.”
QPAC chief executive John Kotzas said there would be a two-way benefit for professional performers and students, which arose from “rubbing shoulders in the green room”.
“It gives us the benefit of bringing young ideas into the building,” he said.
Mr Kotzas said students would be using rehearsal rooms and studios that were currently under-utilised.
“The public gets the best value out of these facilities when they are used and used well,” he said.
Griffith’s musical theatre program attracts about 450 applicants each year, but has an annual intake of only 20.
Professor Evans said the program had produced numerous acclaimed artists, some of them currently starring as leads in high-profile and popular musicals.
“Since the bachelor of musical theatre was introduced in 2011, we’ve had students starring in Frozen, Six, Come From Away, Hairspray, Jagged Little Pill and The Phantom of the Opera, with Griffith alumna Shubshri Kandiah currently in the lead role of Cinderella,” she said.
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