The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) at Edith Cowan University (ECU) offers an extensive mix of performance, music, arts and cultural leadership, production and design courses in Australia.
All areas of performance courses are available, Professor David Shirley, Executive Dean of WAAPA tells ArtsHub, including costumes, dance, lighting, music theatre, production design, props and scenery, screen performance, and sound and stage management.
The Academy has overseen the careers of many alumni and is recognised nationally and internationally for the quality of its graduates. Shirley reels off a list of some of those luminaries, including “Hugh Jackman, Tim Minchin, Frances O’ Connor, Hoa Xuande, Eddie Perfect, Virginia Gay, Jessica Gethin and Dean Bryant,” who work across film and live performance as actors, directors and conductors.
Now in its 45th year, WAAPA has a particularly exciting future on the horizon, says Shirley. In 2026, ECU City will deliver Perth’s first fully comprehensive inner city university campus. Once completed, WAAPA’s six public performance venues and rehearsal spaces (a recital hall, playhouse theatre, dance theatre, jazz and contemporary music studio, flex theatre and Aboriginal theatre) will feature advanced acoustics and engineering that will replicate the environments in which graduates will perform. Conservatoire training is the preferred type of education proffered.
But what exactly does this mode of teaching involve? “It’s training that provides an immersive environment where aspiring performers can perfect their technical skills, develop their artistic expression and gain industry experience,” Shirley explains. “The combination of expert instruction, performance opportunities, collaboration and rigorous discipline makes it one of the best ways to prepare for a successful career in the performing arts.
“WAAPA is unique in that we provide this conservatoire training within a more traditional university environment. It’s bespoke training that responds to the needs of each individual student. Unlike general uni programs, it focuses heavily on performance – technical skills in whatever chosen discipline and artistic development.
“What’s more, WAAPA employs world-class educators who are themselves accomplished artists, so students can get access to those who have excelled in their field.”
But what’s all that technique and training worth if you don’t get to show off your hard work? Luckily, every year, WAAPA students, staff and guest artists collaborate to present over 300 public performances. This is “more productions and diversity than any other arts training institution in Australia,” Shirley points out. “While many take place at venues at ECU, community partnerships have allowed for an increasing number of performances in external spaces.”
Indeed, the connections WAAPA enjoys with the wider arts and entertainment industry “ensure students are more likely to find performance opportunities, internships and industry exposure during their training,” he adds. “WAAPA has always had a visiting arts program, whereby industry professionals come to work with the students. This often leads to engagements for our graduates across performance, production and design areas.”
With the revamped centre in close proximity to the arts/cultural precinct and industry partners, Shirley is sure that students will benefit from cultural cross-fertilisation inspiration.
For those interested in seeing WAAPA students at work, its Executive Dean heralds two upcoming productions: “Later this year, the graduating cohort of Music Theatre will present the world premiere of Tivoli Lovely, a brand new Australian musical written by Eddie Perfect and directed by Dean Bryant. The graduating Acting students have also been working with Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod, artistic directors of internationally acclaimed UK Theatre Company, Cheek by Jowl. They’ll be presenting a production of Antigone at the State Theatre Centre in September. Both of these projects areare being delivered in partnership with Minderoo Foundation through the Premier Visiting Artist Fund.”
For more information about pursuing a career in the performance arts, visit WAAPA.
