Theatre/Drama University Degree Programs in WA – My review

Hi! Are you interested in studying theatre and drama after high school? Maybe in doing a BA (Bachelor of Arts) with a theatre/drama major? Trying to decide which course is best for you, or want to know what’s out there?

Please read my review, and add your own comments and share your opinions too. I wish someone had laid out the best and worst parts of the courses for me at the crucial point of decision in year 12. I only hope that I help you in some way by making this post.

I’m Amy Murray, I’m a young/”emerging” actor/artist in Perth. I’m currently partway through a BA in Theatre and Drama at Murdoch University, but I have had experiences with a couple of other programs. Below I post my opinion on the best and worst parts of the tertiary theatre programs I’ve had experience with – it’s up to you to decide which course you think would work best with you. Every course is very different. Take the time to read this, please – make my efforts seem worthwhile! I hope I can help someone make the difficult choice with my reviews. Everything you read here is my own opinion and you may have an entirely different one, and that’s okay too! I’ve tried to be blunt and very honest here with everything I’ve written. Okay, here goes!

Curtin University – Bentley campus

BA – Performance Studies degree program (Communication and Cultural Studies), 3 years full time.

I initially enrolled in this degree straight after high school (2010), with a double degree of Journalism. I left for Murdoch in 2011.

The good:

• - Curtin University, in my experience, has the best campus. I find that I made a lot more friends at Curtin, for some reason this Uni seems to attract the most social crowd.

• - The teaching staff. Mike McCall is a great contact to have, and many local theatregoers will come along to Hayman performances and post reviews (check out Gordon The Optom on here – a fan of Curtin theatre). Acting and working in theatre is all about making connections. Curtin has all the right ones.

• - The stage combat/Shakespeare unit. Hopefully, this unit will make Shakespeare seem less daunting/boring. It did for me. It’s a first year unit too.

• - The Hayman theatre crew, which you will become a part of as a performance student. A very tight-knit group of like-minded people almost like an exclusive club. It’s this friendship that I miss the most about Curtin. I’ve never managed to find as close a group of friends as those I had in my performance studies year. Over the years, as your perform with your peers in the same group as you, you’ll manage to strike up friendships that will last a long time. I remember being told “Uni years are the best of your life”. It felt like that at Curtin. The whole university experience for me was the best in my year at Curtin. I moved, but more on that later.

• - Curtin has an amazing Tav. The best of all the Uni’s in my opinion! They sure know how to throw parties.

• - The Hayman theatre shows. Students get the opportunity to direct one of their own if they want to. Some of these shows are of an incredible quality. You will also have the opportunity to audition for major shows with noteworthy directors - a really good way to start networking with the theatre community of Perth.

• - The ‘DIY’ Hayman attitude. The Uni works in a way that you kind of have to learn yourself how to rig lights, plan a soundscape for your show, etc… Hayman crew will help you with this, and everyone helps each other out. You will learn all aspects of theatre here if you put in the effort. You can stage manage a show, be the tech guy for a show, direct a show, act in shows of course…

• - The support system at Curtin is fantastic. I don’t mean the academic support, or the support if you wish to add/chance majors (from my experience, these aspects needed a little work… Curtin is a big Uni remember, so the staff have a lot more commitments)… Anyway back on to topic. If you ever need to see a counsellor for whatever reason, don’t be afraid to. Curtin has a wonderful service for free here. I recommend it to anyone who’s feeling out of sorts, or anyone who needs to work through a bad experience. Actors needs to make sure they have a healthy headspace. It’s too easy to throw yourself into the negativity of the industry (and of some characters too I suppose, famous case here being Heath Ledger).

• - The Guild/the Guild days. FREE STUFF! YAY!

The bad (aka why I decided to transfer):

• - The Hayman theatre is tiny. I was so disappointed. I’m paying a lot of money to be at Uni, and the theatre was smaller than my high school one. Curtin cut it down to make office space. Curtin doesn’t seem to put a huge amount of money into their performance course, unfortunately. The small theatre can have its advantages; it’s similar in size to The Blue Room’s Studio space (check out The Blue Room and go and see some independent theatre for research, budding students!) The space can feel really intimate. I just hoped for a big venue, as I wanted my tertiary education to be the most intensive and professional in every way.

• - The first year ‘humanities’/foundation units. There are many of these. I see the point of them, however there’s just too many. To be completely honest, a few felt like ‘wank’, as if I was wasting my time (and money). I loved Engaging in Media. Some of the other humanities units include Making Meanings, Narrating Selves, and Engaging In The Humanities… These units WILL teach you how to write a good essay, which is an essential skill for the tertiary theatre student. However, as you’re studying a BA, chances are your first year will only have 2 intensive performance units. The other 6 will be foundation units like these, unless you’re taking up a second major. This can be very disheartening. Stick it out. I hear 2nd and 3rd year performance units at Curtin are worth the wait. I never got to find this out, as I was too disheartened and transferred.

• - OASIS (the online system for registering for classes and units for Curtin Uni). Full of many delays, issues and frustrations. Infamous. The Curtin website also has its problems. For me, finding the damned TISC code for the double degree I wanted to do was hell. There are a million different pages of courses, and only a few have the crucial details you need. A little more organisation would be great.

• - One of the aspects of this course that I found most disappointing was that Hayman shows are separate to the degree. This means that you audition, rehearse and act in a theatre performance all in your own time. The actual degree units are training and theory, not full-scale productions. I wanted a course that would give me production experience as part of my degree… I figured that if I was paying for a theatre course, I wanted real theatre experience included.

Remember I was only at Curtin for a year. If I could turn back time, I never would have transferred. I miss the friendships there and the Hayman shows are ONLY available for audition to Curtin performance studies students. My high school drama teacher studied there and recommended it, which was why it was my first preference TISC choice. Hayman has a good reputation in the industry. Many Performance Studies graduated go on to gain places in WAAPA and NIDA.

More info: http://courses.curtin.edu.au/course_overview/undergraduate/performance http://haymantheatre.curtin.edu.au/courses/

Murdoch University – South Street campus

BA – Theatre and Drama program, 3 years full time.

I’m partway through my BA Theatre/Drama right now. Transferring did add on an extra semester, however if I did a bit more research on the units, I may have been able to push for further advanced standing (to make it so that my transfer didn’t add any extra time).

The good (aka why I transferred, points I like about my Uni/degree and things the teaching staff told me that influenced me to swap):

• - Contemporary Theatre Practice unit. Graduates told me not to miss this one. You will learn how to write up grant applications and submit formal pitches, which all sounds very strange right now. Basically, if you wish to produce your own show in the future for profit, this is the unit to take to learn how to realistically do so. You are also able to get some real life experience in the Perth theatre industry with a Blue Room theatre mentorship.
  
  
• - Children’s Theatre unit. There is the opportunity to teach theatre to children in Malaysia for 2 weeks with this unit. This unit is a lot of fun – I’ve been told that many theatre students repeat it 2 or 3 times, as they loved it so much. Within this unit, you will perform 2 children’s theatre shows. You have the opportunity to help devise if you so wish, and rehearsal time is included in class time – although be prepared to give up some of your spare time too. Get used to it! This is what productions are like anyway. Super busy. I also heard from David Moody that some 3rd years were given the chance to work as professional actors in Chile for 3 months. Travel opportunities at Murdoch ate plentiful. I was accepted in a Study Tour of Japan with very little knowledge of the language, because I submitted a great application! (I unfortunately wasn’t able to make it in the end, but there are Japanese language units if you wanted to do something similar).
  
  
• - The Acting and Production units teach you (compulsory!) how to rig and operate lights and sound for theatre, as well as how to audition for shows. An essential skill for any serious theatre actor, as well as those who want to go on to be a theatre technician. It’s important that you learn ALL aspects of your craft. I know, most of you just want to act. But knowing the tech side of things WILL come in handy. Especially in a small community like Perth, where many theatre shows travel in small groups and everyone is expected to help out.
  
  
• - The NEXUS theatre is amazing. One of the reasons I decided to transfer. Go and visit it and see for yourself. It’s clear that Murdoch have put a bit of money behind this theatre. It has all of the latest equipment, and is a nice big venue that companies can even hire out. If you wanted to direct your own show, like Hayman people do at Curtin, you can do so here. It is a bit less ordinary for student to do that at Murdoch though, unfortunately from my experience so far. - The campus at Murdoch is also wonderful.
  
  
• - One of the major drawcards for me was the flexibility. Murdoch is well known for its flexible nature, meaning that you can pretty much study whatever you want. For example, it’s possible to study theatre and psychology as double majors, even with a minor in organic chemistry – a combination that was not possible when I was at Curtin. (I was always interested in psychology…) The wonderful thing is that you can pick up a minor or second major easily, and drop it if so desired just as easily. Go online and look at their “A to Z list of minors” to see what’s available. A minor or second major is a good idea, as a single major BA is not as much work as it sounds. BA’s actually have a bit of a bad reputation – “Bachelor of Attendance” (I have heard the nickname!) So if you wanted to study your passion for theatre, but also have a backup option, such as a science major, Murdoch makes this a lot easier than any of the other Uni’s (in my opinion).
  
  
• - The teaching staff are wonderful at Murdoch as well. They also have great connections, and although this course doesn’t have as much of a famous reputation as Curtin’s, I think it does have it’s own merit to be considered. The staff have been very supportive and understanding of any personal circumstances, and lenient towards assignment deadlines (which is both a good and bad thing I suppose).
  
  
• - As previously stated, you can direct your own show here too if you so wish. It’s a lot more common for this to happen at Curtin though, and there are a myriad of more choice to audition for with Curtin’s student shows. That being said, do check out the Murdoch Theatre Company if you’re interested, who produce shows outside of the degree (Hayman-style!) for you to audition for.
  
  
• - The film (Screen Production) school here is quite impressive too. Same situation as performance – it isn’t as well known/revered as Curtin’s, but nevertheless impressive. Facilities here are great. One thing I do love about Murdoch are the fantastic facilities.
  
  
• - The Writing For The Stage and Writing For The Screen units – for any budding playwrights and film scriptwriters.
  
  
• - Ideas In Action. It may at first seem like first year ‘wank’ unit, as previously discussed, however I found it to be academically stimulated and it really made me think. A worthwhile unit.

The bad:

• - There isn’t as much as a tight-knit friendship group here. This may just be me, but I think that the Hayman has a way of bonding people. This is one of the things I miss the most about Curtin. The social atmosphere, never feeling lonely. (Sounds very depressive!)
  
  
• - The campus. It doesn’t look as pretty as Curtin’s, and it seems as if there’s always construction going on. The walk from the bus station into Bush Court is not the best, but then again, Curtin’s bus station is a little while away from their main strip too. But regardless of this, Murdoch’s building are drab and dreary and a lot older. That isn’t to say that their facilities are inferior, as I’ve already explained, the theatre facilities at Murdoch are amazing.
  
  
• - The unit’s aren’t as “training” based as I’d have hoped. I think that Curtin’s 2nd and 3rd year units, from what I’ve heard, are based on acting skills, such as movement and voice and training these up to make the actor better at their craft. As Murdoch has production units, a lot of these training skills are sacrificed. I’ve managed to find other ways to get these training skills (I’m still working on it, I’m in no way a well-trained actor yet) – look up NASA (Fern Nicholson’s school, which runs actor training short courses) and PAC Screen Workshops. For beginner’s/people who want to know how the industry works, take a Loren Johnson/Perth Acting Classes course. Most of these are available nights or on the weekend, so it’s possible to do this in your own time outside Uni. They WILL cost you money though, and they’re not cheap. I just would have loved it if my tertiary education included a deeper, more professional level of voice and movement acting skills, but at the moment, Murdoch doesn’t really offer this. Actually, from what I’ve heard, ECU’s courses are the best for these training elements for the actor.
  
  
• - Some of the foundation/first year units here are a bit basic, similar to the ‘wank’ that I was talking about at Curtin. BA degrees typically have a simple first year, however for the student who wants full on awesome training from their first year, this can be really disheartening. It’s great for students that missed out on TEE Drama though, as they’ll have the chance to understand things like “The Method” and Brechtian techniques, etc. Just if you’ve already covered this in high school, first year can feel very underwhelming and not very academically stimulating. Intro to Creative Arts and Intro to Drama felt like this to me.
  
  
• - The course seems really short. From the outline, I really feel the lack of ‘training’ units. Compare the course outline to Curtin’s. On Curtin’s, you will see a specific Voice unit, a specific Devised unit, etc. This layout for me would be more effective, rather than blending acting skills and tech skills in the Acting and Production units.

More info: http://www.murdoch.edu.au/Courses/Theatre-and-Drama/

Edith Cowan University – Joondalup and Mount Lawley campuses. (???)

B contemporary A - Contemporary Performance degree program (??????) (Communications and Arts faculty)

The Mount Lawley campus, notably, homes the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) – one of the most prestigious actor training academies in the nation, along with NIDA and VCA.

ECU can be a bit confusing – their website also lists WAAPA courses. WAAPA is part of ECU. Keep in mind that you will only be able to enrol in a WAAPA course upon successful audition and offer of place. WAAPA auditions’ are vigorous and the academy highly regarded – it’s not easy to get into, and many students may only gain acceptance after completion of their BA in theatre at Curtin/Murdoch/ECU. I recommend all budding actors audition for WAAPA, so they know what the experience is like, if even just for experience’s sake.

Don’t be put off by “super TAFE” comments about ECU. Although ECU has a lower TER admission score than the other two Uni’s, it is well known for being a hands-on/practical based training centre. Isn’t this exactly what a budding actor wants? Somewhere to learn practical skills, not just theory (or writing up essays on this theory). Don’t dismiss ECU right away, like I did, when I was naïve. I wish I had the chance to experience their performance courses, as I honestly think they would have given me the training skills I was hoping for as theatre Uni student.

I’m very confused about ECU right now. Back when I left school, 2009, there was a fantastic undergraduate BA/BA program offered at ECU called Contemporary Performance and Theatre Studies. I know that this course is not offered any more, as the Theatre Studies degree was based with training in WAAPA. Presumably this contrasted with or threatened the pre-existing Acting program at WAAPA. However, I can’t find an undergraduate program for Contemporary Performance at ECU any more. I was under the impression this was still available. I can’t find it on their website, does anyone know why? I only hope that ECU hasn’t ditched the course entirely.

I hope this course still exists! If I could go back in time, I wish I had put my first preference as the Contemporary Performance/Theatre Studies double major.

I’ll give info on the Contemporary Performance course as I remember it to be (this info may be outdated, if ECU has dropped the course):

• Entrance into the Contemporary Arts (contemporary performance) also requires an audition. Don’t be too mortified at the thought of this – the audition panel will be understanding of nerves and of people with little experience. Just learn your monologues well and be prepared! From my understanding, the audition for the ECU course is not as vigorous as the audition/s for the WAAPA Acting course. It may be a good idea to have completed some training short courses before considering an audition for ECU and/or WAAPA’s courses, as above.
  
  
• When I did my research on the course outline, there were a lot of practical, actor-training based units, such as specialist voice units (some offering training with different accents) and movement based units; as well as some production units.

More info: This is all I can find in terms of undergraduate links.

http://www.ecu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/10743/ECU-Audition-Contemporary-Performance.pdf

I don’t regret my time spent at Curtin, nor do I regret undertaking my current degree at Murdoch. In the end, all you’re going to get is a piece of paper with your name and “BA”. Three years of time, effort and money just for piece f paper! Essentially, this piece of paper is the same, no matter which Uni it comes from.

Other courses:

Notre Dame – I know very little about Notre Dame’s theatre course. Notre Dame is a private (ie: more expensive) and Catholic University, meaning that you will need to complete some theology units as part of your degree. Notre Dame as a beautiful campus dotted around the heart of Fremantle, and it’s worth a further look if you’re interested. Sorry I can’t be of much help here! I have a HECS debt (ie: loan) and I could never have been able to afford private University tuition, which Notre Dame offers. If you can, then definitely consider their theatre program too. Perhaps someone can add to this article with his or her experiences at Notre Dame studying Theatre?
More info here: http://www.nd.edu.au/fremantle/schools/arts_sciences/theatre_studies.shtml

University of Western Australia – Unfortunately UWA doesn’t offer a BA in Theatre Studies. They do however have a great theatre company that perform at The Dolphin Theatre in UWA, called GRADS. You may be interested in auditioning for one of their shows.

Some final words…. Thank you for reading so much :) With all of these courses, to my knowledge, is the opportunity to double up with an Education degree – if you’d like to be a drama teacher, I recommend this. Or, do what I’m doing, and complete the BA at wherever you choose, then spend a 4th year completing a ‘Dip Ed’ (Diploma in Education) specialising in theatre education/drama teaching.
Remember, what you’re looking for in terms of theatre/acting training may not be what ‘everyone’ is doing – you have to choose which course will work best for you in the end. You can always transfer – before doing so on a whim; try to talk to the head of the degree at that University. Their contact details should be on their website. You should have lots of questions. If you transfer, make sure you get advanced standing/recognition of prior learning, so you won’t have to repeat any of those crappy first year ‘humanities’ units!

Uni is FUN. Doing a BA shouldn’t be stressful.
One last bit of advice – try to go to all of your lectures and complete your readings. They will open your eyes to other aspects of the wonderful world of theatre, and knowledge is power :)

Let me know your thoughts and your own opinions by commenting.
Thank you for reading, hope this has helped weigh up the decisions!

Good luck :)