Recommended courses that lead to work?

G'day, I'm looking at doing a course on lighting or sound and lighting, just would like to know what people think are the best places with regards to getting work at the completetion of given course. I'm in melbourne and have worked in crewing and also small karaoke events, gigs etc... However my idea of work isn't 60 people standing in the back of a truck. I'm more than ready to relocate, that's not an issue. Prefereably I would like to work rather than going to school but i'm willing to give the school thing a shot. Specially if there are work placements for the evenings. It seems from what I have read here that WAAPA might be worth a shot?! How competetive is it? But yeah ideally would like a course that has a heavy focus on work experience/placement and gaining things such as rigging licence etc... Or even traineeship/apprenticeship though i don't know how many of these exist? Also recommendations on how interstate people should apply would be helpful. Thanks in advance, Daniel

Aghh... just wrote a long post to this and it got deleted. If you're in Melbourne, you will want to consider: VCA Swinburne NMIT (both NMIT and Swin do combined acting/tech course. You do have to participate in acting classes, but come uni production time, you get to choose) Holmesglen Showtech offer certificates I believe, and you may want to check Julius Media if/when they offer courses in Melbourne. These courses would probably suit you the best, as they are certificates, and often include hands-on experience. However, all courses offer hands-on experience in some form or another. There won't be any work experience placements available - they are pretty much offered up to high school students. (You don't state what age you are, so I'm going to assume you're over 18. If not, I can offer different advice) Traineeships and mentorships do not exist (for adults, if you're under 18, go to St Martins). While yes, like actors, going to VCA improves your chances of getting work, choosing a different course will not greatly impact your chances. In fact, it probably wouldn't impact you at all. Like with acting, it's a little of what you know, a lot of who you know, combined with research, applications to advertised ads, and getting your foot in the door of local venues. However, if you don't have any training at all, you should get at least a certificate. Rigging (lights) requires some form of formal training. If you're looking for work, rather than doing a course, you should approach all the local venues in Melbourne, who are always keen to have more crew on their staff (La Mama's a perfect start). Coming in March/April, the comedy festival will start, and I can recommend approaching Trades Hall (Trafficlight runs their crew), VAC, Melb Town Hall. You should also try local council-run venues and councils themselves. You should definitely take a look at the ALIA (Australasian Lighting Industry Association) website, which lists local jobs for crew, as well as their forums, where you can introduce yourself to other crew members, production companies and venue managers. They can be found at www.alia.com.au. Frankly, unless you have a lot of experience using moving lights or worked on large shows, you will be hard pressed to get more than 'entry-level' (roadie or general crew) type roles to begin with. While there is plenty of work available for techies, the fact is that the higher roles are very much difficult to obtain, since there is a lot of competition for the limited number of these roles. As for interstate, someone else in the Theatre Aus. community would be able to help you better. Sticky Apple Legs www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs Puppets in Melbourne www.thepromptcopy.com/pip My puppets www.collectzing.com/collection/137/

Aghh... just wrote a long

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