The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, aka WAAPA, is renowned across the globe for producing world-class talent, and this weekend you can take a peek behind the scenes of the ECU institution.
The opening day event at the university's Mount Lawley campus will happen this Sunday, August 11, from 10am until 3pm, showcasing its numerous performance and music courses and state-of-the-art facilities for prospective students.
While visitors will be able to sit in on classes for acting, dance, performing arts and musical theatre and watch open rehearsals of the upcoming WAAPA productions, Marketing Manager Anton Mazandarani shared some advice with those heading down.
“I always tell potential students to not just speak to the lecturers but to go and talk to the students – because they’re here now and they’re going to tell you exactly how it is,” Mazandarani told Arts Hub.
“We’re pretty unique as far as I can gather over here in WA that we have somewhere between 300 and 500 of our current students heavily involved in the Open Day. And we’re so confident with what we are going to provide for you as a future student that we’re going to let you walk around and meet and talk directly to the student body. Because what we always get back from all of our survey results and anecdotally, is ‘My three or four years at WAAPA were the best years of my life.’"
There’ll also be plenty on offer for those wanting to work behind-the-scenes in the industry, with Mazandarani adding: “All the production design areas – costume design, lighting, props and scenery, sound and stage management – those studio spaces are open and will be hosting really beautiful exhibits, such as the costumes the students created for our recent musical production, Strictly Ballroom.”
Head to the WAAPA website for more details.
