Audition Bootcamp in Adelaide

The Flinders Drama Centre in Adelaide is offering an Audition Bootcamp for the first time.

The new program designed to help high school students prepare to audition for the country’s leading acting schools, with two positions available fee-free to students facing financial hardship.

Legendary Australian actress and acting teacher Glenda Linscott will return to Flinders University next month to offer budding South Australian stars the opportunity for intensive training in auditioning, before the nation’s drama schools open applications for their 2025 intake.

Every year, high school students eager for a career in performance face the daunting prospect of preparing audition pieces for the country’s leading acting schools, including the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), the Victorian College of the Arts and South Australia’s own Flinders Drama Centre.

Hundreds of students audition nation-wide for only a handful of places in these prestigious courses. Now, South Australian students have the chance to gain an edge, with Flinders Drama Centre presenting their inaugural Audition Bootcamp during the school holidays, from July 15 to 19.

Designed to help young people thrive in the high-pressure audition environment, the Audition Bootcamp will be a fun-filled and comprehensive way to find out tips and skills to help overcome nerves, build confidence, and practice techniques to help the budding actors perform at their very best on the day.

Across 5 days, the students will receive expert guidance from Ms Linscott, who recently stepped down as Head of Acting at WAAPA, alongside Flinders Drama Centre lecturer Renato Musolino, a beloved South Australian actor seen regularly on the stages of the Adelaide Festival Centre.

Linscott, who first came to international fame as the notorious Rita “The Beater” Connors on the beloved TV drama, Prisoner, came to Flinders in 2023 to direct the anthology performance Coming of Age in the Twenty First Century. She was so impressed with the Flinders Drama Centre, that she has since joined full-time as a PhD candidate, researching the contemporary history of Australian actor training techniques.

“Over many years as a working actor and acting teacher, I have participated in hundreds of auditions, and I know how terrifying auditioning can be, but I’ve also learned how to succeed in that high-pressure situation,” says Ms Linscott.

“I’m excited to have the opportunity to help people from my home town to not only meet, but find ways to thrive in an audition, and feel an enormous sense of accomplishment!”

In 2024, Flinders Drama Centre introduced the new Bachelor of Performance degrees: Acting, Directing, and Theatre-making, with prospective students of both the Acting and Directing degrees required to participate in the acting audition.

In recognition of Flinders’ commitment to equality of access to such a unique opportunity, up to two places in the Audition Bootcamp will be available fee-free to students from families holding a 2024 School Card.

Manager of the Flinders Drama Centre Dr Christopher Hurrell says training in performance is culturally empowering and wants to ensure all students have the opportunity to benefit.

“At the Drama Centre, we take time to make the audition itself a learning experience for everyone who attends. By providing fee-free places on Glenda’ Audition Bootcamp, we hope to ensure that all students can make the most of the audition experience”.

“Flinders Drama Centre is a national centre of excellence in performance training and Glenda’s choice to continue her life-long journey of creative discovery with us is a testament to this.”

“Our new Performance degrees span acting, directing and theatre making, and have been designed in consultation with industry to retain, revive and secure Flinders’ unique research-and-professional-practice approach which has already benefited generations of South Australian artists.”

Further course information: https://www.flinders.edu.au/engage/community/short-courses/audition-bootcamp