wappa

Laura,

I think Marcus was trying to make the point that a lot of people assume that WAAPA is the natural course/path to take after leaving school. With the media attention that WAAPA/NIDA gets when a new Hugh Jackman/Mel Gibson movie comes out - its not surprising.

I don't think your first post implied anything about the expectations of workload at WAAPA either. I think Marcus was making a general assumption about many people who didn't know much about the drama schools...

...I remember doing a PAC screenworkshop and we had this NIDA graduate come in and talk to us about going to Drama schools and the professional benefits she got out of it. The person next to me put his hand up and said that he heard that NIDA requires you to do a Shakespeare and Contemporary monologue - he then went on to ask whether it was ok to do just a Contemporary monologue because he didn't like shakespeare and he only wanted to be on tv.

I nearly fell off my seat.

And yes - once in a while, someone straight from high school (i.e 17yrs old) gets into the course. You'll find however, that they are the only one that young in the class for that year. These classes generally consist of people in their 20s....usually.

The fact simply is, they want you to go out and travel and enjoy life and get some experience as an adult.

Also, I'm sure there are enough decent actors in Perth to fill up the WAAPA/NIDA classes each year. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised that there would be multiple classes of great actors....BUT there are a number of other factors to take into consideration:

1) There can only be about 18-20 (i think) in each class

2) People are not only chosen by their abilities but also by their compatiblities and strengths/weaknesses with the rest of the other members in the class. Its kinda like the Big Brother selections - they choose the right mix of people who will make the whole group work.

3) I'm making a big assumption here but assuming that WAAPA/NIDA are national institutions...they would be inclined to make sure that each state is represented - so if you think about it...theres really only about 3-5 Perth people who get into each class each year.

The internet is a very ambiguious medium at times and I think people can be misinterpreted very easily. Sometimes when you u send a very concise message - it gives the impression of tunnel vision. With the continuous postings about WAAPA and school-leavers, u'd think thats all they think about it..."I'll leave school and then I'll go to WAAPA" - i'm sure thats not the case. You guys probably all know that there are many other avenues to get into professional theatre. I myself have managed to avoid the drama schools and I've done fairly well for myself with credits in professional theatre/film and short films.

In any case, I'm ranting so....

Hope that helps clears things.

Crispy.