Mandurah’s successful actor mentoring program, The Actor’s Hub, has expanded from one-year to three-year courses, with the aim of seeing more local stars hitting the big time.
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In four years, The Actor's Hub has become a success story, with several students from its training program accepted into the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and the WA Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA).
Through The Actor’s Hub’s Gap program, more than 10 students have gone on to study at WAAPA, three at NIDA, one at the Victorian Culture of the Arts and one at New York’s famed Stella Adler School.
The Actor’s Hub is the brainchild of Amanda Crewes, who developed the intensive Gap course to help people get into acting schools by offering performance opportunities, vocal and physical training, career support and education on handling professional acting careers.
“We also provide opportunities to work with and build networks with industry professionals and leading practitioners,” she said.
“By our second year, 77 per cent of our students had worked professionally in the industry.
“Before they audition, we like all our applicants to have a free ‘next level breakthrough session’ so they can get crystal-clear on their vision for their ideal acting career and uncover obstacles that may be sabotaging their success.
“They will walk away with a three-step action plan with renewed energy and motivation.”
Ms Crewes said the expansion of the trianing program was a response to the rising quality and quantity of actors in Mandurah and the Peel region.
“The calibre of instructors coming on board from all around the world, as well as our local Australian talent pool, has also grown,” she said.
“We take our investment in our actors seriously – when they sign up with us we make a commitment to supporting them throughout their career.
“We challenge them to go beyond what they thought they were capable of, through the systems we have created for them, based on our experiences of navigating the pathway into and through the industry.”
NIDA student Danen Engelenberg, a former Actors’ Hub student, said The Gap program gave him the tools to analyse himself and why he wanted to act.
“The Gap showed me what the industry is like, as well as identifying what my relationships were like and how to improve them,” he said.
“I'm much more confident and sure of what I want in life – I know my relationships better and I’m more comfortable and honest around others.
“The Actors’ Hub helped me to discover and get closer to myself, making me aware of things in my life earlier than I might have in the real world.”
WAAPA student Angela Mahlatjie also previously completed The Gap course.
“Before, I was too scared to let myself actually feel vulnerable without feeling weak,” she said.
“Allowing myself to feel that opened up a whole bunch of doors and I now think vulnerability is a gift.
“I am much more confident in my ability as an actor and as a person, realising there is nothing I can't achieve – it all depends on actually making the the decision to achieve.
“I would be so lost without my creative sidekick and The Actors’ Hub made me aware of how important it is as part of the acting process.”
To audition for The Actor’s Hub and The Gap program and to find out more, go to actorshubperth.com.au/bridging-the-gap. The course is open to everyone aged 17 to 35.
The Actors’ Hub is located at the Subiaco Arts Centre, 180 Hamersley Road, Subiaco.
