Aspiring young actors from regional Australia have the chance to audition for a fully-funded scholarship to train with and learn from some of the country’s most respected actors, directors and educators at award-winning theatre company Bell Shakespeare.
The John Bell Scholarship provides up to four talented high school students from regional Australia the opportunity to travel to the national theatre company’s headquarters in Sydney in January 2021 to take part in the intensive week-long program. Over the week they’ll undertake acting masterclasses and backstage tours, observe rehearsals and watch live theatre performances.
This year all auditions will take place over Zoom. Auditions take the form of 15-minute masterclasses with a Bell Shakespeare Teaching Artist, workshopping text and receiving feedback on their performance. Bell Shakespeare’s Artistic Director Peter Evans said the program is at the heart of Bell Shakespeare’s ongoing commitment to fostering emerging talent and sharing Shakespeare as widely as possible.
“Australia is an expansive country and opportunities for young performers from regional areas are in short supply. “This is an extraordinary opportunity that can help set the stage for a career in theatre. For example, last year one of our 2018 John Bell Scholarship recipients, Kuda Mapeza, was cast in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in Melbourne; and another previous recipient is Miranda Tapsell.
“It is a privilege to give regional students this life-changing opportunity to experience immersive Shakespeare training, and to be mentored in the engine room of Australia’s national theatre company. “We thank our generous supporters, including the Coca-Cola Australia Foundation, for making this scholarship possible,” he said.
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