UCOL students make it to national drama school

UCOL students make it to national drama school

Two UCOL Performing Arts students are off to Toi Whakaari: The New Zealand Drama School next year.

Jamie Smith and James Tito, who completed the UCOL Certificate in Performing Arts this year, have been accepted for the three-year acting degree at the Wellington-based national school.

Both are aged 19 and have done internships at Centrepoint as part of their UCOL training.

Toi Whakaari has trained the likes of Cliff Curtis, Dave Fane (Bro’Town and Naked Samoans),Outrageous Fortune’s Robyn Malcolm, Centrepoint Theatre director Simon Ferry and countless other stars of New Zealand film, television and theatre.

A third UCOL Palmerston North student, Emerald Naulder, has been asked to join the Toi Whakaari Junior Associates. UCOL’s Programme Leader for Performing Arts, Penni Bousfield, says this means she’ll be invited to attend workshops at the school in the coming year. “This will give Emerald excellent preparation for auditioning next year,” she says.

In all five UCOL Certificate in Performing Arts students auditioned this year – a record number for the programme. Penni Bousfield says the feedback from Toi Whakaari was that all five students did very well at the auditions.

She says often applicants don’t get into Toi Whakaari on their first attempt, as only 20 are accepted from nationwide auditions. “So this feedback is encouraging for those students who intend to audition again in the future.”

The UCOL Certificate in Performing Arts is a six-month, open-entry programme, designed to give students a taste of professional performing arts training. It’s also designed to give students the experience and skills needed to audition for diploma and degree courses elsewhere, including professional training at Toi Whakaari.

For more information and an enrolment pack for the UCOL Certificate in Performing Arts programme, contact the UCOL Information Centre on 0800 GO UCOL.

ENDS

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