The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, it offers bachelor's, master's and vocational degrees in subjects including acting, writing, directing, scenic construction, technical theatre, voice, costume, props, production design and cultural leadership. In 2024, NIDA was named as #13 in the "World's 25 Best Drama Schools" by The Hollywood Reporter. NIDA's main campus is based in the Sydney suburb of Kensington, located adjacent to the University of New South Wales (UNSW), and is made up of a range of rehearsal and performance venues. Its performance venues include the Parade Theatre (also the name of an earlier venue in NIDA's history); the Space; the Studio Theatre; and the Playhouse, while the Rodney Seaborn Library forms part of its library and the Reg Grundy Studio is a training and production facility for film and television. Many of Australia's leading actors and directors trained at NIDA, including Cate Blanchett, Sarah Snook, Mel Gibson, Judy Davis and Baz Luhrmann.

History

NIDA was founded in 1958 as the first professional theatre training school in Australia. The idea of a national theatre training school was initiated by the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust (AETT) in 1954. With the support of the Vice-Chancellor (later Sir) Philip Baxter, NIDA was established in the grounds of the University of New South Wales. Robert Quentin, later Professor of Drama at UNSW, was appointed the inaugural Director. Teaching began in 1959 and in 1960, the first 23 students graduated with a Diploma in Acting. After 1961 it offered both acting and production streams, and in the early 1970s design, technical production and directing streams were introduced. NIDA ran the Old Tote Theatre Company until 1969, whose productions were initially funded by the AETT and subsequently by the Australia Council for the Arts and the New South Wales Government. In 1967 the Old Tote moved its administration to separate premises, to a building which still exists on the UNSW campus, then known as the Parade Theatre, and on 7 May 1969 gave its first performance at that venue, a production of Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. The present campus was first opened in 1987. In 1991 NIDA expanded into the study of theatrical crafts – costume, properties, scenery and staging – and over the 2000s developed post-graduate courses in voice, movement studies, production management and playwriting. Additional buildings opened in 2001, which were awarded the 2002 Sir John Sulman Medal for public architecture.

Governance and funding

NIDA receives funding from the Australian Government through the Department of Communications and the Arts, and is a member of the "Australian Roundtable for Arts Training Excellence" (ARTS8), an initiative between the national performing arts training organisations and the federal government that provides training for emerging artists.

Admission

Entry to NIDA's Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Fine Arts and Vocational courses is highly competitive with an admission rate of around 12% and even lower for some courses; with more than 1,500 applicants from around the country competing for an annual offering of approximately 185 places across the six undergraduate, five post-graduate and four vocational diploma disciplines. NIDA's Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting is particularly competitive, with approximately 1,000 applicants per year attempting to secure one of 24 spots in the program.

Campus

NIDA is located on Anzac Parade in the Sydney suburb of Kensington, across the road from the University of New South Wales.

Theatres

NIDA campus has six professional performance venues, in addition to studios and rehearsal rooms. The largest of these, the Parade Theatre, has three-tiered seating which accommodates up to 707 people. Other venues include the Playhouse, the Space, and the Studio Theatre.

Library and archives

The Rodney Seaborn Library, named in honour of arts philanthropist Rodney Seaborn (1912–2008), is a specialist library for NIDA students, graduates and staff and is also open to the general public by appointment. The NIDA Archives collects, organises and preserves archival records created by or relating to NIDA.

Other facilities

The NIDA campus includes rehearsal rooms, multi-media and computer-aided design (CAD) studios, a sound stage, a lighting studio, production workshops, audio-visual facilities, and the Reg Grundy Studio film and television training and production facility.

Ranking

In 2018, NIDA was ranked as the 10th best drama school in the world by The Hollywood Reporter It is consistently ranked as the top school in Australia, or in the top five, by many sources. In 2021, it was reported as the 16th best drama school in the world by the same source, making it the only Australian drama school to make the list.

Alumni

The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is Australia's leading centre for education and training in the performing arts. A complete list of NIDA alumni can be found on the NIDA website. Many of NIDA's prominent alumni were featured in a photo essay in The Sydney Morning Herald in celebration of the school's 60th anniversary in 2019. Graduates from the National Institute of Dramatic Art include:

Acting

Design

Directing

Production

Scenic construction

Writing

Awards

NIDA alumni have won close to 1,000 awards including 8 Academy Awards, 8 Golden Globes, 9 Emmys, 48 Logies, 18 BAFTAs, 5 Oliviers, 3 Tonys and more.

Learning by doing

Industry engagement and collaborative student learning are core part of NIDA courses. NIDA utilises a conservatoire model, where students learn by practical application through in-house productions and working with professional companies on short-term placements. In addition to classwork, students will work on multiple practical projects during their time at NIDA, ranging from full theatrical productions to short films. Depending on the program, students may also undertake interstate and international trips as part of the learning process.

Short courses

NIDA delivers hundreds of short courses every year across Australia and internationally through NIDA Open and NIDA Corporate.

NIDA Open

NIDA Open is Australia's largest non-profit, performing arts short course program. In 2018, more than 15,000 students attended NIDA Open courses in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, Darwin and other locations. NIDA Open offers courses for children and young people from preschool through Grade 12, as well as adult courses, in acting, comedy, costumes, props, make-up, design, directing, filmmaking, musical theatre, physical theatre and movement, presenting, technical theatre, stage management, voice and writing.

NIDA Corporate

NIDA Corporate offers training in professional communication, presentation and leadership for individuals and businesses in the public and private sectors. Tutors include voice specialists, movement and body language practitioners, film and theatre directors, actors and television presenters. In 2018, more than 9,000 participants attended NIDA Corporate training.

Controversy

In 2012, former NIDA board member and Liberal senator Chris Puplick, who had served on the board for three years, wrote an essay titled "Changing Times at NIDA" which was published in the October issue of the publication Platform Papers. In the essay, Puplick criticized the teaching standards of the school and its director and chief executive, Lynne Williams, stating that she has had no significant experience in theatre to head the school and that her style was "Thatcherite". Soon after Puplick's statements were reported, chairman of NIDA's board, Malcolm Long, and Lynne Williams replied back to the comments, with Long stating that Williams had the complete support of the board and described Puplick as "an apparently disaffected former board member." Williams had defended herself stating her management style was not "Thatcherite". Long also mentioned that amongst Williams' supporters were Cate Blanchett and Ralph Myers. Supporting Puplick were actor, director and a graduate of the school Jeremy Sims, who had launched the essay, and Kevin Jackson, who had taught acting at the school for 27 years. In June 2020, a letter from over 100 alumni, students and former staff was signed and sent to NIDA's chief executive Liz Hughes accusing the school for failing to support Indigenous, Black and other students of colors. The letter which was sent to Hughes via email accused the school of "systemic and institutionalised racism" and where students had felt that they were there simply to fulfill diversity quotas.