Founded in 1958 The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is Australia’s leading performing arts school and preeminent national dramatic arts educator for careers in stage, screen, events and interactive entertainment. NIDA has grown from a single acting class to providing hundreds of courses for both the professional and the passionate student. NIDA is now a locally and internationally known institution. NIDA’s goal is to empower storytellers of all ages and backgrounds by offering industry-relevant training across multiple performing arts disciplines, providing expert education for their students to develop their craft and move into successful careers.
Since its launch in 2022 the NIDA X project has established itself as a vital initiative (now part of The NIDA Future Centre) dedicated to identifying and supporting groundbreaking live entertainment projects. NIDA provides alumni with the unique opportunity to receive funding, mentorship and audience research support to explore and push the boundaries of storytelling and technology. NIDA X recognizes the growing importance of digital tools and technology in enhancing audience engagement and expanding possibilities of live entertainment.
Across 2022 and 2023, NIDA X facilitated the development of five unique storytelling projects some of which have been completed, others will be developed further in the future. Collapsible, was picked up by the Old Fitz Theatre and performed to sold out audiences in March/April 2023. It received excellent critical reviews. Dear Evelyn was performed at NIDA in June. Conscious Café had a brief showing in May, Invasion of the Body Snatchers was presented online in June, Experiments in Theatre and Cinema (ETC.) was performed at the Riverside Theatre in April.
By reuniting a diverse range of alumni, the program brought together teams composed primarily of NIDA alumni from various cohorts and years. They ‘celebrated the chance to dream, experiment, and learn from successes and failures’.
After the success of the first iteration of NIDA X, The NIDA Future Centre received an unprecedented response in applications for 2024. Three projects were selected based on the quality of the idea, the vision of the artist and their capacity to successfully realise that vision. All three projects were successful in their undertaking, from robust creative development to work-in-progress showings in the second half of 2024.
Two of the alumni now look forward to further development of their projects.
- Nadan Hill by Akos Armont and Aimee Horne (Generative Artificial Intelligence, live multi-cam setup, online streaming)
- Vital Signs by Angela Sullen, director Dino Dimitriades (live medical equipment, ghost mesh, projection, and 3D video projections)
The third winner will apply her skills learned into her next project, writing her first feature film.
- Small Blue Thing by Shakira Clanton (live aerials, 3D animation, project mapping)
We will continue our support in 2025.
We will continue our support in 2025.