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.
Launched in 2022 the NIDA X project is a groundbreaking and forward-thinking initiative. It provides NIDA alumni with the unique opportunity to receive funding, mentorship and audience research support to create live entertainment projects that blend traditional storytelling with cutting-edge technology. It recognizes the growing importance of digital tools and technologies 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’.
Due to its remarkable success this program will be continued.