2011 Mike Wash Fellowship Recipients Announced

Seven Fellowships have been awarded to graduates and theatre practitioners from three major colleges – NIDA, WAAPA & the VCA.

The Mike Walsh Fellowships enable young theatre practitioners to travel overseas to further their knowledge and experience in their chosen fields of the performing arts before returning to Australia to pursue their careers

This year the fellowships have been awarded to seven graduates from three colleges – the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney, The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), and the Western Australian Academy of the Performing Arts (WAAPA).

Fellowships have been awarded to:

Naomi Edwards (VCA)

Jenny Ellis (VCA)

Shane Jones (NIDA)

Ailsa Paterson (NIDA)

Tirion Rodwell (NIDA)

Tim Walter (WAAPA)

Stephen Wheat (WAAPA).

Wheat has been nominated for a Theatre People Pro Choice Award for his choreography of the 2011 Magnormos production of Hello, Dolly!. Wheat also directed the production.

The Fellowships were first awarded solely to graduates from NIDA, but as Mike’s theatre business interests expanded, and now include Melbourne with his acquisition of Her Majesty’s Theatre, he decided to extend the eligibility of the Fellowships to graduates from the VCA and WAAPA.  The total value of the annual awards has been increased to $50,000, and including this year, over $580,000 has been awarded.

Previous Fellows include Damien Cooper, Helen Dallimore, Peter England, Justin Kurzel, Joshua Lawson, Patrick Nolan, Dan Potra, and Michael Wilkinson.

The Fellowships are administered by Terence Clarke AM, who, along with Sandra Bates AM, Co-Artistic Director of Sydney’s Ensemble Theatre, join Mike Walsh on the interviewing panel.

Keep Reading:

Mike Walsh Fellowships Expand

TP Review of Hello, Dolly!

Theatre People Pro Choice Awards