Mike Walsh Fellowships go to eight graduates

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, a shortlist of 13 theatre practitioners was interviewed by Sandra Bates AM, Terence Clarke AM, Martin Gordon and Mark Rowe, under the Chairmanship of Mike Walsh OBE. 

It was recently announced that the fellowships have been awarded to eight graduates hailing from 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).

Major Fellowships were awarded to Michelle Davidson (acting, WAAPA), Sarah Giles (directing, NIDA) and Kip Williams (directing, NIDA). Minor Fellowships were awarded to Ben Gerrard (acting, NIDA), Douglas Hansell (acting, WAAPA), Sheridan Harbridge (acting, NIDA) and Dominic Seeber (set construction, WAAPA). Then Nikki Shiels (acting, VCA) received a grant.

The Fellowships were first awarded to graduates from NIDA only, but as Mike’s theatre business interests expanded, and now include Melbourne with his acquisition of Her Majesty’s Theatre, he decided in 2011 to extend the eligibility of the Fellowships to graduates from the VCA and WAAPA. The total value of the annual awards was increased to $50,000, and including this year, over $630,000 has been awarded.

Previous Fellows include Damien Cooper, Helen Dallimore, Peter England, Justin Kurzel, Joshua Lawson, Patrick Nolan, Dan Potra and Michael Wilkinson. For more information, visit www.mikewalsh.com.au/fellowships.

Photo: Chairman Mike Walsh OBE. Photo courtesy of The Mike Walsh Fellowships.