Mike Walsh O.B.E. - Official Website

THE MIKE WALSH FELLOWSHIPS

Background In 1996 Mike established The Mike Walsh Fellowships to assist young theatre artists who have the potential to make a significant contribution to the Australian arts and entertainment industry. The Fellowships enable recipients to travel abroad to obtain a wider knowledge and experience of theatre, such as through a formal course of study, or by a self-devised program which, for example, might include private instruction, observation, secondment, meetings, or an association with a theatre company, before returning to Australia to pursue their careers.

At the time of establishment, Mike’s business interests were all in Sydney, and the Fellowships were offered exclusively to graduates of Sydney’s National Institute of Dramatic Art; they were open to practitioners from any full-time NIDA course who had graduated in the previous ten years. The total value of the awards was $35 000 annually; in the fifteen years of the awards, Mike has given more than $500 000 in these NIDA Fellowships.

A Development In recent years, with his acquisition of Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne, Mike’s interests have spread to his home town. At the same time, many of the productions staged at the Maj have been musicals, and Mike has been impressed both by the number and by the quality of graduates in Music Theatre from the Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts who have graced the productions. These two facts have led him to make changes to the Fellowships.

From 2011, the Fellowships will be open to theatre practitioners who are recent graduates of the Victorian College of the Arts or of WAAPA as well as of NIDA;
the period of eligibility has been reduced to exclude graduates who have not had time to establish themselves in the profession; and
the total amount distributed annually has been increased to $50 000.

Eligibility for 2011 Fellowships Theatre practitioners in any field - not only performers – whose last year of study at NIDA, the VCA, or WAAPA was 2001 to 2008 inclusive. All applicants will be on an even footing.

Scope of the Fellowships Each applicant presents a proposal for how a Fellowship would be used. In the past this has been virtually open, and limited only by cost. Because of the potentially increased number of applicants in 2011, the only proposals to be considered will in future be in the broad field of theatre.

Administration The Fellowships will be administered by Terence Clarke am with the assistance of Di Edwards, Mike’s Personal Assistant. Mike will chair the interviewing panel with Ms Sandra Bates am, Co-Artistic Director of Sydney’s Ensemble Theatre, and Mr Clarke.

Applications Intending applicants should read the next article, ‘For Intending Applicants’, and then download the Application Form that follows.

Closing date Friday 7 October 2011

FOR INTENDING 2011 APPLICANTS

An applicant for the 2011 Fellowships must be a theatre practitioner who is a graduate or a diplomate of a theatre course offered by one of the three leading vocational theatre-training schools in Australia: the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA), and the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). As the Fellowships were awarded only to NIDA graduates for the first fifteen years, they are to a large extent defined by the courses that NIDA offers, which are confined to theatre. In the period of eligibility for the 2011 Fellowships (see below) those courses offered included: acting; design; production (stage management, lighting, sound, audio-visual design, etc); making (costumes, properties, sets); directing; movement studies; voice studies (last three graduate diploma courses).

As the Fellowships are intended for theatre practitioners, any NIDA graduate or diplomate who satisfies the time eligibility criterion, and whose career has embraced theatre, is eligible to apply. However, as both the VCA and WAAPA are more than theatre-training schools – the VCA has six schools, each with a number of courses, and WAAPA has thirteen courses – not all their graduates are automatically eligible. The broad indication of eligibility is the course and specialization studied; do not be deterred, however, if the list of courses below seems to make you ineligible: the test for eligibility is whether you have made your career substantially in theatre in any field. For example, a VCA graduate in Art may have worked mainly in set design; and so on.

Eligibility
General eligibility An applicant must be a theatre practitioner who holds a degree or a diploma from NIDA, or from one of the eligible courses at the VCA or WAAPA.

Eligible courses VCA School of Drama, School of Dance (Dance and Choreography only), School of Production WAAPA Aboriginal Theatre, Acting (including Directing), Costume, Dance, Design, Lighting, Music Theatre, Music (Opera only), Properties and Scenery, Sound, Stage Management

Time eligibility An applicant’s last year of study must have been within the period 2001 to 2008 inclusive.

Who should apply
The Fellowships reward those who have worked consistently since graduation in their chosen field of theatre, whose star is in the ascendant, and whose career would benefit from travelling abroad (do not apply for travel, study, or work within Australia), or who wish to take another career direction in theatre. A good professional track record is essential; originality, passion, and the preparation and presentation of your application are important; so is how you and your chosen field would benefit from a Fellowship on your return to Australia. A test of your readiness to apply is the professional standing of the referees you can ask to support you and your proposal.

The scope of the Fellowships
A random, but not exhaustive, selection of successful applications includes: a short course of study; classes with a distinguished practitioner; secondment to a theatre company; professional attachment to a project; attending a conference / workshops / festival / meetings; visiting costume museums. Concerning cost: in recent years the major Fellowships have carried about $15 000; Mike has never awarded the whole amount to one applicant, and now that the total value of the Fellowships is, for the first time, $50 000, he is unlikely to do so. If the cost of your intended proposal exceeds $15 000, and if you are shortlisted, be prepared to explain in interview how you would find the shortfall.

When you should apply
Provided you remain eligible, Mike is quite happy for you to apply twice – not necessarily in successive years – but not three times. Give some thought to when you should apply.