The Festival of Emerging Artists showcases the major projects of NIDA’s Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Directing course with the soon to be graduating directors each presenting a 40-minute stage production from 2 – 5 April 2025 – free to the public.
The festival is a culmination of the practical training delivered as part of NIDA’s Directing MFA and is an opportunity for the seven emerging directors to connect with live audiences and express their unique skills and perspectives.
“These productions stand as a testament to the ambitious creative artists moving into a radically evolving Arts climate. We’re thrilled to welcome you to the festival and thank you for playing the most crucial role, our audience,” said Head of Directing, Course Leader, Dr Benjamin Schostakowski.
NIDA Directing alumni include such luminaries as former STC Artistic Director (2016-2024) Kip Williams (Directing, 2009), whose current cine-theatre production of The Picture of Dorian Gray starring alum Sarah Snook (Acting, 2008) recently opened on Broadway in New York after a sellout season on London’s West End; and Hayden Tonazzi (Directing, 2019) who was recently appointed CEO and Artistic Director and recently appointed the Artistic Director and CEO of ATYP (Australian Theatre for Young People).
“It’s been invigorating to return to NIDA and re-encounter the vibrant creative energy behind this Festival,” said Festival Directing Mentor and NIDA alumna Carissa Liciardello (Directing, 2017). “This is where students on the cusp of their professional careers are empowered to create the kind of work most aligned with their own artistic identity – and the result is seven highly distinctive productions across a wide range of artistic sensibilities.”
“There’s something for everyone attending this Festival – including a series of exciting introductions to the work of this next generation of Australian theatre artists.”
FESTIVAL OF EMERGING ARTISTS – 2025 WORKS:
The Superquick Resurrection of STALWART THE BUSHRANGER is a fun, rollicking romp directed by Nelson Blake who condenses the never-performed manuscript by Australian poet Charles Harpur (1813–1868) Stalwart the Bushranger.
The EFFECT directed by Lou Quill presents excerpts from Lucy Prebble’s script set in an abstracted space of The Experiment where Connie & Tristan meet and fall in love in a world devoid of stimulus, as participants in a medical drug trial.
Again, I See You is an original work written and directed by African Australian Director Clement Rukundo who presents a poetic and reflective tale exploring the journey of two survivors of the horrific 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Based in New York City, Harrison Simmons directs MEDUSA UNCUT – a raunchy and campy ‘not-quite-retelling’ of the Greek myth of Perseus and Medusa. Written by Krishna Patel, it examines the dangers of blind faith and religion.
Ruby Lorraine, an emerging First Nations Director from Perth, WA presents SWINE RIVER written by acclaimed First Nations playwright David Milroy explores the beginning of a 10-year battle between a mining company and an Aboriginal community.
DUPLEXITY, directed by Nic Puni, is an adaptation of the Undertones script written by her sister Annidette Puni, which follows Fidela, a lifestyle influencer and Dolion, a struggling artist. Together the two high school acquaintances, supported by their online alter egos, Fidi and Dolly, forge a viral path of no return.
À LA CARTE directed by Lucy Rossen is a three-act window into the hospitality experience, where consumption, service and class collide and written by Lucy Rossen, Morgan Owen and Sophia Benjamin.
The Festival of Emerging Artists plays at NIDA from 2 – 5 April 2025. Tickets are free. For more information, visit: www.nida.edu.au for details.
Image: Ruby Lorraine, Clement Rukundo, Harrison Simmons, Lucy Rossen, Nic Puni and Nelson Blake – courtesy of NIDA