Screenwise is an Australian film and television school for actors based in Surry Hills, Sydney. The school, established in 2000 and using only Australian Film Institute Award winners as teachers, is overseen by actor Denise Roberts. By June 2010, Screenwise was considered one of Australia's leading film and television schools for actors.

History

In 2000 in a church hall in Crows Nest,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, actor and director Denise Roberts began giving private acting lessons to around eight students. That led to the 2002 opening of Screenwise, a working industry, film and television school located in Sydney to provide specialist, career-focused training in acting for film and television. Noting that she "opened it because there are a lot of students who learn all their stuff about stage, but put them in front of a camera and they're just too big," Roberts limited the teachers to AFI Award winners, including actors Victoria Longely, Tina Bursill,

Henri Szeps Henri Szeps () (born October 2, 1943), also spelled Henry Szeps, is a Swiss-born Australian character actor of theatre and television. He has also featured in films and worked in voice roles, and has worked in productions in the United Kingdom. ...

, Simon Burke, Nico Lathouris, Lucy Bell, Patrick Dickson, David Field and Rowena Wallace, and directors Scott Hartford-Davis and Robert Klenner. Providing courses that devote enough time to film and television, the school is designed to meet the needs of actors looking to sustain a career in acting: "It started out because I didn't think there were enough courses that devoted enough time to film and television. Considering TV is generally an actor's bread and butter, theatre might be the ultimate, but you need television to sustain a career," rather than "spend an age unemployed" after drama school waiting to "work with really fine actors and directors." In May 2003, Lauren Lillie, a model and actor who was Bartercard Miss Indy 2003 and featured in the top 20 sexiest women for both '' Inside Sport'' and '' Ralph'' magazines that same year, enrolled in acting classes at Screenwise. By August 2004, the school had become one of Sydney's most productive originators of young acting talent, including Ashleigh Cummings and Stef Dawson, and "chalked up an impressive list of TV and screen credits," including placing graduates in top-rating

soap operas A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originated from radio dramas original ...

such as

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...

, Home & Away and All Saints, and a variety of television commercials. In February 2007, Screenwise Acting School graduate Israel Cannan landed a role in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

, a 2008 Australian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

set in the

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

city of

. In May 2010, Screenwise supported the Dungog Film Festival discover new acting talent with the Screenwise Speed Auditions. In 2010, Screenwise became a Government accredited RTO offering the two-year full-time Diploma of Screen Acting amongst its many courses and is now considered Australia's leading film and television school for actors. For the past five years, Screenwise has been the major sponsor for the Heath Ledger Scholarship in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Established in memory of Australian actor Heath Ledger, the prize has become an indelible fixture in the industry landscape and an incredible opportunity for emerging Australian actors aged between 18–35 years, who show potential for great career longevity.

Studios

Screenwise Studios are located at 84 - 86 Mary Street,

Surry Hills Surry Hills is an Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), inner-east suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local gover ...

. Screenwise consists of three working studios that facilitate a learning environment and studio hire. The studio is equipped with a Green Screen.

Courses

Full-time

*10065NAT Diploma of Screen Acting (RTO provider code 91699)

Part-time

*One-Year Part-Time Showreel Course

Short courses

*Screen Acting Beginners *Screen Acting Intermediate *Screen Acting Advanced *American Accent *Screenteens *Master Intensives *Presenting on Camera *Corporate Classes

Staff

*CEO & Director: Denise Roberts *General Manager: Renee Currie *Marketing Manager: Ashley Andres Penin

Tutors

Notable past and present tutors include: *

Peter Andrikidis Peter Andrikidis is an Australian film and television director, and producer. Early life and education Andrikidis went to the Sydney high school Drummoyne Boys High School in the mid-1970s, where he made a small film called "Nemesis". He gra ...

* Rachael Blake *Lisa Robertson * Natalie Saleeba * Jeremy Lindsay Taylor * Robert Mammone * Peter Kowitz * John Jarratt *

Grant Bowler Grant Bowler (born 18 July 1968) is a New Zealand-Australian actor and television presenter who has worked in American, Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian film, television, and theatre. He is known for playing the role of Constable Wayne ...

*Alan Flower *Keiran Darcy Smith * Marcus Graham * Denise Roberts *Matt Walker *Roxane Wilson *Patrick Phillips *

Simon Westaway Simon Westaway (born 22 December 1958) is an Australian actor who has appeared in many television series, films and theatre productions. Education Westaway studied acting with PBL Workshop and John Gauchi's Theatre Workshop. Career Westaway ...

Kriv Stenders Kriv Stenders is an Australian writer, film producer, and director, best known for his 2011 film '' Red Dog'' (2011) and the 2014 thriller film '' Kill Me Three Times''. His new film '' The Correspondent'', based on a memoir by Australian journ ...

*Geoff Bennet

Past students

Notable students from Screenwise include: * Chris Hemsworth * Tabrett Bethell * Christian Clark * Stef Dawson * Adam Demos * Andy Whitfield *

Nathaniel Buzolic Nathaniel Buzolic ( ) is an Australian actor. He was the host of Nine Network's late-night television quiz show '' The Mint'', and had a regular role on the BBC soap opera '' Out of the Blue'' (2008). He was also a co-host of the educational s ...

* George Houvardas *

Todd Lasance Todd James Lasance (born 18 February 1985) is an Australian actor, best recognised for his roles in Australian television including Aden Jefferies on ''Home and Away'', Cam Jackson on '' Rescue: Special Ops'', Ben McMahon on '' Crownies'' and M ...

* Yvonne Strahovski * Isabel Lucas * Ashleigh Cummings *Alexander Betrand *

Matt Levett Matt Levett is an Australian actor known for his recurring role in the Australian period drama ''A Place to Call Home (TV series), A Place to Call Home''. Levett is also notable for his role in the 2014 mini series ''Devil's Playground (TV seri ...

References

External links

Official Screenwise WebsiteOfficial Screenwise YouTube ChannelOfficial Screenwise Management YouTube Channel
{{Performing arts schools in Australia Drama schools Performing arts education in Australia Educational institutions established in 2000 2000 establishments in Australia