Music Theatre (NASDA)

To be a successful performer in today’s industry you need to be versatile and dynamic. Ara is proud to offer high quality performance training at the National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Art (NASDA).

Taught by a team of experienced performers and teachers who are dedicated to helping you make the most of your career, this highly regarded degree will equip you with the skills needed to succeed in a number of branches of the performing arts.

You'll gain practical experience in performance and production work in key theatre disciplines such as acting, singing and dance, as well as studies in spoken voice, music theory, theatre history, technical theatre skills and research methods.

After gaining a solid foundation in these skills, you’ll refine your programme of study in your second and third years to suit your strengths and interests. This allows you to focus on any number of genres that require strong actors, or to specialise in music theatre. 

Performance and work-integrated learning is a big part of the degree, especially in the third year. This involves researching, planning and preparing for performances (such as plays, revues, applied theatre, musicals, concerts and cabaret) in the same manner as a self-employed performing artist.

If you think you may require modifications in order to undertake the practical components of a particular course of study, we encourage you to discuss these with us so we can give them careful consideration.

As it may take time to consider and implement any modifications, please contact disability@ara.ac.nz as early as possible prior to the course starting. We’ll also need to check that there’s no risk of harm to you or anyone else before making a final decision.

Throughout this process we’ll communicate with you in a clear and timely manner.

Some of the content of this programme may pertain to current real-world issues that could evoke strong feelings or impact on the wellbeing and academic performance of learners who have experienced corresponding traumas in their own lives.
 
Performers / Broadcasters entertain, inform, engage, and create empathy with their audiences. These interactions bring forth discussion, can foster creative solution development and, most importantly, stimulate the creation of change in the world. This could mean drawing attention to and facilitating dialogue about topics that can be difficult, such as sexuality, gender, abuse, cultural appropriation, or racism.
 
We recognise that our learners bring with them diverse lived experiences. It is our role to create a safe environment for learning to allow for real emotions to come to the surface, and for students to feel well informed and well supported in the process.
 
Some of our strategies for supporting learners to engage with difficult content include:

• Providing trigger warnings that allow learners to prepare emotionally for the content or propose alternative content or an alternative learning activity.
• Providing resiliency or intimacy training as required
• Providing access to wellbeing and counselling support services

It is difficult to anticipate all the topics that might be potentially triggering for learners, and therefore we encourage learners who are experiencing an emotional reaction to content to talk with their tutor or utilise Ara’s support networks.