Acting and Theatre

The VCA Acting and Theatre program produces some of Australia’s finest practitioners in both traditional and contemporary theatre.

Study Acting and Theatre at the VCA

Our Acting and Theatre program draws together the elements of contemporary theatre practice – writing, theatre making, devised work, actor skills, direction and stagecraft.

At undergraduate level the program is designed to train actors and theatre makers, incorporating voice, movement, performance and stagecraft.

Our graduate students focus on performance writing, theatre direction, theatre making, screen acting and voice acting. Their research contributes to the theory and practice of theatre in Australia.

BFA Acting and BFA Theatre

Our students work creatively and collaboratively to explore contemporary and traditional theatre and performance practice.  They investigate their craft intellectually while contributing to the creation of new works for public performance.

Studio practice is the core of the training with an emphasis on collaboration with skilled staff, industry figures and peers.

Acting and Theatre Courses

Want to know more?

Get information on the courses you’re interested in, or ask our team a question.

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Performers taking final bow at Great Expectactions

2025 Graduating Season

Take a look at the exciting performances of our graduating Acting and Theatre students.

View now

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VCA events

  • Melbourne Conservatorium of Music Concert Band #3 2026

    Wednesday 26 August 2026 7:00pm - 9:00pm
    The Melbourne Conservatorium of Music Concert Band returns to the Kenneth Myer Auditorium for its third concert of the year with a program highlighting contemporary wind band music and Australian composers. The ensemble continues its consortium premiere project with Holly Harrison’s latest wo...
  • The bride revisited

    Thursday 27 August 2026 7:00pm - 8:00pm
    Join us for a semi-staged recital interweaving Robert Schumann’s Frauenliebe und Leben with Cheryl Frances-Hoad’s One Life Stand. Placing two women in dialogue across nearly two centuries, the performance reimagines a familiar song cycle through contemporary perspectives on love, memory, loss, re...
  • Networked Flesh

    26 August 2026 - 28 August 2026
    Dancers and digital entities slip between what is and isn’t human. Soft, pink and tender, AI-generated forms emerge through the screen of your device in real time and enter the performance space: like bodily organisms suspended between flesh and code. Using a QR code and your phone, the a...
  • Networked Flesh

    26 August 2026 - 28 August 2026
    Dancers and digital entities slip between what is and isn’t human. Soft, pink and tender, AI-generated forms emerge through the screen of your device in real time and enter the performance space: like bodily organisms suspended between flesh and code. Using a QR code and your phone, the a...
  • Networked Flesh

    26 August 2026 - 28 August 2026
    Dancers and digital entities slip between what is and isn’t human. Soft, pink and tender, AI-generated forms emerge through the screen of your device in real time and enter the performance space: like bodily organisms suspended between flesh and code. Using a QR code and your phone, the a...
  • Networked Flesh

    26 August 2026 - 28 August 2026
    Dancers and digital entities slip between what is and isn’t human. Soft, pink and tender, AI-generated forms emerge through the screen of your device in real time and enter the performance space: like bodily organisms suspended between flesh and code. Using a QR code and your phone, the a...
  • Networked Flesh

    26 August 2026 - 28 August 2026
    Dancers and digital entities slip between what is and isn’t human. Soft, pink and tender, AI-generated forms emerge through the screen of your device in real time and enter the performance space: like bodily organisms suspended between flesh and code. Using a QR code and your phone, the a...
  • Networked Flesh

    26 August 2026 - 28 August 2026
    Dancers and digital entities slip between what is and isn’t human. Soft, pink and tender, AI-generated forms emerge through the screen of your device in real time and enter the performance space: like bodily organisms suspended between flesh and code. Using a QR code and your phone, the a...
  • Melba Hall 13: Wind Symphony

    Monday 31 August 2026 1:10pm - 2:00pm
    The much-loved Melba Hall Lunch Hour Concert Series returns for Semester 2 2026. Each week will feature a different instrument or area, performed by undergraduate and postgraduate students of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and facilitated by academic staff. Join us for an intimate ...
  • Jazz & Improvisation staff and students in concert #2 2026

    Tuesday 1 September 2026 7:30pm - 8:30pm
    The Jazz & Improvisation department celebrate the rich diversity and brilliance of the Australian jazz and improvised music community in this concert, featuring many of their staff and students performing a wide range of repertoire side by side. This recital is presented as part of the Ha...
  • MCM Philharmonic Orchestra: Beethoven’s 1st and 8th

    Wednesday 2 September 2026 7:00pm - 8:00pm
    Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphonies No. 1 and No. 8 frame an extraordinary journey through his orchestral writing. Composed more than a decade apart, they reveal both his deep respect for the Classical tradition and his unmistakable originality. The First Symphony (1800) pays tribute to the ele...
  • Twilight

    Friday 4 September 2026 8:00pm - 9:30pm
    Associate Professor and Principal Fellow Dr Zachary Dunbar presents a piano recital at Tempo Rubato Brunswick. The recital is built around the theme of twilight. From Adès’ otherworldly Darknesse Visible to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, Zachary explores music that captures the nostalgia and s...
  • Xerxes

    2 September 2026 - 5 September 2026
    Presented by the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music Opera Performance and VCA Design & Production Stage Direction by Jane Davidson Music Direction by Donald Nicolson Handel’s Xerxes (composed in 1738) is where love triangles, mistaken identities and bold disguises collide. Featuring ...
  • Southbank Series: In Full Flight

    Saturday 5 September 2026 7:30pm - 9:00pm
    The second concert in the Southbank Series draws together four composers across three centuries, each with a distinct voice. Program Igor Stravinsky Danses Concertantes Carl Nielsen Flute ConcertoLisa-Maree Amos, Section Principal Flute Paul Stanhope ApolloLudwig van Beethoven Sympho...
  • Clarinet Mega Day 2026

    Sunday 6 September 2026 9:30am - 7:00pm
    We’re inviting clarinet players of all ages and abilities to come experience a day at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music! This jam-packed day will provide participants with the opportunity to engage in masterclasses, rehearsals, panel discussions, meet with like-minded musicians and perform so...
  • Melba Hall 14: String Ensemble

    Monday 7 September 2026 1:10pm - 2:00pm
    The much-loved Melba Hall Lunch Hour Concert Series returns for Semester 2 2026. Each week will feature a different instrument or area, performed by undergraduate and postgraduate students of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and facilitated by academic staff. Join us for an intimate ...
  • Lyrebird Brass: the timeless and the new

    Tuesday 8 September 2026 7:30pm - 8:30pm
    Join us for an extraordinary musical journey bridging centuries and styles. The program opens with elegant compositions by French Baroque master Jean-Philippe Rameau arranged here for brass quintet, followed by From Clans of Land and Sea by ANU Professor Chris Sainsbury, a prominent First Nat...
  • Melba Hall 15: Brass Chamber Music

    Monday 14 September 2026 1:10pm - 2:00pm
    The much-loved Melba Hall Lunch Hour Concert Series returns for Semester 2 2026. Each week will feature a different instrument or area, performed by undergraduate and postgraduate students of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and facilitated by academic staff. Join us for an intimate ...
  • Echoes of song

    Tuesday 15 September 2026 7:30pm - 9:00pm
    This recital explores the cello as a singer without words. From Chopin’s deeply lyrical Etude op. 25 no. 7, originally written for piano, to Schubert’s beloved Arpeggione Sonata, a work renowned for its beautiful song-like qualities, this program highlights the instrument’s unique ability to embo...
  • Collisions 2026

    5 August 2026 - 16 September 2026
    Collisions brings together musicians, dancers and artists for a night of cross-disciplinary improvisation and collaboration. Celebrating spontaneity, experimentation and the new - Collisions is a series of interdisciplinary improv nights curated by students from the Conservatorium Jazz and Im...
  • Melba Hall 16: Cello Ensemble

    Monday 21 September 2026 1:10pm - 2:00pm
    The much-loved Melba Hall Lunch Hour Concert Series returns for Semester 2 2026. Each week will feature a different instrument or area, performed by undergraduate and postgraduate students of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and facilitated by academic staff. Join us for an intimate ...
  • Bach and Shostakovich

    Tuesday 22 September 2026 7:30pm - 9:00pm
    Contrast and transformation: Bach’s Goldberg Variations unfold in a new form, with variations shared between the solo piano original and Dmitry Sitkovetsky’s string trio transcription. This interplay of textures reveals unexpected colours in one of music’s most iconic works. Completing the progra...
  • Melba Hall 17: Guitar Showcase

    Monday 5 October 2026 1:10pm - 2:00pm
    The much-loved Melba Hall Lunch Hour Concert Series returns for Semester 2 2026. Each week will feature a different instrument or area, performed by undergraduate and postgraduate students of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and facilitated by academic staff. Join us for an intimate ...
  • Masters & Apprentices: the music of Kris Davis

    Tuesday 6 October 2026 7:30pm - 8:30pm
    The Jazz & Improvisation department celebrate the music of Canadian jazz pianist and composer, Kris Davis. This special project large ensemble features J&I third-year and Honours students alongside their director Andrea Keller. Previous directors have included Melissa Aldana (Chile/US...
  • Melba Hall 18: Chamber Choir

    Monday 12 October 2026 1:10pm - 2:00pm
    The much-loved Melba Hall Lunch Hour Concert Series returns for Semester 2 2026. Each week will feature a different instrument or area, performed by undergraduate and postgraduate students of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and facilitated by academic staff. Join us for an intimate ...
  • Canticles, rivers and horns: a homage to Britten

    Tuesday 13 October 2026 7:30pm - 8:30pm
    Join tenor Michael Petruccelli, pianist Andrea Katz, and horn player Carla Blackwood as they mark the 50th anniversary of Benjamin Britten’s passing. This special program pairs Britten’s deeply expressive 20th-century masterpieces with the timeless lyricism of his favorite composer, Franz Sch...
  • Melba Hall 19: Chamber Competition Finals

    Monday 19 October 2026 1:10pm - 2:00pm
    The much-loved Melba Hall Lunch Hour Concert Series returns for Semester 2 2026. Each week will feature a different instrument or area, performed by undergraduate and postgraduate students of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and facilitated by academic staff. Join us for an intimate ...
  • Dedications

    Tuesday 20 October 2026 7:30pm - 8:30pm
    The Sutherland Trio (Caroline Almonte, Molly Kadarauch and Elizabeth Sellars) together with their friends Danielle and Luca Arcaro perform an all-Australian program of works connected to the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music community. Featuring two world premieres, ‘Songs for Manny’ by Ella Mace...
  • Keyboard Festival 2026: Dmitri Shostakovich’s Complete Preludes and Fugues Opus 87

    31 October 2026 - 1 November 2026
    The Keyboard Area staff of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music invites pianists and music lovers alike for a rare opportunity to hear the complete 24 Preludes and Fugues of Dmitri Shostakovich at the 2026 Keyboard Festival. Among the most distinguished pianists in Australia, these performan...
  • Keyboard Festival 2026: Dmitri Shostakovich’s Complete Preludes and Fugues Opus 87

    31 October 2026 - 1 November 2026
    The Keyboard Area staff of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music invites pianists and music lovers alike for a rare opportunity to hear the complete 24 Preludes and Fugues of Dmitri Shostakovich at the 2026 Keyboard Festival. Among the most distinguished pianists in Australia, these performan...
  • Southbank Series: Worlds Within

    Saturday 5 December 2026 7:30pm - 9:00pm
    The final concert of the 2026 Southbank Series brings the season to a deeply reflective close under the direction of Eivind Aadland, Chief Conductor of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. Program Missy Mazzoli: These Worlds in Us for Chamber Orchestra Richard Strauss: Metamorphosen fo...
  • Gender Defying Jazz 2026

    8 November 2026 - 6 December 2026
    Gender Defying Jazz (GDJ) is a program run by Andrea Keller, Head of Jazz & Improvisation at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, University of Melbourne. Beginning in 2017 and originally called Girls Do Jazz, the name of the program has been changed to Gender Defying Jazz, to more truly re...

News

University of Melbourne and ILBIJERRI Theatre Company partner to foster First Nations artistic excellence

28 July 2026
A new chapter in a long history of collaboration between ILBIJERRI Theatre Company and the University of Melbourne has been formalised in a new partnership, which will amplify...

New round of VCA50 Creative Development Grants supports seven emerging artists

30 June 2026
A creative practice grants scheme for graduates of the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) will support seven talented artists this year....

Theatre for young audiences should be seen as critical for children’s cultural agency

18 May 2026
Young children are spending less and less time outdoors. Most Australian preschool children don’t play outside every day....

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