2018 has been another big and exciting year here at The Studio. We welcomed lots of new actors into the HFAS family, launched new initiatives to support our community, took Howard’s Master Class ‘across the ditch’, and much, much more! Read on for our wrap up of 2018…

1. We started working with our Board of Trustees. The role of the Board is to help The Studio grow, develop and serve our students and community as best as we possibly can. The members of the Trust come from all areas of the HFAS community, and include professional and award-winning actors, directors and producers, who are all graduates and alumni of our courses. This year they helped us develop and implement several programs, including an initiative to help students develop their own work, and our Scratch Performance Nights.

2. Speaking of Scratch Performance Nights, we hosted three this year, to great success! Our Scratch Nights challenged actors to write, refine and perform a monologue in just two hours, with the guidance of local writers. They were a terrific chance for our community to let their creativity run wild, and we’d like to thank everyone who took the leap and performed at a Scratch Night this year.

3. We took HFAS to New Zealand for the first time! In July, an ensemble of 16 actors joined us at the Auckland Performing Arts Centre to take part in a two-day Master Class with Howard Fine. Having learnt and rehearsed their scenes ahead of time, the actors made the most of their short time working with Howard, and we were thrilled with their openness and work ethic. You can read more about the NZ Master Class by clicking here, and we’d like to thank Equity New Zealand for making it possible!

4. HFAS actors rocked the Fringe Festival! We were proud to be able to support three shows at the Fringe this year through our brand new ‘Fine at Fringe’ program. Full Time graduates Jake Matricardi and Lansy Feng staged original plays ‘Gargoyle’ and ‘How I Met My Dead Husband’, and Spinning Plates Co (a new theatre company made up of HFAS graduates) brought Edinburgh Festival hit ‘Ross and Rachel’ to Melbourne stages.

5. Three ensembles of actors graduated from The Studio this year - our Full Time students, Part Time students and our Youth ensemble! These actors dedicated time to working on their craft this year and it paid off. Their growth was incredible, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for them!

6. We launched new courses this year, including our Working with the Pros Director Series. It was a pleasure to welcome directors Scott Major and Brendan Maher to The Studio to give our students the chance to gain practical industry insights

7. And last, but not least, this month we farewell our home of the last 7 years - 8 Munster Terrace. Our North Melbourne Studio space has played host to many classes, been a rehearsal space for professional productions, a home and a place of growth for countless Australian actors, housed late night rehearsals, Master Classes, performances and more. It has undergone numerous renovations and grown with us, and we’ve loved having it as our home. But as Howard Fine says, “we never stop growing”, and this month we’re making the move to our new venue, which will be bigger, and dare we say, better! We can’t wait to show you around the new space, so stay tuned for a tour early next year - trust us, it’s quite exciting!