Student Theatre History Project

The Theatre Board has underway a student theatre history project. The initiative is in response to an interest in researching the contemporary history (2000-2020) of student theatre on campus.  It is a multi-strand project encompassing different approaches to data, including historical, theoretical and practice-led research.  The goals of the project are to:

 

  • Celebrate and amplify the impact and legacy of recent student theatre.
  • Give voice to a diversity of, and often marginalised, voices in recent student theatre.
  • Stimulate new and current student theatre.
  • Contribute to academic research and discourse in student theatre.

 

The outcomes of the project include archival research, collecting oral history, publishing a research article, and developing a performative work.

Union House Theatre (UHT) Programs and Activities

The Board proudly supports some of the UHT student theatre programs such as the Artist-in-Residence program, student theatre access grants, an annual UHT production, and during 2020, a new Remote Mentorship initiative.  The Remote Mentorship Program was coordinated by UHT, supported by the Theatre Board, and developed in response to Covid-19 restrictions to help creatively sustain students and artists.  Students applied for one-on-one mentorship with UHT professional staff and industry artists which included Zoom mentoring sessions and creative tasks set by the mentors. You can read more about the 2020 Remote Mentorship Program here.

Earlier this year, the Theatre Board supported UHT to create a short film:

In a world where “pandemic pandemonium” infiltrates every part of our lives, a resolution to the confinements of negative thinking created by new, unprecedented, restricting social changes, was born. In Semester 1 we invited an ensemble of passionate and courageous students to become a part of a twelve-week online project called The Switch. This short film catalogues and collages the process and their triumphs!

 

Union House Theatre Annual Awards

The UHT awards program, which each year acknowledges and celebrates achievements in student theatre, is partly funded by the Theatre Board.

Awards Summary 2020

Melbourne University Student Theatre (MUST) Database

The Theatre Board has made a commitment to support the MUST database – an important archive that documents the rich history of student theatre at the University of Melbourne.

Explore the archive here.

Mudfest Biennial Event – 5 – 13 August 2021

Read about Mudfest 2021 here.