Creative Industries & Business

Performing & Screen Arts

So you think you can direct, act, dance or sing? Got what it takes to become a writer, camera operator, editor, gaffer or technician in the film or theatre industry? We can get you started. With 350 students and 40 staff, the Department of Performing and Screen Arts is arguably the largest and busiest film school and performing arts department in the country. 

Making movies and producing shows – it’s what we do. It’s what you’ll do too: film productions and performances are a big part of your study. Each year our students develop over 100 screen, dance and stage productions. Nowhere else can you collaborate every day with acting, contemporary music, costume, dance, design, directing and writing, film and television, production technology, and scenery/props students and professionals. It’s like a miniature model of the industry, working in film/TV and dance studios, or in the theatre, with professional resources and facilities.

You’ll be guided by industry experts (many of them very well known) and inspired by visiting local and international filmmakers, actors, dancers, writers, directors and technicians. And of course you get to show off your creative work – to the public, your friends and family, and the industry. 

Our graduates work on Hollywood blockbusters and local independent films and your favourite Kiwi TV programmes. They're represented in major dance and theatre companies, make their mark as successful composers, singers/songwriters or sound engineers, or produce award-winning short films, designs, plays and choreographic work. They hit the ground running, ready to find employment. That’s why we were voted among the world's top ten film schools in 2010 by respected filmmaking website Reelshow International, and awarded the New Zealand Screen Council’s ScreenMark, the industry’s seal of approval.

Working closely with the theatre, TV and film industry

Knowing the right people is key. And our address book is bursting at the seams:

  • SPADA (Screen Production and Development Association)
  • DANZ (Dance Aotearoa New Zealand)
  • The New Zealand Film Commission
  • The New Zealand Writers Guild
  • WIFT (Women in Film and Television)
  • Playmarket
  • Entertainment Technology NZ
  • New Zealand Film and Video Technicians’ Guild.

And then there are the major industry employers:

  • South Pacific Pictures
  • TVNZ
  • The Auckland Theatre Company
  • Silo Theatre
  • The Auckland Festival
  • Tempo Dance Festival
  • Black Grace.

We’re also a proud sponsor of V48 Hours: Furious Filmmaking. It’s these close links with the industry that give our performing and screen arts students real-world experience before graduating.

 

Performing and screen arts programmes 

For those just starting out:

To become an actor:

To become a contemporary dancer or choreographer:

If you’re interested in directing, playwriting or screenwriting:

  • Bachelor of Performing and Screen Arts (Directing and Writing for Screen or Theatre) – with specialisations in Directing, Writing and Production
  • Short course: Playwriting - Adaptation for the Stage
  • Short course: Playwriting - The Full Length Play
  • Short course: Scriptwriting - Adaptation for the Screen
  • Short course: Scriptwriting - Feature Film Treatment
  • Short course: Scriptwriting for Television
  • Short course: Theatre Writing Techniques

For a career behind the scenes:

A pathway to masters level study in your screen/theatre specialisation:

For those interested in music: