History

In an Abandoned Church, far far away...

On June 27, 1987, the doors opened. Without any government or private sponsorship, ACA remains to this day completely self-sustaining and self-supporting. ACA was what it set out to be – a hub of connection, a generator of ideas and initiatives, a place to come to study, to grow, to learn and to extend oneself in every way possible. Artistic education and development requires a highly specialised and specific environment in which to flourish. Since 1987, ACA has pursued its vision and continues to expand and integrate all that’s necessary to maintain a performing arts centre of education and excellence. 

From the first day of operation, Dean was teaching, running workshops and scheduling classes and tutors whilst also being a permanent/part-time staff member at NIDA. Ross McGregor and Aarne Neeme ran ACA whilst Dean moved from the position of Head of Acting at NIDA to the same position at WAAPA from 1989 - 1994. Dean then returned to take up the role of Creative Director of ACA and has remained in that position since that time. His commitment and passion to education never waivers, nor does his belief in the power and magic of the performing arts.

Over the early years of ACA’s growth, a number of deeply passionate and committed industry members contributed enormously to the development and evolution of ACA. These people include:

Paul Weingott, Ross McGregor, Richard Hayes-Marshall, Ira Seidenstein, Liz Burton, Aarne Neeme, Tanya Gerstle, Chrissie Koltai and Deborah Paul.

We wish to express our deep and sincere thanks to them all. For some, their careers led them in new directions. For others, they stayed on the teaching staff, some for 18 years, helping to influence and steer ACA into the Company it is today. We are grateful to have attracted genuine, caring and nurturing artists to help develop the creative culture that is ACA.