About Perform Australia

Perform Australia is an an award-winning acting school with its national headquarters in Canberra, Australia. We specialise in acting and musical theatre training, for young children through to aspiring professionals. 

Some of our awards...

Our Mission: We Launch Passion-driven Actors

We seek to find those performers who can unite their passion for the performing arts with hard work and focus. Our job is to help them springboard into performance. Into joy. Into a career. 

Sometimes those actors start out as small children, while others discover their love of theatre and film much later in life. Whichever you are, we are ready to help you launch - through actor training, classes, workshops and performances.

Industry Support

Perform Australia is well-connected to industry. We regularly have guests from industry speak to our students. Some of our past guest speakers include these wonderful people from film, theatre and television:

Our Team

Elizabeth Avery Scott

Chief Executive Officer & Principal

Elizabeth Avery Scott is co-founder and CEO of Perform Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Mass Communications) from Macquarie University, a Master of Arts Practice (Scriptwriting) from Charles Sturt University, a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment and a Diploma of Counselling among other qualifications. She is a playwright, producer, teacher, and arts entrepreneur. She was shortlisted for the prestigious Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award in 2009 for her play, 'Lies, Love and Hitler', and in 2013 was a finalist in the Telstra Businesswoman of the Year awards for her work with Canberra Academy of Dramatic Art, Perform Australia's predecessor. Her recent writing credits include 'Chez Francois' (2019), 'All That I Am And All That I Have' (2018), 'The Rational Dress Society And Other Tales' (2017), 'Australurbia' (2016) and 'The Sound of Musicals' (2015, co-written with Glenn Braithwaite). Her work has been performed in Sydney and Canberra and she has also been seen on ABCTV in the series, 'The Boffin, The Builder and the Bombardier', playing the 'Boffin's wife' and in the documentary, 'Building Australia' (Wildbear TV).
Her variegated past life was spent in journalism, human rights advocacy, and even massage therapy.

James Scott

Director of Artistic Development

James Scott is an actor, director and teacher. He is co-founder and Director of Artistic Development at Perform Australia. He holds a Diploma of Performance from the Actors' College of Theatre and Television and a Master of Arts Practice in Acting from Charles Sturt University, as well as a Diploma in Vocational Education and Training. James's performance credits include a wide range of stage and screen projects over more than 25 years of performance. Most recently he has been seen in 'Lies, Love and Hitler' (2010, 2014), 'The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged' (2015), 'Underneath the Lintel (2015), 'Henry Five' (2016), 'It's A Wonderful Life: The Live Radio Play' (2017), 'Mistakes Were Made' (2018), 'The Woman in Black' (2019), and 'Danny The Champion Of The World' (2020) - the majority of these with Honest Puck Theatre, a company he founded. He has also recently participated in several play development projects at The Street Theatre, Canberra.

Veronica Karakousis

Manager of Children's Programs
Academic Adviser to The Thrive Program

Ronnie holds a Master of Teaching, majoring in English and the Creative and Performing Arts. Hailing from Adelaide, she has participated in theatre and film projects as a teacher, actor, director, and costume designer. Her favourite work to date has been portraying Portia in Shakespeare's 'The Merchant of Venice' at Flinders University, where she studied a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Drama. Ronnie's passion is in finding ways to use drama in real life by actively encouraging students to see the value of their creativity and enthusiasm for the arts in everything that they do. Ronnie is the Acting Manager of Perform Australia's Children's Programs and also the Academic Adviser on the Thrive Program.

Jamine Alavazo

Customer Care Coordinator

Jamine Alavazo is from The Philippines and is Perform Australia's Customer Care Coordinator. She has worked with a childcare service provider based in Australia, assisting parents over the phone and email. Working with a similar organization and her nine years of experience as a customer service representative, Jamine is a great addition to Perform Australia's administrative staff - from guiding parents and students through the enrolment process, to providing details about our programs, and helping parents choose the most suitable class for their children. 

Clare Moss

Actor, Director
Teaching Artist

Clare Moss studied a BA in Dramatic Arts at the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne University, and brings this ethos to her work at Perform Australia. Clare has worked for and performed with many theatre companies around Australia, including the Melbourne Theatre Company, the Black Swan Theatre Company, and the Queensland Theatre Company. She has also performed for the Brisbane International Arts Festival as well as independent companies such as the Marriner Group. In Canberra she has performed with the Aspen Island Theatre Company. She has been extensively involved in theatre development programs across Australia. Clare's television credits include on 'Blue Heelers', 'Good Guys, Bad Guys' 'Neighbours' and 'Last Man Standing'. She is also a trained yoga teacher and holds a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.

Craig Alexander

Actor, Director, Writer, Teaching Artist
Head of Screen Studies

Craig Alexander is an actor, writer and producer with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Acting. He has an extensive history touring throughout regional centres with Riverina based Gearstick Theatre; the company which he co-founded and led as Artistic Director for almost ten years. He has also performed widely elsewhere; recent stage credits include 'Cold Light' (2017), 'Venus In Fur' (2018) and 'Exclusion' (2018), all at Canberra's Street Theatre, along with his acclaimed solo production of 'Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol', 'Sexual Perversity in Chicago' (Gearstick) and 'Dead To The World' (RTC). Screen credits include 'The Code 2' (Playmaker), 'Dirt' (Next In Line Films) and 'Insecure Digital' (ScreenCraft). He’s currently developing the multi-platform comedy series, 'Trainee Bomb Squad' and adapting several classic horror tales for the stage.

Glenn Braithwaite

​Theatre Director & Teaching Artist
RTO Compliance Officer

Glenn Braithwaite is a live performance professional who specializes in directing. He has over 30 years’ experience in the performing arts industry. He trained at the prestigious Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne. Glenn has worked in diverse roles including creative design, video design, stage management, acting, teaching and directing. Glenn’s most recent professional work includes sound design for Strange Duck’s Production of Shackleton’s Carpenter, Joining the Dots Theatre Company’s production of Speak…easy and Throwing Shade Theatre Company’s production of The Caretaker. He has assisted with Bontom’s production of Chorus as video operator/assistant stage manager at the Old Fitzroy Theatre, as well as stage managed Sotto Theatre Company’s production of Safe. Whilst working in Canberra he directed, devised and designed many of Perform Australia’s productions over a five-year period. In Tasmania his directing credits include Beautiful Thing, La Serva Padrona, Big River, The Secret Garden, The Fantasticks, The Big Angst and Only Heaven Knows.  He was also assistant director for Zootango’s production of Louis Nowra’s Cosi and also for MTC’s Much Ado About Nothing.

Amy Orman

Musical theatre performer 
Teaching artist

Amy Orman is Perform Australia's Head of Musical Theatre. Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, Amy Orman moved to the USA to follow her dream of performing. She has worked as a musical theatre performer in Chicago and New York. A true triple threat, she was most recently seen on stage singing in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Amy holds a Certificate IV in Musical Theatre from McDonald College and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre.

She has also appeared on TV in ABC's Betrayal, in print campaigns for Weber Grill, All State Insurance and Huntington Bank, and was the voice of Princess Amelia in Uppercut Games' iOs video game Epoch 2.​

Brendan Kelly

Actor, Director, Writer
​Teaching Artist

Brendan Kelly is an actor, writer, director and producer based in the Australian Capital Territory. He received his training at the Canberra Academy of Dramatic Art, now Perform Australia, gaining his Advanced Diploma in Performance. Since then he’s been active in the Canberra theatre and film community. His short film, Dying Art, has toured several festivals and won several awards, including Best Director and Best Screenplay. He has been seen in many local theatre productions, including a number of shows with Honest Puck Theatre. These include Danny The Champion Of The World (2020), The Woman In Black (2019), Henry Five (2016) and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged (2015) as an actor, and Mistakes Were Made (2018) as director.
 

Sarah Carroll

Actor, Director, Vocal Coach
​Teaching Artist

Sarah Carroll is an actor and vocal coach. She is a founding member of Bare Productions, Sydney, and performed in a number of successful productions, including 'Bare On The Air', 'Vital Signs', 'Love Letters', 'Talking With' and 'Cinderella'. She holds a Diploma of Performance (Acting) from the Australian School of Theatre, Film and Television (ACTT) and continued her actor training at The Studio. Sarah has keen interests in vocal training for actors, vocal health and accent work and teaches across Perform  Australia's accredited programs, speech training programs and the Thrive program.

Andy Trieu

TV Presenter, Actor, Producer
Teaching Artist

Andy Trieu is a martial arts champion, actor, presenter and producer. His screen credits include 'Crownies' (ABCTV), 'Maximum Choppage' (ABCTV), 'Kitchen Whiz' (Foxtel) and most recently, SBS's 'Pop Asia'. Andy contributes to Perform Australia's Advanced Diploma of Performance program in the areas of stage combat and TV presenting.

Teresa Wojcik

Vocalist, Composer
​Teaching Artist

Originally from New Zealand, Teresa Wojcik has been performing since the age of 4 and started singing lessons as a young teenager. She went on to study Music at the University of Otago, majoring in Classical Singing and Composition. After graduating in 2013, she moved to Germany, where she accrued extensive experience as a singer, performing regularly with a touring Opera group and travelling Europe interpreting jazz and pop. In her spare time, she ran and supported several choirs and enjoyed teaching private students in all genres. She also composes actively for stage and screen.

Jenny Oliver

Actor, Costume Designer, Speech and Drama Professional
​Teaching Artist

Jenny Oliver has over 15 years of teaching experience, both as a private tutor and as a classroom teacher. She loves sharing her joy of performance, and the confidence it brings students in their everyday lives. While completing a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) with a double major in film and drama, and a Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary - Drama), Jenny has studied many drama periods and styles. Jenny is part of the planning and scriptwriting teams for the Perform Australia children's programs. Jenny also loves costume design, directing, stage management, and occasionally, dabbling in performance. Jenny also has an extensive puppet collection that make an appearance in classes to help where they can.

Gabi Kucks

Actor
​Teaching artist

Gabrielle Kucks grew up in rural northern New South Wales and began her performing arts journey at the age of 8. With a dance background in Jazz, Tap, Ballet and HipHop, Gabrielle shifted interest towards acting at age 13. During her school years she performed in numerous productions, and since that time has acted in several short films and independent productions. She has competed nationally in acting and improvisation competitions, and in 2015 represented Australia in the International Presentation Of Performers conference for up-and-coming actors, networking with talent agents and managers based in Los Angeles. Working as an actor trainer for over five years in Queensland, Gabrielle is currently undertaking study at the University of Queensland, completing a dual degree in Secondary Education and Arts, majoring in Drama and Media Communications.

Tijana Kovac

Actor, Singer
​Teaching Artist

Tijana is a bubbly personality with a specialty in singing, comedy and accents. She has attained a Diploma of Musical Theatre (2015) and Advanced Diploma of Performance (2017) from Perform Australia. She has appeared in shows around town including: Mistakes Were Made (Honest Puck 2018) as Esther, The Little Mermaid (Ickle Pickle 2020) as ensemble and the leading role of Lorelli Thornthwite in The Thornthwaite Inheritance (Green Oak Theatre 2020). When not performing, Tijana can be found spontaneously singing and reading books from her extensive collection.

Patrick Uren

Actor, Theatre Technician
​Teaching Artist

Pat Uren began acting in High School and continued through College.  Immediately after graduating, he began studying at Perform Australia where he obtained both a Certificate III in Performance (Acting) and an Advanced Diploma in Performance. He has been part of the Perform Australia community for a number of years, as a student, and now shares his skills, knowledge and experience teaching in the Children’s Program along with being responsible for some of the Technical Operations with the company. Pat has acted in such plays as Taming of the Shrew (2014), A Midsummer Nights Dream (2017), and The Bear by Anton Chekhov (2018). He has also been the Technical Operator for Ruthless (2018) Downtown (2019), Women In Black (2019), CADA/Perform Australia’s Thrive Program production of Spamalot, Children’s Holiday Programs and End of Year Productions.
​

Teig Sadhana
Actor, Teaching Artist

Originally from London, Teig grew up in Canberra and has a deep love for the art and culture this wonderful city has to offer. He has spent the last decade living between London, New York, Melbourne and the ACT, working across a multitude of levels and in a variety of settings from international arts festivals, to esteemed London playhouses, to full scale professional television productions. Teig is a scholarship-holding member of the Professional Conservatory at The Stella Adler Studio of Acting on Broadway, New York City. Whilst in Australia due to Covid-19, Teig is thrilled to have the opportunity to become a member of faculty at Perform Australia teaching the next generation of young talent.

Morgan Hain

Film Production

Morgan Hain is Perform Australia's Film Production Assistant at our Canberra headquarters. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Film Production from the University of Canberra as well as a Certificate IV in Acting for Stage and Screen from Canberra Academy of Dramatic Art. Morgan started her journey doing an online script writing course which led her to her degree in film making. Whilst at uni, Morgan took part in beginner improvised acting classes which sparked an interest in acting.  She regularly takes part in the making of short films around Canberra. Her credits include Dead Beat (Director and editor, 2017), Rent (Editor, 2017), Gold Filling (Sound Recordist, 2017, LCA Finalist); as well as smaller credits like script supervisor and 2nd AC in films such as 'Black Sheep' (2017, UC Film night Best Film award, Best Actor), and 'Coffee' (2017, UC Film night Best Sound Design). At Perform Australia, Morgan manages  film/videography projects.

Our Company Values

​Passion - we encourage passion for mastering the art and craft of performance. It's not just the final product, it's the journey towards excellence which is also important.

Industry - Passion alone is not enough to achieve dreams and goals. All artists need industry - an approach to their work which involves hard work, determination and dedication to see their task through to completion. 

Community - We nurture a diverse artistic community, providing an experience of belonging and creative exploration.

Generosity - of mind, of spirit, of time. We foster a community of generosity in learning and creativity. Our teachers and tutors are generous in sharing their wisdom and knowledge with our students.

Story - Actors, writers, artists, dancers, singers, musicians and directors are all storytellers in their own way. Stories are how we understand the world and ourselves; story is essential to interpreting our past and making our future. We aim to liberate storytellers to tell stories that matter. Actors can be culture-makers and culture changers, and this is an important role in society.

Our History

Perform Australia began back in 2009 when actor/director James Scott and his wife, playwright Elizabeth Avery Scott, saw a need for actor training in Canberra. There were no accredited vocational acting courses available in the ACT at that time, and with university drama courses closing down, the Territory's greatest young talents were leaving to study and live interstate. They resolved to create something new, something exciting, and something which would give the people what they wanted: professional actor training qualifications. Thus, Canberra Academy of Dramatic Art (CADA) was born. Together, the Scotts established not only a number of accredited and industry-approved courses under the Australian vocational education system, they also founded numerous after-school drama programs for children.

​Accolades came rolling in for the duo's innovation. In 2011, they were recognised by the Canberra Business Point Awards (winning the 'Creative & Design' Category) - and again won in 2012. In 2013, Elizabeth Scott was declared a finalist in the Telstra Business Womens Awards. And in 2019, Perform Australia won the Award for Most Outstanding Performing Arts Organisation in the Local Business Awards (Canberra region). But things didn't stop there. 

​Reaching interstate began with regional NSW, opening drama classes in Queanbeyan and Yass. But Queensland also called. In 2017 Elizabeth and James purchased the Australian School of Performing Arts, Film and Television (ASPAFTV), a Brisbane-based drama school. Merging Canberra Academy of Dramatic Art and ASPAFTV in 2019, the two schools together became Perform Australia.

Today Perform Australia has its headquarters at 11 Whyalla St, Fyshwick, ACT, while also running many classes in the suburbs of Canberra, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, and parts of regional NSW.

The Coronavirus pandemic also resulted in the establishment of online classes through ActLive TV - actlive.tv.

Perform Australia continue to inspire several hundred students and families each year. It is also a proud sponsor of the Best Performance Award at the Lights, Canberra Action! Film Festival.