Christchurch director to Australian directing programme

15 January 2013
For immediate release

Talented young Christchurch director accepted into prestigious director programme at Sydney’s world-renowned National Institute of Dramatic Arts.

Elsie Edgerton-Till, 27, is a longstanding actor and director with The Court Theatre and numbers among their “Court Jesters”. Edgerton-Till, daughter of well-known TV chef Richard Till, counts children’s shows with The Court and Canterbury Repertory Society’s wildly successful Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in 2011 among her directing experience but says admission into NIDA was by no means a done deal: “While experience is important, throughout the stages of the application process they wanted to know about my passion, focus and inspiration. I am so excited to have the opportunity to explore my capabilities further.”

Admission to NIDA is extremely selective - on average, only one out of every 100 applicants is accepted. Each year, approximately 24 actors, six directors, six playwrights, 14 production students, eight designers, five properties students and four costume students are admitted. NIDA Alumni includes Baz Lurhman, Cate Blanchett, Mel Gibson and Hugo Weaving.

Acceptance is also only half the battle – as a New Zealander she is ineligible for student loans in Australia and so is hosting two fundraising events this weekend. A dinner entitled Give Elsie a Hand will be held at The Court Theatre on Sunday 20 January at 6pm. A spectacular three course dinner will be prepared by her father, Richard Till, and entertainment will be provided by some of Elsie's closest theatre friends. On Friday 18 January at 10.15pm, Elsie will play a farewell Scared Scriptless at The Court. To book for either of these events, visit www.courttheatre.org.nz or call 0800 33 100.

She hopes to return to New Zealand at the end of the intensive one -year course and would especially love to return to direct in Christchurch: “Here is home for me. It is where I learnt to love theatre and all its magical possibilities. I want to be a part of this city’s cultural rebuild.”

ENDS

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