The Bachelor of Performing Arts (Management) is a rigorous three-year, full-time degree program that provides comprehensive training in arts management. Covering stage and production management, marketing, event management, technical skills, and financial planning, the program prepares students for creative technical, management and leadership roles in the arts sector. With a maximum intake of 12 students per year, our programme offers a personalised and focused learning experience. Students are guided by experienced professionals and educators as they develop practical skills through engagement in productions, technical laboratories and industry internships. These opportunities also enable students to build valuable networks within the industry. Toi Whakaari ensures students are ready to enter the arts industry upon graduation, equipped with the ability to think critically, collaborate, manage complex processes, and contribute to the arts sector.
“In 2000 I graduated from Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School with a Diploma in Technical Production. I found my two years there to be hugely beneficial. Since then I’ve spent 20 years working fulltime in the arts industry – in stage management, lighting design and production management – in New Zealand and around the world. I often reflect on the fantastic grounding Toi gave me.”
During this three-year specialist degree course, you will learn a variety of arts management skills as well as working with all departments at Toi Whakaari to create major theatrical productions and short films.
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Year 2:
Year 3:
***Applications for entry in 2024 will open from 26 May 2023*** Entry to the Bachelor of Performing Arts (Management) is by application and interview. We welcome ambitious individuals who can identify and seize opportunities to make a positive impact in the arts sector to apply.
Personal Statement Info:
We invite all applicants to submit a Personal Statement that shares their personal experiences and values, motivations, and aspirations:
Referees: As part of our application process, we kindly request that applicants provide one reference. The referee should be an individual who can offer insights into the applicant's character or skills or experiences.
As a graduate of the Toi Whakaari Arts Management programme you will have well-developed practical, administrative and managerial leadership skills. You will be flexible and your skills will be highly transferable. There are many careers that can come from gaining a Bachelor of Performing Arts (Management). The roles listed below are jobs where many of our graduates currently work in, with their skills being highly transferable. Jobs where your degree would be useful include:
“The interdisciplinary nature of the course creates a vigorous training ground, mirroring that of the performing arts industry. Toi Whakaari accommodated opportunities for connections and professional development with world-class performing arts practitioners. Through this training, I was able to explore how to strengthen my interpersonal skills to enhance my adaptability as a stage manager and theatre technician. This has allowed me to create a durable and fulfilling career in the arts."
Ashley Mardon, Graduate 2017
- Site Manager, Wellington City Council
“Toi Whakaari has given me the skills not only to be able to work in the theatre industry but to advance my drag career. I have worked in Australia and New Zealand’s theatre industry, including Melbourne Theatre Company. I have also toured with different theatre shows, including my autobiographical Confessions of a Drag Queen which performed in the prestigious Sydney Opera House. All the skills I learned at Toi Whakaari are transferable to different disciplines and have set me up for life.”
Henrique Beirao, Production Manager
- Centrepoint Theatre, Graduate
Natasha has had a 20 year career working in the Arts in both New Zealand and Australia. She has Production Managed for many independent theatre companies and Festivals since graduating from Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School in 2000.
In 2008 she moved to Australia to work for Performing Lines as a touring production manager and lighting technician. During her time there she successfully toured shows nationally and internationally for various independent art companies. Works include 18 week tour of Ilbijerri Theatre Company Jack Charles V The Crown, Marrugeku’s American 2012 tour of Buru and their Melbourne debut of Gudirr Gudirr, Shaun Parker and Dancers 2011 UK tour of Happy as Larry, Splinter Group’s 2010 Roadkill tour to Venice Dance Biennale and Facyl Festival, Salamanca, Spain, 2009 tours to the UK, Seattle, Germany, Israel, Canada and Australia of Tanja Liedtke’s dance works Twelfth Floor and construct.
Since returning to Aotearoa she has Production Managed for New Zealand Arts Festival, Technical Manager of Hawkes Bay Arts Festival, Kia Mau Festival, CubaDupa and World of Wearable Arts, along with companies Barbarian Productions and Tawata and is a founding member of Muscle Mouth.
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