Meet VCA student Ellie Carroll

Get to know a student’s experience studying at The University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. Ellie Carroll is studying a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music Theatre) at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA).

What motivated you to choose your degree?

After watching The Sound of Music countless times as a child, I decided that musicals were for me. The music theatre course at VCA is highly regarded and appears in programs of many professional productions worldwide. I didn’t get into the course on my first audition, so I trained for two years full-time before re-auditioning and getting accepted in 2021.

Describe a typical day of study …

We train from 9am to 6pm, five days a week. I’m currently in rehearsals for our graduating production while maintaining regular dance, acting, and vocal classes. I’m also involved in weekly mock auditions with guest panellists and industry skills seminars with industry experts.

What has been your favourite experience?

Working on a production of Elegies in 2022. This was the first work our cohort performed in its entirety, especially after spending a good portion of our first year becoming far too friendly with Zoom; it was such a memorable experience.

How do you feel connected to your industry through your degree?

We’re lucky to study right in the thick of one of Australia’s leading theatre hubs. We get the opportunity to keep our finger on the pulse, see all kinds of theatre in our city, and work with theatre makers with incredible arts careers.

What are your goals for the coming years?

Besides booking work in my chosen field, I want to follow where my curiosity leads me and create my own structure of classes and artistic practices. I want to tell stories I’m passionate about and that move others in the way I know art can move me.

You will soon perform in an upcoming production of the musical Heathers. What are you most looking forward to?

Heathers will be a fantastic time. This production has great music, clever writing, laughter, tears, horror, and elation. This satirical commentary on the American high school experience in the late ‘80s is nostalgic and eerily relevant to today’s world. I’m excited to make the most of my last production before graduating. I’d tell you to buy tickets, but we sold out in four days! •