Nicole Stinton - Head of Music Centre for Acting - NIDA

Nicole Stinton has worked as a director, actor and vocal coach for over two decades across the Asia-Pacific region, specialising in music theatre and other theatre-with-music forms. Whether on stage, in the rehearsal room or the training studio, she firmly embodies, advocates for and enables acting with music, acting through music and acting as music.

Nicole joined the NIDA team after four years as a course coordinator at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), and previously as a director and lecturer at LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore. She has conducted masterclasses and conference speeches both nationally and internationally, including in New York, London and across Asia.

In addition to her creative work, Nicole was Artistic Director of Short+Sweet for four seasons in Singapore, and a festival in Malaysia.

Graduates of Nicole’s training have gone on to work with Australian national and state theatre and opera companies, as well as leading music theatre producers such as the Gordon Frost Organisation, Michael Cassel Group and Live Performance Australia. In addition, many graduates have had successful international careers on Broadway and the West End.

Nicole has published several articles in leading music theatre journals. Her 2014 non-fiction book Working In A Virtual World, published by Marshall Cavendish (Asia), has recently experienced new international interest. She has also published a series of textbooks on drama that are widely used in the education sector.

Nicole is a current PhD candidate, and is developing an acting technique for the singing actor that utilises music to holistically inform acting and creative choices. She holds an MBA in Entertainment Management, has studied both Directing and Musical Theatre at WAAPA, has a Graduate Diploma in Theatre and Music Education, and a Bachelor of Arts in English and Theatre.