Adelaide College of the Arts

The Adelaide College of the Arts, also known as AC Arts and formerly known as Adelaide Centre for the Arts, is a campus of TAFE SA that specialises in performing arts education. It is located on Light Square, Adelaide, South Australia.

History
The centre was created in 2001 from an amalgamation of the Centre for Performing Arts (previously located in Grote Street) and the North Adelaide School of Arts (previously located in Stanley Street, North Adelaide). The new building on Light Square was constructed to house the new centre, and opened in March 2001.

Centre for Performing Arts
The Centre for the Performing Arts (CPA) was established in 1978 on the site of the old Adelaide Girls High School, adjacent to the Adelaide Central Market in Gouger Street.

Set up by Dr Barry Young, it initially offered courses in dance and technical production. An acting course was introduced in 1986, headed by David Kendall. In 1997 an introductory acting course was established, called Prologue.

North Adelaide School of Arts
The North Adelaide School of Arts (NASA) was established in 1979 on a site vacated the previous year by the South Australian School of Art. (The latter moved to a campus in Underdale.)

NASA was dedicated to practical studio-based studies in visual art, providing training in studio areas, such as Photography and Digital Art, ceramics, sculpture, painting, drawing, printmaking, jewellery and textiles.

Building
AC Arts' purpose-built $30 million campus was designed by award-winning architect Adrian Evans during his time with the Adelaide-based firm Hassell.

Theatres
AC Arts has two main theatre spaces. These are used for in-house performances and also for professional productions, especially during the Adelaide Fringe and the Adelaide Festival.

The Main Theatre is a proscenium arch theatre that seats 220 and the X Space experimental theatre that seats 110. Both spaces are industry-standard, allowing students to learn in an environment as close as possible to the professional world.

Acting and dance studios
On the third floor of the building there are four dance studios with mirrors and bars, four acting studios and a music room. Two of the acting studios (The Stables and the David Kendall Studio) double as performance spaces with easy black out ability.

Courses
Identified major study areas of the centre are:
 * Performing arts (acting and dance)
 * Visual arts
 * Music performance and sound production
 * Graphic design
 * Photography
 * Film and television production
 * CGI and game art
 * Technical production

Adelaide College for the Arts provides both short and award courses. Award courses include:
 * Film and Television Production
 * Photography and Digital Imaging
 * Live Production, Theatre and Events (Technical Operations)
 * Costume for Performance
 * Live Production, Theatre and Events (Technical Production)
 * Scenery and Set Construction
 * Acting
 * Design for Live Production, Theatre and Events
 * Stage Management
 * Dance
 * Jewellery
 * 3D Ceramics and Sculpture
 * Visual Arts
 * Professional Writing

Notable alumni

 * Kate Kendall, actor, best known for her long-running role as "Angie Piper" in the television series Stingers
 * Nathan Page, actor, currently starring in Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
 * Nathan O'Keefe, actor, a regular performer with both State Theatre Company of South Australia and Windmill Theatre