A Letter from Brendan
Why I built the Academy
I started the Australian Acting Academy in 1994, in the back room of the talent agency where I'd been teaching for three years.
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But the real story starts earlier. I was anxious all through my school years. I never felt safe at school. A GP called it agoraphobia. Looking back, I think it was panic attacks. Then, when I was fifteen, a psychologist said something I've never forgotten: "Brendan, the only person who can truly help you is you."
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I don't remember their name. But that one line became a turning point, and eventually a coaching philosophy: teach young people to value their own perspective instead of forever hunting for approval in someone else's face.
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So when I opened the Academy, what I wanted to build more than anything was a room where a young person could fall on their face and not feel small for trying. The kind of room I needed at their age.
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Thirty-one years and more than 100,000 students later, I still think that room is the most important thing I've ever built. More important than any show we've ever staged.
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The proof I trust most is personal. All four of my children grew up in these classes. Mollie followed me into teaching: she designed the Youth Extension part of our Extension Program and now teaches Extension One and the adult foundation classes alongside me. Kaelan went through the School of Excellence, earned a diploma in film, and teaches our kids and teens filmmaking workshops. Phoenix took his foundation skills and opened a restaurant at 21. Jordy completed Extension Two before following his passion into trading gold.
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Two of them teach here. Two took what they learned somewhere else entirely. That's the point.
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Because what we're really building here isn't performers. It's character.
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Brendan Glanville
Founder and Artistic Director
The Safety Net Philosophy
We believe confidence isn't something you're born with. It's built by acting before you feel ready, over and over, until fear stops being the main character in the story. The Safety Net Philosophy is how we make that possible, and it started with one class.
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In that same back room at the talent agency, Brendan had a class of teenagers who were all strong actors on their own. But the moment they got up in front of each other, they'd get self-conscious, tease each other, and the work suffered. One day he called it: "Hey, while you're in this class, let's make a rule. No putting down. No paying out. We just support each other."
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The result astounded him. It became the best, most consistent work he'd seen, week in and week out. And as we opened new locations, we noticed something we couldn't ignore: classes built on that rule didn't learn a little faster than classes without it. They learned a hundred times faster.
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Over the years the rule grew into something bigger and more positive: we create safe spaces where everyone totally supports each other to take creative risks. It stopped being a rule and became the philosophy that underpins everything we offer.
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Sean Hasemann, our Managing Director and himself a past student of our School of Excellence, once put it to a class like this: if you're a tightrope walker walking ten centimetres off the ground, you don't need a safety net, because you're not risking anything. We want to see you climb higher than feels comfortable, because in this room, if you fall, everyone has your back. And we celebrate you trying something far more than we celebrate you getting it right.
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And in every class, the story is the star. Young actors often arrive wanting the biggest part. We teach the opposite: there are no small parts. If the audience walks away and gets the story, then everyone who played any part in telling it owns the win. Being part of a group's success, rather than needing to be the shining star, is a skill our students carry for life.
What We Do Today
From that back room, the Academy has grown into one of Queensland's leading acting schools. Today we run weekly kids acting classes (7 to 12), teen classes (12 to 17) and adult classes, school holiday workshops, summer and winter acting camps, and in-school drama programs across South East Queensland. Our head office is at 78 Musgrave Rd, Red Hill, with class locations across Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
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For students ready to go further, our audition-based Extension Program runs across seven levels, each building on the last, culminating in our flagship School of Excellence. Its alumni have gone on to train at Australia's best universities and are working in the industry as actors, filmmakers and entrepreneurs.
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Since 1994 | 100,000+ students | Brisbane & the Gold Coast | Free trial classes
OUR TEAM
ENTERTAIN. INSPIRE. NURTURE.
At the Australian Acting Academy, our students' success is our top priority. We have a team of professional coaches who are dedicated to helping each student reach their full potential. Our coaches work tirelessly to provide guidance, support, and feedback that is tailored to each individual's needs, ensuring that every student has the tools they need to succeed.
