In 2000 in a church hall in Crows Nest, Australia, actor and director Denise Roberts began giving private acting lessons to around eight students. That led to the 2002 opening of Screenwise, a working industry, film and television school located in Sydney, Australia to provide specialist, career-focused training in acting for film and television. Noting that she "opened it because there are a lot of students who learn all their stuff about stage, but put them in front of a camera and they're just too big," Roberts limited the teachers to AFI Award winners, including actors Victoria Longely, Tina Bursill, Henri Szeps, Simon Burke, Nico Lathouris, Lucy Bell, Patrick Dickson, David Field and Rowena Wallace, and directors Scott Hartford-Davis and Robert Klenner. Providing courses that devote enough time to film and television, the school is designed to meet the needs of actors looking to sustain a career in acting: "It started out because I didn't think there were enough courses that devoted enough time to film and television. Considering TV is generally an actor's bread and butter, theatre might be the ultimate, but you need television to sustain a career," rather than "spend an age unemployed" after drama school waiting to "work with really fine actors and directors." In May 2003, Lauren Lillie, a model and actor who was Bartercard Miss Indy 2003 and featured in the top 20 sexiest women for both Inside Sport and Ralph magazines that same year, enrolled in acting classes at Screenwise. By August 2004, the school had become one of Sydney's most productive originators of young acting talent, including Ashleigh Cummings and Stef Dawson, and "chalked up an impressive list of TV and screen credits," including placing graduates in top-rating soap operas such as Neighbours, Home and Away and All Saints, and a variety of television commercials. In February 2007, Screenwise Acting School graduate Israel Cannan landed a role in Newcastle, a 2008 Australian drama film set in the New South Walescity of Newcastle. In May 2010, Screenwise supported the Dungog Film Festival discover new acting talent with the Screenwise Speed Auditions. In 2010, Screenwise became a Government accredited RTO offering the two-year full-time Diploma of Screen Acting amongst its many courses and is now considered Australia’s leading film and television school for actors. For the past five years, Screenwise has been the major sponsor for the Heath Ledger Scholarship in LA. Established in memory of Australian actor Heath Ledger, the prize has become an indelible fixture in the industry landscape and an incredible opportunity for emerging Australian actors aged between 18–35 years, who show potential for great career longevity.
Studios
Screenwise Studios are located at 84 - 86 Mary Street Surry Hills NSW, Australia. Screenwise consists of three working studios that facilitate a learning environment and studio hire. The studio is equipped with a Green Screen.
