A COVETED John Bell Shakespeare Scholarship was “not to be” for talented performer Evangelia Wichmann following a recent audition process, with the Tenison Woods College Year 12 graduate narrowly missing out on the honour.
Shortlisted forth against hundreds of entries, Ms Wichmann was on the cusp of securing one of three scholarships which give talented acting students the opportunity to travel to Bell Shakespeare’s Sydney headquarters to take part in an extensive program.
Despite missing out on the accolade, Ms Wichmann said she felt humbled to be given the opportunity to audition.
“I received an email with an honourable mention and it means a lot to me as founding artistic director John Bell is one of the best Shakespeare actors in Australia,” she said.
“He saw my audition and thought it deserved recognition which I was pretty happy about.
“I am disheartened that it was so close and it is best sometimes not knowing how close you are.”
Ms Wichmann discovered the scholarship when completing her research project in Year 11.
“I based my topic around the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) which are involved with the Sydney Theatre Company,” she said.
“I interviewed NIDA acting student Jack Richards who mentioned he applied for the scholarship.
“He was awarded the scholarship and in a way recommended it to me on the side of what I was already doing.”
From there, Ms Wichmann searched the scholarship criteria and discovered the company was coming to Mount Gambier.
“Students from the Bell Shakespeare company firstly do a face to face interview and talk with those auditioning,” she said.
“You spend around 20 minutes with them and perform a Shakespeare piece.
“They give you direction, asking you to change it up just to see if you have the ability to make the changes.”
If successful, applicants are then shortlisted which involves another performance piece.
“This was a video piece and in the end 13 people were shortlisted and I was one of those.
“Once shortlisted you have to re-audition for the final three spots.”
Ms Wichmann said the scholarship was only open to high school students.
“As I have graduated I am unable to audition for the scholarship again,” she said.
“I also auditioned in Year 11 but I only found out about it two weeks before it was due so I just sent in some random video.
“They wrote back and told me it was best to perform in person.”
To anyone thinking about auditioning, Ms Wichmann recommended performing in front of a Bell Shakespeare representative.
“They personally workshop with you and get to know you as a person,” she said.
Ms Wichmann said the scholarship was something she would have “definitely enjoyed.”
“The scholarship involves an all expenses payed for week with John Bell and although he can be considered old, he continues to feature in many Australian Shakespeare productions,” she said.
“They workshop some pieces with you and as they are also starting their The Miser production you get to see how the actors prepare for a performance while visiting the Sydney Theatre Company and NIDA.
“You experience a complete tour of all the large theatre companies in Sydney which is pretty cool.”
Ms Wichmann said she admired how Shakespeare’s work still connected with the audience although it was written almost 400 years ago.
“The issues that he covers are just human nature,” she said.
“Even though some of the pieces explore different types of human language and it can take a little bit longer to understand I love the situations and character issues.
“When I was younger I did not like Shakespeare at all but in the last couple of years I have grown to love his work.”
Ms Wichmann started acting around the age of six.
“My family and I had just moved to Australia and at school we did a performance called Move It or something similar,” she said.
“I became involved with my other two siblings and absolutely loved it.
“I spoke to mum about it afterwards and thought to myself ‘this is the dream’.”
Ms Wichmann then joined Ovation eight years ago and has also attended private tuition classes with artistic director Jamie Harding.
“While working with Jamie and within Ovation’s private tuition stream, I have learnt how to not only prepare for auditions but also how to feel confident in presenting my work,” she said.
“His creative problem solving skills help me develop my pieces to their greatest potential.
“His vast artistic knowledge on methods and styles ensure that your performance stands out in an audition, which is so important in the industry.”
Ms Wichmann said she enjoyed acting because she can be whoever she wants to be.
“There is often no distinctive boundaries involved but sometimes you have to do things you personally would not do.
“In a way it is quite interesting to see things from a different perspective.”
Ms Wichmann hoped her passion for acting would one day blossom into a career.
“I am currently applying for positions at acting schools for when I complete my gap year, she said.
“I have been looking at one in Berlin actually which is nerve-racking but also exciting at the same time.
“I know the statistics are not in my favour but if it does not work, I have other options I will fall back on.”
