What is AwA?

Our Mission is to provide positive, challenging and engaging, performance activities for young people.

    • Vocal training influenced by the work of Berry, Linklater, and Rodenburg.

    • Physical training influenced by yoga, viewpoints, Laban, and dance.

    • Improvisation and devising inspired by Spolin, Johnston, and Heathcote.

    • Acting and text performance influenced by Stanislavski, Hagen and Practical Aesthetics.

    • Critical and creative thinking. There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so. [Hamlet]

    • Facing challenges. Students are encouraged to face their individual hurdles in a supportive environment.

    • Acting is a collaborative process so participants develop methods to communicate effectively.

    • AwA does not tolerate bullying, lying, or any forms of anti-social behaviour.

    • AwA is inclusive and promotes inclusive practices through all levels of engagement.

AwA or Acting with Arminelle, is a youth acting studio specialising in acting training and devised theatre. It is run by Arminelle Fleming who has over 20 years experience in working in youth arts and the professional theatre industry.

The best things about AWA is the opportunity to work in a collaborative and supportive environment where you know you will be supported 100% of the time. It is also amazing due to the diversity of the people you get to work with, learning to work with people who you might not connect with or talk to outside of the activity. Additionally getting to work with young people of all different ages is amazing. It is just amazing being able to have a space where you can work on your talent/passion and be surrounded by people who share a common interest/goal.

AwA Student, 2023.

AwA in brief …

    • A six-week block each school term.

    • Usually begins 2 or 3rd week back at school.

  • AwA caters to children and young people aged 5-18yrs. Classes are divided by school year levels. See the WORKSHOP page for more information.

  • AwA usually stages one large production involving the entire company, once each year in either December or January.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Not at all. The training works for individuals and where they are at in their acting journey.

  • No. Arminelle is occasionally available for private classes to prepare for the Eisteddfod but AwA does not at this stage run Eisteddfod classes.

  • No. There are many fine studios in Townsville that operate classes for drama exam preparation.

  • Yes. We try to stage one large production each year that is open to all AwA students who wish to be a part of it. Most of the productions are devised or written by Arminelle to ensure that each student can contribute to the best of their ability, highlighting their unique talents.

  • No, At AwA we really try to instil in the participants the importance of learning, trying and taking creative risks, in an environment free of the pressure of an outcome. Sometimes, we will open up the final day as a showcase of some of the work we have been doing but we try not to make that the focus of the term.

  • Arminelle is a passionate advocate for arts accessibility, believing that engagement in the arts has such a profound effect on a person's life that all people, regardless of financial security, should be able to access that positivity. Practically speaking, AwA keeps costs low by calling in many favours from the arts industry and accepting sponsorship for events. In this way, we can subsidise workshop fees.

  • You can read more about Arminelle HERE but briefly, yes, Arminelle has a BA (Drama/English) and a MTeach [as of 2026]. Arminelle also has over 20 years experience working in youth arts and the professional arts industry.

    Other trainers have either been trained by Arminelle or have extensive experience in youth arts and professional performance.

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