Dingoes, matrophobia and missing PMs: VCA students present FRISK at Melbourne Fringe Festival

VCA students present FRISK at Melbourne Fringe Festival
Picture by Justin Nott/ Life on Repeat

Seven new works by University of Melbourne Victorian College of the Arts students will feature as part of FRISK – a festival of new performance – at this year’s Melbourne Fringe, from 22-25 September.

Spanning topics such as agoraphobia, mother-daughter relationships and “missing” former Australian prime ministers, FRISK enables final-year Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) theatre and production students to showcase their talents at one of the largest multi-art form festivals in Australia.

VCA Lecturer in Theatre Robert Walton said the FRISK program was designed to prepare graduating students from the VCA with real-world skills, such as pitching, fundraising, rehearsing, and performing.

“In becoming part of an established festival, the students learn to network and engage with their peers and the wider Melbourne theatre community,” Mr Walton said.

“This is the third year we’ve presented FRISK at the Fringe and it’s going from strength to strength.”

The seven shows chosen for 2016 (two of which form a double bill) are the culmination of a year-long project for the VCA students and operate across a range of genres and form, from black comedy to an “underwater adventure”, from the inner workings of the human mind to cabaret.

VCA Head of Theatre Matt Delbridge said: "We’re delighted to partner with the Melbourne Fringe Festival to make this lasting and memorable experience for our students. It’s precisely opportunities like these that make VCA Theatre such a unique program, and Melbourne an extraordinary city.”