Join PAC's Co-Founder and Creative Director Nisrine Amine as she speaks with professionals in the acting industry.

This is your chance to hear from successful and inspiring Western Sydney alumni who have had extensive and unique experiences as, and with actors in the Australian and international acting industry.

You'll get to ask questions and quash your fears about being a minority actor from the west; walking out ready to embrace your uniqueness and steer your own acting ship (or, camel) with confidence and clarity.

Panel members: Arka Das, Dave Newman, Judy Saba.

For more information, call 1300 828 144 or email info@parramattaactorscentre.com.au.

www.parramattaactorscentre.com.au

PANELIST ARKA DAS

Actor, Filmmaker

Arka is an actor and filmmaker from Sydney, Australia, whose work includes award winning Australian and international film, TV & stage credits. Arka has starred in Academy Award nominated film Lion and will be seen in Disney's upcoming live-action remake of Mulan. His TV credits include Top of the Lake: China Girl, directed by Academy Award winner Jane Campion, a lead role on ABC's critically acclaimed medical drama Pulse, alongside Janet King, The Code and also Nine Network/Sony's crime drama Bite Club.

As a writer and director, Arka holds short films, web-series and short documentaries under his belt. He wrote and directed Khana Khazana, a short film exploring the dark side of migrant labour, which had its Australian premiere at Flickerfest International Short Film Festival and its US premiere at LA Shorts Film Festival and has also screened at St Kilda Film Fest and the International Film Festival of South Asia Toronto. Arka is also one of the writers on an upcoming anthology feature film produced by Co-Curious and in development with the assistance of Screen Australia and Create NSW.

PANELIST MELISSA BONNE

Actor

Melissa Bonne can currently be seen on America’s ABC Network playing the character of Ana Dumont on the new series Reef Break. The show is described as a sexy, action-packed, one-hour drama, set on a stunning and seductive Pacific Island paradise full of fast-paced, high-octane adventures and island intrigue.

Born in Zimbabwe, Melissa relocated to Australia with her family at the young age of 5. After graduating from The Actor’s Pulse at 21 where she studied the well renowned Sanford Meisner technique, Melissa performed in several stage productions such as Alan Ball's Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, Richard Stockwell's Killing Time and Theresa Rebeck's Mauritius. Bonne's additional acting credits include starring in the Australian series Pulse and Janet King, which in turn led her to take a role in the iconic stage play Look Back in Anger.

Additional credits include the television series Harrow and Home and Away. Bonne can also be seen in the feature film Back of the Net.

PANELIST DAVE NEWMAN

Casting Director

David has worked in various aspects of the industry for the last 30 years, the last 20 years in casting, including 7 years working with Christine King Casting. Having started his casting career with hundreds of commercial projects he then progressed to work on some of the biggest and most successful feature film & long-form drama projects to shoot in Australia.

He spent 15 months as the Australian Casting Associate on 'The Pacific' (Stephen Spielberg, Tom Hanks, HBO), scoured the country and personally conducting well over 3000 auditions on this project alone. 'The Pacific' won the 2010 Emmy award for Outstanding Casting for a Mini Series, Movie or Special – Dave calls The Pacific his ‘degree in casting’. For the past two years Dave has been honoured to represent his peers as Vice President of the Casting Guild of Australia.

PANELIST JUDY SABA

Cross Cultural Psychologist, Diversity trainer

Judy Saba is an accredited diversity trainer and facilitator, Cross-Cultural Psychologist and public speaker with extensive experience in applied diversity training in both public and private sector organisations., and has delivered applied papers at numerous conferences both in Australia and overseas, including the International Gibran Conference on Peace and Humanity in a World of Global Conflict - Washington, USA April 2012.

In 2010 Judy was awarded a Churchill Fellowship which enabled her to research Diversity training and human rights integration in policing jurisdictions in the US, Middle East and UK. Currently employed by NSW Police Force as the state wide  diversity skills trainer, Judy has also held successful positions in the education context as a diversity consultant with the Catholic Education Office, eight years’ counselling survivors of Torture and Trauma as well as , private consultancy and has come to NSW Police Force after four years as Manager of Diversity Education and Workforce Development with South East Health.

Judy also moonlights as a “foodie” and food safari guide running the Lebanese walking tour of Punchbowl with Maeve O’Meara’s “Gourmet Safari".

FACILITATOR NISRINE AMINE

Actor, Writer, Co-Founder/Creative Director Parramatta Actors Centre

Nisrine Amine is an actor and writer from Western Sydney. She recently featured in the Australian feature film Slam and will appear in the upcoming ABC series Frayed as well as FX’s Mr Inbetween and Channel 7’s Australian Gangster. Here other screen credits include Deadly Women, Here Come The Habibs, and Janet King as well as the short films Amir (2018), Candlelight (2017), The Woman on the Top Floor (2012), Broken Time (2013), and The Parisian (2013), the web series I Luv u But (2014) and TAFEWSI’s, Rob’s Campaign (2016). Nisrine received an Outstanding Actor nomination at the 2017 Sydney Film School Award night for her lead role in the short film Maya. Her stage credits include Lady Tabouli (Green Door/Apocalypse/Griffin Theatre Company, 2019), The Girl/The Woman (NTOP/Riverside Theatre 2018), Alex and Eve: The Complete Story (Factory Theatre, 2013) where she played the title role of Eve, The Colour Blind Project (Tap Gallery, 2011), and Arabian Nights (New Theatre, 2012) and has acted in countless playwriting development workshops.

Her short film Apricot received funding by Screen NSW as part of their SEED: Regional Funding initiative and premiered at Flickerfest 2018 and will air on ABC IView in early 2018. In 2012, Nisrine produced and co-directed The Young Creatives Festival of Shorts, a short-play festival for young people from Western Sydney as well as The Wizard of Oz (Our Lady of Mercy College, 2002), Check Please! (Catherine Mcauley, 2010), Evil Shall Not Triumph (Catherine McAuley, 2010) and The Wiz (Ave Maria College, 2015). She also wrote, produced and starred in a web series pilot Whatever After (2013).

Nisrine has worked with a range of national and international acting coaches including Anthony Skuse, Kevin Jackson, Anthony Brandon Wong, Natela Dzuliashvili, Serhat Caradee, Robert Marchand and Doris Younane, and studied at leading institutions including the Stella Adler School of Acting NYC, NIDA, Actors Centre and The Hub Studio.