Lila McGuire - Courtesy of Logies
At the 2026 Logie Awards held in Sydney on 16 August, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) graduate Lila McGuire won the Graham Kennedy Award for Most Popular New Talent for her portrayal of legendary Australian tennis player Evonne Goolagong Cawley in the ABC drama miniseries, Goolagong.
A proud Whadjuk and Ballardong Noongar woman, McGuire began her performing arts journey at WAAPA by successfully auditioning for its Certificate IV in Aboriginal Performance.
The one-year course offers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students training in acting, movement and voice through the lens of contemporary indigenous performance and culture.
"And that was just incredible," said McGuire. "I didn't spend a lot of time around mob growing up, so it meant for the first time that I was surrounded by people who looked like me, who have the same experiences as me. It was incredibly affirming."
Many of its graduates go straight into the industry, establishing careers as professional actors and performers. Other graduates springboard into further study in higher-level acting and dance training programs – like McGuire, who went on to complete WAAPA's three-year, full-time Bachelor of Arts (Acting) course in 2023.
Based at Edith Cowan University's new City Campus, WAAPA is one of only six Australian universities offering both a traditional degree structure and vocational education and training (VET) under the same roof.
Consequently, WAAPA provides career pathways for non-ATAR school leavers, mature age students and others through courses such as the 11436NAT Certificate IV in Aboriginal Performance.
Lila McGuire - Courtesy of Logies
With McGuire, star graduates of the course include Mark Coles Smith (Mystery Road: Origin), Shareena Clanton (Wentworth), Mayne Wyatt (City of Gold), Shari Sebbens (The Sapphires) and Shaka Cook (Hamilton).
McGuire's time at WAAPA prepared her for high-intensity professional sets, allowing her to book a role in the second season of the legal series, The Twelve, and land her breakout lead role in Goolagong just two years post-graduation.
Alex Papps (1995 Acting) and Michelle Lim Davidson (2010 Acting), both long-time presenters on the iconic Australian children's show, were part of the Play School team who accepted the 2026 Logie Award for Best Children's Program.
Working behind the scenes on Seven Network's RFDS, which took out the award for Best Drama Program, is 2005 Acting alum Ian Meadows, who is co-creator, writer, script producer, and executive producer of the hit TV series.
