World-famous Cirque du Soleil's production Corteo in full flight.
This is the story of three talented people.
Three people who didn't know each other growing up, but who had plenty in common.
They all loved music – listening to music, learning to play an instrument and even performing.
They all wondered what they could do with this love.
And they all landed on the same career direction through a fantastic university course.
It wasn't just a sound decision – it was a decision about sound.
Meet Georgia, Andrew and Kellan
All three of these former students found their way to the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, or WAAPA.
They each majored in Sound production and launched exciting careers that have taken them to iconic venues across the world.
But there's another common thread here.
All three are either working with or have once worked with the incredible global company Cirque du Soleil – and on the same show, Corteo!
Meet the sound stars: Kellan Starkie (far left), Andrew Michie (next left) and Georgia Snudden (far right) on site at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
If there was music involved, I was there and I didn't care much for anything else!
Georgia Snudden knew she wanted to work in a career surrounded by music but wasn't sure how.
Until she went to an Open Day at WAAPA, wandered into the recording studios and got talking to the Sound Course Coordinator.
After joining the academy, Georgia was surprised how much control the students were given, whether that was in running shows, doing practicals or projects across WAAPA disciplines.
She was also surprised with how creative the assessment tasks were, offering students a lot of flexibility to explore their range of skills.
As part of the course, Georgia wanted to do a work placement at a company, "I would truly love to work for some day – Cirque du Soleil."
Not only did Georgia get that placement with the show Corteo, she was later offered a job as a Radio Frequency Technician by the company!
Georgia has since mixed sound Front of House in the Royal Albert Hall, one of the world's most iconic historical venues – she says it was a real 'pinch me' moment.
She also can't wait until Corteo comes to her hometown of Perth, calling it 'a proud full circle moment'.
A dream come true: Georgia Snudden at work on Corteo at the Royal Albert Hall.
My dad introduced me to so many old bands and we started going to concerts together.
When Andrew Michie was in grade 6, he began learning classical guitar and his love of music was born.
He went on to learn electric guitar and drums and began playing in bands in high school and gigging around Perth.
Andrew's passion for music and performing got him interested in the Recording and Sound Production side of things.
This led to studying at TAFE and then onto WAAPA where he found he could run shows, operate equipment and use the tools provided.
"Getting to mix a show in a theatre as part of your study is pretty rare and pretty awesome," he says.
As part of a practical work placement, Andrew worked on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Broadway in New York.
"I got to experience every facet of a Broadway show in its creation. It is something I'll never forget."
In 2019, Andrew took a punt and flew to London to try and get work on the West End.
He has since worked on musicals such as Jersey Boys, Newsies and Choir of Man, the latter calling on him to mix for West End Live in Trafalgar Square in front of 20,000 people.
"Never in my life did I think this kid from Perth would be mixing a musical in the centre of London for a crowd that big."
Andrew has lived and worked in London ever since, and was stoked, like Georgia, to join Corteo.
WAAPA graduate Kellan Starkie at work on Corteo.
Throughout high school my main focus was music, but I always loved learning about the technical side of things.
Also born in Perth and growing up in a musical family, Kellan Starkie learnt trumpet and guitar at an early age.
And from setting up and operating small sound systems at school, to having his dad teach him to operate a mixing desk so he could mix for his band, he began to grow his interest in sound and technology.
At WAAPA, Kellan enjoyed the opportunity to demonstrate his skills and understanding of what he'd learned in real production scenarios through WAAPA's many and varied public performances.
And he got to work alongside industry professionals as well as like-minded students which gave him a great sense of drive in achieving his career goals.
During his studies, Kellan was able to fly to Germany to intern on a Cirque du Soleil tour for two weeks which was a fantastic experience.
Not long after returning home, they offered him a position as RF Technician on the same show, Corteo.
Kellan went on to become Assistant Head of Sound, specialising as the PA and Systems Technician.
He's now part owner of an audio-visual production and rental company in Perth.
Finale
Andrew says that WAAPA was fantastic preparation for his eventual career as it mimics the reality of theatre production to such a high level that, "you feel like you have already worked in the industry by the time you graduate."
If this story has given you some 'sound' advice – not to mention inspiration – you should explore study options in sound, lighting, props and scenery and more in WAAPA's Production & Design courses.
