NIDA acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we learn and tell stories, the Bidjigal, Gadigal, Dharawal and Dharug peoples, and we pay our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past and present.

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Associate Lecturer, Set Construction Technologies Michael Harding
Home Profile Michael Harding

Michael Harding

Michael graduated from Charles Sturt University in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts (Theatre). Later that same year he started his career in musical theatre in the staging department of The Phantom of the Opera at Sydney’s Theatre Royal. His next step was as a full-time venue technician at the Showroom Theatre at Star City casino where there was high turnover of shows from both Australian and international companies.

He also has experience in theatrical equipment installation. He worked on the installation of the power fly system at Roslyn Packer Theatre and NIDA’s Parade Theatre fly system. He also completed refurbishment or new installations of cinema screens, drapes and curtain tracking systems in a wide variety of venues.

In 2004, Michael was offered his first tour with Bell Shakespeare. The production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream took the company to 26 regional venues across Australia in 12 weeks.

From 2006 to 2015, Michael was touring national productions of major musicals. The productions include the world premiere of Dirty Dancing (AU/NZ), the Asia-Pacific tour of The Phantom of the Opera and the Asia-Pacific production of Wicked. In these productions, Michael was predominantly Head Flyman, however he did have numerous opportunities to step into the Head Mechanist and Automation Operator roles.