Did you hear? JMC Academy has just launched a brand new Bachelor & Diploma in Acting on our Melbourne Campus with intakes starting in January!

As part of the creation of this new course, JMC is engaging with industry experts to develop and teach content that produces entrepreneurial Actors, ready to launch a sustainable career in performance. Enter, Ben Samuel, actor, musician, educator and entrepreneur. Ben has a long-standing creative career and will be heading JMC’s Acting course in Melbourne.

Learn more about Ben

Ben Samuel's career in performing arts began in New Zealand. His passion for storytelling is demonstrated through his work across the disciplines of stage acting, music performance & dance. He completed his undergraduate studies in New Zealand in Music Performance (B.A - University of Canterbury) & Music Theatre (BPA - National Academy of Singing & Dramatic Arts). After relocating to Australia, Ben completed a Master of Music (Performance & Pedagogy) qualification at the University of Melbourne. His doctoral research is focused on exploring strategies for developing positive wellbeing practices amongst young performers, including an examination of creative burnout, emotional labour and the impacts of performance anxiety on the artist's creative process. 

He has taught at various schools and creative arts programs across Australia and is the Creative Director of Soundworks Music Studios, which offers instrumental training as well as workshops, artist development programs, musical theatre productions, and ensemble music programs to the community in North Melbourne.

Ben's musical theatre performance credits as a singer, actor and dancer include productions of Cats, Fiddler on the Roof, Oklahoma, Curtains, Carmen, The Color Purple, and Hair. His stage play credits include classics such as Caucasian Chalk Circle (Bertolt Brecht) and Pass it On (Renee). Ben has also contributed to the development of new works by Australian playwrights and the co-creation of cabaret performances and showcases in Melbourne, working alongside local arts organisations and various other theatre companies. He is an experienced Director, working with independent theatre companies across Melbourne to take musical works from script to stage (Cry Baby, All Shook Up, Seussical, Altar Boys, Disenchanted). He's particularly focused on projects which promote cultural diversity and equal representation in theatre; a current project is the production of 'In the Heights', the musical which acted as a social experiment of conscious casting within the music theatre industry.