Article: ‘Helping young actors survive in industry’ by Scott Warren, Blue Mountains Gazette, Wednesday, July 9, 2003.

“An acting workshop devised by Blackheath’s Jillian O’Dowd is giving young actors a better chance of breaking into the fickly TV and film industry.

It is quite possibly, the most fickle industry in the world – yet there is no shortage of people willing to risk unemployment and poverty for a shot at stardom.

In 1996 Jillian, a graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) who has appeared in All Saints and British show Cold Feet, devised the ‘Re:Actor’ workshop to train aspiring actors in film and TV acting and this year it is available in the Mountains for the first time, with prominent actors teaching the students all they know.

An eight week workshop for students from across the Mountains will commence at Springwood High in late July and is open to teenagers from across the Mountains, regardless of what school they attend.

“Re:Actor is a course for people seeking a career in film or television, it isn’t just a fun drama course,” Jillian said.””
– (excerpt from article), Scott Warren