NZ Diploma in Scenic Properties & Construction (Set & Props)
Course details
| Domestic tuition | $7,842 per year |
|---|---|
| International tuition | $28,205 |
| NZQF Level | 6 |
About the course
Toi Whakaari Set & Props is a two-year practical course leading to The New Zealand Diploma in Scenic Construction & Properties.
We are the school’s ‘makers’. We construct, sculpt, carve, mould, cast, paint, engineer, laser-cut and 3D-print. In recent years this has included constructing a full-scale spacecraft interior and a four-metre-tall moa. We work closely with Toi’s other departments, enabling the collaboration required to succeed in the stage and screen industries.
We have a close relationship with leading industry practitioners, who work as guest tutors. They also provide work placements and mentor our students’ personal projects.
Students graduate from this course with a wide range of skills. They can manage construction processes, work as part of a team and meet deadlines – as independent contractors or industry-ready employees.
Entry requirements
The diploma is an intensive, full‐time two-year course for up to eight students a year. Students collaborate with designers, costumiers, actors, filmmakers and directors to create major stage and screen productions, with an emphasis on work from Aotearoa and the Pacific.
First-year students have four terms of craft skills classes.
Term 1: Carpentry, props making and painting.
Term 2: Sculpting, carving, moulding and casting
Term 3: Computer-aided design and manufacture, including laser cutters, CNC routers and 3D printers. 2D to 3D pattern-making techniques and fast prototyping projects with EVA foam.
Term 4: A major build for a theatre production. Advanced carpentry and welding.
Classes for first year students are interspersed with work on larger projects, such as building and painting sets and making props and scale models for film and theatre.
Second-year students choose lead production roles on school productions to develop their specialist areas of interest. They also select two industry internships with professionals.
These enable students to participate in a professional environment as well as build contacts for future employment.
A major focus of the second year is to create a ‘major work’. This is an independent research project that allows students to explore a specialist skill. Past examples have included camera-quality scale model miniatures, ‘hero’ prop swords, and an eco-friendly football table.
About the provider
- NZ Diploma in Scenic Construction & Properties (Set & Props)
- NZ Diploma in Costume Construction
- Bachelor of Performing Arts (Management)
- Bachelor of Performing Arts (Acting)
- Bachelor of Design (Stage & Screen)
- Master of Creative Performance Practice
Unique like you
We are Toi Whakaari. We stand tall alongside unique people like you, enabling you to express your true creative self.
In our creative village, your individuality and passion for the performing arts is shared, celebrated, and nurtured. We care deeply about you and your unique place in our whānau. To us, manaakitanga – care, respect and enhancing each other’s mana – really does matter.
Our distinctive learning approach, built on the mātauranga and tikanga of our whakapapa, enables our tauira to tell their, and our nation’s, unique story.
As New Zealand’s premier school of performing arts, our legacy has always been to train the best performers, designers, and craftspeople from here and from around the world.
Taught by renown experts and educators with broad industry and community connections, our prestigious qualifications are a mark of quality that opens doors to a successful career. And that’s why our talented alumni are sought after, in front of and behind the scenes, by the world’s leading productions.
Being part of our kura is more than just gaining qualifications. Here skills are gained, perspectives are shaped, connections are made, and potential is revealed. We recognise all our students as future rangitira. They emerge from here - knowing who they are and where they stand - ready to add their value to Aotearoa New Zealand’s thriving performing arts community.
If you’re a past, present or future tauira; a valued staff member, industry partner or funder; or a member of the many communities we’re part of, we stand with you. We’re proud to take this creative journey with people as unique as you.