Meet APATA Member Zoe Emanuel from Brightsparks Performing Arts

APATA Member Spotlight: Meet Zoe Emanuel

Posted by J. Hampstead | Aug 12, 2021

Brightsparks Performing Arts School caters to kids who have a real spark for acting and singing.

Students go through an audition process to join the intentionally small classes that have a bespoke feel, catering to making those students shine.

With their own recording studio and Talent Agency, Brightsparks Performing Arts School is a fantastically creative space that aims to nurture the joy that the arts can provide.

Founder and Director Zoe Emanuel and the “Fabulous Jess” focus on classical singing training combined with acting and movement.

Meet Zoe Emanuel: Founder & Director of Brightsparks Performing Arts School

Emanuel’s mother left Country NSW to study with the Royal Academy of Dance at seventeen. Accepted in the Edinburgh Ballet School she met Zoe’s father, an actor and theatre producer involved with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The family making the move to Australia when Zoe was three years old.

“I had a very colourful childhood, we had all sorts of amazing people in and out of the house. I was fed performing arts for breakfast, lunch, and tea. Phantom of the Opera was playing round the clock and luckily, I loved it.

The strong music department at Kambala Church of England Girls’ School made it the school of choice for Zoe’s family. Taking piano up to grade seven and AMEB singing exams till grade eight, Emanuel would go on to complete music as a three-unit subject for the HSC.

Thanks to that grounding in reading music, music theory and sight-reading Emanuel successfully took on a creative arts degree majoring in drama and music.

One thing Zoe Emanuel recommends is having a backup plan and not putting all your eggs in one basket.

“My business had been going for over 15 years and during the GFC I thought that I had better get a backup plan. Six years ago, I completed my education degree. My Bachelor of Education has been a fantastic resource in extending my knowledge and making me a better teacher.”

We love to find what makes our community tick and why we do what we do. Zoe is no exception. Zoe lights up when we talk about her students. Choosing to be an educator and stepping into that role daily. We are so here for it!

“As much as I love the acting and singing what I love most are the kids. It’s just so much fun. I form strong bonds with my students, some of whom have been with me for over ten years. One of my student’s who is 15 has been with me since she was four. That relationship and watching them grow, I just love it so much.”

Through life-changing global scenarios such as the GFC and Covid, Emanuel speaks from experience when she talks about fostering those bright sparks.

“When my students are headed to a competition or an audition for professional work I say, do it because you love it. Don’t do it for the win or the job. Kids need to be kids. Do it because you love it, and the rest will unfold for you.”

Sounds like great advice to us! We all have words of wisdom that filter through us, sometimes subconsciously. How we walk through the world often has an indelible impact, especially when it comes to those we look to as role models, teachers, and mentors.

One such teacher for Emanuel was Valerie Collins-Varga ex-head of Opera Studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

“She was an incredible teacher, she taught me the art of discipline required as a singer not just vocally, but holistically. She supported me and believed in me and gave me such good grounding.

This nurturing experience with Collins-Varga was in direct contrast to high school, however.

“I remember going to my first audition in high school and I had two teachers who wanted to bring me down a few pegs and they succeeded.”

“From that experience I learnt how influential teachers can be. How important it is to make kids feel good, rather than tear them down, because that has a long-term effect.”

“As an adult my auditioning experience was paralysing. I would get nervous to the point where I could barely sing.”

Emanuel ardently acknowledges her responsibility as a teacher to nurture kids and to build their confidence. Encouraging them to be proud of their voice and be willing to speak up.

“If I could say anything to Valerie, I’d say thank you for believing in me and not giving up on me. Thank you for making me better at my craft. Valerie had a rigorousness that was uncompromising, and I really am grateful for that.”

Emanuel’s ethos is imbued into Brightsparks Performing Arts School. What began as an after-school program has evolved into an agency and studio designed for those kids who really have a spark for the arts.

With Brightsparks nestled in a collaborative creative space in Crows Nest, Sydney, Zoe Emanuel feels like she is living that BIG Dream that we talk about regularly here at APATA.

Thank you, Zoe Emanuel and Brightsparks Performing Arts School and Agency, for being a part of the APATA Community.

What’s on at Brightsparks? CLICK HERE

With Sydney’s current lockdown and in-person classes temporarily closed Brightsparks now offers online drama classes for those children needing creative and fun things to do at home!

If your child likes drama, then Brightsparks Performing Arts School has the perfect array of classes available. BOOK ONLINE CLASSES:CLICK HERE