ZIKA NESTER OAM – PRINCIPAL

Zika is of Russian origin, born and raised in China, and fluent in three languages. She has been involved in the arts since childhood – early on as a ballerina, then as a concert pianist, actress and acting tutor. She came to Australia from Shanghai in 1953 and joined acting classes with Hayes Gordon at the Ensemble Theatre in 1958. In 1965, Hayes was so impressed by Zika's grasp of the theory, (she had read all of Stanislavsky's works in the original Russian) he invited her to give acting workshops at the Ensemble and she has taught acting ever since. When Hayes left temporarily in 1967 to play the lead role in Fiddler On The Roof, Zika was appointed Head Teacher. She became Principal of the school following Hayes’ death in 1999.

Zika has played many roles for the Ensemble Theatre – from her debut in 1963 as the lead in The Physicists, to her latest role in 1997 as Dr Radzinsky in Rough Justice. She became a member of the Company in 1968, worked as assistant director to Hayes Gordon from 1970 onwards and was casting director for the theatre for more than 15 years. She continues to be a member of the Ensemble Theatre Group. Her Television credits include: Homicide, Division 4, Riptide, My Name’s McGooley, Contrabandits, GP, Blue Heelers, Home and Away, A Distant Home (telemovie) and All Saints. She was also instrumental in producing a 13-week television series for Channel 10 on training in the theatre for Young World. Zika continues to work as an actress to this day, maintaining an up-to-date practical knowledge of the industry. She recently performed in a short film, Reuben’s Dream, directed by Alex Proyas.  

Zika has a vast knowledge of acting techniques and styles. Prior to the formal structuring of the Ensemble’s three-year acting course in 1973, she undertook a 9-month tour of acting schools and theatres all over the world to gain first-hand knowledge of international acting standards and teaching techniques. During this tour, she visited schools and acting companies in many countries (including the United States, Britain, Canada, Japan and Israel) sitting in on classes and attending performances at all levels of theatre (mainstream, "off-off-Broadway" and student shows). The tour included a month in Moscow - at the Moscow Art Theatre (Stanislavsky’s "laboratory") - and Leningrad, as a guest of the Russian theatrical union. Since then she has made regular visits to the US and to London to keep abreast of acting standards and techniques.

In 1973, she and Hayes Gordon established the Ensemble Studios in its current three-year format. In addition to this work, Zika has been involved in many other training projects involving acting. In the 1960s-70s she participated in training workshops with medical practitioners and academics, demonstrating how acting techniques can be used to elicit real emotions and produce neurophysiological changes that can be objectively measured (eg, changes in heart rate, galvanic skin responses). She has participated in training programs to teach creative drama to school children and communication skills to medical practitioners. She has worked in psychodrama, and has been involved in the design and production of mental health programs using acting techniques.

In 1998, Zika was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for her work in the Arts.