Tina Thomsen began her career in Summer Bay, starring as Finlay ‘Fin’ Roberts in the popular Australian soap opera Home and Away, and now she’s taken her expertise to a studio in our own beachside suburb of Scarborough.
The dynamic owner and acting coach at Zip Studios has also gone back to her roots after finding a niche in providing North Brisbaneites with the chance to learn screen acting methods closer to home.
“I grew up in Redcliffe before moving to Sydney for work and I have always had a strong connection with the area,” Tina said.
Returning 20 years ago to the area to raise a family, Tina said it was the “best decision we ever made,” especially given that she has been able to realise some of her early aspirations.
“I always wished there had been a studio like Zip that focused purely on-screen acting, and so I just thought, why not create exactly what I would have loved as a young budding actor?” she said.
Supporting Local Talent with Screen Acting Training
Since she believes that everyone should have a creative outlet, Tina has designed her courses to be able to support the thriving arts community in the Moreton Bay region in a number of practical ways.
“Most of my students are looking to further their acting career in some way, whether as a hobby or professionally,” Tina said.
“I help them develop their skills to a point where we can prepare them a showreel, which they can then use to gain representation from an agent.”
Tina said that many of her past students have gone on to work in commercials, short films, television series and even feature films.
She said that Zip Studios’ Microseries package was a real point of difference – giving students the ability to star in their very own custom-written episodic show specifically designed to be share-worthy.
Alongside screen-acting coaching (with new two-day targeted workshops planned throughout 2025), Zip Studios also provides stand-alone showreel services, corporate and music video production, podcasting services and video editing.
Find out more about Zip Studios, including acting classes here.
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