“It’s through education and the arts that the potential of each of us is fulfilled."

Throughout my discussions on the SIG's via facebook I have found myself exploring different material and I came across this article form the stage and this quote below really struck a chord with me.


“It’s true, art is useless,” said Eyre. “It doesn’t clothe the poor or feed the hungry. It’s as useless as, well…life, but it’s precisely our awareness of the ‘uselessness’ of life that make us want to struggle to give it purpose, and to give that purpose meaning through art.”

He continued: “There is no society that doesn’t engage in the apparently useless activity of making art. It’s a universal instinct: it must therefore be contributing something that’s indispensable to human life.”
The whole article can be found below its definitely an interesting perception on the performance industry one that seems to have had a strong impact on me.

When asked to explain what I do it's not always simple to sum it up in a few words and can be dismissed as insignificant by others. This article really captures the essence of why the performance industry is so important to me and why my ideas for lines of enquiry are looking at the link between the arts and their necessity and benefit to academia.

I would welcome any thoughts on this article either on my blog or via facebook SIG's.


Richard Eyre: http://blogs.thestage.co.uk/education/2010/11/richard-eyre-president-of-rose-bruford-o/

Task 4a Developing questions relevant to my Professional Practice

I have read many blogs referring to the campus session held last week which I have found extremely useful. I wasn't sure if I was fully getting what was expected from me in module 4. I have decided to blog the process I went through in order to stimulate my ideas and produce my questions.

Using Rosemary's advice on her blog as a starting point I asked myself:

What I needed to know/have in order to be a professional?

• Respect-for self and others
• Common sense  
• Apathy-the ability to see from other points of view gives me an added advantage in situations.
• Self awareness-if I know where I'm up to then I can see others around me and stay focussed.
• Motivation- For self and create in others.
• Organisation-I feel this is paramount in any job. 
• Good time keeping- Is key in order to achieve targets and stay professional.
• Team work/team building skills. 

Professionalism to me is about reputation if that’s not perceived as positive then I wouldn't feel professional.

  

What do I need to know in my sector?   I found that the above were quite general things that suit most professionals. For my sector I needed to be more specific as a performer.

• Respect- I have to respect my views in order for others to take me seriously.
• Common sense-Knowing when to adjust for different genres of dance or different audiences.
• Apathy-Having the ability to use this in order to create substance for another character in order to understand/develop my own.
• Self awareness- spacial awareness on stage/at an audition/or teaching choreography not going to fast for others.
• Motivation-Having the energy needed to fulfil the true potential of a character to reach an audience.
• Organisation-This is basic if I'm not organised It will effect others around me.  
• Good time keeping -Rehearsal times need to be respected as tight schedules are usually given and the show must go on as planned.
• Team work-In order for a show to work continued contact and communication is needed with all performers, the director, choreographers and technicians. 

The use of the visual diagrams referring to the BUILDING BLOCKS Nicole discussed was very useful in order for me to distinguish what I know, the abilities I have and how I acquired them.

GENERIC/ADAPTABLE/SPECIALISED

I discovered things I'm competent in, I found things that I needed to potentially acquire or refine in order to improve my professional practice which link in with the stimulating questions used at the Campus session which again Nicole blogged about. I looked at this personally and professionally as I felt the two were closely linked.

  

What do you know? 

I know what my professional experience has given me and how it has shaped the performer I am today.

I know my initial aims from college dramatically altered In order for me to sustain my professional career.

I know my skills and knowledge have brought me this far in my career so hopefully I can continue to improve on these through this course.

I know I can't predict the future.

I am good at lesson planning and communicating to pupils.

What do you not yet know?

Where or when my next professional contract will start and what it might be.

What area I should next focus on in my career as I feel the need for constant assessment and improvement.

What do you want to know?

Why I haven't been cast for certain roles in the past when i felt well suited-feed back would have been appreciated.

Is my show reel that I'm currently having made of a high enough standard for me to take that next step that I want in order for me to attain a more established role?

Can I be taken seriously in more straight acting roles?

Am I seen as a dancer who can sing a bit from my cv?

These then became a great source for me to gain perspective and focus my attention on what I wanted professionally.

  

I also used Nicole’s example listing what advantages she had as a professional and the challenges faced I decided to explore my own:

Within my professional practice what are my personal advantages and what are my challenges?

Advantages

1. My age and experience
2. Professional training
3. My self belief
4. My awareness in my capabilities and honesty with myself
5. Strength in networking
6. Professional contacts I have aquired over the years

Challanges

1. Being memorable at auditions staying at the forefront of employers minds
2. Staying current/relevant
3. Finding work that pays enough
4. Funding travel for auditions
5. Being based in the Northwest at times has been the difference in employment/availability to attend an audition if in London or a further a field at short notice.
6. knowing what attire is suitable in order to stand out in a positive way at an audition
7. Having the write vocabulary when writing cover letters which catch an employer’s eye in a positive light rather than sounding desperate.
8. the fact that hundreds of other females apply for the same roles.
9. Physical aspects I can't change my height or weight to suit every audition I can only be me. 
10. Age at 24 my playing age is still 16-24 but at times can hinder me.

I found that some were both advantages and challenges but the decision to be ok with that has helped me to looked beyond and stay focussed on what is realistic for me as that’s what makes me individual and unique.

Rather that spreading myself to far and trying to suit everyone I realise I must concentrate on what I have naturally which inevitably I will be able sustain longer. Ultimately I want to give longevity to my performance career.

Having more challenges than advantages doesn't necessarily seem a bad thing for me. I believe if I'm able to see where potential areas for improvement are it can only help better my understanding and reasoning for them.

My developing questions relevant to my professional practice?

Looking further on in my career I wondered if I wanted to teach in an accredited college like the one I originally trained at as a Musical theatre teacher covering Dance/Drama and singing

• Would I need to increase my theoretical knowledge in order to be taken seriously as a Musical Theatre teacher?

I have years of experience teaching as a vocal coach and a dance teacher in many styles. These opportunities have come from my professional experience supported by my intial training but are they enough if I want to go beyond this to teach at a Diploma/Btec level.

• What courses could I potentially complete to increase my chances becoming more hireable to teach Musical theatre in this kind of institute?
• How can I get rid of the term assumption behind the term Singer/Dancer? If I put Musical theatre performer is seems to vague.

I have played many parts where I am lead vocalist but due to my dance back ground at times I feel I'm seen on my Cv as a dancer who can sing a bit. I would like to distinguish the two somehow I think it maybe a good idea for me to keep my show reel and vocal demo separate so I can control the impression given. Any advice on this would be appreciated.

• Is it possibly to break into straight acting from a predominantly Musical theatre acting background? If so what more could I be doing to enhance my chances?

The few straight acting parts I've been cast for were more to do with how I've looked or the fact I could speak French rather than reading from a script. 

  

I also looked back at some ideas discussed last semester. I talked about how playing age and actual age related to castability.

• Should it matter if I can pass for 16 even though I'm 24 applying for younger roles?

I'm aware that there are many younger performers having just finished training coming into the profession but shouldn't experience count for more than just age alone? 

Conclusion 

I know I have many different questions which are all linked in different ways to my professional practice now and looking forward into the future. Am I wrong in wanting to question different aspects in order to strengthen and therefore broaden my professional practice?