Download Contemporary Theatre essay and more Essays (university) Theatre in PDF only on Docsity!
My main future career aspiration that I would like to achieve is to become a theatre performer who specialises in musical theatre but would be open to other areas of the creative arts. I have so many dream roles that I would like to be in musicals which are Audrey in the Little Shop of horrors, Veronica from Heathers, Jane Doe from the Ride of the Cyclone, Jane Seymour from Six and many more musicals. Even though most of these are the main characters within the musicals, I would be happy even if I achieve becoming a professional ensemble dancer within a company. My dream company to work for would be the Royal Shakespeare Company within Stratford- Upon - Avon, but to achieve working for this company, I would need to start somewhere perhaps a lesser known company so that I can gain experience. Other areas of the arts that I would be open to are working as a scare actress, working as a Shakespearean actress, dancer in a dance company, a wedding singer or even a singer in a rock band. “All the world's a stage , And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances,” - William Shakespeare (15) Skills Audit “A skills audit is the process of assessing your employee’s skills via a questionnaire or one- to-one, and then identifying potential knowledge gaps which might affect the long-term plans of the company or the growth of the individual.” (5) Subject specific The skills that I have that are subject specific are singing, can play different musical instruments, can dance and apply dance technique, as well being able to use physicality for performance, act, use body and face expressions to express the arts, as well as use different acting techniques. “Since learning each subject requires a mastery of a specific set of skills and knowledge, it only makes sense that it is taught within that particular context. That is what subject-specific teaching does - it is teacher-directed, context-driven and focused on a field of study to ensure that students have all the tools they need to get a rigorous understanding of each subject.” (6) Related to subject These are all related to the topic and can be applicable when entering an audition. Another skill that I am trying to explore and practice are circus skills and getting my flexibility as well as maintaining flexibility in my physicality. “The basic building block of your acting is yourself. You are completely 100% unique, and this is good news. This gives you a great foundation from which to build. What you look like and how you behave is the clay you’ll work with when creating characters.” (11) Transferable skills
“Transferable skills, sometimes called portable skills, are the skills you have developed that can be transferred from one job to another, like good communications or time management skills.” (1) Within the industry and for the workplace, I feel like I have a few transferable skills that I am able to take forward for when I enter the workplace which are problem solving, communication skills, dependability, time management skills and data analysis. I would like to think that I may make a good candidate but I have a few flaws that I need to work on such as my confidence since if I work on this, I would be able to have leadership skills. Goals for the next 18 months During one of my classes I had to do an exercise about what my inner voice is telling me about all of the goals that I would like to achieve. By doing this exercise I could see that I lack confidence and I doubt my abilities as a performer a lot as well as I put a lot of pressure on myself to achieve what I would like to. To carry this forward I would set short, medium and long goals but my umbrella goal is to work on my anxiety and to overcome my stage fright so that I can perform in front of an audience especially with my singing. “Setting goals helps trigger new behaviours, helps guide your focus and helps you sustain that momentum in life. Goals also help align your focus and promote a sense of self-mastery. In the end, you can’t manage what you don’t measure and you can’t improve upon something that you don’t properly manage. Setting goals can help you do all of that and more.” (13) Short During university, I would like to get the most of my remaining experience. So therefore my short term goals would be to make use of the facilities, create my showreel ready for when I go out for auditions, to record some music whilst I’m in the recording studios, record some dance videos within the dance studios and to look into collaborating with other students in any extra projects during my spare time and to ask different lecturers for advice on where to go to for building up my contacts. “Setting goals also helps us prioritize things. If we choose to simply wander through life, without a goal or a plan, that’s certainly our choice. However, setting goals can help us live the life we truly want to live.” (13) Medium My medium term goals would be to prepare for my musical and university dissertation projects as well as looking into what to do for if I graduate university, whether that would be researching local auditions or even looking into master degrees at a different university and applying to either performing jobs or applying for a masters degree. “Setting goals can help us move forward in life. Goals give us a roadmap to follow. Goals are a great way to hold ourselves accountable, even if we fail. Setting goals and working to achieving them helps us define what we truly want in life.” (13)
Reflecting on myself would give me a benefit on thinking about what I can do to improve to give myself the best possible shot in an audition. “Why do we need to reflect? - One of the benefits of reflection is its impact on professionalism. Through reflecting on our practice, we become more aware, more in control, more able to see strengths and development needs. Through reflection, we can begin to move from novice to expert.” (2) From this quote, this would mean that only through reflection I could improve as a theatre performer and become a professional rather than an amateur in the industry. From this, I could gain skills, get some performance advice and advise on further research on practices to help myself become a better performer. Exploration When heading out into the performing arts industry, my own brand would be myself as a performing artist or as a theatre performer who would also be able to have skills in makeup artistry (as a backup career) and could also do yoga instructing (another backup career). My main brand would be a theatre performer who specialises in musical theatre but can also specialise in dance, Shakespearean theatre, orchestral background and vocalisation who has a mezzo soprano vocal type of a range from C (alto range mid level) until high F (third octave). “All of these questions are very generic, but they help to decipher the code to yourself. It’s a good idea to know who you are before you begin to create characters. The town you were born in, the family you came from, your brothers, your teachers, your home, and your social circle have all been important ingredients in the creation of your most fundamental tool of acting: You!” (11) This quote is from the article, know yourself from backstage magazine. Evidence I have started to create an audition pack with the essentials that will be needed when entering the industry. I would need to create a show reel to showcase all of the skills that I can do. This current moment, I am struggling to get the footage together of performance work on stage so when I have that I can then form my show reel. I could also take the time to record as much footage as possible within the university in both the recording studios and in the dance studios. https://youtu.be/8nBWKtxluLI this is a video of a project which has got different clips of what I can do. It is made up of dance videos, voiceover of a monologue and a self created piano piece. This is titled “The Forces of Nature”. So far, I have got an updated performers CV, a basic performers CV, a website and some professional social media pages such as my YouTube channel which is under my stage name (Storm Nightingale) where I upload instrumental pieces, song covers, monologues, dance routines, yoga routines and many other performance videos and Instagram page where I upload different makeup looks and pictures from performances as well as costume pictures. Images from appendix 5 and onwards for evidence.
To give myself the best possible chance in the industry, I would need to update my performers CV further, get some experience within the performance industry, update my showreel and get some footage of myself performing within the studios and on stage. “A performer resume is a one-page document that highlights your education, previous performance experience and skills. Directors and entertainment companies often require candidates to submit a resume along with other application materials to determine if you are the right fit for their production.” (10) Market Research I have been doing some extensive research for job opportunities within the performing arts industry. I had a performing arts job as both a theatre presenter and then as a theatre usher as well due to the lack of staff at the Snowdome’s Winter Wonderland. By doing this I had some practice performing on stage again after a period of no stage performing due to not being at university over the summer and coming back to theory lectures so doing this job gave me some confidence again being on stage. Also, it was eye opening as I also got to experience the work of the front of house within the theatre and seeing what they do since I’ve never encountered the work of the front of house positions before. “We are looking for a new party host to join our fun team at Oxygen in Derby! We are looking for someone who is passionate, hard working, enthusiastic, professional and able to work in a fast paced environment. You’ll be required to work on the weekends, weekdays and holidays. It is desirable, but not compulsory, to have some experience in children’s entertainment, or background in acting/musical theatre.” - Full description of working as a children’s host. (7). Appendix 3 and appendix 4. Appendix 1 until appendix 4 is some of the evidence of my market research for theatrical jobs. “James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim take everyone’s favourite storybook characters and bring them together in a glorious piece of musical theatre. The story follows a Baker and his wife, who wish to have a child; Cinderella, who wishes to attend the King’s Festival; Jack, who wishes his cow would give milk and Little Red Riding Hood, who wishes to visit her sick Grandmother. When the Baker and his wife learn that they cannot have a child because of a Witch’s curse, the two set off on a journey to break the curse. Everyone’s wish is granted, but the consequences of their actions return to haunt them later with disastrous results.” - Full description for Into The Woods at the Crescent Theatre. (9) “Sylvia is a love letter to anyone who has owned a dog, wanted to own a dog or just loved a dog. For all the times you’ve looked into those eyes and known that they understand everything you say and you understand everything about them – but do you really? Greg, an empty nester who is unhappy with his job, finds Sylvia in the park and brings her to his home – or, as Sylvia puts it, saves her life – but his wife, Kate, is more than unsure of this situation. She is fearful all responsibility will fall to her and she has been looking forward to time with other couples, concerts, dinners, but especially, more time with Greg. They reach an
Appendix
Appendix 1: Research jobs in theatre locally in Birmigham
Appendix 2; Crescent theatre Birmingham theatre job second part of the audition advert.
Appendix 3: Another performing job advert for a children’s party host.
Appendix 5: Screenshot of my YouTube channel.
Appendix 6: Screenshot of my Instagram which I use for advertising Appendix 8: Another screenshot of my Instagram but more of the pictures
Appendix 9: Headshot Appendix 10 (both images below): Self created wix website to advertise myself as a theatre performer
