I am interested and enthusiastic to find out more about so many different things which I will discuss in more depth in this blog;
-the role of women in the performing arts industry
-the balance between home life and a career in the performing arts industry
-life after the performing arts career, peoples plan B
- why is drama not a valued subject in schools
-how styles of teaching change depending on the society you are working in
-why does musical theatre become uncool as you grow up
There are probably more to be honest. But reflection really has opened up so many questions for me, many of which link and I am really excited to delve deeper into a few of these. I
2. What gets you angry or sad? Who do you admire who shares your feelings or has found a way to work around the sadness or anger?
When children are cruel to other children in regards to their effort in class. A school I teach at currently has a mix of kids who want to be there and kids who don't and I am constantly having to encourage the kids who want to sing to do so because they are fearful of what the other children might say. This is not an environment I am used to teaching in and I get minimal support from my boss when it comes to working ways around this, which makes things even harder. Luckily the girls I work with who teach dance and acting at the school, understand this issue fully and together we are always finding new ways between the three of us to improve this as it occurs in their classes as well as mine.
3. What do you love about what you do?Who do you admire who also seems to love this or is an example of what you love?
I love knowing that my students enjoy and benefit from their lessons with me. Like Lois-May Hunt, I feel that seeing a child's appreciation is one of the most rewarding parts of the job.
http://lois-mayhunt.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/task-2d-inquiry.html
I really admire my previous boss who welcomed me as a young peripatetic within his school and went out of his way to recommend me to other schools in the area, he was truly passionate about giving his students to best school experience and genuinely enjoyed his work.
4. What do you feel you don't understand? Who do you admire who does seem to understand it or who has found a way of making not understanding it interesting or beautiful, or has asked the same questions as you?
I don't understand why more roles aren't made for women is a female dominated society. I have written about this a lot in my diary as I am always auditions and the advantage of being male is insane to me. please see a later link when I write in more detail about this.
I don't understand why drama in school is not a valued subject. I have recently been asked to record a short clip for my high school drama teacher who is putting together a video for the principle in an attempt to save the drama department, at what was a specialised performing arts school, so I dread to think whats happening in other schools around the country. Who doesn't feel the same way as me? If I had to pin point one person I would say my high school drama teacher as he is actively trying to defend the arts and fighting to keep it.
I don't understand how musical theatre becomes uncool when most children grow up and love disney. I have previously blogged about this, but as a children's entertainer it fascinates me how the kids can go from loving what is essentially musical theatre and knowing every lyric to growing up and deciding music, singing and playing an instrument is uncool. My boss and colleagues of the party company feel the same, as just like me, they still love it!
5. Hows do you decide the appropriate ethical response to a given situation? To what extent are disciplinary responses different to what you would expect in society?
Disciplinary responses has only recently become a topic that really applied to me because until moving to London, I had never really had to deal with a 'naughty' child. I taught in three high schools, an early stages class, and private singing lessons before moving and (luckily) never had an issues...I don't know how this is possible but its completely true, the children all loved what I was teaching, all joined in enthusiastically, all my students in schools always learnt their songs and practised, all my early stages class used to sit down when I asked them to, line up in a neat line for the toilet when I asked them to, would be quiet when I asked them to, and I never had to give a warning or even raise my voice. Having taught in an under priveleged area of London for nearly a year now I actually feel quite silly typing what I just typed. I find that the primary school aged children are wonderful, a little lively at times, but its all good fun and they work well together. But my senior classes (high school age) are for want of a better term, hard work. Three teachers had quit in the space of sixth months before I started and I was so conscious when I first started the job that I had to approach these kids right because there wouldn't be a second chance at gaining their respect. I found that by going against who I normally am as a 'teacher' and being extremely down to earth, honest and verging on blunt occasionally with them has done wonders. There is still a clear boundary of teacher and student but by making sure that i'm lauren instead of miss, and stepping up and singing myself in class to prove I actually know what i'm doing as helped massively. I am all for the rule book, but sometimes keeping a few pages and then chucking the rest of the book away is the only way to go. Obviously this is different when you work in a school, because most schools have a way in which they 'discipline' children. But when you are forced into a situation where anything goes, I don't think there is any harm in writing a few pages of the rule book yourself.
********************************************
As I continue to progress with my journal writing there are some clear themes that seem to be re occurring that may well lead to my chosen line of enquiry which I am very excited about.
The first theme that I seem to be writing about frequently is the difficulty with balancing a 'home life' as well as working in this industry. Having just been offered a cruise contract a lot of my journalling has been focused around the changes that I predict will happen and are already happening within my relationship with my boyfriend, who I live with. He is completely supportive of all career choices I make and knows that a career in this industry has been my dream basically since day one, but of course my decisions have many implications on him. I seem to constantly juggle between leading my 'career lifestyle' and the 'usual stuff'. As a couple we have got into a routine, as Alex is the main earner and commutes to work so his hours are long, I have taken on the audition all the time, work part time, make sure the house is spotless, cook, look after the puppy, stay at home mum with no child role! Suddenly Alex is going to be alone in a two bedroom house, with a full time job, a dog and no help. Did he actually have any idea what he was letting himself in for? Did I? Whilst training I took class with numerous female teachers in their late 30's early 40's, all of them exceptionally talented and all of whom had had successful careers. But, as I have discussed in previous blogs, all of whom had faced the fact that a dancers life is short and therefore had taken the plunge and gone into teaching, full time in most cases in order to afford the rent in London. And the most noticable observation of the vast majority of these women, they were single. Having the dream career had come at a cost, and they made no secret of it. One of my teachers used to talk daily about the fact that her students would probably be married with children before she even got asked on a date! These women are all gorgeous, singer dancers, skinny, leggy, all of whom have worked, travelled, lived the life they had always dreamt about. But what happens after that? This is why when listening in on a coffee shop chat last week with a few module 3's I was so struck with the quote 'a dancer dies twice, so a dancer must live twice', I am only 23 and have zero intention of getting married and having babies any time soon, but I do want that, eventually, and I am constantly reminded that my decisions now may come at a cost to me later.
Another theme that comes up constantly in my diary is being a woman in this industry. After every audition I have been to since journalling I have made some comment on the quantity on women in the room compared to men, and yet there are equal or more job opportunities for males than females. I am constantly surprised by who is selected for a call back or given the job, as I find nine times out of ten it is the most attractive getting selected rather than the most talented. This stems further that just being a singer or dancer, across the entertainment industry directors, stage crew, lighting technicians, set designers, writers, you name it, the men out way the women ten to one.This creates so many issues further down the pyramid as so many girls are so incredibly focused on what they look like and not about working to perfect their practice. Men can turn up to an open audition with the wrong clothes, the wrong sheet music, haven't learnt the words, don't quite pick up the steps, and are forgiven, because the industry is desperate for men. But women have to be perfect, and because of the quantity of us the panel can be even pickier when it comes to selecting the chosen few. This leadsyoung women to think they must lose weight, must cake their face in makeup, must dye their hair, must wear the smallest most revealing outfit for the dance call...the list goes on.
I do of course appreciate that this doesn't count for every audition, panel or job. But there is definitely a gender issue within this industry.
I found the following article very interesting and relevant to many factors I had already commented on in my diary.
http://theodysseyonline.com/uni-tulsa/its-time-to-talk-about-the-misogyny-in-theatre/379651
The final theme that has played a significant role in my journalling is the 'Plan B'. I work part time as a singing teacher, a dance teacher and a party entertainer, and this course has really got me thinking about what I would do if I had to give up the 'dream job' and fall back on something. I have always thought I would open my own school at some point, but when things seem so far in the distance its hard to know that if I was forced to make a decision whether this would be the one I would go with. I've known for a while that the end goal for me definitely involves being my own boss and creating something of my own, but through thinking deeply into my professional practice I am no longer sure what route this would take. I'm very interested in finding out how other people have made this decision, or whether it was made for them.
No comments:
Post a Comment