Potential line of enquiry 4: Life after being a performer; should we all have a plan B?

Definition of 'Plan B' 

an action or set of actions for doing or achieving something that can be used if the preferred method fails:

The alternative Plan B for funding the stadium calls for a contribution of $7.5 million a year from taxpayers for 30 years.

The dreaded alternative career path is a topic of conversation many performers don't wish to have. When at college we were drilled to believe that we would never become a professional performer if we had a plan B prepared. But what happens when we get injured? When we have to pay bills? When we are deemed too old? When having children or a more structured life becomes a priority? What happens if Plan A simply doesn't work? Is it right to plan ahead for all eventualities? Or by doing so are we distracting focus from reaching the ultimate goal?

I began by mind mapping my initial thoughts...

...and am continually adding to this map as a discuss the topic with fellow performers in my SIG group via facebook. So far it looks like this...

The new, key points that came up when discussing this potential line of enquiry with my SIG group were; the idea of admitting to defeat and the guilt they would feel for falling back on a plan B. Many fellow graduates said that because their parents had spent their entire lives driving them to dance class, making costumes, consoling us when we didn't get the part, making sure we had dance shoes, leotards, sheet music, as well as the amount of money it costs for lessons and then professional training, that 'giving up' just didn't feel like an option. This lead to question why a plan B is deemed 'giving up'? Why is changing direction, veering off path, or honing in on a skill that you may have acquired along the way seen as failure? Many people change careers through out life and are applauded for 'being brave', 'taking a leap of faith', 'going after what they want', so why is it the opposite for performers? 

Many of my friends also said that they would be embarrassed to pursue another career. We were all the talented kid from our local dance school who made it into a professional college and was going to be the star...how do we go home and face people who thought you could make it? All those people you promised tickets to when you finally got your break in  a big show? This made me question my own choices. How many people who have no luck, those who always get cut from every audition, would continue to pursue a career as a performer if there wasn't a negative surrounding the idea of the Plan B? Is it really passion driving us?

There are numerous articles on the web in regards to this subject (turns out we might all be thinking the same thing after all.) This particular article highlights many of the key points i've already thought of and tryies to convince us that it is in fact, okay to take a new path.

'blindly following a dream becomes less about pursuing a passion and more about just desperately trying to avoid failure.' 

http://www.thegloss.com/career/i-gave-up-my-dream-and-id-do-it-again-731/ -Allison Ford 2012

One of the most interesting finds from simply googling this topic is the amount of articles in relation to 'successful' well known performers from big features films, tv shows or pop stars who want a year off, or intend to give up their career in the industry. Maybe the problems with this career path stem all the way up the ladder?

Potential line of enquiry 3: The professional auditionee; how do we prepare ourselves for the process and deal with rejection?

Definition of 'professional' - Oxford dictionary 

Relating to or belonging to a profession.

‘young professional people’

Worthy of or appropriate to a professional person; competent, skilful, or assured.

‘his professional expertise’
‘their music is both memorable and professional’

Engaged in a specified activity as one's main paid occupation rather than as an amateur.

‘a professional boxer’

Definition of 'audition' - Oxford Dictionary 

An interview for a role or job as a singer, actor, dancer, or musician, consisting of a practical demonstration of the candidate's suitability and skill.


‘the Royal Ballet gave Nicola an audition’

The idea of being a 'professional auditionee' was given to me whilst in my third year of training. At this point in our class singing lessons we had begun to 'rehearse' auditions, everything from how we walk into the room and address the panel, how we talk to the pianist, where we look, what we should wear, how we stand, let alone actually getting to the point where we might sing! We were told quite bluntly, that the majority of us would spend more time auditioning then we ever would performing, hence the focus in class. Since graduating, I have come to learn how true this was, and therefore I am extremely interested to learn how others deal with the process.

Before training I was always a very nervous auditionee. I would dread auditioning and got very worked up with the whole process, but since college something has flipped completely, and I have actually come to rather enjoy the experience, which I never thought I would say! The subject is obviously still very broad and I definitely want to narrow this question down a bit, so I started a SIG group on Facebook with a few of my friends from college who I know are all in the same boat as me, and as the chat progresses I will continue to add their thoughts to my mind map.

The original....

so far...

The Key thoughts that have come up so far are Preparation, The Process, Success and Failure. Within these four routes all aspects of the 'Professional Auditionee's' journey can be mapped. My friends also brought up the help having agency representation has which i had completely forgotten about! Another interesting avenue that I also hadn't considered was the power shows like the X Factor and The Voice have on our industry, as peoples ideas of what this profession is like are altered considerably by the easy rise to fame portrayed in these shows.

I have started reading 'The Performing Life: A Singer's Guide to Survival' By Sharon Mabry, which gives a very truthful, if not somewhat pessimistic view on an auditionee's life.

"A singer that goes into this profession with the attitude that the performing world is fair and democratic and the most talented person always comes out on top is naive and doomed to dispair." 

I also found an article written by Hazel Davis for 'The Independent' particularly interesting in regards to the rise of X factor stars getting leading roles in west end musicals. 

http://www.independent.co.uk/student/career-planning/getting-job/want-to-be-a-west-end-star-you-have-to-get-used-to-being-out-of-work-2007723.html

"As well as being a great all-rounder and having star quality, to make it in the West End, says Greenway, you need to get good at being out of work. "Make sure your well-being isn't associated with how well the next audition goes, and work out how to live your life inbetween jobs, because the times out of work can be longer than the times in..."

As always, I would love to hear your views.

Potential line of enquiry 2: Should actors be extras? Is there a stigma surrounding SA work? If so, why?

Definition of an 'extra' or 'SA'

A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera or ballet production, who appears in a nonspeaking or non singing (silent) capacity, usually in the background.

 (for example, in an audience or busy street scene).

The definition of 'Stigma' in the Oxford Dictionary:

Stigma - a strong feeling of disapproval that most people in a society have about something, especially when this is unfair:

There is no longer any stigma to being divorced.
Being an unmarried mother no longer carries the social stigma that it used to.

I first came across extra work when chatting to a friend who was filming on the latest Bridget Jones as a lesbian protester (if you haven't seen it, you must... HILARIOUS!) and after a brief discussion on how you sign up and the sort of money you get for a days work, I thought, why not? I was teaching all hours of the day to pay my rent, and while auditioning for theatre jobs, wasn't doing anything for myself performance wise, so I figured at least this way I would be making some extra money doing something in the industry I trained to be in, rather than stacking shelves. 

Having worked for a year or so now doing various extra jobs I feel that there is definitely a stigma that surrounds paid SA work within the industry. People often question my decision to play nurse number 7, or working class number 111 suggesting that as someone who has trained, it is below me, and whats even more interesting is that in America the stigma is completely reversed as you are expected to do an amount of extra work to earn your stripes as an actor. So where did this stigma come from? 

I have started a SIG group via facebook in regards to this general subject, with people who I have met and become friends with via extra jobs and also other actor friends. Their opinions have allowed me to develop my original mind map.

The original...

latest version...

The response from my SIG was yes, there is definitely a stigma in the uk surrounding actors who take on SA work, but the reasons why varied from person to person massively. Many felt that it was a good experience as much as you were still working within the industry, but that networking or meeting other actors for the first time as an SA, may lead to you being recognised as an extra and never an actor, which is something I hadn't thought of. Others said that because anyone can be an extra, it means people on set assume you have no training and you could be tarnished with an 'amateur' judgement.  It was very clear even within my select group that there was quite a 'British snobbery' present within the discussion, and that some of my actor friends felt that extra work was somewhat beneath them (Which I will remind them of when their current contract ends and they are stood back in the queue at pineapple). 

I have also witnessed enough awkward extra moments when on set to add to this that I think extras can only blame themselves, or certain extras anyway. Last week for example, I was doing an SA job for a comedy on BB3, and one of the other SA's who must have been 60 plus, and had told me prior to this incident that she did a lot of amateur dramatics and was heavily involved with her local Gilbert and Sullivan society, was directed to simply bump into the lead character as he ran through the corridor we were filming in. she then went on to tell the actor quite specifically how he should bump into her and went as far as to disagree with the director and attempted to over rule what he said. I obviously sat there silently in the background cringing that I was on the same level as this woman, but situations like that happen at least once on every job I do. Actors don't respect SA's because lots of SA's are untrained and don't understand the hierarchy.

Another aspect of this that interests me is the difference between America and the UK in their opinion of SA's, and the rules that have been put in place by BECTU, Equity and the screen Extras Guild. America has a much more positive attitude towards extras, suggesting that all actors should earn their stripes through some sort of extra work. Below is an interesting link i've found of some of Hollywoods most famous actors, all of whom did some extra work before making it big.

http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/world/10-of-the-richest-celebrities-who-started-as-extras/

having started to do a bit of research into the stigma I came across an interesting forum chat on casting call pro discussing the topic openly with members, which identified lots of the points i have already made and definitely highlighted the snobbery involved! this forum chat also questioned whether certain extra work should be included on a CV, which also divided opinion, depending on wether you had any lines and if so how many (into the BECTU/Equity rule book you have to have had more than 13 lines to be considered an actor rather than an extra), whether you auditioned for an upgraded role, and whether you would be considered a time waster by a casting director looking at your cv.

http://www.castingcallpro.com/uk/forum/topic/80358/stigma-surrounding-sa-work

and another interesting article highlighting many of the same topics of discussion.

http://www.backstage.com/news/background-check_3/


These are just some of my initial thoughts, and I would love to hear some more opinions! 

Potential line of enquiry 1, understanding the stigma that surrounds the arts from childhood to adulthood, in particular interest to musical theatre.

The definition of 'Stigma' in the Oxford Dictionary:

Stigma - a strong feeling of disapproval that most people in a society have about something, especially when this is unfair:

There is no longer any stigma to being divorced.
Being an unmarried mother no longer carries the social stigma that it used to.

The definition of 'Musical Theatre' in the Oxford Dictionary:

Musical Theatre - a genre of drama in which singing and dancing play an essential part.

She had a successful professional career in musical theatre.

My teaching career is a vast one, as I am often from week to week, dotted around in different places, teaching various aspects of performing arts. I am always so conscious of the attitudes towards the performing arts, that I get from different age groups, be it children, teenagers of even adults, and I am extremely interested to learn whether others feel there is a stigma surrounding the arts, and if so, why its there. At the moment this question seems to me to span a scale that is too large, but I am hoping through reading and speaking with peers that I may be able to narrow my focus down and find a more specific line of enquiry.

My first port of call, for this particular subject matter, was to start a discussion group with some select friends of mine who are also teachers in various arts subjects. I did this via facebook as this allowed everyone to message some ideas to the group when they had time and meant the chat could remain informal.

The SIG instantly came up with lots of ideas and stories that, for me, shed new light on the subject. The overwhelming response to the question was yes, and although I am aware that at this stage I can't accept these responses as research in any way as I am still in the planning process, it was reassuring to know that I wasn't alone in my thinking, and that there was definitely something to potentially research.
 I have created a second mind map which adds on the further ideas I have been given by this group.

my original...

and the latest version...

One really interesting subject that came up within this chat was the power of modern technology on children. Most young children now have some form of tablet and with that comes a whole world of information. If there is a stigma towards the arts, what children watch, on tv or youtube etc will effect this greatly. We began talking about a particular children's tv show 'Wiggle Town' which has children on the show who dance - when it comes to ballet, they only show girls doing the ballet, therefore depicting from a very early age that ballet isn't for boys. I found this extremely interesting, as an adult will have made the decision to use only girls for this part of the show, but the potential effect this has on the younger generation is huge.

I have attached a link to a particular ballet episode of 'Wiggle Town'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrUV0XUv9j4

The group then went on to discuss the power of the adult opinion towards the arts, and numerous examples were given. Primary school Teachers only sending girls in to assemblies which are going to advertise after school dance classes, only offering arts subjects as an extra after school, Head teachers scrapping all arts subjects completely, parents telling their children they aren't allowed to take an arts subject for GCSE because they don't deem them as important as the baccalaureate subjects. Science teachers pulling teenagers aside and trying to sway them from taking an arts subject, the government cutting arts funding! The list went on! 

I found this article on The Guardian Teacher Network particularly thought provoking as it addresses the stigma in another way.

 'There’s this stigma with the arts that only “unintelligent” students take those subjects. I still struggle to be taken seriously for taking arts subjects. I was told by advisers that dance and drama wouldn’t help me to get a suitable career, and by other adults that I was wasting my potential.' 

I am interested to see whether this is an opinion held by others, and what experiences people have had in regards to the opinion that the decision to take an arts subject is related to lack of intelligence. The positive effects of arts subjects is another matter that interests me. As I feel that there are so many factors to arts subjects that allow children to develop and learn in different ways, even if you are not the best actor, singer, dancer etc. Imagination, Co-operation, teamwork, personality, confidence, expression, public speaking are naming just a few of the benefits of arts subjects.

'To study arts subjects, you have to take risks, push yourself emotionally, expressively and creatively in every lesson, you have to persevere and be interpretive, passionate and collaborative. I’ve worked harder in these subjects than I’ve ever worked in my life.'

https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2016/jan/31/career-arts-gcse-dance-stop-the-stem-subject-snobbery - Orli Vogt-Vincent - Jan 2016

Another interesting article comes from The Independent, which again cements the idea that the arts are being deemed as invalid, as growing pressure falls onto schools to compete with grades.

'What is even more saddening - perhaps frightening - is the attack that is taking place in the education system itself. Owing to a new obsession with league tables and exam results, the creative and collective nature of the arts has become to be seen as invalid, useless, and unbeneficial to children in education.'

http://www.independent.co.uk/student/istudents/arts-education-funding-is-essential-for-young-people-to-showcase-their-creative-talent-a6963836.html - Grace Fearon - april 2016

Lines of enquiry...

As I start to explore some potential lines of enquiry I can't help but feel apprehensive towards module two and the work that surrounds developing my ideas. After a very insightful chat with Paula on the phone today I realised that my struggle may stem from the fact that I have a multitude of jobs, as many of us do while we audition, and that my professional practice could be a multitude of different things. So, instead of panicking about this, I have decided to see my vast array of jobs as an even better opportunity to explore different ideas.

To begin this, I list my jobs;

-I teach singing
-I teach dance
-I work as a part time TA in primary schools
-I do a lot of SA work
-I perform (currently rehearsing for Rent, playing Mimi)
-I sing at and run Princess Parties
-I run my own business, hand decorating bridal shoes and accessories

Instantly having done this, I can already think of a few more lines of enquiry that might be worth looking into further, so going back to 2d, and adding/changing the list, as a few of my jobs have changed now - my current ideas are as follows;

The importance of arts in education: Is there a growing stigma towards the arts, with particular interest on musical theatre, as children mature?

Should actors be extras? Is there a stigma surrounding SA work? If so, why?

Life after being a performer; should we all have a plan B?

The professional auditionee; how do we prepare ourselves for the process and deal with rejection?

I have mind mapped my ideas, to see what my initial thoughts are but I am looking forward to discussing some of these ideas with my fellow module 2's and also people I work with to see if they can bring new light to my ideas.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!