A breather

So many things to think about.

Tonight I attended a module one skype chat. It was my first one so I wasn't quite sure of the etiquette behind it all. A few interesting issues were raised throughout the conversation. Several of which involved ethics. 

A few contributors were teachers. We discussed the power teachers have over students and how careful they need to be, they can be detrimental in shaping a students future. I'd like to go on to reflect on my own training and whether or not teachers always had my best interests at heart.

Another issue was how we define ourselves and where we draw the line between profession and practise. The issue was raised that creatives can be naturally protective over their profession and therefore defensive. Many people brand themselves as dancers, actors, artists, without much background in these areas. The example was given of brain surgeons. People don't regularly wake up and brand themselves as brain surgeons the same way people choose to brand themselves as creatives. Why is this? As the arts are subjective it's easy for anyone to decide they belong to that profession, whilst other career paths have clear structures for qualification and training.

We began talking about creatives regularly basing their own worth on someone else's opinion. This lead to a discussion about defining ourselves and our practise when we are both in and out of creative work and how our creative work informs all of our jobs. Although we may be working as a waitress, our experience and training will still inform how we talk to customers and present ourselves.

Following this I looked up the Oxford Dictionary definition of 'professional':

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

I found this interesting as acting isn't always my main paid occupation. Nor do I specifically act. Part of my practise is the work below, released by the BBC online this week.

https://youtu.be/pegXGBN2RrU 

I wouldn't call it 'acting', but my experience got me the job and informed how I performed whilst on camera.

It's given me a fair bit to mull over.

In other news

I have been incredibly lucky the last week to see a variety of different live performances. Since embarking on this course I found that I took away something completely different than usual.

I watched 'Teenage Dick' at the Donmar. I implore you to go and see it. It is the first retelling of Richard III I have seen with a disabled actor in the role of Richard and he was bloody wonderful. It made me think about the ethical considerations and responsibility we have as performers to put the right people in the right roles. Richard was disabled, why do we rarely use a disabled actor to play him?

In even other news.

I have begun reading Twyla Tharp - The Creative Habit, Learn it and use it for life which genuinely feels like therapy. It's an easy read with easy exercises to help you think about your creative habits. I have always struggled with reflection and I usually colour it with emotion which isn't always helpful. Books like this separate the two and make it easy for me to reflect whilst being impartial.