Having come to the end of my BA Professional Practice (Acting) course at Middlesex University I look back at the wealth of knowledge I have accrued along the way.
I have been taught the importance of using existing networks, and discovering new ones, and how this can work to your advantage. I have been taught about different learning styles, how to use new online resources such as Delicious and Google Docs, and how to write a blog. All of these skills that we have been equipped with have not only helped us through our modules and our final project, but they are skills which will now be transferable to jobs I undertake in the future.
The final project has been a mammoth climb for me. I have never considered myself to be naturally good at writing and so being faced with a 12,000 word project appeared extremely daunting in the beginning. Being able to work through my fears and complete this project has been one of the biggest challenges I have faced so far. I have learned so much while carrying out this project about the importance of planning and executing such a large scale research project.
I was not sure at the beginning of the course what I hoped to get out of it. In realism, what I have gained from the last two years is more than I ever expected. I hope that I will have obtained a degree in which I can be proud of and that I can take the skills I have learned and put them into good practice in future work I do.
Thursday, 5 May 2011
Log 3: Summary of Project Findings
The project I have undertaken has been an exploration into the role of, and possible career progressions of Supporting Artistes. My aims were to establish if it is possible to progress from being a Supporting Artiste to an actor, to find out whether people that are influential to an actor’s career progression feel being a Supporting Artiste to be beneficial or not, and to find out how professionals such as other extras, actors, agents, production crews and casting teams within the industry perceive the role of a Supporting Artiste.
The results showed that the majority of people felt that it was possible for a supporting artiste wanting to progress into acting to achieve this. It also showed that the majority of people working in the industry valued the role of the supporting artiste, and that casting directors were willing to give supporting artistes who wanted to progress, a chance.
I hope that my project can be used as an informative tool to supporting artistes wishing to progress who are unsure if this is possible, and to people who are not sure about how to get into acting; I hope my project could allow them to consider using supporting artiste work as a route into acting.
The results showed that the majority of people felt that it was possible for a supporting artiste wanting to progress into acting to achieve this. It also showed that the majority of people working in the industry valued the role of the supporting artiste, and that casting directors were willing to give supporting artistes who wanted to progress, a chance.
I hope that my project can be used as an informative tool to supporting artistes wishing to progress who are unsure if this is possible, and to people who are not sure about how to get into acting; I hope my project could allow them to consider using supporting artiste work as a route into acting.
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
Log 2: Google Docs
Google Docs is a site which allows people to upload documents and to invite others to view or edit the documents which have been uploaded. It also allows users to chat with other users, and to publish documents onto blogs or web pages.
Google Docs was particularly useful to me as it allows you to look back at previously uploaded documents, which meant I was able to scan through drafts and feedbacks to tweak my final document.
In the module handbook we were issued at the start of this year it talks about the benefits of having someone else look over your work. Using Google Docs I have been able to invite friends and family who I have wanted to read my drafts to go onto Google Docs and view my documents. This has meant they have been able to offer vital advice and support on my project, without me having to individually send each person a copy of my draft.
Being able to access my documents from anywhere has been really important for me. I am not always in a position in which I can take my laptop with me, so being able to work on my drafts away from my laptop, in the library or at friends’ houses has been incredibly useful to me.
Google Docs, as with Delicious will be something I can use in the future and is a welcome new addition to my ever growing knowledge of the web.
Google Docs was particularly useful to me as it allows you to look back at previously uploaded documents, which meant I was able to scan through drafts and feedbacks to tweak my final document.
In the module handbook we were issued at the start of this year it talks about the benefits of having someone else look over your work. Using Google Docs I have been able to invite friends and family who I have wanted to read my drafts to go onto Google Docs and view my documents. This has meant they have been able to offer vital advice and support on my project, without me having to individually send each person a copy of my draft.
Being able to access my documents from anywhere has been really important for me. I am not always in a position in which I can take my laptop with me, so being able to work on my drafts away from my laptop, in the library or at friends’ houses has been incredibly useful to me.
Google Docs, as with Delicious will be something I can use in the future and is a welcome new addition to my ever growing knowledge of the web.
Log 1: Delicious
The website Delicious is a social bookmarking site which allows you to bookmark a website that you want to go back to. It allows you to save as many websites as you like and lets you share them with others, not just on the Delicious website but also via email or websites like Twitter. Delicious will categorise your websites based on tags that you give them, for example; I saved a website which looked into a career in acting, and I gave this website two tags, career and acting. This then enabled me to see all of the bookmarks saved by others with the same tags.
Delicious has served as a fantastic tool for me whilst carrying out my project. The ability to search the website for sites that had been saved by others relating to my project was invaluable when carrying out my Literature Review. It has also meant that if I have been away from my home computer and come across a website that I thought was relevant to my project, I was able to log into Delicious, save it and go back to it when I got home.
Carrying out my project and being introduced to this new website has taught me about a new aspect of the World Wide Web that I was unaware about before beginning the project. It is something I can use in the future, not just in further academic work but in future work and social settings.
Delicious has served as a fantastic tool for me whilst carrying out my project. The ability to search the website for sites that had been saved by others relating to my project was invaluable when carrying out my Literature Review. It has also meant that if I have been away from my home computer and come across a website that I thought was relevant to my project, I was able to log into Delicious, save it and go back to it when I got home.
Carrying out my project and being introduced to this new website has taught me about a new aspect of the World Wide Web that I was unaware about before beginning the project. It is something I can use in the future, not just in further academic work but in future work and social settings.
Saturday, 13 March 2010
Learning Diary 1
In this first learning diary I want to talk about career progression and whether the decisions we make at certain times in our professional lives are for the best or for the worst. The reason I have been thinking about this is because recently I decided to leave my current work placement at Chickenshed Theatre to peruse my career as an actor elsewhere. I thought long and hard about this decision, I considered what would happen if I left and then struggled to find work, I questioned my ability to “make it”. I also worried about how this change would affect my university course and choosing a topic title. I knew that if I stayed at Chickenshed I would have been supported there in whatever topic I had chosen and been given the resources I needed to carry out my topic research. So was this my safe option?
Since leaving Chickenshed I have focused all of my energy into finding myself the right kind of work and representation. So far I have been extremely lucky and have had a constant stream of work, and only this week landed my first speaking role for a programme for the BBC. I have realised that within the work I am doing now there is a huge network of people that I can call upon to help me research my topic.
I think that had I not left Chickenshed when I did then the opportunities that have arisen since, may not have come up, so I feel that I have definitely made the right career progression for me at this time.
Since leaving Chickenshed I have focused all of my energy into finding myself the right kind of work and representation. So far I have been extremely lucky and have had a constant stream of work, and only this week landed my first speaking role for a programme for the BBC. I have realised that within the work I am doing now there is a huge network of people that I can call upon to help me research my topic.
I think that had I not left Chickenshed when I did then the opportunities that have arisen since, may not have come up, so I feel that I have definitely made the right career progression for me at this time.
Thursday, 11 February 2010
A New Landscape- Recent Paintings
Hi guys, I wanted to make you all aware of an exhibition my dad will be holding soon in London. Here are the details and feel free to check out his website, the link is below:
http://www.roypickering.co.uk/
A NEW LANDSCAPE : Paintings by Roy Pickering and Charles Hustwick.
EXHIBITION OPEN : 22-27 February 2010 , Mon-Fri 10am -6pm Sat 11am-4pm
PRIVATE VIEW : Tuesday 23 February 6.00-9.00pm
VENUE : The Gallery in Cork Street
Contact : Roy Pickering
T: 07984 229 863 E: roypickering@hotmail.com W: www.roypickering.co.uk
Contact : Charles Hustwick
T: 020 7378 8153 E: chustwick@btinternet.com W: www.hustwick.co.uk
Contact : The Gallery in Cork Street
The Gallery in Cork Street, 28 Cork Street, London W1S 3NG
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
Writing Style 2 Draft 2
As I sit in the dressing room on the opening night of the show I can feel the adrenaline of the other cast members ricocheting off the walls. I am sat quietly in a corner going over in my mind all of my cues, the dance routine in the opening scene and my lines for the second act. My thoughts are interrupted by a tannoy announcement “The cast of Pinocchio, this is your beginner’s call. Please start standing by; this is your Act 1 beginner’s call”. This was it; I gather my group, ensuring everyone is ready and set to go on stage. As we walk through the dark corridors, lit only by the blue backstage light, my stomach reiterates my nerves by doing a slight flutter.
In the auditorium the stage is set with a large red and gold circus tent hanging from the ceiling. As the audience take their seats and the house lights begin to dim, three objects and dragged on stage by cast members. All is quite apart from the distance sound of whistling which becomes increasingly louder as Geppetto walks through the auditorium and onto the stage. While he whistles he removes the cloth covering two of the objects to reveal two very brightly coloured puppets.
Backstage, behind the curtain I am stood holding a washing basket watching the monitor, awaiting my cue. Gepetto begins to sing about carving a puppet as he uncovers Pinocchio, the third puppet hidden under the cloth. As he carves, the puppet comes to life arm by arm, leg by leg until the puppet Pinocchio is larger than life and ruder than ever! “You are the worst father a puppet has ever had” booms Pinocchio, “and you, are the rudest puppet a father has ever met!” retorts Geppetto. This is my cue. As I walk onto the stage, through the blinding lights that are painting the stage with a fountain of colours I can just about make out the silhouettes of hundreds of people. All of whom are staring at me, awaiting the next instalment of the story being told to them.
My job at this point is to show my distain towards Pinocchio’s behaviour through body language and facial expressions. Pinocchio begins to run around the stage causing havoc and distruction, including emptying the contents of my washing basket across the stage! He runs through the audience singing and performing aerobatics.
We begin to sing and dance telling the story of how we are able to catch this puppet and find out why he is behaving in such a way. We finish the song and run off stage. We did it, the first scene is over with, and as I walk back through the dark corridor and up to the dressing room, my heart is pumping and adrenaline is pumping through my veins at a rapid rate. I now wait, wait for the next scene and for another rush excitement.
In the auditorium the stage is set with a large red and gold circus tent hanging from the ceiling. As the audience take their seats and the house lights begin to dim, three objects and dragged on stage by cast members. All is quite apart from the distance sound of whistling which becomes increasingly louder as Geppetto walks through the auditorium and onto the stage. While he whistles he removes the cloth covering two of the objects to reveal two very brightly coloured puppets.
Backstage, behind the curtain I am stood holding a washing basket watching the monitor, awaiting my cue. Gepetto begins to sing about carving a puppet as he uncovers Pinocchio, the third puppet hidden under the cloth. As he carves, the puppet comes to life arm by arm, leg by leg until the puppet Pinocchio is larger than life and ruder than ever! “You are the worst father a puppet has ever had” booms Pinocchio, “and you, are the rudest puppet a father has ever met!” retorts Geppetto. This is my cue. As I walk onto the stage, through the blinding lights that are painting the stage with a fountain of colours I can just about make out the silhouettes of hundreds of people. All of whom are staring at me, awaiting the next instalment of the story being told to them.
My job at this point is to show my distain towards Pinocchio’s behaviour through body language and facial expressions. Pinocchio begins to run around the stage causing havoc and distruction, including emptying the contents of my washing basket across the stage! He runs through the audience singing and performing aerobatics.
We begin to sing and dance telling the story of how we are able to catch this puppet and find out why he is behaving in such a way. We finish the song and run off stage. We did it, the first scene is over with, and as I walk back through the dark corridor and up to the dressing room, my heart is pumping and adrenaline is pumping through my veins at a rapid rate. I now wait, wait for the next scene and for another rush excitement.
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