Task 2D Inquiry

first of all I want to try and get my thoughts in some kind of order. A natural place for these to be are in my reflective journal. But I need to explain this background thinking before settling my inquiry task. Looking inward at myself I feel that this current program is helping me very much to sort out my priorities and focus on what I want to do for the future. When I left Conti I had several auditions each week mostly for Musical Theatre but the structure of the business and the way that Musical Theatre is marketed has made it extremely difficult to get that kind of work. It has been a problem for all my friends who left Conti at the same time. I have no decided that I want to teach performing arts and doing a limited amount of dance teaching which may build up over time. Whilst I am enthusiastic about teaching I trained as a performing artist and my first love is still performing. This leads to me being enthusiastic about ways of improving my chances to get work and to fulfil that performing ambition. Also out of the three skills (dance, singing and acting) I acquired at college to become an actor is my main objective. So bearing all this in mind I am enthusiastic about ways of improving my chances of being cast. Many parts are cast without auditions being held. This makes it difficult to break into the right network of contacts. I have no family contacts in the business and only have the contacts I have made through Conti and jobs I have done. I need to develop an appropriate network of contacts and to improve the use of that network. I feel impotent having already written to many Casting Directors, Agencies and Theatre Companies. It is also frustrating that having completed my training I either need to improve my skills through working or pay for further private tuition which is cost prohibitive. It seems to me that of the very large number of graduates from performing arts courses only a tiny proportion maybe as low as 1% actually maintain a career as a performer. There are many examples of people who have failed and a very small number of success stories. It makes me angry that the chances of a career are so small but someone I do admire is called Lisa Turner who did similar training to my own and has ultimately moved into teaching combined with Directing productions. She has successfully combined her work with having and bringing up a family and has achieved what seems to me a good life balance. I have loved performing the acting roles I have been fortunate enough to be cast in and admire the work of Judi Dench to the point of her being my hero. She exhibits such a range of talent being at home on t.v sitcoms, classical stage roles and iconic film parts. She commands the respect of the public and the profession in comedy, serious and musical performances and is now at the pinnacle of the profession having become one of our national treasures. I don't understand what it takes to be successful unless you have excellent contacts and connections with people who know your work and can influence the casting of parts. I do admire a former colleague from Italia Conti associate school who grappled with the same issues as I am. She tried very hard to start up her own theatre company had plans to take a group to Edinburgh fringe and venues around the UK. She raised a lot of money to allow this to happen but ultimately ran out of funds. She had no choice but to withdraw her theatre company she lost her home and other assets and ended up in a very distressed state. She has now come through that period and is looking positively to the future feeling that she has gained as a person from the experience she has had. She is embarking on a future by doing some overseas traveling. The event which has prompted questions I would like to peruse further is the experience I have had over the last few months where I have twice got down to the last two for particular parts. In each case I lost out to the other person. This is an experience I do not want to repeat. When I get into a smiler situation in the future I want to give myself the best possible opportunity to be the one selected rather than the one rejected. It is my intention to work up a reflective approach which systematically works through the planning, in action and after the event analysis framework to try and maximise my chances.