Oral presentations

Firstly I want to comment how good it was to meet some new people on Monday. I thought the morning was a worthwhile experience as we finally got to put some faces to the blogs! It was great to see what the other members on the course were inquiring into and see how their journey may have differed to mine. Even though performing is something that it natural to me and something I have done for a number of years the thought of a presentation was daunting alien to me. Talking about something that is personal to you that you have been working on for the past year can leave you feeling exposed. I think the success of the presentation is all down to preparation and the rest is left up to crossing your fingers and hope that your nerves don't get the better of you. For me the course has taken me on quite a journey and I know that I will use this experience in my professional practise and take with me the skills I have gained from embarking on this course. I will continue to blog about my next steps and throughout my profession.

Last lap!

I am sorry I haven't posted a blog for a few weeks. I have been spending so much time on finishing off my analysis for the critical review of my inquiry. I was a little late in meeting the target date for letting Adesola have a draft of sections 1 and 2 of the critical review. But I did meet the target date for sections 3 and 4. I have now sent Adesola a draft of the whole document as of the 30th April and now wait for her comments so that I can finalise the work for the submission on the 14th May.
   I had a Skype conversation with Adesola on the 25th April during which we discussed my ideas for my artefact. She was very helpful in my decision about the overall scope and seemed happy with my approach. I now need to complete the work on the artefact which I intend to do before the end of this week. It will then leave next week free to make any last minute changes to my critical review when I have received Adesola's final comments.

Progress to Easter

I think I have made quite good progress over the easter period, I have been in touch with Adesola to let her know where I have got to on the main pieces of work and am today sending her the first two parts of my critical review. This is about two weeks later than the target date. However since I am also well on with sections 3 and 4 of the critical review I expect to be able to meet the target date of the week starting 23rd April. I hope to set up a Skype session with Adesola when she has read sections one and two to discuss her reactions and to have a further discussion about my artefact. My plan for the artefact is well advanced but I do not want to firm up my ideas until I have discussed them more fully with Adesola. I feel I am gradually catching up the two weeks lost at the beginning of the semester and still have every intension of meeting the deadline for submission of 14th May.

The next steps

My contract with Image Musical Theatre has now come to an end which is both exciting and daunting. However it does enable me to spend these next 6 weeks concentrating solely and intensely on completing module 3. I have completed the initial interviews with teachers and cast members and I am now trying to find the best framework to analyse the data I have collected. Since most of my data is qualitative I will analyse the answers within a framework but the more in-depth interviews I have conducted will result in me quoting some responses anonymously. I am still in touch with one or two teachers and all my cast members so I can follow up to a limited extent if I need to. I am reviewing my progress against the plan I have prepared and I am keeping up to date with all the tasks I have identified.

Interviews where I'm at.....

I have just finished conducting my interviews with both of my focus groups cast members and teachers. As advised by Adesola due to limited time I arranged a couple of lengthier interviews with teachers in advance. This approach was to ensure I could collect sufficient and valuable data, if I hadn't booked a slot prior to our theatre companies visit it would have proved difficult with the teachers time constraints. I was lucky enough to obtain an interview with a teacher that gave up an hour of her own time to speak to me and help me answer my burning questions, she was keen to express her thoughts and gave me so much important material regarding the National Curriculum and it's expectations in conjunction with Drama and the Arts. I learnt a great deal on the preparation the school goes through prior to a companies visit, and the type of follow up work the children do post performance. I was particularly interested in how the drama cross references to other academic subjects such as History, English Literature, Art and Music. Another teacher I interviewed gave me some really useful insights to the Drama Level Descriptors and Drama objectives taken from literacy framework. I will be reviewing and analysing all the material I have been given and use the data to aid my inquiry. When interviewing my other cast members I asked questions about what could be developed and improved upon when taking a show to a school and whether they thought it is an important part of education incorporating theatre into learning and a number of other focused questions. Overall I'm really happy with the response I've had from the interviewees and thankful for their eagerness to participate. I'm feeling positive and excited to move forward with the inquiry. I feel I am already developing a better sense of how my inquiry links to my existing work and fits into the next steps in my chosen career path.
  

Module 3 Campus session 1st March

On attending the campus session for module 3 I had managed to gather my thoughts in order of where to move forward in the module, and what time scale I had to undertake to ensure all parts were completed in time for the May submission. Paula ran the session and we had a very useful and in depth discussion about where I currently was in the process, how my inquiry related to my inquiry plan, deadlines for drafts and the importance of blogging and receiving feedback from my peers about my inquiry process.
  
We then went on to an exercise writing down keywords of our inquiry in bold on a large piece of paper, this exercise was valuable as it forced us to notice the important words and put down our thoughts in our head down onto paper which sometimes proves a difficult thing to connect. After we had completed the keyword exercise we presented our inquiry title to the other members of the course and spoke about the focus groups and our professional networks, for example Middlesex university would be a significant one for all of us. This part of the morning really help me as I felt by explaining and answering questions on your own inquiry, made it easier for you yourself to fully understand and maybe go away and tweak things that weren't made so clear for others.
  
In the final hour we got to grips with the understanding of the Professional Artefact and went on to explore possible Artefacts such as power points, videos,  posters, books and many more. The Artefact is a product that relates to what you have found from doing your inquiry. To help us decide on the Artefact that would be most suited to our inquiry we answered a few important questions such as:

• Who will be taking part in the Inquiry?
• Who will the Artefact be aimed at and why?
• Who will it benefit most?
• How will you share or demonstrate your Artefact?
• What might you show that can benefit your career progression and make others aware and give a better understanding of what you do in your professional practise?

We finished off the campus session by discussing the draft/writing up process about structuring what we have found out in our inquiry and the use of critical thinking. I left the campus session feeling excited and clearer about moving forward in module 3, the campus session was a positive experience all round!

Critical Reflection and Summary: Digital Portfolio

This module has been a logical progression from the first module of the programme. It has provided an important link towards the final module of carrying out and reporting on the inquiry I am proposing. I have appreciated the way in which the tasks have extended my knowledge and skills to the point where I feel competent and comfortable with the significant work involved in carrying out an inquiry.
As I am now working in a touring production http://verityevans.blogspot.com/2011/11/feedback-from-recent-performance.html, I was unable to attend any of the campus sessions. However the advisors blogs have provided me with a very helpful substitute.
Unlike my early experiences during module 1 I have felt in control of the learning process. I think that I have got through the “eureka moment” I was promised in module 1.
My SIG http://verityevans.blogspot.com/2011/10/task-4b.html was a useful discussion forum as I moved towards finding a suitable inquiry topic. http://verityevans.blogspot.com/2011/10/task-4b-creating-sig.html I was fortunate to have an interested group of professional colleagues, as well as support from within my module group. It meant that when I had to change direction in selection of an inquiry topic, my SIG was already well informed about the process I was going through, and able to catch up momentum lost during the adjustment. http://verityevans.blogspot.com/2011/10/task-4a.html
Each of the groups of tasks has played an important part in allowing me to develop my inquiry plan. http://verityevans.blogspot.com/2011/10/development-of-task-4a.html In some ways the issue which has challenged me the most is deciding on my proposed award title. http://verityevans.blogspot.com/2011/10/task-4d.html The rationale for my award title is covered in appendix 4. It is sufficient to mention that I hope that I can include some reference to the “business” aspect of performing arts in the title. I have been eager for my inquiry to include a business element from the outset.
I found the ethics tasks and the associated reading took me into issues that were new to me. http://verityevans.blogspot.com/2011/11/task-5d.html I have strong moral convictions, due perhaps to my convent school upbringing. I regard some of the philosophical arguments on ethics too theoretical to be of much use in coming to practical ethical decisions http://verityevans.blogspot.com/2011/11/task-5b.html. For me there are two aspects to ethical questions, what the law allows or prevents, and what I think is right or wrong. The law often gives more room for interpretation than my personal moral beliefs http://verityevans.blogspot.com/2011/11/task-5c.html.
I found that the pilot work I did http://verityevans.blogspot.com/2011/10/task-4c-responses-from-my-research.html gave me the chance to try out the tools of professional inquiry in a “classroom” environment. I tested my own limits in terms of my ability to use the tools http://verityevans.blogspot.com/2011/11/task-6a.html. I also gained valuable experience to enable me to determine what the scope and size of inquiry might be, in order to complete the project in the time available http://verityevans.blogspot.com/2011/11/task-6b.html.
I have had very helpful feedback on my draft inquiry plan, from my academic advisor. There were three issues, how best to obtain information from children, the scope of my inquiry and the extent to which I should try to obtain quantitative data. I hope I have satisfied all those concerns in the final draft of my plan.
All the work I have carried out in this module has been necessary to allow me to draft the inquiry plan http://verityevans.blogspot.com/2011/11/task-6c.html. Choosing the topic deciding which tools to use and doing pilot work in using them http://verityevans.blogspot.com/2011/11/task-6d.html, and considering the ethical issues are all key parts of the plan. I am looking forward to the prospect of starting the process set out in the timetable during module 3.

Task 6D

http://delicious.com/stacks/view/Krkd4R

Hope this is done as required!

Task 6C

I want to review three pieces of literature broadly related to my inquiry. The working “short title” of the topic is “ in what ways can all the parties involved in the education of primary school-children, benefit from the contribution which live theatre can provide”.
There has been little research work done on this topic, and it has in consequence been difficult to identify suitable literature to review. I have settled on the following –
* UCL Research Ethics Committee Guidance Note 1, “Research involving children”
* “All Our Futures” A report of the National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education
* “Theatre in Education” (various publications)

1. The UCL Research Ethics Committee is a respected academic based group, set up to review and provide advice to researchers carrying out research projects, which have an ethical dimension. Guidance note 1 on “Research Involving Children” was produced a few years ago to provide a general framework within which, the committee would consider projects involving children. I felt it was important for me to know what the professional approach would be, in the light of my own intention to interview children as one of the key groups participating in my inquiry. The guidance note gives me more scope to talk to children without formal and informed parental consent than I had expected. As I understand the requirements, the nature of my project, the fact that the names of the children will not be recorded, and the classroom environment of the survey will avoid the need for a time consuming complicated approval process. I will need to explain my approach to the ethical issues in my inquiry plan.
2. “All Our Futures” is a report published in 1999 with the following terms of reference –“To make recommendations to the Secretaries of State on the creative and cultural development of young people through formal and informal education: to take stock of current provision and to make proposals for principles, policies and practice”. The prestigious committee, which produced the report was chaired by Professor Sir Ken Robinson. The key message of the report is that there needs to be a better balance in education, in setting national priorities, in the structure and organisation of the school curriculum, in methods of teaching and assessment, and in relationships between schools and other agencies. The report is full of assertions and anecdotal evidence about the need for better balance, but does not seem to draw on robust information to support its conclusions. That was disappointing, and may be the reason why many of the detailed recommendations have been ignored by governments. For me section 8 of the report is the most relevant to my interest in the role of theatre in primary education. It covers the creation of partnerships between schools and outside organisations, with the objective of implementing collaborative activities aimed at providing creative and cultural experiences for children at their school. The report makes a number of specific recommendations about how participation might be achieved. However both section 8 and section 9 (on resources and funding) are, I think, naïve about how such partnerships might be funded. In fact in my work I have found more realism and innovation about how partnerships can be funded than the report shows. My next review follows through to a few “theatre” initiatives, which have picked up on the participation theme.
3. “Theatre in Education” (TIE) has become a generic term for an initiative started in 1965 at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, as a separate art form and educational activity. A group consisting of actors, teachers and social workers were brought together to create a community outreach team. The outreach team created a project called, “PowWow”, which took a group of children and first introduced them to an actor playing a Cowboy. Later the children were introduced to an actor playing an Indian kept in a cage as a prisoner by the Cowboy. The children were given information about both characters and their opposing views in the situation and given the choice of whether or not to free the Indian. The project had successfully merged theatre and education for the first time. TIE has progressed from this point and although it differs from its original form, its primary aim is to use theatre and drama to create a wide range of learning opportunities across the whole curriculum. TIE companies will take a particular curriculum subject or topic and build a show and/or workshop around it. There are now a number of different groups and companies offering a wide range of theatrical experiences for children. These vary from scaled down west-end musicals to participation workshops aimed at combating drug abuse or anti-social behaviour. My own company Image Musical Theatre specialises in turning a moral tale into a musical performance. These are performed at schools, with participation by some children and after a general workshop for all children. The whole event is funded on a commercial basis. I have searched in vain for reports of research based evidence that TIE can provide a significant benefit to the education of
primary schoolchildren. There is a great deal of anecdotal evidence and opinion about the benefits of TIE, but I would like to see some systematic research. Work done by the University of Durham into the impact of drama on pupils language and mathematics abilities in two primary schools is interesting but of limited scope. The Cambridge Primary Review (CPR) is detailed and claims to be evidence based, but does not research the role of theatre in education specifically. It is however a “must” for all interested in primary school education. Many of the views expressed in CPR echo those in “All Our Futures” that a better curriculum balance is needed.

In my own small and very limited way I want the results of my inquiry to make a small contribution to the body of information on how theatre can contribute to the education of primary schoolchildren.

Task 6B

Having completed the pilot studies it is clear that I will need to use all four tools in order to complete my inquiry. During the course of the pilot studies the uses and limitations of each tool were exposed.
I will reflect on each tool in the order I employed them.
For my purpose “observation” of the children both in the audience and in the play was a vital first step in my pilot process. The behaviour of both groups of children was different, and being on stage almost continuously gave me a chance to observe both groups at key points in the play, such as when my character of “swallow” dies.
I found that the benefit of “observing” is its flexibility to focus on a single individual, or to take an overview of a whole group, and to get an impression or to log detail over time. As a tool it is quick and with some practice easy to use. It can take random snapshots of behaviour, and allows the observer to stay at arms-length from the subjects of the observation.
The limit of “observation” as an inquiry tool is that it is almost entirely qualitative. It can provide crude quantitative data such as – half the audience were shocked at this point, half were untouched. In the case of the pilot study it did however provide the basis for the interview questions for both the teacher and a fellow cast member.
The use of “interviews” as a tool in the inquiry process is very different from observation. The merits are that they can be tightly controlled through a rigid structure, or unstructured to allow as much freedom of expression as possible, and to allow the interviewee to meander around the subject as thoughts come to mind. But as I become more skilled at conducting interviews it is possible to steer the interview towards certain goals without stifling the answers.
The problem of course with interviewing is that it is inevitably time consuming, and can be more confusing than helpful if there is too much talking around the subject. It can also be tempting to “lead” the interviewee towards preconceived results.
In the case of my pilot study I did feel it a necessary step in the process of designing questionnaires prior conducting a survey. I can see that often a focus group can take the place of interview at the stage of designing a questionnaire. But in my own case I wanted the focus group to have a starting point (the Q/A) from which to finalise the questions and the overall pilot survey process.
The “focus group” is I think a crucial step towards conducting a survey. It has the merit of allowing the inquiry to be reviewed by representatives of all the parties involved. Major pitfalls can be avoided ahead of embarking on the survey. The emphasis as between open and closed questions can be balanced, and if this stage is well done it can provide key perceptions about the inquiry, to allow those perceptions to be tested quantitatively. For example if it became obvious that children are primarily interested in the entertainment provided by a play, there is little point in pursuing any other perceptions, which children might have.
The problem with using focus groups is that they are always time-consuming if real value is to be obtained. Also the logistics of getting together good representatives from all the parties can prove problematic.
A “survey” is I think a step in the inquiry process, which cannot be avoided if meaningful data is to be obtained. Even so, unless it is possible to have a statistically meaningful sample in the survey the results will have to be qualified in that respect. In the case of my own inquiry it will be impossible to have a large enough sample to be statistically meaningful, and I am already thinking about how best to qualify the results and also how to describe not only what the sample is, but what it isn’t.
The merits of a survey are that it can be very precisely defined to provide reliable data, for commercial purposes. Or it can provide a wide-ranging collection of answers, if that is required, but which are difficult to analyse if quantitative data is needed.
The limits of a survey are that it is expensive, time-consuming, and can only give reliable data on the questions asked. So the objective of the inquiry needs to be carefully defined. The questions must accurately reflect the aims of the inquiry. Failing that the results of the inquiry will be little more than a random collection of anecdotal evidence.
In the field I want to inquire about there is already a great deal of anecdotal evidence to support “Theatre in Education” (TIE). But so far as I have been able to find out, there is very little hard evidence, based on the use of systematic inquiry tools, to point the best way forward for TIE in these difficult economic times.
I hope that my inquiry will go a little way to providing some hard evidence.

Task 6A

After reading the course reader and some of the references, I carried out this task in almost the reverse order to the list in the task summary. The order I used was observation, interview, focus group and survey.
I wanted to make the task as relevant to my inquiry as possible, and in the first place critically reflected on the nature of the process, which my current touring performance is a part of. The purpose was to identify the parties involved in the process and the part each one plays.
The parties I identified are-
* my employer “Image Musical Theatre”
* the staff of the schools where we perform
* other members of my cast
* the parents of the children at the schools
* the children in the audience
* the children selected to take part in the performance
For the pilot work I wanted to focus on the children, who should be the main beneficiaries of the whole effort. It is my intention to cover all the above parties in the full inquiry.
1. I started by observing the reactions of the children at each stage in visits to schools. On the basis of the observations I thought of a number of questions, which I piloted with a member of my cast and a teacher.
2. I have already posted blogs about the pilot interviews I have undertaken.
3. The next step was to form a pilot focus group to review the outputs from the pilot interviews, and to formulate a short questionnaire covering a small part of my inquiry subject. The purpose was to check if open questions are as appropriate as closed questions in the context of my inquiry.
4. The pilot survey, which I then carried out on a mixed group, showed that it would be necessary to use both forms of questions in order to obtain both qualitative and quantitative data for my inquiry. It would be best to design different but related questions for each of the parties.


Pilot questionnaires


Children in the audience


1. Did you enjoy the play?
2. What did you like most ?
3. Why did you like it the most?
4. Was there anything about the play you did not like?
5. Why did you not like it?
6. Did you understand the play?
7. What do you think it was about?
8. Would you like to see another play soon?



Children in the play


1. Did you enjoy being in the play?
2. What did you like most about that?
3. Why did you like it the most?
4. Was there anything you did not like about being in the play?
5. Why did you not like it?
6. Would you have liked it better to just watch the play?
7. Did you understand the play?
8. What do you think it was about?
9. Would you like to see another play soon?

Task 5C

My personal view of professional ethics, has not been changed, by reading the references on this topic. In fact I have found that some of the reading material has obscured rather than clarified the issues.

In this blog I want other course participants and course supervisors, to understand the view I take on ethical matters and why.

I am clear that a formal philosophical analysis, and a theoretical ethical framework, do not for me, take the professional issues posed, by my inquiry further forward. As someone who holds to Christian values, there is no better ethical and moral guide for me.

The ethics I apply in my professional life are generally guided by those values.

That is not to say that some issues, in particular some human rights questions, have absolute answers. They are matters of opinion, which have arguments both in favour and against. Many of these questions are covered by law or conventions and rules and therefore are open to interpretation. So although on paper there is clarity about what should or shouldn’t be done, resolution of disputes still end up in a court of law and therefore subject to the uncertainty of a legal process. Sometimes justice is not actually done even if it is “seen to be done”. The practice of court decisions can sometimes lead to incorrect ethical decisions.

Going back to my original thought that my behaviour is guided by Christian values. That is my personal choice, and not one I advocate is right for everyone. Nor does it necessarily imply religious faith. Although I form ethical views on the basis of the values I have expressed, I have never had to take life or death decisions based on them. But that does not stop me having views on such matters. For instance at the time of writing this note, Muammar Gaddafi and his son have just been summarily executed by the Libyan freedom fighters. Many people believe that was the right outcome. I do not believe that execution can ever be right, even if it is carried out after a trial. “An eye for an eye” was never one of my guiding commandments.

There are other guiding principles, which I hold to, such as respect, integrity, having sympathy, always doing my best, not harming anyone and helping people in need. I do not ever need to worry over what is the right thing to do. That is not to say I always do the right thing. But I know when I am behaving badly and not according to my principles.

So in summary, what I have learned from the reading fits into the theoretical framework will provide a working approach to some of the ethical questions I am likely to face in my inquiry. However when the theoretical approach gives answers, which conflict with my answers, I will need to think through the implications and act accordingly.

I am also interested in the interplay between ethics and politics, which is not a matter covered in much detail in the readings and references. For example as many social and medical issues move into the realms of human rights and fairness they are often determined in an EU arena and context, rather than at national level. So over time and as the dominant political mood changes, and as the over-riding economic situation changes, ethical decisions do change. How people are allowed to be treated, depends to some extent on how well off we feel. This is particularly true in employment issues.

Also as the influence of pressure groups on political decisions, increases, the behaviour of governments is subject to ongoing change. Implementation of party manifestos becomes problematic for the government, particularly where sensitive social issues are concerned. So although ethical behaviour is a moving target, I believe that the underlying values I hold to still hold good. Wrong actions can never be justified by political correctness.

All this may seem a long way from my inquiry topic. However, recently, the play I am appearing in was accused of being too political for young children, even though it was written well over a hundred years ago. It is in fact a tale of ethical and moral behaviour, which was allegedly portraying unacceptably “old-fashioned” values. I and my cast colleagues did not enter into the argument.

My enquiry topic will need to involve a number of parties, including my employer, other cast members, school staff, pupils, and parents. So there will be a range of ethical questions to address, some of which, will be informed by the subject matter of the readings. So I will find them useful to use as a reference against my subjective approach.

The interplay between the parties will need sensitive handling in say focus groups, when they sit down together. Also writing up the views expressed through say questionnaires will need to be done with care.

I am also a little concerned about the size of sample groups, to ensure that the results are statistically significant. I will need to take advice on this issue. But the scope of the inquiry may have to be limited by the time available to do the “leg-work” to obtain results, which are statistically valid.

Feedback from a recent performance

The following extract is from a school news paper produced shortly after we had performed at the school it gives an insight in the children's perception of the event. Whilst this is not suitably focused to use as data for my inquiry it does give a flavour of the issues I am inquiring into and gives me some very useful ideas for the questionnaires.

"On Thursday 29th Sep- tember 2011 a show took place. A group of 3 called IMAGE (Verity Evans, David Brewis and Jude De bont) came to do a show called The Happy Prince. It was a participa- tion show meaning that everyone (including teachers) sang along. Some people got picked out of the audience to have a small role. Every- one enjoyed themselves and sang along even if

they don’t normally sing.

We interviewed the crew. First up was Verity who commented. “I love working with children, it’s a lot of fun. I love act- ing and singing and we have a lot of fun. Also we live together, which is a lot of fun too. I did get nervous when I started but now we’ve done a lot of performances we just have fun. My favourite part is when I give the sapphires to the match

girl.”

We then interviewed David. “It’s lots of fun working with children because everyone says

different things. Acting and singing are some of the many things I love. My cast mates are lots of fun. No, I never get nerv- ous. My favourite part is when all the gold comes

off.”

Lastly we interviewed Jude. “It’s really fun working with children but every day is different because kids are unpre- dictable. I love acting and singing I’ve done it since I was three years old. We have lots of fun together performing and at home. Sometimes I get a bit nervous before the show. I like the part where I’m

the spoilt girl.

We then interviewed the kids in our school that had a role. Firstly we spoke to Caitlin Thorley. “I love acting it’s the best. I wasn’t nervous one bit. I didn’t like my character it just

wasn’t me.” Next we interviewed

Ebony . “I loved helping out. I wasn’t nervous at all. Yes I loved my role, it was very

easy.”

Then we interviewed James . When we asked him if he enjoyed acting he replied. ”Very much I do.” We then asked if he was nervous he said. “No not at all.” Finally we asked if he liked his role he answered. “No - I was hoping I was going to get the Happy Prince but that was the adult’s

part.”

We asked 3 people from the audience Morgan,Lewis

and Mrs Atkins. The first question we asked Morgan was What song did you most enjoy? She replied “The froggy song (The warm up)” The next question was who wasyour favourite character? She said

James because he was funny. The last question was would you like IMAGE to do another play? Morgan answers “Yes because they are very talented.” Next we interviewed

Lewis. For the first question (all the questions are the same for all the audience we interviewed) Lewis answered “The angry song because the woman kept making funny faces.” Then for the next question he answered the happy prince because he was very happy and jolly it was a shame he died in the play. Lastly when we asked him would you like IMAGE to do an- other play he replied “Hopefully but is sad that we will not be here next year to watch them if they do

decide to perform again.”

Last but not least we interviewed Mrs Atkins. For the first question she answered “The angry song because that was the only song I joined in with.” Then she replied the swallow because it did some very nice thing to help. Finally we asked her the last question and she told us “Yes I would love them to come and perform again be- cause it is very entertaining for the

children.”

We all enjoyed watching The Hap- py Prince and hope they will come again next year and the following

years to come. By Chloe and Georgia."

Task 5B

I have now compared my knowledge on the codes of practice/ regulations which guide my actions and activities at my place of work with the actual legislation from professional sources. Whilst I am happy that my knowledge of my ethical obligations to all the parties I engage with is quite good I found that there is a lot of specific legislation about working with children. I was aware of the scope of the law about the relationship between a teacher and the children being taught but now realise that there are specific pieces of legislation for example about non discrimination which I now am aware of in more detail. The work that I and my touring theatre group does brings us all into close contact with young children under 11 and we not only involve them in the performance on stage but also have to ensure their well being often without any member of staff in attendance. We need to make selections from a large group of different ages for a small number of parts and need to achieve a sensible mix of children in the performance. Sometimes our choice backfires and I now know that there is specific legal requirements on us which might be challenged by a child complaining to its' teacher of parent. I have not had time to study the 5 of 6 relevant pieces of legislation in any detail. I realise that I need to do that but outside the work of this module.

Task 5A

I want to consider the codes of practice/regulations which apply in my present job, which is as a member of a touring company (Image Musical Theatre).

The work comprises travelling to schools around the country, setting up scenery lighting and sound system at the schools, which are primary level.We run a short workshop for the whole school, select a group of children to perform small parts in our performance of "The Happy Prince" by Oscar Wilde, and then perform for the whole school.

After we have left the teachers are asked to discus the play with the children.

I want to set out the codes of practice/regulations with reference to the different groups of people we have obligations to. They are-

• The general public - Road traffic acts, and Health and Safety legislation
• Our employer - Contract of Employment, Agency Agreement, General Employment Legislation
• Other cast members - Professional Code of Practice, "Image house rules"
• School Staff - Specific Schools own house rules and LEA codes
• Children (pupils) - CRB requirements, General legislation on the protection of children, Racial discrimination legislation and codes of behaviour
• Parents - When in contact with children to act in a responsible way as a good parent would

Before  my next blog I need do some "digging" to check how far my assumptions are correct.

task 4d

"The award I seek as a result of doing this programme is BA (Hons) Professional Practice in performing arts business management”

The main resaon for this title is that my proposed enquiry is to try to carry out an enquiry into a real business question associated with the business, which currently provides me with employment as an actor and teacher, and links with my wish to develop my teaching skills.
I would like to carry through an enquiry, which will be useful to my employer. It might provide a basis for a commercial business decision on developing the business in an organic way.
We are living in a time when performing arts are driven by commercial considerations. Many performing artists teach as well as perform and many productions are either killed or move forward by virtue of the box office potential.
There has been a strong return to a business model, which not only builds on the “old school” actor manager undertaking touring productions, but also linking productions to teaching projects. These are often teaching projects, which have a social dimension.
Performers need to be teacher/coaches and often need to have business skills in addition.
The enquiry I am planning is on a narrower front than the title I propose, but I want to give a broader indication in the title than referring only to the scope of my enquiry.
Although it is my aim to get as far up the ladder as possible in my career as a performer, I would also like to build my teaching experience and skills and to position myself to acquire some business skills in addition.
I hope these three “strings to my bow” will provide me with the best chance of success in my stage career”.

Task 4c the responses from my research

I had developed a set of individually tailored questions to be answered within my own professional community beyond the programme. I have managed to gain some sufficient research from people whose idea's will be relevant to my inquiry. These are just a couple of the responses I have received, one set of answers is from a performer currently working in theatre in education and the other a primary school teacher that's school has experience of theatre companies perform. 



Name: Jude de Bont
Age: 23
Occupation: Theatre in education performer.



What do you think the children get out of having a theatre company like yourself come in to the school and perform?



For many people, in today’s financial climate, the luxury of taking your children to the theatre or putting them into drama classes isn’t an option. Bringing the theatre to the children in school means a new experience for some of them. A child’s imagine is incredibly pure and needs to be stimulated, developed and encouraged. Theatre is imagination and play. For many children it gives them an outlet to express themselves when they may struggle to in other ways. It’s generally an incredibly enjoyable experience for the children and a really proud moment for those that get to take part; many of whom are the children that never get picked for anything or aren’t high achievers. It can be very inspiring and exciting but can also teach a lot through the message of our play’s story.



Do you think it is an important part of education incorporating theatre into learning?



Absolutely. Children really respond to theatre. The music, the costumes, the performance are all play, which children do naturally. Every child learns in different ways and you will find many children that find it difficult to perform in a classroom situation excel performing on a stage. Theatre is also a very disciplined environment where everyone’s full commitment and effort is integral to the outcome of the performance. There’s a great sense of everyone working together and supporting each other and this is an invaluable thing for children to experience. It’s great to see children who may be deemed as troublemakers perform wonderfully on stage. These children sometimes just need someone to believe in them, give them a sense of responsibility and let them express themselves.



What do you think could be developed and improved upon when taking a show to a school?



Preparing the schools better for our arrival. If a school or the teachers are not really on board with the show throughout the performance it can be incredibly challenging to keep the children engaged or stimulated. Many of the teachers aren’t informed beforehand of our coming or what exactly we’ll be doing and can be a bit unsupportive which makes our performance and work with the children more difficult. Timings are also a crucial thing when performing in schools. Performances at schools that are organised and prepared for us are incredibly smooth and hassle free for all.



What ethical issues have arisen whilst taking part in the show?



Today’s Britain is an incredibly multicultural country, embracing people from all over the world who practice all different religions. When I look at the children in the audience and the multicoloured faces staring back I see a sea of young faces, I don’t see a sea of different coloured faces or religious beliefs. However, we have on occasion, experienced issues with teachers who believe we have chosen children to partake in the show based on the colour of their skin or told that we need to be aware of the amount of a particular religious sect in the school and act accordingly. It’s terribly difficult in today’s society to say or do anything without being seen as politically incorrect. It’s difficult because children pick up on this negative vibe and that’s how racism and bigotry can be developed from a young age. Children are incredibly innocent and usually oblivious to there being any issue if their skin is a different colour. For example during one of my workshop sessions a little white boy pointed at a little black girl and said ‘Her face is black.’ which didn’t appear to bother any of the children. He was merely stating it as a fact, as if I hadn’t noticed. There was no malice in it. However, if an older person said such a thing they would be considered a racist.



How does taking a show to a school hall differ from taking the children to a theatre?



A theatre can be an incredibly intimidating place for a very young child. Bringing the performance to the school puts the theatre in their own environment in which they’re comfortable and safe. It means they can fully get involved and enjoy the experience on their own level instead of being more distanced from the performance, as they might be in an actual theatre space. It’s also more of a personal experience. The children are aware the show is just for them and their own friends which means they are more confident when performing knowing their peers are there supporting them and no strangers are watching.



What would you say were the pros and cons of performing at the school instead of a typical theatre setting?



Pros:
* The children are in their own environment where they are more comfortable and confident.
* The show is easily adapted to your audience’s specific needs and preferences.
* The atmosphere is more relaxed and on a level with the children.
* The show can be all about the children, they feel more included.
* You really get to know your audience on a personal level.



Cons:
* You can never guarantee you get the desired space to perform. Every school hall is different and audience sizes change, you don’t know in advance, so you have to assess and perform accordingly.
* You don’t know what the acoustics in the hall will be like until you arrive so have to adjust your singing accordingly and you’re not miked so it can be a strain on the voice, particularly in larger schools.
* You don’t have a theatre manager or crew so all the set and preparation has to be done by yourself.
* Sometimes access to your performing space within the school is awkward or is being used for another purpose and you can’t have access right away.



What have you learnt first hand about theatre in education whilst performing at the schools?



Performing at schools has made me realise how important theatre in education is and how integral it is to a child’s development. As I said before children learn in different ways and we need to continue to develop and encourage different teaching techniques to insure we stimulate a child and improve their learning. Education is not all about maths, english and science but also about personal development. Children spend the most important years of their development in schooling, and education is incredibly influencing. It is as much the environment they are educated in and the experiences they get out of things such as theatre performances that add to this development. Albert Einstein said ‘The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.’ Children need to be encouraged and inspired, and partaking in and enjoying theatre within their school environment does just that.


Name: Kate
Occupation: Primary school teacher.


 Do you think it is an important and valuable part of education incorporating theatre into learning?

I believe that incorporating theatre into learning is highly valuable to educating children.  I have always tried to incorporate as much drama as possible into the curriculum I deliver and think that theatre is an obvious progression from this.  When children have the opportunity to perform in a production, their confidence thrives and they learn that everyone has an equally important role to play.

Would you be interested in having a theatre company visit and perform at your school? If so how would you feel it would benefit the children's education?

We have had theatre companies such as Riding Lights in to school and the children has been enthused by what they have seen.  We would definitely welcome theatre company visits in the future, as I believe that for children to see what the finished product can look like, gives them something to aspire to as young actors.  I also think it helps them to access the creative side of their brains, to allow them to use their own imaginations to create endless possibilites, especially those who find story telling challenging.

How much is theatre encouraged in your school? And what do you currently have on your curriculum that is geared towards the creative subjects?

Performance and drama are encouraged to a large extent and we are currently working towards the Arts Mark award for schools, which requires us to prove that we are

dedicating at least 12% of our curriculum time to the arts and creative subjects.  We always try to promote creativity troughout the curriculum, eg. Art through History, Drama through English.

How much would you as a school expect to pay for a performance and workshop?

Apologies but I have no idea what the going rate is for a day's workshop - between £200 - £300??

Their responses definitely gave me food for thought and possible leads to follow with developing further my inquiry. I was totally unaware of the scheme with "The Arts Mark Award" this I feel it is an excellent idea and is in place to encourage positive affects for the importance of the arts in education. It is great to see that schemes have been designed to support the arts, and that schools are taking up the offer by dedicating at least 12% of their curriculum time to the arts and creative subjects.

  From my research I was interested to see how much a school was prepared to pay for a performance and workshop. The amount this particular school teacher would estimate is less than half what the going rate for this service is. With our current climate there is limited amounts of money to go around and therefore theatre in education is a cut that has been most noticeable. The general reaction from teachers and pupils from the schools is a positive one, they generally feel that theatre in education is a vital part of learning for their students. If the schools feel so strongly about theatre in education why are the government not giving the support and funding to help it continue. One school I visited put on their own show to raise enough money to pay for a theatre company to perform, this highlights the fact some schools feel it a really important part of their students education and are prepared to go out of their way to fund such an activity.

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity | Video on TED.com

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity | Video on TED.com

I found this video most fitting for my argument the importance of the arts within education. It is really interesting and highlights some extremely useful points for my inquiry. In particular the hierarchical structure of subjects in education. It is a moving case for creating an education system that nurtures rather than undermines creativity.

Task 4b creating a SIG

I have just set up a special interest group on facebook named "theatre in education" so please take a look and feel free to comment and blog your thoughts. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Theatre-in-education/131061190332222 I have devised a set of questions I am going to post on the page throughout the course of the next few weeks, they are intended to stimulate conversation and opinions. I have already had a private response from a drama teacher expressing his thoughts on the importance of theatre in education. This has left me feeling confident that I will gain some feedback even if it is a limited amount. I have found people to interact with outside the course that will be equally relevant to my research. I've started off by emailing school teachers and speaking to performers currently working in theatre in education this should allow me to gain sufficient feedback to help me with my professional inquiry. I am interested in what I will find and what the general consensus will be. There will be blogs regarding their responses in the near future.

Task 4b

I am considering carrying out my enquiry on the importance of theatre in education. My decision will be influenced by finding one or two other course members, who would like to do something similar so that we can form a SIG.

It seems to me that this identifying other members of the course for a “SIG” is a high priority. Will anyone who is considering choosing a business issue in the performing arts area as their enquiry project please respond so that we can exchange more detailed information about our plans.