Online Portfolio

Hi Rosemary,

Please find here the link to my personal Wiki which contains my Online Portfolio for assessment:
http://privilegevspassion.wikispaces.com

Kind Regards,
Lisa

Tools of Professional Inquiry - Task 6A

Survey:
As with the SIG I decided not to carry out my survey online but instead to go to a dance school with hard copies and ask students to fill them out. I really am more of a hands on kind of person when it comes to learning and I find it much easier to process research if I actually have it in my hands. This is not to say that in the future I wont be tempted with sites such as surveymonkey.com but for now I didn't feel it would be beneficial. I ensured my participants were over the age of 16 and happy to fill out the surveys before I handed them out. As I handed them out in a dance school I knew that I would get answers relevant to what i was researching and this was a great help.

Focus Group:
I decided to hold my focus group at my house and invited 4 of my old college friends around to participate. I chose Purposive candidates and not representative ones as I felt it would be more beneficial to my inquiry. Each member is now working in different areas of the industry and found their views to be extremely valuable. As we have known each other for several years I found they were all very willing to open up about their financial situations and whether or not they would be where they are today without the financial backing they received. Every time I steered the conversation in a certain direction they were very quick to follow, although it was a relaxed environment everybody knew there was a purpose behind our meeting and they were more than willing to contribute. Again I recorded the meeting for reference, as I knew the participants so well I didn't make them identify themselves each time they spoke. At the beginning of the meeting I asked everyones names and occupations and from then on I was simply able to identify them by the sound of their voice. I didn't think it was necessary to have a gate keeper as i wasn't having a discussion with a specific group of people or minors. The group didn't represent anything as a whole it was simply 4 individuals putting across their views on a particular topic and although they didn't i knew they would have said had they thought any of the questions to be inappropriate or unnecessary.

Observation:
I found that this method alone was of no use to me. In order to establish the help they had received to get where they are today I had to give each person I observed a questionnaire to fill out. I carried out my observation at my old dance school back in my home town, it was a group of 16 and 17 year old dancers all considering whether to attend University or Performing Arts College. Whilst watching them dance I made brief notes on their capabilities but in all honesty wanted to get them in a focus group and talk about their experiences thus far. Once I could see that they could all dance to a high standard I had no further reason to observe them and because of this I carried out minimal observation. Instead I convinced them to be part of a small focus group which I held in the corridor of the dance school with their teacher as the gatekeeper. This 5 minutes I spent talking to them was far more valuable to my research than the hour I spent watching them dance.

Tools of Professional Inquiry: Task 6D - Delicious

It's taken me a while to get to grips with this but now that I have I find it very useful. I am often in a situation where by I don't have access to the Internet at home and have to go to Internet cafes or libraries in order to gain access. With Delicious I am now able to locate useful sites quickly and easily and without having to remember the addresses each time. As I am new to the site I don't have that many bookmarks yet, here is a link to several that I found very useful in starting out on my inquiry into funding for less privileged young performers: http://www.delicious.com/lisajbird. I am sure as I continue my research this list will grow and prove invaluable to my final module piece.

Professional Ethics - Task 5c:

Whilst looking into the professional ethics and codes of conduct that surround my industry I have found that perhaps I already knew more than I first thought. True I may not have known the theory behind it or why we behave in such a way, but I do know how to behave in a professional environment.

I have found the many theories I have studied to be useful in various ways, but each have now been joined together in order to form the rounded view I now believe I have. I think that my personal ethics have a large impact on the way I approach my professional ethics. Although I am not necessarily religious or particularly set on a certain way of beliefs, I think that this only enhances my ability to encompass other peoples views into my own. I am always looking to broaden my outlook on life and I am more than willing to listen to others speak and take from it what I find valuable and leave the rest without discrimination.

The times where personal beliefs contradict with professional ones can be impossible to handle for example; I don’t believe that the way you look makes you a better person or performer, but it is so important to the Performing Arts industry that I have to conform. I also don’t believe that dressing provocatively will make you a better dancer but I can see why it could help you look more confident and therefore more likely to get a job!

As I am not overly religious I tend to use the law as a basis for my ethics. I think this fits in with the consequentialist way of thinking and J.S. Mills theory of ‘the greater good’ for example; cutting funding to a small school with a poor success rate and splitting it between children in a better school with more prospects would be fair under the view of consequentialism. Unfortunately it’s a dog eat dog world out there and I believe that mob mentality will always prevail.

The case study into the ethics on photography where Carter left a child to die is very poignant. I think it’s such strong evidence that you can only follow professional ethics as far as your conscience will allow you. Had he have been able to live with his decision nobody could have really questioned his code of conduct as a photographer, he was after all only there to observe. But as a human being he knew personal ethics should have taken over and the fact that they didn’t led him to take his own life.

I have found that during my research I am now able to separate personal and professional ethics if. I know I won’t be able to sleep a night because of a professional decision I’ve made then I wont take that route in the first place.  Have found this way of thinking very much supported by theoretical normative ethics, what is morally acceptable to you should be able to influence professional decisions.

The question “who stands to benefit most from your research?” is one that I intend to keep close to mind when carrying out my inquiry. I want to prove to people that by making the rich richer they are in turn making the poor poorer. I am aware that there are always anomalies with any set of results and I wont be afraid to publish these. The main aim of my research will be to help the talented performers of tomorrow to get the funding they deserve in order to keep their dream alive without discrimination.

I think that the codes of conduct put forward by the British Educational Research Association to be very valid and I shall definitely be following them throughout my inquiry.  I shall also work closely with the Data Protection/Human Rights/Children’s and Equality Acts and hope that all these combined with my own personal and professional ethics should help me to conclude a fair and detailed inquiry which leads to valuable data being produced.

Professional Ethics - Task 5b:

I have scoured the web in order to find what the codes of practice/regulations and ethical frameworks actually are within the theatre and audition environments and here is what I found:

There were several websites which I found really useful firstly was http://www.icsom.org/miscellany/auditioncode.html which gave the following interesting section on conduct within an audition…

1. In preparing for and conducting auditions, all participants should be aware of policies and procedures governing those auditions, including this code.
2. Although the existence and composition of an audition committee and the nature and extent of its participation in auditioning and hiring is determined locally, musicians' involvement should at least include the initial screening of applicants.
3. Applicants should not be disqualified from auditioning on the basis of information about them obtained from current or previous employers or from other institutions to which they have applied.
4. Auditionees should be given sufficient time and, to the extent possible, adequate private facilities in which to warm up and practice.
5. Parts supplied by the orchestra for auditions should be in good condition, legible, and clearly marked as intended to be played at the audition.
6. There should be no discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age, creed, national origin, religion, or sexual preference; steps ensuring this should exist in all phases of the audition process.
7. There should be reasonable accommodation for the handicapped.
8. Auditionees should be given opportunity and encouragement to comment, anonymously if desired, to the audition committee and management about the audition process.
9. Auditionees should be notified of their status in the audition process immediately upon such determination. Candidates under active consideration after auditions are completed should be so notified and given an estimated time of final decision.

10. Auditionees should be informed prior to auditions of the orchestra's policy regarding reimbursement of auditionees' expenses for additional stay or travel incurred at the request of management.

The second website I found of use was audition criteria for a theatre school http://www.artsed.co.uk/images/uploads/policies/Code_of_Practiceauditions.pdf

All candidates for Acting courses will be offered an audition, provided they meet the following criteria:

All candidates must complete an application form, including a written statement, a photograph, and payment of the required audition fee.

The candidate must meet the age requirements of their course at the start of their first year of study.

Applications must be received by the deadline; this is usually 31st March for a September intake, although this may be later for some courses.

Candidates are invited to disclose any access or learning requirements on their application form, so that any reasonable adjustments to the audition or interview process can be made.

In order to ensure that … can offer as much support as possible, candidates are invited to disclose any long term health issues on their application form so that these may be discussed at the interview stage of the audition.

The School of Acting does not discriminate on grounds of age, background, race, colour, disability, family circumstances, gender, nationality, political beliefs or party membership, religion, sexual orientation, trade union membership or on any other grounds deemed to be irrelevant to participation in the course.

… is committed to providing access to our courses to as wide a range of ethnic and social groups as possible. Auditions take place at … from October to June, and our Outreach teams work with youth groups around the country to encourage talented candidates from under-represented groups to apply for auditions

… offers Foundation Courses for young people interested in preparing for a full-time training course in acting or musical theatre. Successful students are offered a free audition for either the BA (Hons) Musical Theatre or BA (Hons) Acting courses.

Finally http://www.ncdt.co.uk/files/CDET_NCDT_precepts.pdf came up with the following…

PRECEPT ONE: A school undertakes to consider all applications

PRECEPT TWO: A school undertakes to provide candidates with the necessary information

before and at the selection process

PRECEPT THREE: A school undertakes to provide information on the availability of and criteria

for the allocation of public funding

PRECEPT FOUR: A school undertakes to give candidates the opportunity to demonstrate their

potential to fulfil the aims of the course

PRECEPT FIVE: A school undertakes to ensure that the decision making process is fair and

transparent

PRECEPT SIX: A school undertakes to ensure that candidates are informed of the outcome of an audition / interview

Although not all of these apply when auditioning for a job and not a school, I think the backbones are the same. In reference to task 5a where I listed what I thought the codes of conduct for the profession were I don’t think I have found that many differences. It is all about knowing where you stand and being treated fairly in all audition situations. The official codes of conduct go into a lot more detail and would have legal stature should problems arise which is very important.

Professional Ethics - Task 5a:

As I am still auditioning I decided to look at the ethics within an audition situation: the obvious ones which spring to mind are those of discrimination; be it racial/sexual/ age or disability, none should be tolerated!

As in any job, the performance industry has to be open to everyone. Although on occasion in order to make something real a part may have to be played by a person of a certain age or race. In such situations it must be stipulated before the audition commences and valid reasoning must be provided on request. Unfortunately in the performance industry with so many young girls with big dreams out there some producers/directors may see them as an opportunity to take advantage, this is not right and such people need to be removed from the industry. No matter how much you want a job if you feel uncomfortable at any point you should leave.

There are many codes of conduct which apply to an audition environment such as:

• Never be late
• Always be prepared
• Be appropriately dressed/well presented
• Never speak out of term/be respectful
• Only go if you fit the brief
• Don’t waste their time
• Ensure you are warmed up previously and able to cool down after
• Make sure that sheet music is taped together correctly
• Make sure you have correct dance shoes required
• Always bring an up to date C.V and headshot

I would consider most of the above to be transdisciplinary as they can be applied to various auditions. Although I trained in musical theatre and this is ideally what I want to do I also occasionally attend straight acting auditions or pure singing auditions. The general codes can still be applied but just tailored towards each individual audition.

Developing Lines of Professional Inquiry - Task 4d:

After a lot of deliberation I have come up with the following award title:

BA (Hons) Professional Practice (Performance Welfare)

Money makes the world go around, there is no avoiding that fact and I want to look into the effects and links money can have on raw talent and subsequently success. I struggled to find an adequate way to literate this into an awards title and I am still not settled on the above idea…your help will be much appreciated so any ideas just leave a comment J