Friday, 7 December 2012

The Journey of Module One!

I don't know about anyone else but I feel that I have come along way since our induction day in late september.  I honestly feel like I have changed not only in the way I present myself professionally but also on a personal level.

I now stop and think about what has happened on a daily basis, evaluating what has happened and seeing if I can learn anything from the events. I am also aware of the people around me and how they can impact on my career, weather its your choreographer or wardrobe assistant they matter! I have come to realise that there is so much out there for us so we must use it! Get on the free casting website, check out the stage, it all helps!

I remember Paula telling us about it being a work based learning course and how we would be doing a lot of self development. Uni is not about being given the answers its about finding them out for yourself and learning along the way. I have come to realise how true this is.

I like many of you probably didn't realise what we were in for but I am so glad that I decided to enrol in the course. I feel like I have come on a journey and discovered a lot not only about my professional practice but my personal self too.

This module has highlighted to me how I can improve my professional practice and get more out of it.

  • Be assertive not passive! 
  • Always question things, don't accept them on face value. 
  • You get out what you put in!
  • Be aware.
  • Be open to other opinions and viewpoints.
  • There is no wrong or right! 
I would be really interested to see your thoughts and views on this matter. Please comments below and let me know if you feel the same? 

Light bulb list!

I don't know how everyone else is feeling about the assignment but I am feeling slightly apprehensive and worried. I have been thinking about what Rosemary said to me about a light bulb list? What have a I learnt from the beginning? Have all the lights come on? And most importantly how have I learnt them and how are they applied to my professional practice.
Below is a list of things that I have become aware of, I am hoping to use these as a bases for my essay.  They are in no particular order just what popped into my head!

1. Don't be passive be assertive

2. It's not always about what you can do its who you know! Networking in the correct manor can impact on the success and progression of our careers

3. Awareness is a key tool for us.

4. There is so much at our fingers tips for us to utilise.

5. Information is knowledge and knowledge is power.

6. We can learn from experiences, even if things go wrong you can always turn it into a positive and learn something from it.

7. Sharing a different opinion on someone's view point is neither wrong or right, being able to critically analyse others opinions and experiences only helps us.

8. Although we don't know the outcome for unforeseen events we can to the best of our abilities using new tools and knowledge plan and reflect from previous events in order to have the best possibility of success.

9. I can be a successful practitioner while working to deadlines. Time management is a good tool which we need to use in order to juggle our professional practice with our personal life's.

Please comment below with your thought and what you have learnt, this isn't all of mine but just a few to get the ball rolling!

Monday, 3 December 2012

Cinderella goes to the ball!

After two weeks of rehearsals and 3 long days of tech we finally opened on Friday.
We only managed one dress run before opening so it was either going to be a disaster or extremely well, thankfully it was the latter minus a few hitches. Instead of treading the boards in Cinderella is should be called treading the horse poo! Which a few of us managed to do!

Currently writing this blog at my quarter hour call but haven't been in touch with the blogging world for a while and was getting withdrawal symptoms.

I have been trying to get my head around this final essay and Rosemary mentioned the key is to show what we have learnt. She spoke of a light bulb list and that is what I have been trying to come up with. I will post it tomorrow and look forward to seeing what you think.

Until then I will leave you with some pics of the fun we have been having back stage!







Monday, 26 November 2012

Week two in Pantoland!

Hello All,

So I have now finished week two of Pantoland and I am enjoying a well deserved day off before the dreaded tech week starts tomorrow!

Where to begin....first of all I was so pleased with the response of last weeks blog. Its one thing doing our tasks on here but actually blogging was a bit of a novelty! So hopefully this weeks will prove a success too!

An excited part of this week was finding out who we were understudying. I am going to be understudying Cinderella but I have good faith she won't go off, but I guess you never know. Learning from experience (last year) I haven't started to learn her part yet as the script they are using now doesn't resemble to the one we got given on day one, so I am waiting for the stage manager to update them and give it to us next week. Rather than learn the wrong thing and make my job ten times harder!! Thankfully I am not understudying the Fairy, she is played by a Scottish comedian, Karen Dunbar. She is incredibly funny and witty and her jokes change every time we do it. I do not envy Lauren who has that job!

This year in our rehearsal space we have not had any mirrors. To a normal person this may not be an issue, but I have found it tricky learning the choreography with out one. The real challenge was when cleaning our dance numbers, as normally you can just look in a mirror to see what your doing wrong but this time we had to 'feel' it! At first we were all struggling with out them but now I am a pro! I think this experience will really help me in audition situations when you don't have a mirror to learn in. Normally I would have panicked but over the last two weeks I have plenty of practice so in future will be able to stay calm about the situation and just think about how I did it in rehearsals.

After a busy week instead of going out this weekend, I decided on putting my feet up and enjoying a glass of wine.


I also had to pack up digs number on in oder to move to our new luxurious apartment which has internet!

During our move we hit a slight problem. After packing up and carrying everything down about 4 flights of stairs we were ready to pack up the the car. Everything was going so well until we locked ourselves out! Baring in mind the front door never normally shuts properly and we put it on the latch just incase, it locked us out! We had to leave the keys in the flat for the landlord so didn't have them, and we were so close with only a few bags left to go in! As we are in Scotland it was raining too. Eventually after a lot of banging on the front door and shouting a kind young man appeared to rescue us! Note to self....even if you have to leave the keys in the flat do it last once everything is packed!


Our new place is amazing, world apart from our one bed studio!
One bed studio! 
Penthouse mansion! 






As you can see our other place would fit twice into our new living room, and the best bit is we both have our own rooms and beds!

I have been catching up on blogs today commenting away in order to complete task 3d and also see what everyone has been upto. I have put aside some time today to also get started on the essay so we will see how that goes!

I am in tech next week so will keep you posted with the progress of the show. We open on friday so should be a good week! I also have a new toy.........An ipad! So can blog on the go, even mid show if I fancy it!

Sunday, 18 November 2012

Hi ho hi ho off to Panto we go!

Hello All,

It's that time of year where all us actors and dancers disappear off to pantoland. I have now been in Glasgow rehearsing for a week but my current digs have no internet hence why my blog has been rather quiet, so I am now spending my day off in Starbucks using their free wifi to catch up on everything I have been missing. Thankfully we are moving to new digs next week which not only has internet but its also a penthouse!! Cant wait!

It all started with an 8 hour road trip from London up to Glasgow. The first hurdle was trying to cram my life into two suitcases and then combining them with Dans  (a guy in my cast who drove up with me)  and trying to get them in his car! Luckily we had the help of my step dad and his dad and between them they managed to do it!







Rehearsals are going well so far but came as a shock to the system. By day three my body felt as though I had been pushed down a flight of stairs and should have been lying in a hospital bed! Not been thrown around to footloose!

As usual the costumes are always a funny part of
the week, having now seen them and especially the hats who knows how we will overcome the hurdle of dancing in those!




We finished the week with a stagger through of the show and then hit the town! We decided that you can't know your cast properly until you all go out and have a few drinks so it would have been rude not to. Ended up in at 3 this morning eating one of Glasgow's finest dishes, no it wasn't a battered mars bar but it was another fine delicacy called 'Chicken Pakora'. You can't beat it after a night out, so if you ever are up this way I would recommend it! All in all it was a successful night mainly because for once it wasn't raining.



There will be more to follow regarding pantoland in next weeks instalment! Better get out of Starbucks before I get dodgy looks for being here too long! Over and out! x

Thursday, 8 November 2012

Task 3c Sources of Information

As you can see on my previous blog I started this task with a spider gram. I decided it was a good place to start and get all my ideas down. I then looked more closely at the sources I had listed and tried picking the 5 most important ones to me. After a lot of thought I came to the conclusion of, Friends in the Industry, Class, The Internet, My Personal Resources and The Theatre.

I personally feel that our friends in the industry are often one of the best sources of information we can have. Weather you give someone a quick call or catch up over a coffee there always seems to be some gossip about who's got what job or what auditions coming up next and if you have one or not, the later normally being the case! Our friends in the industry not only are great for information but also good for support. I realised this while reading and researching the reader, we all create part of a 'communities of practice.' So its not just about gaining information its also about being part of something and taking the values of that too. When using your friends as an information source you also have to look into another theory of the reader which is cooperation. You can't keep taking from them with out giving something back otherwise they may not want to help you. So next time someone is teaching you the audition routine as your in the next group make sure if they ever need help your there for them. There is only so many times you will do a friend a favour with out having it returned. I can remember in collage certain people would only want to talk to you if they wanted something, I just make a note to self in these cases and made sure I kept myself to myself. I am more than happy to help a friend in need and lend out my sheet music but after reading the reader and it altering my view point about cooperation, I feel that it is a strong part of this information source. One of my favourite things with friends is after an audition when you have your rejection coffee. Its a great way to reflect about what has happened, but not only do you learn from your experiences you can also learn from those of your friends! I could go on forever but to conclude value your friends, and its all about give and take!

Class is a brilliant way to get information, not only does it keep us in the loop but also keeps us fit! When your in pineapple there is always several sources to find out whats goings on. First of all there is the information boards which have castings on, information of new classes, 'mortal' jobs, and lots more. I do love a traditional notice board and especially in pineapple you always know its relevant and contains useful information. As well as that you are often doing class with other industry professionals so its a good way to make friends and find out whats going on in the world. Its also a good way to begin your network with other professionals, theres a fine line between being nosey and annoying and just being inquisitive, but if you always have something up your sleeve to offer in return you can't go too wrong. It all links back again to 'cooperation' and its another 'communities of practice'.

Web 2.0 and the internet in general is brilliant for our profession! It has so much to offer is and is a vehicle that offers us so many platforms. We can use it to network, advertise our talents on youtube, a website to show the world how amazing we are, source information about up and coming auditions (the stage, casting call pro, star now etc), research shows, blog, look at online magazines such as the stage, whats on stage, have our online Cv's on spotlight, the list is endless! Since starting this module my viewpoints on this subject has changed and I have come to realise we have so much at the tip of our fingers. We need to utilise these sources as much as possible. The internet is a phenomenon which can actually help us in our present and future career and we must use it to the best of our abilities to enable that to happen. We are fortunate enough to have this opportunity that others haven't so I feel we must take advantage of it.

I have a stash of personal resources in my bedroom, from monologues to sheet music I probably have something for every occasion and audition. These are valuable sources that have grown over years. They are the kind of resources that grow over time and are always added to, the kind that if you lost you wouldn't know how to get them back and where to find half the things you had. I think its important that when you hear a song or a monologue you feel would be suitable for you to ask whom ever has performed them and either ask to copy it there and then or if thats not appropriate to write it down to find at a later date. I also have contacts that I have made through working previously in the business which I'd say are type personal resource. I think its vital that you keep in touch with those you have worked for before and retain a good relationship with them as you never know when you will meet them again and in what kind of situation too. Personal resources are very valuable as if you loose them or if they are people loose in touch with them they are hard things to get back.

The Theatre. I have picked the theatre as my fifth source not only as its a great source of information it also reminds us about what we love and why we are pursuing this career. The other week I went to watch a friend in 9-5, before attending all I knew about it was that its based on Dolly Parton music, other than that I knew nothing. By the time it finished I knew the storyline, what kind of people would be cast in it, if I would be suited to the show, etc. Watching shows or plays are sometimes the best way to see if you would a) suit the show and perhaps be cast for it and b) find out about the music and understand the story line. Above all that it reminds us about our love for the theatre. More over when your pouring the pints or waiting tables you it helps you remember why your doing that. I think sometimes we get so lost in trying to get a 'proper job' you forget why you want it so badly. We did a great task the other day in campus session 2, when we wrote down one word to describe us. Then we got in pairs and swapped our note books, the other person then had to write down all the things they associated with that word. It was lovely to see what they had written as it remind us who we were and the values and qualities we posses. I find going to the Theatre also reinforces this and helps 're light my fire' and not only do I gain some great information I am also remind of my love for this industry.

I feel that all the above sources are vital to our professional practice, they also all link in with our reader.
Some of them involve cooperation, others affiliation among the other themes. This all just highlights to me the importance of Networking with in our industry and how it can help us. The theory's that we touch upon in the reader have made me more aware and reinforced the values and importance that being a networked professional gives us. I think we also need to remember there is so many resources available to us and we must not forget to use them. As at the end of the day it will only better us as a practitioner so why not use them to our advantage!

I also think that especially on this course one of our main sources of information are blogs. They are vital for us to learn from other peoples experiences and not just our own. Their opinions and views are also valuable as it enables us to see things from another aspect. I have enjoyed looking at other peoples blogs and have even taken to looking at blogs which aren't specific to our course, this is a blog from Daniella Gibb which provides a great insight about our life's at Christmas.

Christmas Countdown - Oh Yes it is!

As usual please leave your comments, and check our Daniella's blog!


Task 3b....Reader 2

Hello All,

Please find below a link on task 3b. This is my critical reflection on the reader.

A Critical Reflection on Reader 3, The Networked Professional

I'm loving the wikis, means you can keep editing till your hearts content! But I think this is now the final article.

Like usual please leave your comments below! The more the merrier!

Wednesday, 7 November 2012

Sources of information

This is a spider gram showing my immediate thoughts when looking into my sources of information. My blog on task 3c will shortly follow, but this will give you an idea of where I started!

Wednesday, 31 October 2012

Task 3a - Range and Value of Current Networks.

My Range and Value of Current Networks. 

I have a slight feeling we are in for another epic blog so bare with me my fellow BAPPs!!

There are so many ways that us "Performers" can create different networks. I am planning to break some of them down into several sections and explore all of their values.

Auditions - I personally feel this is a key aspect of our networks as we are getting out there and showing our faces. The more auditions you go to and end up in front of the same panel the more they will remember you and you can create a relationship with them. I found this out recently when I had been to several auditions with the same choreographer and in the last one I saw her in she approached me and said 'is your name Hannah, I thought I recognised you', I ended up doing really well and was really pleased my hard work in the other auditions had also paid off. Also sometimes you may not be right for the job your up for but they may know of another one suitable for you and pass your details on to somebody else.

Class - A great way for us to network is through doing classes. Weather is be in pineapple or dance attic there is always something going on. Class not only helps us stay in form but we can talk to peers and other industry professionals to find out whats going on. You always hear of at least one audition or upcoming show, so it just helps us stay 'in the loop'.

Friends - Friends are a great way to network! But with them its all about cooperation, you have to give and swap some of your own info in order to get some. There are so many ways our friends in the industry can help us, for example in Collage you would swap songs from your portfolio (some people more reluctantly than others! or you would never get your sheet music back) but in those cases it just makes you aware and you note to self not to help them again! Friends in the industry are also great to help you prepare for auditions, weather is be teaching you the routine as they were in the week before or just giving you general advice on what to expect. More over in years to come you never know what friend could end up casting in the west end or directing! So in my opinion its really important to keep your relationships strong with your network of professional friends!

People you have worked with - Its so important when in a job not to piss anyone off! You never know when you will come across them again, and you don't want it to effect the future. I think its vital to keep in touch with people you have worked with previously, from the director to the stage manager you never know how they may be able to help you. I have made sure I keep in touch with most people from jobs, sometimes its not possible to build a relationship with everyone but in my opinion you should try your best! This year I have been lucky enough to work with the same Panto company with the same choreographer...last year was great and I made so many friends and learn't so much, I am excited to see what this season brings!

Social networks - Social networks are a good way for us to network but I think to enable me to do this I would need to separate my personal social networks sites to my professional ones. At the moment I only have personal social network accounts, like Facebook and twitter. I think it would be inappropriate for casting directors and influential people checking our my status complaining about waiting in the rain for four hours for an open audition! I think for industry professionals I would like to have a website or perhaps another social network account to contact them through.

Agent - Our agents I feel are also another key aspect of our networking as they get us in to auditions and ultimately employment. They are an established network of casting directors and other influential people who will probably be the ones to give us jobs. Therefor I think its crucial to have a good relationship with your agent as at the end of the day that is how we get our main source of work.

Websites - Websites like Spotlight, Whats on Stage and The Stage are all places we get a lot of information from. We can read up on show reviews to make sure we are Theatre Savvy! They enable us to see what shows are coming up, therefor what auditions may arise. You can see certain auditions, The Stage will often have open auditions that we can attend. Spotlight enables casting directors to view our online CVs as well as giving us information and industry news! All very important things!

Blogs - As I have come to learn from starting this course blogging is a great way to get out there and network. Forums and Blogs have become huge and give us another platform for networking I am still coming to terms with blogging but I think it can be a great tool for us to show what we can do to the industry.

I think social media and networking over the internet is incredible and it has expanded so quickly over the last few years, just look at the phenomenon of twitter. But in my opinion I think nothing beats personal relationships built by face to face meetings and building a relationship over time and through experiences. Although it takes more time and effort I feel that that has more of an effect on someone than just being another friend on Facebook or a follower on twitter. By all means we can combine the two and for convenience but I don't want to be a figure of cyber space I want to be a real person in someones mind. Also with networking I think you need to strike a balance as you don't want to be perceived an 'nosey' and 'pushy' but you do need to an effort to start those relationships and find out whats going on with in the industry. I'd like to hope I have got the balance right but you can only learn from experiences and having only been out in the big bad world for about a year and a half I probably don't know as much as others but I am willing to listen and learn. So if you have anything to add please comment below!




Tuesday, 30 October 2012

Emerging lines of enquiry.


Through out blogs and my private journal themes have began emerging and thanks to Rosemary she brought these to my attention as they were particuarly dominant with task 2d....

I looked at them carefully and could see those themes also running with in my journal.

A few of them are -

Importance of parents in classroom behaviour

How to successfully engage students / learning

Teachers as role models

How to handle / learn from audition & rejection experience.

I wanted to blog these themes as I think during our second module they will be a good thing to refer to (I have had a cheeky look to see whats coming).

It's good to start seeing lines of enquiry emerging, all of the above are ideas I want to pursue and explore. Watch this space for more!

Campus Session 2....

For all of you who couldn't make it I thought I would blog about the campus session.

I will not bore you with another epic blog as we dished out blogging different subjects about today but I will give you the facts on mine!

Got a writing problem? Talk to Peter.... (or your academic adviser)

If in doubt with citing your work and worried about referencing or writing in general, you may wish to talk to Peter Thomas (who did the writing workshop) You can contact him on these emails, either to just ask him something or book a skype session or campus session to discuss any of the above issues.
His emails are - p.thomas@mdx.ac.uk and awl@mdx.ac.uk (best to email both)

Terms and conditions apply.....


Monday, 29 October 2012

Task 2c

After alot of writing and rewriting and staring at the screen I have decided to post my link to task 2c.
It may be altered again after the campus session tomorrow but I would be interested on your views so please comment below!

A Critical Reflection on Reflective Practice

Thanks,
Hannah x


Friday, 26 October 2012

Task 2d Inquiry


I am currently writing this blog offline and planning to upload it later as I am sat at Gatwick airport with no internet! If only I had an ipad! Anyway back to the task in hand which is 2d Inquiry. I found this task quite daunting as the questions we are asking ourselves are not ones we often think about, although we really should. I am going to answer the questions suggested to us in the module hand book to find what themes and lines of Inquiry relate to me. 

  • What in your daily practice gets you really enthusiastic to find out more about? Who do you admire who also works with what makes you enthusiastic?

Not being in an acting job at the moment to make ends meet I do a lot of teaching. Mainly with 4-8 year olds. I am very lucky that as well as having a passion for acting I also have a passion for teaching. I am very enthusiastic about it, especially when I see them reacting so well to me. The other week I was doing a drama workshop with a class of reception children after I finished the workshop the teacher approached me to have a chat. She told me that one of the boys who never really engages in class or joins in was giving 100% to me and getting very involved. It was great to hear such positive feedback and to know that I have helped that child. The teacher then said she was going to insist the parents took him to our classes as it will bring out his potential and help him improve at school with is concentration and social skills. 

I admire all teachers. Having found myself doing a lot of work in primary schools recently I have become to be in awe of some of the teachers. I think education is so important with not only young children but everyone. But to be a good teacher its not all about teaching maths and giving homework its about being a good role model as well. I think its vital if you are going to be a teacher you must be a good role model as you want your students to look up to you. My friend and I were chatting the other day as she has just completed her Zumba qualifications and she was saying not only is she having to learn all the routines etc she is having to go the gym and tone up as she felt that if she is going to teach a fitness class in order to get the most out of her clients she needs to look good so the aspire to be like her. I couldn’t agree more with her, from personal experience when I have been to a class at the gym and the instructor isn’t looking good you think to yourself is there any point doing this as its obviously not working to keep them looking good? Which is not how it should be in my opinion. 

I hope after the course that I will be able to complete a PGCE in Drama in secondary schools and if I do become a teacher I will not only aspire to be good at my job but also become a role model for my students. 


  • What gets you angry or makes you sad? Who do you admire who shares your feelings or has found away to work around the sadness or anger?

Recently when teaching in schools I have become aware of problem children. Nothing makes me more angry when one naughty child has to spoil it for everyone else. What makes it worse for me is when teachers are sat in on my workshops and just turn a blind eye to it. When I am taking my own classes if there is a naughty child who starts with me with in the first few weeks the normally have calmed down and I have stamped this behavior out of them normally using a 3 strike and your out rule as its not acceptable to spoil other children's fun normally they soon understand its not as much fun sitting on the bench and in order to join in the must behave.  I think its quite sad when children are either naughty or have no manners as I believe it normally has something to do with the parents and it upsets me when these basic things haven’t been taught to a child, parents should know better. I understand in some circumstances it is harder as a child may have autism or adhd but even then basic manners don’t go a miss. Sometimes I feel parents just give up and use those things as an excuse.  

I admire Jo Frost, supper nanny is one of my favorite programs. She shows parents how to deal with their children and fix’s it no matter what! Normally all the children's issues lie with the parenting techniques used when they were younger so Jo shows the parents how to change their behavior and normally the child’s changes with that. Interestingly when you watch the show when the parents don’t stick to her rules and changes the child's behavior resorts back to how it was and only when the parents change so does the child. Which goes back to what I said earlier and I firmly believe its the parents that are to blame! Obviously I don’t have children myself and my opinion may change when I do but I would be interested to see if any of you have kids what your opinion on this matter is, so please leave a comment below! 

  • What do you love about what you do? Who do you admire who also seems to love this or is an example of what you love?

This question I found quite hard to pinpoint. I think because I have always wanted to perform since I was younger is difficult to say exactly why but I think its lies with passion. Being able to enjoy and love what you do while getting paid is amazing. When I am in work the feeling of getting up do go and do two shows is hard to explain, but just elating and knowing you getting paid for it is the cherry on the cake. I don’t think that many people would be able to say they love their job as much as we do. I also think that when we do get ‘The Job’ we appreciate it so much more after doing mortal jobs. 

I admire everyone in our profession as its not an easy business. We get rejected so much but because of our love for it we keep going. The amount of people who get told no on the Xfactor then say I can’t deal with rejection Im giving up is ridiculous its only one no. I always want to tell them try being rejected 5 times a week and see how you feel? I think we all have such a strong mind and determination anyone who has stuck at it deserves a medal. Its very easy in our industry to get beaten down when you hear no after no and give up but you just need a little bit of luck and get that one yes to turn it all around. I feel that sometimes we do not get the appreciation from ‘normal people’ doing what we do, sometimes they think we just prance around all day or stand and look pretty, but this is not the case. The hard grind we go though to get we are now is definitely not easy and I admire anyone who has kept going and like most of us it just waiting for that YES! 


  • What do you feel you don’t understand? Who do you admire who does seem to understand it of who has found away of making not understanding it interesting or beautiful, or has asked the same questions as you? 

I think its very hard sometimes in our line of business to understand why did she get the job and not me? I wish I could just see in to the casting directors head to see what they were thinking and their reasoning behind it all. Even sometimes you wont get an audition and its hard to understand why you didn’t get one? Do you need to re do your headshots? Or should I have put 5,6 not 5,7. But I think with these things we will never really know. Its more a matter of acceptance than understanding. We need to learn to accept that we will not suit every job or maybe in some cases the other girl was just better than you. I find it quite hard sometimes to accept these things especially when you can’t even get seen for a job that you would either love to do or think your perfect for. How ever I believe that if we can’t except them then we can’t move. So as part and parcel of what we do you just need to suck it up and deal with it. On to the next as we all say! 

I admire my agent when it comes to this as he is always there to say something helpful. Weather its feedback from and audition or just a simple “don’t worry darling something will come up soon” it always seems to put my mind at rest. With out him when dealing with all these questions I think I might go slightly crazy! Also I find talking to my peers on this matter always helps as it re assures you that your not the only one!

I do apologize for yet another epic blog! I will try and make them shorter. Its funny as when I first started blogging and saw massive blogs I was so scared thinking mine will be about 4 lines, instead try 4 pages! Whoops...Please feel free to comment below...Enjoy! 


Sunday, 21 October 2012

Task 2b...exploring different methods of journal writing

Having not written a proper journal before I wasn't sure how to begin. I started writing in my own natural style before looking into different methods. Funnily enough my natural writing fell into a few of the methods below. I decided to take the methods suggested in the module hand book as well as some others I came across and try a different one over 8 consecutive days.  I tried to stick to the specific method and not let myself combine others with it, so I can give an honest judgement of each one.

In this blog I am going to sum up how I felt about each method and conclude with what I think works best for me.

Descriptive - I felt restricted just describing my day. I felt myself wanting to evaluate what had happened and use initial reflection. I found it hard just to write the facts and not explore more. I think its a great way to start but to get the most out of your journal it needs combined with something else!

Initial Reflection - This method felt very natural to me, I could fully expand and explore what had happened during my day. Looking at both moods and thoughts through out events. Perhaps combined with descriptive I could have a winning combo?

List - Being a list maker I thought this could be the one. But after trying it I was left slightly dissapionted. I felt it was good to get down your initial thoughts and events but if I was to look back on that day it wouldn't really make to much sense as its just a long list of emotions, thoughts and events with no real link. I might try it again with different lists for different things but that could get a bit complicated! But I might explore it again on a rainy day!

Evaluation - I really enjoyed writing with this method, I felt is was also quite natural to me. I could expand on events and explore all angles of my day, it also helped me see what I had learnt that day. Which is key for a journal!

Graph/Chart/Diagram - I liked using spider grams to get my initial thoughts down and could group together thoughts and feelings relating to their event. So if I was to look back I would see what thoughts and emotions linked to what. But yet again was felt left wanting more. Its a good starting point but would need to throw in something like evaluation to fully appreciate and explore my day!

What If - I found this hard to do after a day. So decided to do it the night before the next day. I think the what if can help is get the best out of tomorrow and might be a nice way to end your journal after evaluating your day using other methods. But I don't think I could solely use this method to reflect properly.

Another view - I think so far I have found this method the most awkward to do. When re reading the journal I felt like I was being patronising to myself and it wasn't as raw and honest as other methods. I also didn't enjoy writing my journal in this method. I don't think this is one for me.

Poem - This was a method I had read about in other peoples blogs so thought I would give it a go. I found that I couldn't really focus on evaluating and reflecting on my day as I was more worried about the poem rhyming. It was a fun method to do but probably not a very effective one as the poem just ended up being silly!

Exploring different ways of writing a journal has been really interesting and important as we have to keep this going through out the course. Although it is a private journal we will be asked to share parts of it later on in the modules so its important to get the most out of it and get it right now!

To conclude I think a combination of methods will work for me. My favourites being Descriptive, Initial reflection, Evaluation and What if to help me get the best out of tomorrow!

Thursday, 18 October 2012

Applying Boud's theories on reflection to my professional practice

At first when I saw the chapter of Boud's journal we had to read like most of us I started to panic! It just looked so long and confusing, but after stopping to think and reflecting on how I have tackled the previous Journals I got out my highlighter and pen and started taking notes!

Boud both reinforces and establishes that our personal journals are a form of reflective practice, they are veichals for acknowledging events an experiences in which we can extract meanings from and learn.

Throughout Boud's journal he focuses on three main occasions of reflection. Before, During and After.
I can apply these to many occasions with in my professional practice but the event of an audition is a good way for me to explain them.

BEFORE (Reflection in Anticipation of an event) - Before an audition we all apply the 'what if' theory, so many questions and thoughts based upon one event. Will I get this job? If so how would I feel? Excited? Nervous? Would it challenge me? Will I be disappointed if I don't get this job? How will that effect me? Will I be jealous? Upset? Thats only the start of it! We then start to plan and take every kind of shoe imaginable 'just in case' even though on the audition brief it only says bring Jazz shoes. Also a change of clothes incase plan A isn't suitable. Then you think what if the trains are late...I will go early! The list is endless.

DURING (Reflection in the Midst of Action) - As dancers and performers we tend to be very hand on people and live in the moment so I feel this type of reflection comes easy to us, although Boud says in his journal its the hardest to achieve but gives the best results! (that makes me feel very clever! next time someone looks to me like I am not the brightest button on the shelf because I am a dancer I will highlight this to them!)

In an audition scenario you might be doing a routine and then as the choreographer is teaching it to you, in your mind your thinking ok so hand is a first not splayed, or foot flexed not pointed on the kick. Then when it comes to doing the routine in groups your constantly analysing it while watching the others and making notes to yourselef. For example trying to portray different emotions and dynamics on certain moves and then immediately applying them to your own performance. In the worst case scenario if your shoe flies off or you fall over when your in the moment you get over it, just smile and grit those teeth!

AFTER (Reflection after Events)- For us its that crucial moment where you either get recalled or you get cut! Either way there is still a lot to reflect on. If you get cut you have to think about what went wrong? Is there anything you can do to improve next time so you get that recall? Was it my hair colour? Am I too small? If its the latter things you just say on to the next but if there was something that could have been done its important to pick up on those things and learn from your mistakes, as it being our profession it can make the difference to you being able to pay the bills! If you are recalled, you have to look at why you think that happened? What did I do differently? Was it my technique? Performance? Did I just have that right look? Reflecting on these things can help you in future auditions and knowing what you did right is just as helpful as knowing what you have done wrong. In both cases there can be great deal to reflect on and most importantly learn from!

When reflecting after an event Boud looks at different aspects. He looks at returning to an experience so that the learner can re live it and gain the full impact of what has happened. With out this Boud believes that further learning can be shut out forever. He then touches on attending to feelings, I agree with him that its important to focus on the feelings and emotions present in the event. I am interested to experiment in my own journal using colour as a tool for expression and highlighting different moods. Boud then talks about re-evalutaing an experience which lets us look at new and olds ideas and seeing a relationship between them. This helps us conclude our experiences and what we have learnt from them through reflecting. It is the end of one learning cycle and the beginning of a new one.

At the end of his journal Boud also looks at inhibiting reflection which I think is a very valid point! He looks at how people can limit their journal and not fully express themselves due to the fear that someone else may read their journal. I feel that its vital when keeping a private journal we keep it in a safe place so that its for our eyes only. But also we can if we feel it suitable to draw back on it and share our learning experiences with others.

After the initial scare factor I have really enjoyed reading a chapter of Boud's journal and felt his theories, thoughts and insights to reflection very interesting. Since starting theme 2 I have become a lot more aware of reflection with in our professional practice and this has just helped cement those thoughts and feelings even more! Thank you Boud and reader two!

Kottcamp - What Ideas do I like and why?

When I first saw this question nothing came to mind. I was constantly trying to think of an idea I liked and why? I decided to settle with Health and Fitness.

I love the idea of health and fitness as not only does it keep our body's active it also keeps our mind active. I like this idea because I can relate it to myself and my profession. As a dancer our body is our tool to gain work. If we are not fit or healthy we may not be able to carry out a job or even get a job. I am constantly audition ready! Both with my body and mind. Going to the gym or doing class keeps our bodies in shape and us at our peak and having healthy eating habits also helps this. I think health can also link into our state of mind and as a dancer your constantly being rejected so I feel you need a healthy strong mind to overcome this and stay positive. I like this idea as not only does it relate to me but it came relate to anyone. More over in some cases it can be life changing, altering your diet and fitness regime can help fight illnesses and prevent them. I think another layer and probably the one I feel is most important and is that with fitness you can push yourself and achieve new goals. It may be a 10k or even a marathon but I like the sense of achievement and how it makes you feel. With reaching new goals you can strive to be a better person. After this thought process it has made me realise that with these ideas its not just the plain and simple idea we relate to and like it is the deeper meaning behind them and our thoughts and feelings towards the idea and ourselves.



Monday, 15 October 2012

My immediate thoughts on reader 2...

Well If you thought reader one was epic wait till you pick up this one! After reading it several times I decided to tackle it with a high lighter and my paper and pen and this is what I thought....

As stated in the reader 'the process of 'learning from an experience' is a process of turning information into knowledge' Which is the idea of reflection. In this reader reflection is an idea not a term, I had to keep reminding myself this otherwise you loose the concept. Like web 2.0 is a platform and tool for our professional practice so is Reflection. Reflection is a tool for understanding and can help us learn and gain knowledge through experiences.

The reader mentions different practitioners and I am going to briefly sum them up below.

Dewey - He believes there are different levels of experience and that we need to be aware of them to start the reflective process. I think that sometimes we rush through our days at 100miles an hour and sometimes don't stop and give ourselves the time to reflect and learn. I myself am a cuprite of this, my diary is choca block and there is not much time for error or delay from one event from another. I am finding my journal already is allowing me the time to start this reflecting process as I am becoming more aware of different experiences through out my day to day life. Moreover Dewey has made me realise that I need to make time to do this and in his words 'You need to be aware so you can learn and gain knowledge and experience' Maybe I need to schedule Journal writing into my dairy!

Kolb - Kolb focuses on a learning cycle which has four entry points. Active experiment (planning/trying out what you've learnt) , concrete experiment (doing/having an experience) , reflective observation (reviewing/reflecting on the experience) and abstract conceptualisation (concluding/learning from the experience) . Kolb like Dewey believes it's important to identify you have had an experience. He uses the learning cycle not only as a tool for reflection but also a tool for approaching tasks.

In the reader it asks you to think about how you started your blog to help you figure out where you enter the learning cycle, as this entry point is often called your learning style. For my blog I probably used a few of the learning cycle points but I entered the cycle with active experiment. I used trial error until I found myself with a blog, it wasn't until then I decided to have a look at what others did and then read the handbook to check I had got the right thing. Since I had never created a blog I don't think I used concrete experiment as it was all completely new to me, but when creating my flickr and youtube account I used aspects that I had learnt from creating the blog. So from applying Kolbs learning cycle to creating a blog I have managed to identify and experience and reflect on it! I personally feel we can't pinpoint a specific learning style from this as when experiences differ so will our learning styles!

Gardner - Gardner talks on the subject of multiple intelligence. I like this theory as its highlights that we are not all the same. I know myself I am a VAK learner. (Visual, Auditory and Kinaesthetically) There has been many a time when I have been with friends learning a song along with crazy dance routines or the other way round shouting different words to dance moves. Or when learning a monologue blocking specific words to movements. I even use this method of teaching with my 4-8 year olds when ever we dance we shout out funny words and we always have actions when singing, I find this helps everyone and even when we do our shows for the parents we keep the funny words in our dances as it really helps them remember whats coming next! At school I was known for making up songs about almost anything, I can still remember one about Henry the 8th many wife's!

Polanyi - Tacit knowledge has to be my favourite concept in this reader. There has been so many occasions where you say I know what you mean but I just cant explain it! Or you just can't express yourself in words but you have it all in your head. As dancers we use it all the time, how do we all know how to do a double pirouette or a triple wing time step? You just do! Same with hitting that top c, it just comes out and you can't explain how! This also links into Tharp's idea's of muscle memory "her memory of movement doesn't need to be accessed through conscious effort" Which is so true as we all know that sometimes mid routine when you actually think about the moves that when it all goes wrong!

Schon - I love his theory of reflection in action as I think I do a lot of that! I personally feel that especially in our profession this is a type of reflection that we constantly use. As a performer we are constantly adapting to our surroundings. A classic example would be when a member of the ensemble disappears mid number and you automatically shift the staging so there is no longer a dodgy gap. Or your about to do an epic lift and your partners vanished so instead you so either do a casual kick, pirouette then jazz pounce as if it was choreographed that way in the first place. Either of those examples have happened to all of us on many occasions but we all instinctively fix it! It has been drummed in to us that we have to be in the moment. Any normal person would panic and probably run off screaming but its our instinct to keep calm and carry on!

Reflection on action is probably used in more academic professions as you go away and look back on the event, but both of theses theories from Schon link to Dewey's theory of how time impacts on how you engage with ideas in both the 'Present' and the 'Future'

I also agree with Kottcamp's views that reflection in action is harder to achieve and gives us a better and more powerful tool to create instant improvments and helps us adjust to create a better outcome of the event.

I found this reader very interesting as subconsciously I have been using different reflective methods as a tool to improve my professional practice. Now I am fully aware of these methods I can apply them more and use them to learn and gain more knowledge not only about myself but my profession. Before this reader I probably didn't understand the importance of reflection and how it used as a key tool for learning from our experience. Therefor I have decided I will make a conscious effort to use is as much as I can and can't wait to see what I learn from my private journal!

As you can tell from my 'brief summary' there is a lot to say about reader 2. I haven't even tackled Boud's journal yet or thought about what I like and the layers behind that, but rest assured those blogs will follow shortly! If you have any thoughts on reader two that are not included in this blog or have any thoughts and ideas on what I have written please comment below! 







Friday, 12 October 2012

Journal writing so far....Task 2a

Where on earth do you start with a journal? I feel like I am ten again about to begin with Dear Diary...
I had so many questions....What do I write? How do I write is? Is there a certain way to do it? and so on!

I have started writing in my own style for the first few days to see what methods evolve from that. But I am excited to see what methods are best for me. We have to keep the journal for a long time so I feel its best to invest the time now and see what the best format is for us personally. As an avid list maker I feel that could be a good option for me but will it enable me to expand thoughts further? I will let you know.

I am planning on doing a 9 day cycle keeping my journal using a different method each day. Some of the ones are suggested in the handbook but there are a few others I have come across from others blogs that I might give a go!

I found it really helpful today to chat about it with others on the course. So if you have any tips on journals please comment below!

Wednesday, 10 October 2012

Power to the People - Talk 1b

After reading the reader 'professional communication technology' (about ten times) I came to several conclusions about web 2.0.


  • It allows us to share our expertise and ideas with others not only in our specific practice but with the wider community
  • It can help us become a better practicioner as it gives us a platform of many tools
  • Web 2.0 is constantly moving forward.Bruns focuses on this in his journal when talking about Produsage. His definition of the work being; "the collaborative and continuous building and extending of existing conent in pursuit of further improvement. " Which I feel sums up web 2.0 very well. 
Those three bullet points were sum up my immediate reactions to the reader but after reflecting on my thoughts I decided to look further into web 2.0 and the many aspects it had. The Campus Session we had enabled me to develop these thoughts through a discussion process and also let me see what everyone else had to say about it too.  We went from Grubers views of what is trust worthy on the net to Lorenzos views of being 'Net Savvy.

I personally think that web 2.0 is brilliant and with out it then for starters we wouldn't be able to do this degree! Like everything in life is has its pros and cons. For example is Facebook going to take over the world? And I think the answer to that question lies with us. Like Reich says "the future of the web is dependant on who uses it." Which I think is a very valid point and takes us back to Produsage. From looking at others peoples blogs I am not the only one who raises this issue, Lee Taylor questions no longer meeting up for coffee in Starbucks but scheduling in a quick catch up over Facebook. Following the link on Lee's Blog I also found Liam Conman's views on this very interesting. As he questions that "as well as this technology aiding us and helping to make things easier, it is actually starting to encourage us to become lazy and socially inept in the physical world; existing too much in cyberspace."  I personally feel its all about moderation. Yes its great to catch up with your friends that are dancing on cruise ships but nothing beats a catch up over a coffee. It is us as the consumer to limit our usage and ultimately decide if Facebook will take over the world.

I feel that web 2.0 has so much to offer us especially in our industry. Not only can we use it as a platform for networking socially we can also use this to create contacts in the business world. We can promote ourselves by uploading show reals and use the likes of spotlight and have an online Cv. There are so many resources available for us to get the latest song or piece of sheet music, the list is endless.

Yet you do have to be careful and although we do have instantaneous information another negative about web 2.0 is not all of it is correct. As we have both the Semantic web which is authorised and checked information but we also have the Social web which contains the likes of wikipedia. (Gruber focuses on this in his journal) But its all about awareness and harnessing the correct information in the correct way.

I think we can all safely say that web 2.0 helps us every day and with out it you would be lost. You just need to become 'Net Savvy' to understand the pros and cons and use it to your advantage. I admit that there are 10 year olds who know more about it than me so I have a long way to go but we will all get there eventually even my Gran can email! With Smartphones, Ipads and Laptops we have everything by the click of a button. So to conclude my thoughts on web 2.0 I want to say.....Power to the People.

Monday, 8 October 2012

A little bit more about me - Task 1a continued

Having looked at both my cvs I have decided there are certain things you probably do not need to know about me. For example I have a full clean drivers license, my vocal range or what accents I can do to a high standard but there are others that might interest you. So here goes;

I grew up in Scotland where I began to dance at a young age. After a while my hobby grew into a more serious passion and I came to the conclusion that that was what I wanted to do. I had many opportunities while growing up, I was a member of the Scottish ballet junior associates and ayrshire voices among other things. But the turning point came when a documentary about Sylvia Young Theatre School was shown on Tv while I was performing as Part of the Joseph choir while it was on tour in my local area. While I was doing the shows I made sure Mum had the programme on record and watched them over and over again and thought to myself, I want to go there. After hours of persuasion my Mum finally rang up to enquire about summer schools, although she was still dubious as I was only 12 and Sylvia Youngs was based in Central London. Not the place you want to pack your 12 year old to for a week. Sadly the summer school was full but they offered me an audition for a full time place, Mum laughed it off but as determined as I was I did several more hours of persuading and my flights were booked! Turning up for my audition was when my life changed. Mum build me up for the disappointment of not getting in (she only took me to shut me up!) but to her surprise I was offered a place on the day and there was no turning back! From then on in I knew that it was for me.

While at Sylvia's I was lucky enough to be in the Original Cast of Billy Elliot the musical which was an amazing experience. I also gained experience with in other areas of the business like TV and Radio. One of my favourite memories is when we toured around Europe doing cabarets for Nespresso. After my GCSE's instead of taking the sensible route of A levels I decided I wanted to further my training so applied to several dance and musical theatre collages. That is when the next chapter starts.

After auditioning for several collages I decided that Laine Theatre Arts was for me. I studied there for three years and obtained a National Diploma in Musical Theatre. While training I also took my DDI in modern dance and my ATCL diploma in speech and drama. Laines was defiantly an experience and I wouldn't change it at all. During my time there I was given a teaching assistant job at their saturday schools and it was then I starting to gain a passion for teaching.

Now as a graduate in between professional jobs I work as a dance/drama and singing teacher for 4-8 year olds which I find really rewarding. Once I have furthered my education with my BAPP I am hoping to do my PGCE as a drama teacher in secondary schools as I feel I have a lot to offer in that sector. As much as I love our Industry it can be brutal! Therefor I feel its sensible to have other options and you never know what the future will bring!

Friday, 5 October 2012

'BAPP' Starting out

First bunch of images from Flickr - Task 1d

Cameron house...Loch LomandCameron house...Loch LomondEarly morning audition CoffeeA dancers dietA chorus line...of wet dancers!

I am on it today! Have uploaded these via my phone got the app and everything! Very impressed with myself...they are just a few odd ones but will give you an idea of me!

Mortal and Professional CV


This is both my Cv's a mortal one (for jobs in the real world) and my professional spotlight one. Please excuse the formatting on both as to enable me to upload them I had to take a picture of them from my computer so they are both rather fuzzy. But it will give you the jist of it. I will be following this post with and extended version of about me, based on these two items. 


Mortal cv
Spotlight Cv

The dreaded first blog....Task 1a

So this is my dreaded first blog. Having taken me about three hours to create this thing I have come to realise I will become less of a technophobe during this course. Not only will I hopefully obtain an Honours Degree I will also be a wizz on the computer!

Having looked around other peoples blogs I have come to the conclusion there is no right or wrong when it comes to doing the tasks. Its all about personal interpretations and opinion. I have put a brief about me section on my blogger profile but will elaborate on my cvs in a separate post. I will also upload both my professional and mortal cv for you to see where I got all my information from.

I find the concept of blogging very new but also interesting. I think it will be a great way to learn as we can explore others opinions which will enable us to reflect on our own work and elaborate on our own way of thinking and working!