Renaissance Man - Leonardo Da Vinci

I wanted to share some links to sources related to Leonardo Da Vinci. He was obviously an artist, but also scientist, weapons designer, sculptor, anatomist and set designer amongst other things....he was a 'polymath' (person who does more than one thing) and probably the person which the widely used term, 'Renaissance Man' is most associated with.

Being a 'polymath' in the creative industries is the route of inquiry that I think I am going to follow. I will obviously look at figures from the past, as well as present, and that will most definitely include Da Vinci, as he was such an important figure in the world of Renaissance multi-tasking.

There was a really interesting programme on Da Vinci last night, which you can view now on i-player by following the link below.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b016xjq6/Da_Vinci_The_Lost_Treasure/

There is also going to a major exhibition of his works at The National Gallery starting in November. Tickets are already selling fast so if you want to go get them booked now!

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/leonardo-da-vinci-painter-at-the-court-of-milan

A small problem or a major setback?....

When collecting feedback on my questions from other practitioners, those who had experience of academic study often mentioned the importance of available literature. If there is no, or very little, existing literature about my chosen topic I could be shooting myself in the foot. So before finalising my question for my professional inquiry, I wanted to do some research to find out how much existing literature is available for my areas of interest.


I was pretty settled this week on going with my 'polymath' line of inquiry; researching the effects on career development of actors who do more than one thing. This could be actors who write, direct, produce, or even run their own company as an entrepreneur.


So...I bounced of to some bookshops and libraries, only to be very disappointed...it's seems there has been no books written on this particular subject. I tried to think about the topic from many different angles and sought out books on; fulfillment in self-employed business, philosophy books about being 'rounded', as well as the more obvious actor books...but hardly anything at all of use! There are hundreds of books about how to do everything...but all from a singular discipline point of view. So it's thrown me into a bit of a spin and I don't know whether to change my whole topic - how can I get a good grade when my secondary sources are so limited?


If I choose to pursue this line of inquiry I envisage an awful lot of time will have to be spent trawling through actor's biographies in the hope of finding one relevant paragraph, or hours on the internet doing the same with interview transcripts etc. Am I crazy to make life this difficult when I could choose a topic such as 'theatre's role within society' or 'ethics in theatre' and I wound find an abundance of academic writing to research? 
On the other hand I really had my heart set on this topic as it interests me so much; I know I won't have a problem collecting 1st hand research from people I know, so maybe I can afford to spend a bit more time looking for literature. Perhaps.....my line of inquiry is actually more important than I realised? If nobody has written about this topic, then isn't it about time someone did? Maybe I am being more of a 'true researcher' and being a pioneer?! A friend I was speaking to last night reckons it will be impossible to get a 1st or 2:1 if my secondary sources are not good enough.


I'd really appreciate any thoughts on whether to change my question completely. Also, if anyone has any brainwaves about the types of literature I might consider, let me know!....

Ethics in The Arts

Whilst working through the course reader on Ethics, I was particularly struck by the case study of Kevin Carter, the photographer who infamously won a Pulitzer Prize for a photograph of a Sudanese girl he chose not to help, and later died. This is a classic example of where there may be a conflict between personal and professional ethics. The National Press Photographer's Association (USA) states: 

"While photographing subjects do not intentionally contribute to, alter, or seek to alter or influence events." NPPA - 2011 (www.nppa.org) 

In choosing not to alter or influence the girl's fate, Carter was not breaking the ethical code of his profession, however many questioned whether it was ethically acceptable on a personal level not to intervene. I recently went to see a Dom McCullen exhibition at the Imperial War Museum, which sparked off very similar questions to those explored in the case study. McCullen was often troubled by his conscience when photographing horrific events, as is evident from the interview transcript below:

"They're saying, please, don't allow this; please help me! That's what they're saying, but their eyes are speaking, not their mouths. And you could also castigate me for actually standing there, taking the picture. ....I don't stand on firm soil when I'm doing this work.....I'm going to answer questions from myself, long before somebody else comes along and asks me these questions. I'm going to say, you know, should you be doing this, and at the same time I'm doing it. So, where does that leave me?.....one's constantly asking questions about oneself, one's rights and you know, I haven't lived very easily on all these experiences. "   - Dom McCullen, BBC Raido 3 (Available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/johntusainterview/mccullin_transcript.shtml)

McCullen photographed many horrifying scenes of war, although he did chose to sometimes intervene and help people. The exhibition at The Imperial War museum documents those occasions on which he helped carry people to safety. Most people would agree with the ethical stance that it's important for acts of war, famine and genocide to be documented, so that the rest of the world can be made aware of what's going on. Perhaps the Consequentialist view would be that it's acceptable for a certain amount of lives to be lost if it brings about a greater good. However, it's not something that sits easily with most people's personal ethics, as the desire to protect human life may be too strong to ignore.


In the world of theatre and performance, ethical responsibilities are often unclear; there is a lot of grey area. Historically, theatre and film have been platforms for boundaries to be pushed and ethical questions debated. Even in relatively recent times, it was not uncommon for film-makers to be imprisoned for things such as 'inciting homosexuality' and until 1968 plays were still subject to censorship in the UK. The arts are a perfect example of how rapidly changing society's ethical standards can be.


The responsibility of producing work which is challenging and promotes debate, without causing harm or offense to anyone, is practically impossible. When 'The Jerry Springer Musical' opened in 2003 it outraged Christians, who saw it as blasphemous, and similarly Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti's play, 'Behzti' caused violent outbreaks outside the Birmingham Rep Theatre by groups of Sikhs who were offended by it's portrayal of a rape occurring in a temple.


I think Nicholas Hyntner, artistic director of The National Theatre, touched on an interesting point when discussing his responsibilities in terms of censorship in theatre:

“I’d prefer not to have to choose between my responsibility to a good play and my responsibility to the people whose boss I am and over whom I have a duty of care...."Nicholas Hytner, Telegraph 2010 

Hytner clearly tries to fulfill his responsibilities both to the work and also to his staff, and wider society. An artistic director must be very in tune with the public's views and be sensitive to them, whilst still creating challenging work. Hytner is once said to have commented that he would only but a play on that criticised Muslims if it was written by a Muslim person; of this he said:

"...If a play has pretensions to authenticity it should be authentic. So all I’m saying is, don’t lie.” Nicholas Hytner, Telegraph 2010

What I think he was getting at is that plays sometimes might offend, or be close to the bone for certain groups of society, and that may be acceptable, as long as the playwright can justify through experience what they are saying. However, others challenged Hytner's stance as weak, claiming that anyone should have the freedom to criticise a particular culture. We are on very delicate ground when setting out to challenge people's belief systems or culture. We often see this in the world of comedy, it seems as a society we have come to the conclusion that it is acceptable for a jew to make jewish jokes, an american to make american jokes, a fat person to make fat person jokes etc. but only if we are 'one of them' ourselves. It's a very delicate subject and one that requires considerable reflection if we are in a decision making position in the arts.


Arts institutions struggling in these difficult financial times must also weigh up carefully the ethical implications of funding. The following article covers some interesting questions around this topic - http://artsandbusiness.org.uk/News/2011/june/the-only-way-is-ethics.aspx Obviously companies and organisations are trying to do all they can to stay afloat, but what if they are offered donations from organisations or individuals whose ethics are questionable, or who have a different 'moral code' to the organisation? Does  receiving sponsorship from a large bank or insurance company affect or interfere with the artistic mission of a theatre? Is it considered acceptable when the arts are meant to be about freedom of expression and 'non-conformity'? 


As an example, a friend of mine recently had  play that she had written put on by a German Theatre company; the play deals with serious issues surrounding sex trafficking, and happens to be set in a brothel above a fried chicken shop. To her surprise (an unease) a very well known chicken fast food brand have offered to sponsor the production. So....she is faced with an ethical dilemma. Obviously she wants the production to be good and therefore is grateful for any money coming to the project, but....she feels that this is a international corporate organisation who's intentions are questionable - they are using the controversial subject matter of her play to create their own publicity.  


I have only touched the tip of the iceberg in this discussion of ethics in the arts, there is so much to explore and often no clear distinctions between right and wrong. Does anyone else have any thoughts or experiences to share about ethics in the arts?      


References


Arts & Business Website http://artsandbusiness.org.uk/News/2011/june/the-only-way-is-ethics.aspx (accessed 27 Oct 2011)
National Press Photographers Association Website www.nppa.org (accessed 25 Oct 2011)
BBC Radio 3 Website http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/johntusainterview/mccullin_transcript.shtml (accessed 25 Oct 2011)
Telegraph Website http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-features/7572604/Censorship-in-the-theatre.html (accessed 26 Oct 2011)

Capability Self Assessment

After reading Rosemary's blog post  from the 1st Campus Session I was inspired to carry out a 'capability self-assessment'. I wanted to identify my strengths and weaknesses, and to find out where the gaps in my skills and knowledge were. The hope is that this will help me to discover which route of inquiry I should take next term, since I would like my research to deepen my knowledge and open new doors for me in my professional life.


Rosemary states that 'Capability is a quality that has an element of grading about it' and lists the following levels of expertise:

• Novice
• Advanced Beginner
• Competent
• Proficient
• Expert

I found this system of measuring knowledge very helpful as it is not always easy to say 'I can do this', or 'I can't do that'. Having read sections of Michael's Eraut's book Developing Professional Knowledge and Competence (1994), I realised that this scale originates from Dreyfus & Dreyfus's model of skill acquisition. The model is intended to chart a student's progress from 'rules' to 'intuition'; when we are novice's we can do little more than follow rules without taking any responsibility, and as we work up through the scale, we begin to make decisions independently and take on responsibility (McClure 2005).


I have listed some of the skills required for my profession at graded myself according to the model:

• Acting on Stage (Proficient)
• Acting on Screen (Competent)
• Acting on Radio/Voice Work (Competent)
• Learning Lines (Proficient)
• Undertaking Character Research (Proficient)
• Movement Skills (Proficient)
• Vocal Skills (Competent)
• Improvisation (Competent)
• Audition Technique (Competent )

• Personal Administration (Proficient)
• Professional Networking (Competent)
• Professional Marketing (Competent)     

Although by no means exhaustive - compiling this list did certainly help me to think about which areas I would like to improve upon. I would ideally like all the 'competents' to become 'proficients', and to work towards achieving expertise in some areas. I chose not to list myself as less than 'competent' at any of the skills listed above as according to Dreyfus' & Dreyfus' model, that would imply an inability to act at all independently without rules, which I don't think is the case after having trained and worked professionally. However, areas I am potentially interested in exploring in the future, such a workshop leading and directing, I would still classify myself only as an 'advanced beginner'. 


What I need to reflect upon are which skills I should be prioritising and which it might be possible to develop through my BAPP research.


References


Eraut, M (1994) Developing Professional Knowledge and Competence Routledge Falmer

Dreyfus, H L and Dreyfus, SE (1986)  Mind over Machine:  The Power of Human Intuition and Expertise in the age of the Computer,  Oxford, Basil Blackwell
McClure, C (2005) Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition Available at http://www.slideshare.net/mike734/dreyfus-model-of-skill-acquisition University of Arizona 

Developing my questions further within my professional community...

Having initially quizzed one friend and professional peer about my questions (see my previous blog) I decided to take my questions out to a wider range of people working within my professional community. The people I talked to are listed below, but I have not used their full names to protect their privacy:

• Will - Trained as an actor, currently works as a lecturer in acting and playwright.
• Jess - Actor
• John - Actor
• Katie - Director & Workshop Leader
• Jessica - Actor
• Chris - Actor & Writer

I used a mixture of written notes and audio recording to keep a log of their responses (I couldn't persuade anyone to be filmed!). It would be quite long winded for me to go into a lot of detail for every practitioner, so I am going to try to summarise their responses to my questions here:


Question1: To What extent is it possible/desirable for a theatre actor to make a successful transition to working on screen?
The feedback I got on this question was not as positive as I had initially expected; many people I asked felt that it was a bit of a 'pseudo question' (in that I already know the answers) and that there was little scope for any kind of debate or genuine truth seeking. One actor also commented that although I have my own practical reasons for wanting to explore this question, it could be perceived as 'out of date', as these days drama school training is very evenly balanced between theatre and tv/film; therefore my research would be of less use to others should I publish it. I received suggestions that this question could potentially form part of a larger inquiry topic about transferral of skills throughout different mediums, which I agreed with. There were suggestions that this area of research could even go as far into looking at artists in other areas, such as painters who also do photography, or novellists that also write plays. 


Question 2: To what extent is it possible to include those with learning disabilities in performance art, and what are the ethical implications?
Again, this was thought to be a 'pseudo question' and therefore not a good topic for inquiry - nobody that I spoke to thought this would be a good one to choose! Whilst reading Paula's blog about a company that produces theatre for children with learning difficulties, I came to realise that a better question would be something like 'How can theatre be of benefit to those with learning difficulties'. I would then have the scope to explore theatre created for this group, as well as active participation.


Question 3: To what extent can theatre be a force for positive change in society?
Feelings were mixed towards this question; some felt that it was not a very useful topic for me, as although academically interesting, it may not make any practical different to my career. Others were very excited by the possibilities of this topic and commented that there would be a wealth of existing literature to aid me in my research. It was suggested that the question should be narrowed down and that I would need to know whether I was looking at this question 'through the ages' or specifically now; most felt that although I would of course have to put it in historical context, it would be infinitely more interesting to study the 'now'. Other suggestions that came up were adapting the question slightly by adding on to it - 'To what extent does theatre have a responsibility to serve some social purpose?'. Lots of food for thought...


Question 4: Artists as producers - Is producing your own work the key to creative fulfillment and career longevity?
This question raised interesting debate with all the practitioners that I spoke to. As with before, it was felt that the phrasing of the question was limiting and not quite right, but the subject of being a multi-disciplinary creative artist was thought to be an interesting one. My peers commented that this topic would allow me to make use of my varied profesional contacts for primary research, although secondary sources (literature) may be more difficult to come by. One person I spoke to at length mentioned the fact that the way I was talking about the subject implied that I really did not know the answers, which means there is a genuine question there. Another spoke of it's use to me in developing my career, as this topic could help me towards deciding whether or not to take the major step of branching out into other roles. 

Ethics - Task 5a

I chose to complete this task based on a large theatre where I currently work, although I believe the codes of practice/regulations would be very similar for any theatre. Off the top of my head with no reference to documentation, as the task requests, this is my own version of a code of practice for the theatre:

CODE OF PRACTICE

- Visitors must report to security to sign in

- Staff must be able to present their ID cards at all times

- Staff should arrive punctually

- No eating or drinking on stage

- Leave rehearsal spaces/dressing rooms in a fit state for others

- No alcohol whilst you are working

- Alcohol must only be consumed in the bar area

- No substance misuse at any time

- Smoking is only permitted on the outside balcony

- No costumes to be worn in the canteen or green room

- No eating or smoking in costume

- Staff must adhere to the buildings equality policies

- Staff should be aware and respectful of when others are holding

meetings, auditions, rehearsals etc.

- Actors must sign in for performances and are not permitted

to leave the building after the half hour call.

- Sickness must be reported as early as possible to your stage manager.

- Actors must be in the UK 24 at least 24 hours prior to a performance

I am sure there are quite a few points that I have missed! I will consult the official code of practice for the theatre and see how my results compare. 

delicious.com

If you haven't come across it, 'delicious' is basically an online resource that allows you to bookmark sites and store those links all in one place. You then publish your 'stacks' (you can keep multiple lists for different things) and you or others can view them anytime. This might be particularly useful to those that are studying similar topics, as you can share the sites that you find with others on the course. It also has a search function so you can access useful links to just about anything! 

I found this short video on youtube explaining more about how to use delicious:

Here is the link to my delicious page (it's a very small stack at the moment but it will grow!):

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

And this is one I found about dance education which I thought might be useful for those of you in that professional field:

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

Award Title Rationale

When I originally started the BAPP course, I imagined that my award title would involve something about education, as this was an area I was thinking about going into. Whilst I do still have an interest in drama workshops and how drama can be used in education, my experiences this year and discoveries I have made about myself during the course so far have taken me in quite a different direction.

My background and vocational diploma is in professional acting, and that is still the primary focus of my professional life, so obviously my title will need to include that. I now need to think about what skills I have developed during the BAPP course and about where I am heading in my future career. In other words, if there are any additions I need to make.

Whilst refining my list of potential inquiry questions, I have identified that in my future career I do not want to limit myself to working in the medium of theatre, nor necessarily purely to acting. Therefore, it makes sense that my award title should indicate that I see myself as a 'creative practitioner', not only an actor. Wording this is difficult, since I have not yet strictly worked in another role within my industry; for example it wouldn't be true to say 'Professional Practice in Acting & Directing' or 'Professional Practice in Acting & Producing'. I thought about incorporating the term 'story-telling', since that is what I intend to do in all mediums or roles within the industry, but it doesn't quite get the right message across. I also thought about the term 'performance art', rather than just theatre, but again that's not quite right, as it implies visual art using humans, rather than anything to do with acting.

So, I have come up with......

BA (Hons) Professional Practice in Acting & The Performance Industry 

I think this implies a wider knowledge of the performance industry than when I first left drama school, which is certainly true; my professional experience has taught me a lot about the different jobs people do around actors, and the practicalities of the industry. The award title also gives an indication of where I see my career developing, in terms of being a 'polymath' (doing more than one thing).

I'd appreciate your honest feedback!  

co.mments.com.....read this!

I was just having a look at some of the blogs from the new starters on module 1, and Alan's blog pointed me in the direction of a guy call Liam Conman who has produced some great work and has been really successful in getting people to comment on his blog.

Whilst having a look I came across this genius knowledge from Liam - it's about a thing called co.mments.com which allows you to keep track of conversations and keep them going. This could be an invaluable tool as it means that when we comment on each others blog posts we can easily keep track of the responses.

I haven't had chance to sign up to it yet but I certainly will be doing...check out Liam's post explaining how to do it by clicking the click below:

http://tmcofliam.blogspot.com/2011/10/commentscom-extremely-useful-tool-for.html

Are you an actor?....

If the answer is yes....please come and join in by following my blog and letting me know who you are! 


There are not many people who share my specific profession on module 2 but I am sure there must be some actors out there studying modules 1 and 3. I am sure we can all learn from each other no matter what stage of the course we are at, so please come and be a follower of my blog and I will do the same for you. I have also set up a SIG (special interest group) on facebook simply called 'Theatre, TV & Film' - which will hopefully act as a place where students can discuss work they have seen and anything to do with performing in these mediums. Check it out at....
 
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=145821545478191&topic=147


If you're reading this an you're not an actor, but know of some in groups 1 and 3 - please leave a comment and let me know who they are so I can get in touch with them.

It's all gone a bit quiet...

I have been a bit quiet on my blog for the last couple of weeks; I've been going through a particularly busy phase with my work commitments and just haven't been able to find much time to continue working through the tasks. I was also feeling a bit lost and overwhelmed at the prospect of finding people to communicate with...I have said this before but we are such a small group, it is hard to find other students that share my profession/interests.

However....I am not despairing just yet; with a bit of careful time management I believe it's still very possible to get back on track. I think it's an inevitable aspect of work based learning that you will need to choose times to focus on your actual work....I want my studies on the BAPP course to help me with my professional practice, not become a hindrance.

I've been trying to bear in mind Judi Marshall's process of 'self-reflective inquiry' discussed in reader 4. She says that she tries to actively state that she is 'inquiring' each time she comes across a problem or issue. I believe that taking this attitude to our working lives means that we can be learning/researching all the time. With regards to my worries about communicating with BAPP students, I feel much better after musing on Alan's recent blog and subsequent comments. What I discovered is that if the connections I need are not right there in front of me, I will need to go out and find them, simple as that! So I now plan to spend some time reading more blogs from students on other modules, to find out who has similar professional questions. Not forgetting that there are numerous forums about theatre and performing arts out there, places where I can discuss topics with people outside the BAPP course...I just need to find them! 

Practitioner Feedback

I've found it difficult to make progress in narrowing down my ideas for potential inquiry topics. So, I thought it was time to get some feedback from another practitioner, and it proved invaluable to get an outsider's opinions. I chose a practitioner with a broad range of experience and skills (he has worked as a performer, director and writer, as well as being a qualified doctor of medicine), so that they would have lots of experience to draw on. Below is a summary of his feedback on the 4 questions I arrived at...

...................................................................................................................................................................

Question1
To What extent is it possible for a theatre actor to make a successful transition to working on screen?


The practitioner I spoke to thought that there was a lot of potential in the topic, but suggested I re-angle the question slightly, if I wanted to get the most out of it. He suggested that the most interesting aspect of this topic would be exploring why most actors want to make this transition in the first place. In discussion, we both agreed that the majority of actors (and non-actors for that matter) viewed film work as somehow more prestigious or more 'successful' than working in the theatre. My practitioner friend pointed out that I have some fairly high profile actors as contacts that I could interview, and that case studies of 10 or so actors might be a good place to start an inquiry topic like this. We also both agreed there was buckets of information already out there to be explored, and that watching and analysing actors work on screen would be a bit part of the research.

We chatted about alternative ways of phrasing the question that would allow for this to be discussed, such as 'How difficult is it to make a transition from stage to screen as an actor, and why do so many actors want to do it?' or a hypothesis based title like 'All actors want to work in film so that they can become rich and famous - Discuss'.  

Question 2
To what extent is it possible to include those with learning disabilities in performance art, and what are the ethical implications?


Whilst my friend thought that this was an interesting topic of discussion, he felt that there was not much scope for an academic inquiry here. We both agreed that those with learning disabilities should be represented in art, and their stories told. However, he suggested that perhaps there was little point in the inquiry as perhaps I already knew what the answer was likely to be....essentially that yes, of course there are occasions when actors with learning disabilities can and should be used, but that if their capacity for learning or decision making was too limited, it would obviously not be ethical/possible and a non-disabled actor would have to take their place. Not much scope for inquiry, he argued, unless I wanted to look at a very different question, such as, 'How can those with learning disabilities be helped/stimulated through drama and performance art?' or 'To what extent can drama/theatre improve the quality of life of those with learning disabilities?'.

Question 3
To what extent can theatre be a force for positive change in society?


A very, very broad topic, with lots of possibilities. The practitioner I spoke to suggested that one would have to chose a narrower questions, or look at it from a certain angle. For example, by choosing to specific a particular time, geographical location or social group.

He felt that honestly the topic was a bit 'dry' and commented that he could observe I was not hugely excited by it. Having studied at degree level himself, he advised me that you will always do best when you choose a topic you are truly passionate about.


Question 4
Artists as producers - Is producing your own work the key to creative fulfillment and career longevity?


I was very unsure of the phrasing of this question, so we discussed what I was trying to get at, which essentially was something that would allow me to explore creative individuals who do more than thing. I wanted to explore how successfully people can be multi disciplinary (eg. actors who also direct, or do photography), what they get out of it, and ultimately, whether this is the route for me to take in my career.


My friend immediately commented that he sensed this was the area of inquiry that I seemed most passionate about and that therefore it would be a strong choice for me. We talked about one of the difficulties being that 'happiness' or job satisfaction is a hard thing to quantify, and therefore may be a difficult topic to discuss academically. An approach we discussed was exploring whether being a 'jack of all trades' dilutes the quality of what a person originally trained to do with a question such as 'Do multiple forms of expression assist or hinder the professional development of an actor?'. We also talked about whether there was a pre-conception that actors must only act if they are to be any good.  

Together we talked about lots of performers that either have another skill, or have moved away from performing completely, including; George Clooney, Simon McBurney and Josie Rourke.

Questions, questions, questions....

So....here's the list of questions I have come up with as a starting point.
Some are quite detailed and specific whereas others are still very broad - I am aiming to keep narrowing them down but don't want to restrict myself too much at this stage.

• How easy is it for an actor to make the transition from stage to screen?
• How easy is it for an actor to begin working in a new medium?
• Does a great theatre actor always make a good screen actor?
• Can theatre help resolve social problems?
• To what extent can theatre be a positive impact on young people?
• To what extent is it possible for an actor to shape their own career?
• Is producing your own work a wise option for a performer?
• How can actors best take control of their careers?
• What are the challenges facing disabled performers and how can they be overcome?
• When is it appropriate for a disabled actor to perform, and when is it necessary/appropriate for a non-disabled actor to take the role? 

I am aware that the above list is pretty rough at this stage - I am just brainstorming initial ideas. Any thoughts or suggestions are very welcome! I also plan to take my questions to other performers/practitioners very soon and gather some responses.