Over the last term not only have i had the opportunity to work on the broad spectrum of work that Chickenshed offers, but on a proffessional level. Although i have been a part of the company for over two years it is the last term that has helped me to realise my true interest's within the work. Having worked closly with the BTEC students, i have found myself asking how inclusion affects and could potentially benefit students at their level of education? and if educating students at this level in inclusive practice would be practical or of interest to them?
Most of these questions have stemed from my workshop at the BRIT school as the mature debate and discussion it sparked was a pleasent suprise to me.
Studying inclusion at degree level is something that i found extremely benefical for my development both in education and socially; therefore could inclusion at BTEC/A Level start these benefits sooner and have a greater impact later on?
All of these lines of inquiry are ones that i intend to explore as the academic year continues both with groups and individuals.
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
Task 1d: Images- Flickr
So i have FINALLY managed to get some photo's of my work from the Chickenshed Theatre and upload them to flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/56523286@N06/
I have to say that i was impressed at how easy it was to do this. As i have said before i am a slight technophobe but Flickr is a great way to display my work doing using images; the step by step instructions made everything quick and simple!
It is often hard to describe the work that i do at ChickenShed as the concept of inclusion can be an 'alien' concept to those either in the mainstream or diability arts; so second to watching it in action, using imagry and tools such as Flickr is a great way of getting an initial surface understanding of the work.
There are more pictures to be added soon but i thought i would make a start!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/56523286@N06/
I have to say that i was impressed at how easy it was to do this. As i have said before i am a slight technophobe but Flickr is a great way to display my work doing using images; the step by step instructions made everything quick and simple!
It is often hard to describe the work that i do at ChickenShed as the concept of inclusion can be an 'alien' concept to those either in the mainstream or diability arts; so second to watching it in action, using imagry and tools such as Flickr is a great way of getting an initial surface understanding of the work.
There are more pictures to be added soon but i thought i would make a start!
Sunday, 7 November 2010
task 2d: relflective inquiry
For me, the thing that makes me most enthusiastic about my practice is finding unexpected positive qualities within individuals. I love meeting and getting to know new people and discovering how each and every person can have a positive impact on the creation of theatre both creatively and 'socially'. I find it so interesting that everyday both new discoveries are made and old ones are being pushed. To see the development of positive skill within any individual is in my opinion why the work and practice of inclusion is so important.
What can be frustrating, however, is the ignorance of inclusion that some people have, even within and inclusive setting such as Chickenshed. The frustration is usually heightened when it comes to shows and casting. Often people are so caught up in the bright lights and 'main' parts that they forget or do not acknowledge that the reason Chickenshed is so amazing is that every part has exactly the same value and importance and is influenced by every individual within it. Although this is frustrating I completely accept that inclusive performance practice is a minority compared to the 'mainstream' majority. When I feel frustrated I admire the work of Dina Williams, Associate Director of Chickenshed/Dancer, who completely shares my belief in hard work and that every section should matter. She pushes and stretches positive skills and seems to balance her direction as firm but fair.
I love to watch the practice of inclusion within creation, especially within the children’s theatre. I love to watch the complete innocence that children share and their open attitude with no inhibitions. The fact that the work they are producing within the environment that they are working is a set up that I admire greatly. One of the most talented men I have ever met, Paul Morral, Chickenshed's Director of education and outreach, shares this belief with me and this is reflected in his writing:
Making new worlds (Chorus)
Eat all your heart our destiny, we're making plenty new worlds
stirring up old humanity, creation is in a swirl
stretch out your countries, flex up your seas
link up your people, bush up your trees
we're making it slowly 'cos there no doubt..
when we get in our new world..when we get in our new world..
when we get in out new world we wont come out!
These world were written for a song performed by the Children’s theatre; ‘Making new worlds’.For me this sums up the ambition and beauty of a child’s imagination, something which Paul has shown massive passion for in his words.
At Chickenshed, I often find myself not understanding why any sort of negativity would be present within our working environment. I often struggle to understand why attitudes towards achievement or success can be negative. I suppose as I expressed earlier, there can be a certain ignorance that is notorious within the performing arts and the opinions that someone else’s success makes you experiences and achievements less valuable. Louise Perry, Director of Performance at Chickenshed, is someone who also shares this non-understanding, however her opinion of ignorance is that it isn’t the individual concerned that has the issue it is often the uncertainty and influence of their environment. She has often said that it is up to us as practitioners of inclusion to convey our understanding and reason of practice so that each individual we work with can utilise the practice and know why certain decisions are being made. This is a woman that I admire and aspire to because of her openness to not only asking questions but also not knowing that answer, she accepts and acknowledges that inclusion is an ongoing process that with forever be adapted and evaluated.
What can be frustrating, however, is the ignorance of inclusion that some people have, even within and inclusive setting such as Chickenshed. The frustration is usually heightened when it comes to shows and casting. Often people are so caught up in the bright lights and 'main' parts that they forget or do not acknowledge that the reason Chickenshed is so amazing is that every part has exactly the same value and importance and is influenced by every individual within it. Although this is frustrating I completely accept that inclusive performance practice is a minority compared to the 'mainstream' majority. When I feel frustrated I admire the work of Dina Williams, Associate Director of Chickenshed/Dancer, who completely shares my belief in hard work and that every section should matter. She pushes and stretches positive skills and seems to balance her direction as firm but fair.
I love to watch the practice of inclusion within creation, especially within the children’s theatre. I love to watch the complete innocence that children share and their open attitude with no inhibitions. The fact that the work they are producing within the environment that they are working is a set up that I admire greatly. One of the most talented men I have ever met, Paul Morral, Chickenshed's Director of education and outreach, shares this belief with me and this is reflected in his writing:
Making new worlds (Chorus)
Eat all your heart our destiny, we're making plenty new worlds
stirring up old humanity, creation is in a swirl
stretch out your countries, flex up your seas
link up your people, bush up your trees
we're making it slowly 'cos there no doubt..
when we get in our new world..when we get in our new world..
when we get in out new world we wont come out!
These world were written for a song performed by the Children’s theatre; ‘Making new worlds’.For me this sums up the ambition and beauty of a child’s imagination, something which Paul has shown massive passion for in his words.
At Chickenshed, I often find myself not understanding why any sort of negativity would be present within our working environment. I often struggle to understand why attitudes towards achievement or success can be negative. I suppose as I expressed earlier, there can be a certain ignorance that is notorious within the performing arts and the opinions that someone else’s success makes you experiences and achievements less valuable. Louise Perry, Director of Performance at Chickenshed, is someone who also shares this non-understanding, however her opinion of ignorance is that it isn’t the individual concerned that has the issue it is often the uncertainty and influence of their environment. She has often said that it is up to us as practitioners of inclusion to convey our understanding and reason of practice so that each individual we work with can utilise the practice and know why certain decisions are being made. This is a woman that I admire and aspire to because of her openness to not only asking questions but also not knowing that answer, she accepts and acknowledges that inclusion is an ongoing process that with forever be adapted and evaluated.
The workshop I delivered at the BRIT School
Task 2b: Reflective writing
Performance Workshop
Yesterday was the return of the BTEC students after half term and the return of my supporting role within their lessons. The day begun with ‘Performance Workshop’ in the studio theatre with students covering all aspects of the arts strung together with the theme ‘Concrete Jungle’. The initial part of the session was reflecting and re-capping work that had been set/created in the previous half of the term.
With this particular year group I was always feel an initial struggle as it is difficult to channel their energy and enthusiasm into their work, especially after having a week’s holiday with no focus at all. In my opinion I think that many of the students are not completely inspired by the concept of the material but contradict this in practice. My first thoughts about the session were that I was slightly anxious and I can remember thinking that although I was in a positive mood I was aware that excited atmosphere could create a struggle when delivering activities. Something that I didn’t expect was the lack of participants, it seemed that the first day of term was not the most popular day to fit in with everyone’s ‘social calendars!’. What was clear from the turn out of students was that there were some key individuals that can drive focus and creation within groups that were missing, which only added to my anxiousness.
Another unexpected outcome was that I had to sign for one of the girls as her allocated signer had called in sick. Although I have signed to her a few times before I suddenly felt nervous, which was slightly disconcerting as signing is one of my most confident attributes. The bubbly atmosphere of the room was great but I became very exposed and aware of my signing in front of different people a feeling that I am not used to at all.
Within that session as well as signing I had a number of roles; supporting the creation of work, delivering an activities, recognising individual needs and adhering to them appropriately to ensure the best possible outcome.
Contrary to my initial reaction I felt that the session progressed as it went on, with the atmosphere becoming more focused and engaging, which I think was helped by the re-capping of previous work as it gave a familiar base of work for students to connect with. The most successful parts of the session, I feel were achieved when direction was given to the entire group to work as a whole, so that there was no room for anyone to ‘hide’ of ‘pull focus’. Something that I noticed from this session was the positive changes in certain individuals towards both the work and the people around them. It became clear that for some, having been a ‘college’ student for half a term has matured their behaviour and yesterday I could start to see how beneficial this maturity could be to the entire group.
Something I would have loved to have happened in that session was for all the students to commit to everything they were doing and push themselves to create something that would blow us all away. It doesn’t sound particularly farfetched but it really is so frustrating watching a year group so full of talent and potential, not making the most of their opportunities. Within the building it is clear that certain assumptions have been made about this group as a whole and nothing would give me more pleasure than for them to prove them wrong.
From a certain students point of view I think they would of felt that their lesson was balanced. This girl seemed to switch between someone who wants to create and someone who doesn’t appear to care. From her opinion I think she embraced the work but probably felt like the directors and deliverers of the session could have handled difficult situations better. I spoke to her within the session and at one point she felt that she shouldn’t have to do all the work if no-one else was going to bother, a point that I argued saying that as an individual she should be utilising her skills as a group leader and pushing for the best quality which something that would be reflected in her own personal grade. Looking back, I do acknowledge in this discussion that our opinions were coming from completely different ends of the spectrum; hers from a performing arts BTEC student, mine as a degree student studying inclusion, both valid and informed by our own influences.
This particular day/session is one that encourages my interest for inclusion within further education and excites my further and more developed participation within them. Something that I would do differently, I think, is channelling my initial anxiety/nerves into my confidence when supporting a group or individual as I think It can inhibit me to an extent. From the session I gained the knowledge of how individuals have developed from their first day to now and I know that this is something that really interests me. The question for me is; ‘How can inclusion influence students in further education?’, and this is something I am able to see first hand within Chickenshed’s educational setting.
Monday, 1 November 2010
Tak 1b: Professional Communication and Technology
As i said in my first blog i am a bit of a tecnophobe so my enthusiasm towards web 2.0 and its affects on our everyday lives can be fairly biased.
Although i am intreged by the concept of social networking and the idea of building realtionships between 'strangers' i am slightly scepetiacal about how positive it is to be able to get hoards of information at the touch of a button.
Platforms such as 'google' are a fantastic source of knowledge but could it create a generation of laziness or complacency? where the need for practical discussions or experiements to find the answer could become secondary to the search engine.
I agree and embrace that web 2.0 has allowed people to extend their 'exisitng proffesional networks' (feenberg & Bakardjieva 2004) and that this can have massive positive impacts on peoples proffesional and social lives.
My outlook on this subject interms of education is still fairly sceptical however i am open to the use of tecnology within this course, changing my oppionion!
Although i am intreged by the concept of social networking and the idea of building realtionships between 'strangers' i am slightly scepetiacal about how positive it is to be able to get hoards of information at the touch of a button.
Platforms such as 'google' are a fantastic source of knowledge but could it create a generation of laziness or complacency? where the need for practical discussions or experiements to find the answer could become secondary to the search engine.
I agree and embrace that web 2.0 has allowed people to extend their 'exisitng proffesional networks' (feenberg & Bakardjieva 2004) and that this can have massive positive impacts on peoples proffesional and social lives.
My outlook on this subject interms of education is still fairly sceptical however i am open to the use of tecnology within this course, changing my oppionion!
BRIT
Alot of my experiences within the performing arts were generated from my four years attending the BRIT school. Having gone through a rigerous application process, GCSE and Alevel's, my experiences at the BRIT have made a huge impact on both my working practice and social oppinions. Being a part of Chickenshed's 'Inclusive Theatre' has developed these and helped my goals, with regards to my career, become more grounded.
I have always wanted to create a working relationship between the BRIT and Chickenshed as i feel that the collaberation between two presigous and respected arts establishments could have a massive impact of the development and practice of inclusion.
A couple of weeks ago the BRIT invited me to deliver an inclusion workshop as part of their year 13's 'Proffessional Opportunities' module. This was a great opportunity for me to build the intial foundations of this exciting relationship between the companies. I split the wokshop into two sections, the first half was using activites to analayse what people would consider 'mainstream' working practice and allowing the students to reflect on their immidiate reactions to certain activites whether positive of negative and how activites could be adapted to create a more 'inclusive' setting.
The second half was asking to students to create together using Chickenshed's devising process, working as a group to achive a product that reflected them. What they came out with was a small presentation of inclusion without even realising it, i had asked them to create a traveling sequence, group shape and write a verse to our 'Inclusin rap' which they all contributed to fully and it was fantastic!
The bulk of the feedback from the students was that they couldnt beleive how subtle differences in activity and delivery could mean the difference between someone feeling included or excluded. They were also amazed at the quality of work they had achieved in their creation as a whole group.
I felt that the workshop was a great success and has started some cause for critial reflection on working practice, an outcome i was hoping for. It also sparked an excitment between the two companies that i have been waiting to achieve in order for the collaberation to get off the ground.
We are now arranging meetings and drafting projects between Chickenshed and the BRIT in the hope that an offical collaberation as part of a new BRIT BTEC Course could be achieved.
I am still in the VERY early stages of this exciting project but i will keep updating!.....
+
= 
(images from google images...BRIT logo origionally bbc website)
I have always wanted to create a working relationship between the BRIT and Chickenshed as i feel that the collaberation between two presigous and respected arts establishments could have a massive impact of the development and practice of inclusion.
A couple of weeks ago the BRIT invited me to deliver an inclusion workshop as part of their year 13's 'Proffessional Opportunities' module. This was a great opportunity for me to build the intial foundations of this exciting relationship between the companies. I split the wokshop into two sections, the first half was using activites to analayse what people would consider 'mainstream' working practice and allowing the students to reflect on their immidiate reactions to certain activites whether positive of negative and how activites could be adapted to create a more 'inclusive' setting.
The second half was asking to students to create together using Chickenshed's devising process, working as a group to achive a product that reflected them. What they came out with was a small presentation of inclusion without even realising it, i had asked them to create a traveling sequence, group shape and write a verse to our 'Inclusin rap' which they all contributed to fully and it was fantastic!
The bulk of the feedback from the students was that they couldnt beleive how subtle differences in activity and delivery could mean the difference between someone feeling included or excluded. They were also amazed at the quality of work they had achieved in their creation as a whole group.
I felt that the workshop was a great success and has started some cause for critial reflection on working practice, an outcome i was hoping for. It also sparked an excitment between the two companies that i have been waiting to achieve in order for the collaberation to get off the ground.
We are now arranging meetings and drafting projects between Chickenshed and the BRIT in the hope that an offical collaberation as part of a new BRIT BTEC Course could be achieved.
I am still in the VERY early stages of this exciting project but i will keep updating!.....
+= (images from google images...BRIT logo origionally bbc website)
Friday, 8 October 2010
task 1a: Professional Profile
Emma Balaam C.V
19.04.1990
19.04.1990
About Me
I am currently studying for a BA in Professional Practice within ‘inclusive performance’ with Middlesex University
I am a person that will balance both my practical, first hand experiences with research and question both my own and others practice.
Performance Experience (2008- current)
Date | Performance | Role | Level |
May 2008 | The Wonderful World of Disossia, Obie Theatre | Britney | BTEC National |
October 2008 | Fundraising Gala, Guildhall | Vocal Cast | Foundation Degree |
December 2008- January 2009 | The Twelve Days of Christmas, Rayne Theatre | Piper | Foundation Degree |
March 2009 | The Attraction, Rayne Theatre | Towns Person/Hals troop | Foundation Degree |
July 2009 | The One and Only Double Bill, Trilogy Quartet, Chickenshed Studio Theatre | Ensemble | Foundation Degree |
October 2009 | Fundraising Gala, Royal Albert Hall | Vocal Cast/Dancer | Foundation Degree |
December 2009-January 2010 | Pinocchio, Rayne Theatre | Crew/ Understudy signer | Foundation Degree |
March 2010 | A Midsummer Nights Dream | Mechanical | Foundation Degree |
June 2010 | ‘Sorry…I was Miles Away’, Chickenshed Studio Theatre | Sophie | Foundation Degree |
Relevant Experience (2008- Current)
Chickenshed
Chickenshed membership sessions (5- 21+ years)
Tales from the Shed sessions (0-4 years)
Debden secondary school project
Ridgeway school workshops
Home education network project
All of the experiences listed above have involved me taking on a number of roles, working with children/young people from the ages of 0 to 21; delivering and supporting workshops, working as part of a group support team and giving one to one support to individual participants.
Qualifications/Education
Chickenshed Theatre Company (September 2008- current):
Foundation Degree, Inclusive Performance First Class Honours
British Sign Language Level One
IPOP (October 2009-current):
I have completed training courses within the following areas:
Epilepsy-including administration of buccal midazolam/ rectal diazepam
Makaton stages 1-4
Introduction to Autism
The BRIT school (September 2004- June 2008):
Btec National Diploma, Theatre Distinction
Btec First Certificate, Dance Merit
As level, Sociology, Grade B
Full UK
References
Charlotte Bull Chickenshed Theatre Company 0208 351 6161 ext 222
Paul Morral Chickenshed Theatre Company 0208 351 6161
Louise Allen The Spa at Beckenham 0208 650 0233
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