Rationale

BA (HONS) Professional Practice (Inclusive Theatre Development)

Choosing my award title has been a difficult task for me, I wanted to sum up everything I do in 30 characters. I have worked within Inclusive theatre (see blog entries, section 1) for almost five years and it is now the way in which I work. Being inclusive can apply to anything I do but it has been the life and soul of how I perform and the way Chickenshed works.

I will be conducting my project ex-sex-tra using this method because I feel this is how it should be conducted, it is important to me that it is not just the end product that is valued but the initial process of how I got there and that is a reflection of working inclusively.

Theatre has been my passion for the majority of my life, and I am lucky enough to have been trained to perform but with the layer of being inclusive, something very few people have. Combining these two aspects is definitely why I feel I have to have inclusive theatre in my award title, it’s something that is now a part of me and I want to take with me wherever I go or work. It is something I feel I can offer in future projects/jobs I do.

I have a foundation degree in Inclusive performance and the next level of achievement for me would be to gain an Honors degree in the development of that form of theatre. This is reflected in my final project, a theatre piece is to be created using the ideas of our participants, and we want to delevelop those views, experiences, ideas into theatre that can be performed to an audience.

Working at Chickenshed I am constantly in direct contact with inclusive theatre whether that is performing or supporting the development for individuals or groups. I am always thriving for the development and pushing it forward using encouragement, praise, understanding and patience. These qualities are all parts of the inclusive process and development.

Critical commentary on learning in this module

Critical Commentary on learning in this Module

Reflecting on this learning venture of module 3835, all in all I have progressed. There have been ups and downs and I have taken the good with the bad. I have overcome obstacles and in doing so have listened to and helped others. The first hurdle was the booklet, I did not find it easy to follow and didn’t fully understand what was being asked of me, the final project encounter seemed hazy but through attending the campus sessions I could I found Paula’s, Rosemary’s and Peter’s help all vital in helping me understand what I needed to do. I believe that my vocabulary has improved greatly.

From having Chicken Shed learning set meetings with fellow colleagues and Paula there, I feel more on a professional level and my confidence has gradually grown along with my project. 5 weeks ago I would never have thought I would be where I am now. I have faith in what I am doing and know that it has a purpose behind it. I want to develop Chicken Sheds outreach programme and create a piece of theatre based on participant’s experiences and opinions, I now know how I am going to take this on.

From evaluating my blog entries I can see that my train of thought has progressed and I have become more positive as the entries continued. I am pleased that I have kept a optimistic perspective of the project and with the amount of effort I have put it into it. This has been an experience where I can definitely confirm “you get out what you put in” I always had worries concerning did think for a short while was I up to the challenge? Sometimes I felt that it may have been too much, but putting the work in really throwing myself in has paid off handsomely.
I have managed to discover in myself that I can work individually on a professional task whilst being part of a company. I trust in myself to get the work done and make sure that I understand what I am doing rather than just doing it. As my entries go on it is apparent to me that I became more confident in the time period of five weeks. I became more familiar with the different research methods.

I used my learning journals well and it was a good way for me to express myself.
This project has allowed me to feel more like a staff member in Chickenshed and having the Chickenshed learning set meetings has been a rock in the circle of those who are based there. We are now good at supporting each other and where possible answering each other’s queries.
I now recognize ethics and data analyzing and am familiar with applying them, something that will last me the rest of my career. There has been a lot of preparation in this module and now it is important to me that I must make it all worthwhile.

I feel the most difficult part of this module was creating a project and degree title. This I feel is reflected in my learning diary entries. I express worry over it and it was a part that played on my mind most. I wanted to cram everything I wanted the project to be in one sentence and for me personally that is something I find difficult. It was difficult because I work on such a broad scale it’s difficult to choose one area or sum up everything in a certain number of words. The conversations I had back and forth with Paula concerning this however did put me at ease.
The next step for me it is to physically do the project and I am excited to get it started.

learning journal 5

Learning journal 5

I am starting to get a little anxious as I do not have a title still. I know what I want to do but creating a title is turning out to be very tricky!

I am having conversations via email with Paula regarding it and in turns out I had not fully understood that I needed a Degree title and then a separate project title which shouldn’t be a questions.

I am finding myself managing my time better which is good, I don’t feel so behind as I have in prior terms.
I am on the blogs at least every other day having a look seeing what people are up to in terms of their projects. I have taken several surveys which like me people have put up on their blogs. At the moment I feel part of the social network.

I have completed my first draft of my project proposal and have worked hard on it. My time managing skills are definitely improving as I put all the hours into it that I needed to. I have also written my letter to which I need permission from Chicken shed for the go ahead for my project. I’m feeling happy for the time being and feel as though I am in a good place. That is not to say however I am not feeling the pressure. On a daily basis there is always more tasks to do in terms of my project, It is always on my mind. I have a notebook to which i write notes down when and if ideas pop into my head.

I am now familiar with the term ethics having looked over the form and now know which methods of research I want to take. I am prepared however to adapt new methods along the way if it is beneficial to the project.

I have been going over Paula’s notes and I know that I need to see myself more as a staff member not a student on a coarse. I have been given the confidence to do that. I think that may have been because I am unpaid, but it makes no difference to whether I am paid or unpaid, the standard to which I work will always be to the quality as if I was on a full time wage.
Possible ideas of titles for my project
· Is sexual awareness advertised too much which then influences young people to have sex?
· Can Inclusive theatre broaden a young person’s perceptions of sexual awareness?
· Should students have a say in sex education to how and what they are taught?
· How far do the internet/ media go in terms of influencing young people in terms of sex?
· Is there enough sex education theatre pieces for young people?
· Is theatre in education a good device to teach sexual awareness?
· Is it a good idea to explore young people’s experiences using workshops to create a piece of theatre to use with a T.I.E setting?
· Can developing a new area within Chicken Shed’s outreach programme make sexual awareness accessible to young people within secondary school settings?
· Can developing a new area within Chicken Shed’s outreach programme improve their outreach scheme and Chicken Shed as a whole?

Learning journal 4

Learning journal 4

Unfortunately this campus session the 30th of March I could not attend. I do feel that I have missed a lot in terms of knowledge. I know it is all in the book but I do benefit from hearing it from another person. I like to be taught. From catching up I have learnt that this session was about data analysis and ethics. What that means, and how important it is in terms of the project.
Ethics for me personally is something I have never come across or had to apply to anything I have done. It is a huge eye opener and adds a whole new layer to my project and how much there really is to think about.

I have decided to create a survey with questions that are important to my research for “project x” I am excited to see what comes back!

I have been thinking about me in terms of this project and how I am going to influence it along with Laura. I have been very interested and keen to get started on thinking about the performance itself and what it will contain, how long it will take to produce etc. I think I may be getting a bit ahead of myself!

A meeting was held at Chicken shed theatre, the participants where most of staff who are on the same coarse as I am. We discussed where we are all up to and potential project titles.
In terms of my work at Chicken shed I am doing well. I am currently part of a team that is creating a final show project with second year BTEC students.

I am supporting BTEC first years in their lessons. Which means working in their groups, giving them encouragement to work with each other, praise, constructive criticism, delivering warm ups and for some individuals scribing. Most importantly setting a positive example, being “one of them” and taking part in the activities put upon them, leading by example.
We have a few fund raising events coming up and rehearsal time to go with that so I am trying hard to stay on top of things and manage my time well.

It is now time to be definitely thinking about where the project could go. In terms of where the workshops could actually happen. Laura and I have the same kind of ideas and we are interested in secondary schools, they hold so much potential for us as it has so many students and that means so many different experiences and points of view. Chickenshed, they have their own youth group which has over 100 members. With Chickenshed’s permission it would be a fantastic opportunity to use the youth theatre which has over 100 members. Youth clubs within London, we would also be delivering these workshops using the inclusive method as we will be representing Chicken Shed.

As Laura and I are embarking this project together, it has been brought to my attention that we must show that we are coming from two different angles. We must talk about different jobs that we can individually for the project and how we are going apply our individual titles to the project. We may find that It could become easy to merge into one mind frame and that is not they in which the project needs to be carried out.

Learning journal 3

Learning Journal 3.

I have my project theme, sex education but what do I want to do with it? What do I want to be able to achieve through it? These have been just a couple of the Questions I have asked myself.
It all seems so far away and reading through my booklet it seems like there is so much to do. The amount of understanding is huge there are areas I have never heard of. Like the different types of research and ethics.
I need to design my research method approaches and expand on my ideas. At this point I am thinking surveys, interviews, focus groups, workshops. All these should enable me to reach the potential of my project.
It looks as though my project will rely on the experiences and views of its participants a great deal. They are going to be the real fuel behind the fire.
I personally feel I am using words to “loosely”, people are questioning what I mean and I should not take it for granted that people know exactly what I mean.

Chicken Shed – A theatre company based in Cockfosters north London.

Inclusive - the way in which Chickenshed works on a full time basis. It is creating an environment where everybody feels valued in anything you are working on and nobody feels discriminated against in any way, shape or form because of background, culture, ability, and disability. Stripping everyone of any labels and becoming one unit to which everyone follows that inclusive method.

Workshop- Activities that will usually consist of a warm-up, a main activity(s), and then a group cool down/praise. Workshops can be any amount of time. They are theatre based and are catered for the individuals who are participating.

Outreach – a project where a team of people from Chickenshed will go to a place and deliver workshop activities to any sort of group of people. Companies tend to hire Chicken Shed to do this. Some organizations pay for these workshops to improve the communications skills between their workers. There a number of “sheds” across the country so Chicken Shed being the “main” unit will go on outreach projects to be with their children’s theatre or youth groups.

The chicken shed learning set is proving to be useful; we discuss where we are all up to and what lays ahead of us. It has been good to hear what others are doing and receive comments on work. It has been a procedure of give and take.