The big question? - The Campus Session

One of the questions Adesola and Helen asked was -

"How would you explain to a Module 1 student next year what to consider for their inquiry ?"

We all started off by discussing our thoughts for our inquiry and they covered a lot of ground.

Through discuss we realised that we cant write a definitive dissertation in a few months and that our inquiry simply needs to be something relevant to our practice, to enhance it and add to later on.

Vocabulary is so important. Phrasing and expressions we have not used before can seem daunting but once we understand them in relation to our own practice they make sense and can be readily used and answered. Validity was a word used to realise how our subjects fits into our practice and is useful. It all needs to make sense in relation to me and others.

How do we explain to people what we do if they don't know our job title or field? This is something that I can relate to as an Adjudicator of Drama Festival people think that I go into schools and that I am a teacher.

Students created images to help them work through their ideas. There was the Tornado of Thoughts, that is an entity that is continuously added to and The Umbrella of Ideas.

The session re-enforced to me the idea that I want to concentrate on the role of women in theatre. The subjects the others were thinking of were all related to my thoughts and ideas..

One of our main topics was Ethics." Doing no harm." Where are my ethics currently positioned? I began to think about how the more I am learning will effect my beliefs. I came away with a lot of questions that I am currently working on by researching.

I suggested Ethics was a "considered opinion". If I am uncomfortable with a decision I ask why it was taken and on what grounds? If there are extenuating circumstances then these must be considered.

So the advice I would give the Module 1 students would be -

Don't limit yourself, read and research as much as you can, you can never have too much knowledge, But remember to spend time on topics relevant to you, that will help your practice and your work. Interact as much as possible (especially if distance learning) and do keep a journal (invaluable).

There isn't much time. Spend it well.

Ethics - What are they?

Ethics - What are they?


The Oxford English dictionary describes ethics as -

"Moral principles that govern a person's behaviour or the conductivity of an activity"

Reader 5 Professional Ethics covers the three main contexts of ethics.

1 Personal - effecting a particular person
2 Professional - a field of work requiring a standard of behaviour
3 Organisational - a group of people with particular purpose.

Discussing the impact on professional codes of practice, the implications of ethics in professional practice and how to develop our own way forward with regards to our professional inquiry plan. It states ethics has its roots in moral philosophy and is a code of conduct.

It is important to be open to ethical questions as there is rarely one point of view. It is a daily occurrence and a subject that many people have not considered before in context."

Ethics is the Greek work for "character" We talk of events being character building and that a person has an admirable character. Plays are usually character driven. In performance we are encouraged to develop a character and not give a one-dimensional portrayal. We can do this by creating or finding within the text a backstory, how the past decisions of that person has shaped their character.

Unknowingly, we have made ethical decisions all our  lives. Some will have been passed down to us and are acceptable and we may have had no need to question. Whilst others become pertinent and our decisions are based on our considered opinions and experience.

The ethical decisions we make or accept may have considerable impacts on our lives and others. Selfless people have taken on large corporations because of their ethical values, often resulting in great personal loss, because they felt they had no choice but to demand answers.

To understand ethics we must first be familiar with its development, historical events, impact on professional codes of practice, the responsibilities and its implication in how we can apply this to our practice in the world in which we live.


Hobbes was a political philosopher who wrote the book "Levianthe" and believed in the premise of a set of rules - a social contract in which rational people would understand and benefit from.

The theory of the greatest good for the greatest number was suggested by the theorist J. S. Mills (1861) as in the means justifying the ends.

MacIntyre (1976) believes there are no universals moral norms that we can use as change is inevitable.

Our moral philosophy (theories of ethics) and standards effects our ethical stance regarding equality, race, religion, age, sexual orientation and disability.

An university of Edinburgh article on equality and diversity states ethics is a" specified protected characteristic".

There are varying titles -

Metaethics - an analytical activity - the nature of morality - moral relativism, cognitivism, and non cognitivism.

Theoretical normative ethics - moral judgements - virtue ethics, deontology .and consequentialism.

Applied ethics -  finding resolutions, normalative ethical theories to difficult subjects to consider what is right or wrong.


Ethics,  Research and our Inquiry

It is a important when collating information from participants that we take care and "do no harm" with the information. We may be trusted with personal as well as professional information.

We have a responsibility as a researcher as our inquiries may have an impact on a individual as an emotive subject may make people think differently and make them feel culpable and question their answers or re-actions.

Ethics is a complex subject that is part of our everyday life and helps us to provide a framework for a better, more informed tolerant world.

As long as we remember to embrace change and grow as we become better equipped to make informed judgements and question if we feel uncomfortable with a situation and never accept a situation as the norm if we feel it is unfair and unethical.

Developing Questions In Our Own Professional Community - Task 4C

Developing Lines of Professional Inquiry - Questions


Adesola has recommended that we start our tasks and then re-visit them as they are a work in progress.

I have begun to work on what questions I what to ask as part of developing the lines of professional inquiry and have discussed this with a colleague who trained as an actor but also works as an educator, adjudicator, director, writer and who also runs his own workshops.

He is very experienced in many different fields and this will enable me to cover a broader spectrum of questions.

I have already realised that the correct phrasing is important so as to get a precise answer with clear intentions.

APPENDICES - Appendix 1 SIG Special Interest Groups - Task 4B

Amanda Conroy M00621438 BAPP BA Hons Module 2



SIG (Special Interest Groups)


I think we could all learn so much from other and developing our SIG (Special Interest Group) will help us to classify and clarify information.

Jess Dinmore and I have started speaking on the phone, texting and email questions pertinent to our inquiries and we have also spoken to Eleanor Byrne (Module 2).

We have all been blogging and following each other's blogs and this will encourage us even more.

We have started asking questions on our blogs and answering them. We all work in more than one aspect of theatre and have similar thoughts on our subjects. Eleanor is also interested in women in theatre and this is reflected in her choice of literature and I have found the links she has given me beneficial especially when they are sources I have not heard of or found before.

We don't have much study time left but it will be interesting to see if we change our opinions much in the next few months either as a result of questioning our opinions and being more open or by confirming what we believe works for us.

"Her Turn On The Stage - The Role Of Woman In Musical Theatre" - Task D

Reader 2 - Task D

Whilst searching for literature relevant to my practice I have chosen initially the following three books.

"Her Turn On The Stage" The Role Of Women In Musical Theatre" by Grace Barnes
"Women In American Theatre" edited by Helen Krich Chinoy and Linda Walsh Jenkins
"Theatre and Feminism" by Kim Solga

All of these books have made me see things from different perspectives with their varying theories and practices. All this was spurred by an article by Elizabeth Freestone concerning how women are represented in theatre. I started to read about the history of women in theatre and what it is to be a female performer.

This is relevant to my inquiry as to know how far we need to go, we need to know how far we have come and also to know when we may have gone too far.

"Her Turn On The Stage" was revealing to me as I wanted to see theatre and stage work from a musical performers viewpoint.

"Theatre and Feminism by Kim Solga is the story of the movement known as feminist performance theory and asks three key questions.
1 What does it mean to be a feminist at the theatre?
2  What has it meant in the Past?
3 Why does the theatre still need feminism today?

It includes case studies of plays and a discussion from British theorist Angela Mc Robb and the rise of the political movement known as neoliberalism. The book argues -

"Feminist theatre and practice allows us to understand the way all gender is constructed and re- enforced for better or worse."

Some of the subjects covered are "being versus acting", ethics, basic human rights and pushing boundaries.

"Women In American Theatre" are essays and interviews with females involved in all aspects of theatre.

Rosamond Gilder said in her 1934 landmark study publication "Enter Three Actresses" that -
"Women have risen to greater heights of achievements as actresses than in any other art."

I wonder if she would still think that now especially with all the controversy at the moment with the American Producer accused of using his position to manipulate female artists?

Another section discusses -

"If not an Actress, what?"

Well, a producer, a director, casting director or stage designer. The list is endless which brings me back to the beginning of my inquiry the study by Elizabeth Freestone and the stubborn 2:1 under representation in the theatre of male/female ratio. Why is this? Well, I intend to find out and as a female practitioner, actor, director and adjudicator this is something that does not only effect me but all of us. We really are in this together and would appreciate any feedback that is relevant to the role of females in performance arts.

Skpe with Adesola, Lauren and Henry - Now listen very carefully ...

Once again I had a problem with my microphone and was only able to listen and type on the Skype

call with Adesola, Lauren and Henry from Module 2.


As Lauren and Henry both work in dance and Henry has started teaching they had a lot in common

and were running ideas by each other. Lauren discussed different teaching styles and Henry talked

about teaching young children and adults discussing how we can adapt teaching for different skill sets

and audiences and what teaching methods would be relevant.  Music and dance as a

means of therapy for some children and the subsequent health benefits of participation and

exercise was one of the subjects covered.


We agreed that we need to step away and look at things from a different perspective to widen

our knowledge and to continue looking through different lenses.


Adesola reminded us that the Professional Inquiry is not a dissertation that will have taken three years

but is a tool by which we research, question, analyse and evaluate with the aim of becoming more 

knowledgeable in our practice by researching literature and  theories thereby raising questions

of our own.


Ethics and authenticity are themes that are re-occurring in all aspect of our practice and it is

necessary to understand what this means to us as individuals and what are responsibilities are.

I typed that -

"we need to ask questions that we do not already know the answer to or have a strong opinion on so

that we can learn new theories and ideas and not just confirm old ones that we are comfortable with".

We need to challenge ourselves and others.


When discussing literature Adesola stated that we do not have to complete the tasks chronologically

and that we should return to them more than once and see if our opinions have changed when we

are better informed.


Because many of the students are involved in musical theatre and dance I have started to read

more literature on this subject as their ideas although very similar to acting principles do focus

more on health and mental well being and I think this two aspects should also be considered

more in stage work.

"There Is No Conspiracy Against Women In The Theare" - Task A (Cont)

Reader 2 -



The questions I asked myself before were related to adjudicating. My practice is multi-layered

as most of the students appear to be. I am currently thinking about performance related issues.


Q  Have any actors had experiences that they felt happened because they were female and

that their male counterparts would not have been treated like that?


Q If something feels wrong ethically are we confident enough to question it, and if we do, have

we evidence that supports our questioning?


Q What percentage of performers in your experience had excepted a practice because they have

been told it was the norm and not to question?- to "fit in".



All of these questions are part of the inquiry I am interested in. One of the questions from the

first module was "what do you think has been an occurring theme in your practice". I identified the

role of women in theatre as a core theme and how it affects my practice.


I am not asking the questions from a feminist stance but a neutral professional one.

There is an interesting article in The Telepraph Newspaper  Media Group Ltd (2017) written by

the journalist Rubert Christiansen under the title There is no conspiracy against women in the

theatre".

He states that -

"We are in danger of  making the question of gender in the theatre much more problematic than it

needs to be".


It discusses gender bending and how Phillida Lloyd directed an all female cast of Julius Caesar

set in a female prison. Lloyd was quoted as saying she would only direct a project  if

"at least 50 per cent of what happening on stage or screen's is a woman's experience."


Christiansen believes -

"it merely reinforces gender stereotyping by reducing the complex question of equality to a matter

of statistics and quotas."


Q What do you think changing gender in productions does to the integrity of the script?



The Bechdel Test (Eleanor and I have blogged on this before) that says in a production at least two 

women must talk about something other than a man to past the test.

.
Although it has been said it does not have enough categories it began a discourse and has been

expanded upon.


As we approach our Professional Inquiry we will all be asking questions of our SIG groups

but I would be beneficial to us all if we can help each other with our questions to help us all

understand our practice.


What are your thoughts to my questions?

Appendix 4 Questions? Question?, Questions? Task A

Amanda Conroy M00 621438 BAPP BA Hons Module 2

Adesola's advice has been to approach the tasks not necessarily in order but to start them and

then re-visit at a later date to enable us to observe how the new research has altered our viewpoints

and improved our knowledge and questioning skills.

The main questions that are relevant to my practice are still emerging.

As I have worked as an adjudicator as well as in performance arts I am approaching

things from a different perspective. However, the principals are the same.

As a performer I familiarise myself with the script by reading it multiple times, read works by the

same author and their contemporaries. The same is true of adjudication.

I will identify any challenges and think how to overcome them and make suggestions. The same isstrue of adjudication.

There are endless comparisons, confirming work principles may be the same whatever the job description.

An adjudicator of amateur drama festivals marks to a strict criteria. Contestants enter the festival

with other local groups and perform either a one act play or a full length play. An adjudication

is given at the end of the evening with constructive criticism and suggestions showing how to

make improvements. There is generally an awards evening (a little like the Oscars) with best of

categories.

Some questions I have been thinking about are -

Q  Is it fair to judge an amateur (who may have less time to commit and not have trained) in a

competition on the same level as a professional?

Q  If encouragement is paramount how do we constructively criticise without discouraging?

Q There is a faction of people who do not believe children should be judged in amateur

festivals in case they are unable to accept the comments. What do you think?


Q  In reality of  our daily practice are ethics and political correctness observed?




These questions do not necessarily correspond with my own thoughts and I would be really

interested in comments please as fellow professionals.

Appendix 3 Read and realise

Amanda Conroy M00621438 BAPP BA Hons Module 2





I have just re-read the Module 2 Handbook and Reader 4. This obviously was the case with the other

modules but as other students have mentioned in their blogs these do feel more academic in content.

We are introduced to the Principles of Professional Inquiry that we will complete in our final module

Re-iterating we take all our previous knowledge with us which includes professional networking,

reflective practice and how we perceive and present our professional identity.


The next stage is to understand how to ask the right questions that will help us to develop our own

practice by examining and analysing the literature of arguments of our peers within our field.


The three main themes of the module are -

Developing the Lines of Professional Inquiry - to develop a meaningful inquiry
Professional Ethics (No Harm)
Tools of Professional Inquiry

These will aid our "critical awareness" as we improve our professional abilities to research

academic works.

The topic must be relevant and meaningful to us and will be useful in our practice by not

only improving our knowledge but may be a springboard for further investigation.

By applying the course principals we will be able to research with a rational, be aware of

ethical issues/codes of practice in reality, utilise peers knowledge and discuss work in SIGS using

effective communication skills, analyse research and reflect.

Our tutor will approve the specialism title for our Professional Inquiry for next term. We know from

 Reader 4 BAPP professional inquiry is a "way to learn about what you are doing while you are doing

it".


Judi Marshall writes her process of thinking is "self-reflective inquiry". She states that "an issue, even

theme, dilemma or whatever is an inquiry for me."


Thereby, leaving subjects open to debate and argument as she not just accepted previous information

but is keen to examine and draw her own conclusions.

I can identify with this. If when researching we are informed something is the definitive answer, it is

benefical to question and know how these comments were achieved. Could they have been influenced

by the writer agenda and environment? Do we agree? Can we bring anything to it? Would this be

perceived differently by those outside of the sector?


This module is a way of discovering, exploring, comprehending and clarifying my thoughts

by using all the components provided that will help me to chose my Professional Inquiry topic.

Appendix 2 Skype with Adesola 2nd October

Amanda Conroy M00621438 BAPP BA Hons Module 2




I have just been listening to a Skype session with Adesola and students from all three modules.

Although my microphone and speaker said there were working I could not be heard.

This added a different dynamic for me as I could hear everybody perfectly well but not interact.

Because of this I was able to take copious amount of notes and here are some of points that I took from it.

I am a Module 2 student currently just starting on Reader 4 Developing the Lines of  Professional Inquiry. It discusses whether we work in a disciplinary context or if our situation is more transdisciplinary. The language we use in our professional practice will mean something slightly different to each individual.

There is, of course, common ground in all mediums of our work but our understanding of ethics is important . They are not an entity of their own but are present and accountable in everything we do. We need to see the bigger picture and decide how authenticity is important to us. Adesola mentioned "new liberalism". Whatever we chose to do takes a stance. How do we keep authentic to ourselves, our truth? Neo-liberalism is defined as "a modified form of liberalism tending to favour free-movement and capitalism" Oxford English Dictionary.

Authenticity is defined as truthful, genuine. So if we are authentic it means we actually possess the alleged or apparent attributes we portray.

I believe to know what you should do you must first understand what you should not do and why
.

As I work through the readers I realise there are words, expressions, phrases that I know but do not use daily in my working life. However, this  professional language links us all and gives us a place from which to approach new subjects and start a discourse.

We discussed ethics, authenticity, expectations and policies. We asked questions -

What does it feel like to be a BAPP student?  What is  Authenticity -  Thinking about our identity?
How do we filter the vast amount of information we are currently processing?


I was unable to verbalise my thoughts but I did type -

How do I filter?
I may just have a gut feeling that something is going to be necessary and worth developing. It may be because it either fits into my practice or it really questions my rational. It may be something that has appeared in one form or another that I have encountered before. I try to start with the reading lists and find inspiration from similar academic books or journals,. I also use a list - with two columns, information I think is pertinent and vital to my inquiry and the other I will log as research and background.



It was interesting to hear the comments of J, the Korean student, and the reaction from some students about the artistic black lists. We are fortunate to live in a democracy particularly as performers as we often question, think outside of the box and challenge.

For me being a BAPP student has opened up a whole new world of possibilities. Like everyone else is hard to fit it all in but the final result will be worth it and something that we will take with us. We will probably never have such good resources again to learn from (each other) and this is what makes the blogs and Skype sessions so invaluable.