Inquiry

I have been having problems coming up with themes in my work that I might pursue as lines of inquiry. I have decided to blog my answers to the questions in the inquiry section of the handbook and see if by the end of this blog any ideas have emerged. I hope they have, otherwise I am stuck.

What in your daily practice gets you really enthusiastic to find out more about?
I really enjoy finding out about different shows, either by watching them, listening to them, or even reading about. I like learning about the history of musical theatre and how it evolved to its current incarnation. I'm also interested in past performers. Who they were, where they came from, what influenced them and how they affected the bigger picture of musical theatre.

I'm interested in learning about different styles of theatre. Being involved in the devised/improvised performance at Central opened my eyes to ways of performing that I was not previously versed in. In tandem with this I would like to find out more about different acting techniques. During my a-levels I did a lot of work on the techniques of Brecht (1898-1956) and Stanislavski (1863-1938) but there are many other practitioners I would like to know about. I hear people talking about Meisner technique a lot but know very little about it.


What gets you angry or makes you sad? Who do you admire, who shares your feelings or has found a way to work around the sadness or anger?
The main thing that makes me sad professionally is not working. It is a constant struggle to fight for your place in the industry and sometimes it feels too hard. I hate that when you are doing really well auditioning for a show and then you don't get it you feel as if you are right back at square one. There is not promotion like you find in regular jobs.

It makes me angry that musical theatre performers are looked down upon in the industry. They are not considered singers by singers, dancers by dancers, or actors by actors. It is a very difficult skill to perform musical theatre well and I don't think it is fully appreciated. Having said that I think there are a lot of terrible musical theatre performers who continue to get jobs and give musical theatre a bad name.

This reminds me of something else that makes me angry, casting directors. The same people seem to get all the jobs and I don't believe it is because they are always the most talented. I believe (and I have to be careful and diplomatic here because this is a public blog and I don't want to shoot myself in the foot) it is because it is easier for casting directors to call in the people they already know. Some west end jobs are like closed shops. You can't even get a look in if you haven't already done a west end show. It's a catch 22 situation.

I believe that a lot of performers feel like this and it's for this exact reason that recently many of my friends have decided to give up the business. I am always inspired by performers who manage to continue performing and not become bitter. It really interests me to see how they do it. Someone I particularly admire is a friend of mine Matt Firth. Matt trained with me at Arts Ed, did several West End shows and then got fed up of being viewed just as an ensemble dancer. He tried extremely hard to break into lead roles and straight plays but people's perception of him was that he was a dancer (even though he is actually a very capable actor). In the end he decided he had had enough of trawling around auditions trying to convince people he was good. So he set up his own company called The Sound Of Entertainment. The company performs different tribute acts all around the country and as well as starring in them Matt also directs and choreographs them. He now has control over his career, never has to audition again, but still gets to perform. I sometimes work for him in The High School Show and I love it. I don't think owning my own company is something I would actually want to do but I love the idea that he created his own destiny and he is in control of it.

What do you love about what you do? Who do you admire who also seems to love this or is an example of what you love?
I love performing. I do love dancing but I am happiest when I am acting and particularly acting through song. I love the theatre generally. Everything about it from the lights, to the costumes, to the smell. A theatre is such and exciting place to work and it always has such a wonderful atmosphere. I also love that theatre can be so powerful. I was really young when I realised that theatre had the potential to impact people's lives in such positive ways. I love going to see an amazing piece of theatre. It can totally change the way you think and even the way you live your life and it is so inspiring to learn from watching and analysing a really talented performer.

Two performances I can think of that have recently had huge impacts on me, both because of the wonderful performances and the wonderful writing, are 'Holding The Man' at the Trafalgar Studios and The Donmar Warehouse's concert version of their 2000 production of Sondheim's 'Merrily We Roll Along'.

One of the reasons I love Stephen Sondheim is because he combines stunningly written music with complicated characterisations in his musicals. The story is always the most important thing and if a song doesn't improve on the story in some way then he doesn't write it. Because I love musicals so much but also love straight theatre I always find that Sondheim delivers the perfect balance of the two. His shows also seem to attract the highest level of talent in musical theatre and I would love to appear in one.

A particular example of someone who has performed in a lot of Sondheim shows and who I hugely admire is Anna Francolini. She was in the production of 'Merrily' that I saw recently and her performance was astounding. She has also recently received rave reviews for her performance as Maria Callas in 'Onassis' at the Novello Theatre opposite Robert Lindsey. The reason I admire Anna so much is because she started as an ensemble member in "Oliver!' at the London Palladium (the same production I was in as a child) but has managed to move into lead roles in some amazing productions. It is particularly important to me that she has managed to perform in both plays and musicals, meaning it is possible for a performer to do this if they are hardworking, talented, and well connected enough.

Anna Francolini in 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'
www.telegraph.co.uk

I also love to teach my ballet class on a Wednesday. I love watching the class improve and I also love the fact that because the class is for adults there is a really high level of commitment. Everyone has made the choice to be there and so everyone puts in a hundred and ten percent. Ultimately I would love to able to teach on a vocational course and help people who want a career in the performing arts to achieve the most they can. I really admire Chris Hocking who is the head of musical theatre at Arts Ed London. He started as a performer before getting his MA in dance and becoming a teacher and then head of course. I loved my time at college and love the training environment. It is so full of hope and expectation and I really think I have something to add to that.

I haven't written my answers to the last two questions because I couldn't think of anything valuable to say at this moment so I guess I have to look back over what I have written so far to see what the overriding themes are and what a line of inquiry might be for me.

What stands out for me is that I love theatre and particularly musicals that require strong actors. I think that acting is the most important thing in a musical, above singing and dancing. I consider myself to be a strong actor but feel I am perceived as a dancer because of my training and past credits. I am interested in acting techniques and acting through song and I am also interested in teaching on a vocational course at some point in my career. I believe that musical theatre performers are often perceived to be average when it comes to acting. I am also aware that there are some musical theatre performers who have managed to break out of this type casting and prove that they are as capable if not more so than their straight acting counter parts.

I would be extremely interested to look into why musical theatre performers find it difficult to be considered credible actors. Is this actually true? If so is it justified? Does it have something to do with the quality and depth of acting training on musical theatre courses compared to acting courses? I think this line of inquiry will tie together my love of performing and my desire to continue in that field with my interest in acting techniques and vocational teaching. Hopefully it could give me insights into being a better performer and a better teacher.