Ethics

When we started talking about ethics at the campus session on Monday the group used the following words to explain what they thought was meant by the term; rules, morality, right and wrong, code of conduct, good and bad, values, protection, virtues.

Rosemary asked us to write down some of our personal virtues, or at least values that we try and live up to in our lives. I wrote down loyalty, treat as I would be treated, kindness, compassion, honesty. We were also asked to write down our values with specific regard to our profession. I wrote down dedication, hard working, focus. We all seemed to notice that our professional values had a different feel to our personal ones. They seemed to be slightly harder, more driven and more assertive.

We moved on to discuss what happens when your personal values come into conflict with what is expected of you professionally (either what your employer asks of you or, if you are self employed as I am, what is required of you within the industry to stay competitive). Rosemary gave an interesting example of a designer who is asked to create an advert for a cigarette campaign (illegal now but it wasn't always so). Do you work on the campaign even though you know that cigarettes cause addiction and disease or do you put aside you personal values because you are a professional who is committed to their work?

I tried to apply this idea to my own profession and I found that I am prepared to compromise some of my personal values for the sake of my career. For example, when I went to work in Malaysia at the end of last year I was aware that it is illegal there to be gay. If caught you can face imprisonment and worse. This goes against my personal beliefs but I took the job. I thought it would be good for my career and to be honest I needed the money. So am I the type of person who would comprise everything they believe in for the right amount? I hope not but who knows? In the case of Malaysia I guess I decided that my personal stand would do very little to change their laws so what was the point, but then again if everyone took a stand who knows what we could accomplish?

Thinking about it more I realise that I regularly go against my personal values for the sake of my profession. For example, one of the words I wrote down at the beginning was honesty but in the past I have put things on my CV that were basically untrue because I knew they would help get me an audition or a job. I'm pretty sure most performers have done something like this at some point. Maybe not on paper but perhaps at a time when you're asked in an audition if you can speak German. You tell the panel you're fluent when in fact you had three lessons when you were eight. So is it alright to lie on your CV if the result is getting a job? Is it a type of Consequentialism where the end justifies the means or is lying always wrong as Deontology suggests? Is the most important thing that it doesn't hurt anyone? Would it still be alright to lie if in doing so you prevented someone else form getting the job who was more deserving? Perhaps Virtue Ethics comes into play here and it is best to assess each situation on its facts.

I currently have two overlapping professions, musical theatre performer and teacher. Below I have written codes of practice for each profession. It should be noted that these are just my own thoughts (influenced by our discussions at the campus session) and I will now go away and research what official ethical guidelines are in place for each profession. Some points on the list are quite similar and others are more profession specific, much like the skills sets we discussed in the earlier part of the module.

Musical Theatre Performer:

• A musical theatre performer should have consideration for who they're working with and an understanding of the ethos of who they're working for.
• A musical theatre performer should have a dedication and commitment to preparation and performance
• A musical theatre performer should have a awareness of copyright laws and adopt a conscientious use of choreography and music in classes and auditions.
• A musical theatre performer has a responsibility to perform to 100% of there ability when on stage.
• A musical theatre performer has a duty to fulfill contractual obligations.
• A Musical theatre performer has a responsibility for the safety of themselves and others in the rehearsal room and on stage.
• A musical theatre performer has a responsibility to avoid deliberate endangerment of their health (i.e. not ice sating when you have a show in the evening).
• A musical theatre performer has an obligation to correctly pay National Insurance and Income Tax as a self employed person.

Teacher:

• A teacher has duty to protect those in their care (mental and physical protection).
• A teacher should give their full attention to the room they are teaching
• A teacher has a responsibility to teach appropriate material for the students in front of them.
• A teacher has a responsibility to increase their students' ability and also their confidence.
• A teacher should ensure they never exploit their students.
• A teacher has a duty to be responsible and reliable.

One of the most important things I got from the campus session was understanding the difference between the skills of a profession and its ethics. For example, some skills needed as a performer might be talent and energy but the ethics behind it is the responsibility to give 100% all the time. As a teacher a skill you might need is first aid but the ethics behind it is the duty to keep your students safe.

I think it is clear from my two lists that I currently have more of an understanding of musical theatre than I do of teaching. As someone who wants to move into the teaching of musical theatre I think it is really important that I have full understanding of both. I will need to comprehend the finer details of educational ethics to be a good teacher but I will also need to be able to impart my knowledge of performing ethics to my students before they become professional members of the performing community.