Pure Paradox Theatre Company

https://www.pureparadoxtheatre.co.uk/about

This week I have been immersed in the world of 'Splinter' (a new play written by Louise Fitzgerald). 'Splinter' is a play about the inner workings of the mind, yet it does not spell out the concept from the get-go. It is a play to get the audience's minds racing and to take them on a journey alongside the characters; whom seem more confused than the audience at times... I have had the privilege of performing this play alongside a vibrant young cast at The Etcetera Theatre, Camden, as part of the Camden Fringe.

I have linked the website for the Pure Paradox Theatre Company at the top of this blog. This theatre company was established by the writer and director of 'Splinter', Louise. It has honestly, hand-on-heart been such an amazing experience to get a chance to be part of an original theatre company. The hard work, commitment and working around varying schedules has formed a team of flexible and focused creatives and actors. We are all invested in this production. I believe when you strip away the flounces and flares of live theatre - that's when you rely very much on your skill as an actor. Anybody who has ever done Fringe (in any venue) can surely relate to the limited amount of 'get-in' and 'get-out' time. This means less time for warm up preparations, set-up and sound-tests (to name but a few ingredients involved in show prep). Lack of prep-time forces the actor to trust their ability and to discover efficient ways in which to warm up their bodies and voices.

Feedback has been an essential part of this experience. It has made me realise that different members of the audience will pick up / focus on certain parts of the show. Some people will love aspects of the play, others will think certain aspects don't add to the story; as well as certain audience members offering their own suggestions or each individual gaining a unique experience from the play. Personally I had relatives who came to watch who, on one hand, understood the concept pretty much from the get-go; whilst on the other hand, another who only found out the concept in the final scene when it is explained. These varying opinions and ideas form interesting conversation topics. No one person had the same experience. Some people wanted more of something, some people wanted less. The freshness of this live experience has made me realise live theatre is about more than getting a 'thumbs up' or 'thumbs down'; it's about believing in a project wholeheartedly, being open-minded and developing those characters within the project. Being closed-off as an actor will only prohibit your chances of developing and progressing.

Overall, feedback and comments have been incredible. I have really been swept up in this experience. We were lucky enough as a company to have all our sound and music originally composed for us - an aspect which adds greatly to the show and our experiences as actors. Tomorrow is our final show at the Etcetera Theatre. Being part of this theatre company has led me to believe that there is nothing better for an actor than acting. That sounds so basic and obvious - but actually practising your craft is the best experience for a striving actor. Each company member has come from different situations but we work around these - the focus is on the project at hand, no matter what else might be going on in our lives.
http://www.etceteratheatre.com/

New Updated Headshots

A shot which represents the young version of me - nice TV shot (Studio Light)

During a particularly quiet time - I got my new headshots done by the fabulous Ori Jones. My agents and the casting director who had originally advised me to get new ones really liked them - but not only that they believed the photos represented who I am and that it was 'great to see [my] natural features and radiance'.I have added more of the shots to give an idea of the range in variety.

A smiley shot is always useful to have (Outdoor / natural light)

A shot chosen by Ori Jones the photographer. Captures a neutral but bright expression & also a clear photo of my hair (Outdoor / natural light)

A more 'period-drama' style shot (Studio Light)

My main photo on Spotlight (Natural / Outdoor Light)

My main photo on Lorraine Brennan Management's page (Studio Light)

Staying Connected; Keeping Going

Since Module 1...

Since finishing up the Uni term in May and receiving a First for Module 1, I have fortunately been busy with rehearsals and auditions. However, I have had 'lull periods' where it seems not a lot is going on. During this time, as an actor, it is easy to get sucked into states of 'self-pity', which (as alluring as they may seem) are in no way beneficial. I have taken it upon myself to keep myself going during these rough times to, hopefully, mold myself into a more flexible and employable actor.

Stay Connected

Who says you can't work for yourself? You may have all the people in the world helping you along your career - but there is nothing more satisfying than small achievements which you gain yourself. My agents gave great advice recently to aim to be in short films / student films to gather together footage for a professional-looking showreel - solely missing the 'professional scene filming' cost. Student films are great because you are both doing each other a favour - the student gets a professional level actor for their university project; and the actor gets professional looking footage to use for their showreel. It's a WIN WIN as they say. I joined the website https://www.mandy.com/ and since then have had many a self-tape to do for short films (within a week or so of joining). I filmed an episode for a web series yesterday, and today I had a recall for a short film in Middlesex University. The director and writer were lovely and it felt great to make contacts with film students at the same University which I attend. We discussed how it is a benefit for both of us to have made this connection. Sometimes you don't have to look so far out of your immediate circles for professional connections.  If nothing else,  all of this learning new sides, filming and auditioning is experience that keeps me active as an actor and practicing my craft.

Training out of Training

You can only get better.   This is something I've learned since graduating from drama school. I have tried to do something every week that scares me - or throws me out of my comfort zone. If I fantasize about being in certain productions / plays; then I have to make sure I am employable for these jobs. Over the last few weeks, as well as getting practical experience in front of the screen, I have taken a technical singing lesson and I also did a Shakespeare workshop with a brilliant Shakespeare company called 'Merely Theatre'. This workshop was based around a scene from 'The Taming of the Shrew' which is one of my all time favourite Shakespeare comedies. I gained knowledge and ideas from that 2 hour workshop which I believe will help me with Shakespeare and non-Shakespeare script alike. One of the many interesting pointers made was that each line is either 'winning' or 'losing'. The workshop leaders got us to say either 'AH-HAH' or 'Oh Shit...' with different intonation before each line - depending on how victorious or down-trodden the character was at that particular moment in time. This helped with the pace and intention of the scene and added dynamics. It also encouraged me to get more Shakespeare monologues in my repertoire. I am always a work in progress and by constantly giving my brain new material to learn - I am without a doubt bettering myself as an actor.  

Open Your Eyes

The biggest bit of advice people often offer me is - 'SEE THINGS!' This advice is referring of course to things that are ongoing in our theatres / on our screens / upstairs in pubs. I decided to make sure to allow myself time in a month to go and see lots of productions. Watching productions is more beneficial to me than another under-paid shift at reception - a trip to the theatre / cinema always leaves me feeling inspired and creatively invigorated. Whereas a shift at reception leaves me feeling tired, creatively uninspired and oftentimes questioning the public's common sense...

In the matter of a few weeks I saw Emma Rice's 'Romeo and Juliet' at The Globe; 'Eris at the Wedding' as part of RADA Fest; 'Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour' at The Duke of York's Theatre; 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' at Theatre N16; 'The Staffroom Play' at Queens Theatre, Hornchurch; as well as absorbing brilliant drama series such as 'The Handmaid's Tale' and 'Game of Thrones'. All of these wonderful productions, no matter how big or small scale, have all lent to broaden my creative well-being. 

To Sum It Up...

We do have it hard as actors. That's a fact. But it is up to us to force ourselves to continuously work at our craft and make ourselves more rounded. Of course there are some days when you wake up and you want nothing more than to wallow in your own self-pity and eat spoonful upon spoonful of peanut butter (and kid yourself it's healthy because it's 'organic'); but only ever allow yourself that downtime for a minimum at most. Athletes don't get where they are by sacking off their training and the same goes for actors. So instead of reaching for your equivalent of my peanut butter next time you feel creatively uninspired - reach for a new script to sink your teeth into!  

Critical Reflection

My Critical Reflection - Page 1, Draft 1

The past week I have been entirely caught up with exactly what I want to do - a never-ending stream of audition self-tapes. It has been quite an interesting test for me. I had to perform different script sides for various TV or film jobs. These sides required a range of accents - South-Dublin, Jersey City, general American and standard RP - all in the one week. There was also the smattering of some classic musical theatre singing thrown in last week. The process of learning lines in a short space of time and translating that into a meaningful performance has been a great learning curve for me. I
counted my blessings that had I completed and submitted my draft 1 early. Otherwise, I imagine I would have struggled because my professional practice has picked up recently. In my line of work - I believe busy is good.
I received incredibly helpful feedback from my tutor Adesola regarding draft 1 of my Critical Reflection. She outlined some basic essay writing corrections -
- Name on every page
- Page numbers
- Bibliography as an extension to the essay document - all part of the one submission.


On a more in-depth scale - she pointed out that the Critical Reflection is not a study of Web 2.0 - but rather an evaluation of my learning. This has encouraged me to view my draft 2 as a study of my discovery of identity during module 1 and focus more on that.


Writing this blog has really helped to clear my mind. I find that when I put what I need to do into writing - it makes it a lot easier to put my corrections into practice. I have now strategically outlined where I need to go with draft 2 so it is just a matter of penning my realisations and amendments down.

Correlation Between Sharing Blogs on Social Media & the Level of Views on my Blogs

Bar Chart displaying number of views on blogs. Those shared on both Facebook & Twitter received the most views.

 I had the idea to use a bar chart to visualise the information I have gathered and analysed regarding the number of views on my blogs in correlation with those of which I shared on social media. I wanted to visualise this idea to aid my critical reflection which I am currently working on.

Green for blogs shared both on Twitter & Facebook; Pale blue for those shared on Twitter and Dark blue for those shared on Facebook

I colour coded the blogs with those I shared on TWITTER, FACEBOOK or BOTH TWITTER & FACEBOOK. This helped me separate my information in order for me to analyse it in relation to the numbers of the views on the bar chart. It was brazenly clear that those shared on both Twitter and Facebook had the most views - i.e. 'Screen Reel', 'Task 1c: Visual Audio' and 'The Art of the In-Between'. I concluded from this that our communities of practice on Web 2.0 forums can enhance our cyber voice. They can also offer input by simply viewing the information shared. People would not have viewed my blog had they not initially been vaguely interested in the content.

This led to me regarding the importance of short and snappy captions / descriptions. Nowadays, in our fast-paced world, people lose interest very easily. Nobody has the time to read an essay on their newsfeed. 

Were the visuals included in my blogs shared on social media a contributing factor to the level of views? My professional practice of acting is a relatively visual industry in some ways - for example, the first thing a casting director will generally look at is my headshot. This proves to me the relevance of making a blog look visually enticing on social media.

Planning the data for my bar chart page 1

Planning the data for my bar chart page 2

Task 3a: Range & Value of Current Networks

The acting industry is a well-connected network where more often than not you hear the phrase 'It's not what you know; it's who you know'. To begin evaluating the importance of my current networks - I sketched out a rough plan of my Communities of Practice.

Rough mind map of my Communities of Practice

Range

What stood out to me most was the sheer amount of various branches radiating from my name. There were certain subheadings I deliberated on whether or not they were a relevant community of practice. However, I concluded that if I have made substantial contacts and connections with people via a particular organisation or aspect of my life; then that merits a subheading in my communities of practice. It ranged from my personal to professional life on quite a large scale - but what I found interesting was the interlinking of the professional and personal world. For example - in order to make some professional film work - I benefitted from a personal contact to produce the results that worked best for me at that time. 

Value

I contemplated that I valued my personal links as much as my professional links in regards to my professional practice. My peers whom I trained with and whom now are my very close friends are undoubtedly the writers / directors / co-actors or audition panels of the future. To grow and learn with such an expansive range of talent and diversity is invaluable in the networking world. I debated whether or not the subheading of socialising was 'valuable' enough to include in my communities of practice. I opted to keep it in - realising that, in the acting industry, 'socialising' is a key aspect of networking.

During my third year of training at Italia Conti, I made it my business to go and see all of the BA Course's acting productions. This was a different course to mine but I felt it was necessary to see the style of work they were producing, at the same level as us. I made links with people who I am glad to have met and I would encourage any other performing arts student to look outwards for inspiration in their final years.

How I Intend to Further Extend

I am positive that I will get more professional contracts over the years. I have experience from the recent panto I was in of making a whole new bunch of contacts. I can imagine as time goes on as a working actor, this list will grow until I begin to work with familiar faces.

I also want to extend my professional networks to roles of importance in the theatre. Myself and my co-worker are planning on putting a self-written production on and we have already started researching venues where this could be possible. The next step, in terms of networking, would be to find out the specific contact for each venue and start emailing them, outlining our ideas.

Capitalise on my Professional Networks

'Capitalise' sounds harsh, impersonal and it has a slight economic sound to it. It makes it sound as if each actor has a game plan in order to succeed, and it is as straightforward as doing anything we can to accomplish this. This may be the case for some people - but I prefer to look at this task in a more positive, humane way. The professional environment is healthiest when everyone is thriving in their own way. I can benefit from my friends', colleagues' and contacts' skills as they can benefit from mine. Of course I am always looking for creative opportunities, especially with new people I meet; however the difference is I am a naturally social and friendly person. It is difficult for me to be forced or fake. I think falseness in the professional world of networking is an ethical issue which needs to be addressed. There are too many people who 'use and abuse' for their personal gain. I like to imagine that I can maintain dignity whilst still building on my professional network pool. I can gain creative plus by working with people who I have met and I know their strengths in specific genres. I have already 'capitalised' on my professional network by receiving feedback on my filmed scene from my previous acting for camera teacher, my agent and a director I have worked with. These 3 separate entities come from different branches of my communities of practice map but they each came together​ to form an objective feedback system for me to work off.

Ethical Concerns For Networking in the Workplace

Befriending colleagues / employers on Facebook or allowing them to follow you on Instagram or Twitter opens up your personal life to them. I have to be mindful and censor what I share on these social media platforms. This is a conscious decision I have made to stay connected and share a bit of my life with them. It is not a sacrifice I am making. Anything that I share online of me I wouldn't mind my employers seeing. This bodes well for my professional life too.

I can conclude with comparing my professional networks to the rhizome theory. This method of learning where the learning overlaps and interconnects during our course of study helps to visualise the overlapping linking of different aspects of my communities of practice. I found common denominators whilst creating my communities of practice map - people who fitted in two or more headings as well as organisations that linked to various subheadings. 

Brussels: A Cultural Hub

This weekend I had the privilege of exploring the beautiful city that is Brussels. My sister currently resides here so she kindly showed me around the sights that entice many tourists to this location, year in year out. 

Parlamentarium

My first stop was The Parlamentarium in the European heart of Brussels city. What struck me the most upon arrival into this area was how much English was present. Since the EU set up their parliament there - it is clear that Brussels has adapted to the multi-denominational population whom reside there for work. I stuck to my guns and insisted on practicing my French on the incredibly patient Belgians I came into contact with. 

The Parlamentarium is a museum consisting of photographs and visual evidence to help visitors discover what makes the European Parliament so unique. As I browsed around the museum, some striking images really caught my attention.

These are Italian women in 1970 protesting for equal jobs and educational opportunities. Women before our time had begun the long battle for equality. It amazes me that this photograph resonates with the problems of today. All around the globe today there is a heavy emphasis on women's rights in our changing political and social climate. This has been brought to light with the recent anti-rape and violence against women campaigns. I ask myself the question: Does this mirror what is occuring in the greater powers of the world today? There is so much uncertainty in our current world that perhaps some ethical issues are being abandoned to one side. The determination and obsoleteness of the lady's expression on the right hand side of the photo resonated greatly with me. Her expression says everything. I view her as being strong and knowing exactly what she deserves as a human being. This singular photo revealed to me that human nature is stronger than we think and we all have a right to make a mark in history. 

http://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a41293/bertolucci-abuse-art/

This photo displays a still from the movie 'The Last Tango' directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. In the museum this movie was praised as being the cultural and creative success work between the great European nations - Italy and France - in the 1970s. It was a time for creative development and collaboration between artists from all over Europe. This saddened me to see this sadistic film glorified. It is an ethical issue to glorify somebody's work if they have achieved the results by unethical means. In a recent article I read (linked above), I discovered that in this film Bertolucci had intentionally staged a sexual assault. The beautiful young actress, Maria Schneider, had spoken out about the assault but she was outweighed by the 'creative success' of the classic film. As well as being a fundamental human rights crime - this act made me question how I am perceived as a woman in my professional practice. Did this male director undervalue a woman's ability to act so much that he decided to take her reaction into his own hands? If Schneider had been directed to give the desired reaction then I am certain she would have been more than capable of doing so. As emotional human beings we can channel a deeper set of emotions and deliver a realistic and evoking performance. This counts for both male and female actors. 

'Acting, at its heart, is the ability to manipulate your own emotions' 

- Scarlett Johansson

The Networked Professional Abroad

An actress friend of mine was also in Brussels the same weekend as me. She was touring with an Irish / Belgian theatre company with a show. This was enlightening for me to discover the international connections theatre has. It was lovely to catch up with my friend. In a casual, social way I discovered (upon reflection) that I was networking and making connections with other industry professionals. This brought to light that communities of practice can be met on social terms as much as anything else. 

An interesting snapshot I took of a modern day café in Brussels which still had the old lettering up. Vaudeville = style of theatre developed from the 1880s onwards. It made me think that Vaudeville was not a solely American cultural staple - but it also had a following and culture in European countries