Don't Let The "People" Grind You Down

As I am approaching the end of my B.A. Hons Degree in the professional practice of screen acting; I am already searching for more study paths to embark on after this milestone. This degree has set off a scholarly spark in me that I wish to ignite again. It has always been an aim of mine to undertake a Masters Degree. For me, an M.A. would have to be highly relevant and beneficial in line with my professional practice: acting. It would have to be something that would aid my journey as an actor; or equally look impressive and worthwhile on my acting C.V. I am so passionate about acting and literally cannot imagine doing anything else. This does not, however, mean that I can't further myself academically.


I am an actor and none of my life's circumstances will change this. Even when auditions may seem few and far between - this trick has been played far too many times for me to fall for it. There does be zero going on audition-wise for me, so I keep myself occupied with other aspects of my professional practice - then BAM! a whole volcano of material to learn for auditions and self-tapes comes flooding in. I have copped on to what particular times of the year are particularly busy for me in regards to auditions and I try and remain rational in regards to my career (easier typed than done).

I had already done a fair amount of research on Masters that I could possibly do - Drama in Education, or Drama Therapy, for example - when I had a low low LOW moment at an "in-between" job the other week, it got me thinking a bit more about the possibility of furthering my academic career. I was mistreated a little bit on one of those side jobs we all tend to do to pay our rent to get by in this "City of Dreams". Generally I don't mind these jobs. I'm a hard worker and I just think how lucky I am to be able to pay my way to do what I love. HOWEVER, this particularly horrible moment during this job made me feel quite inadequate as a human - and it wasn't even my passion that I was working at. It was literally a job I could not care less about, besides the pay. Therefore, my bad experience just made me think "Why am I doing this to earn money in between, especially when I'm being treated like this?"
Surely, the world is my oyster. I work best as self-employed (the only people I really work extremely well under are directors, producers, agents or casting-directors).
Other than that, to make my money "in-between" (shall I refer to that as 'purgatory', or is that too harsh?) I would like to work under my own terms, as much as possible.

IF I was lucky enough to pursue a Masters, under the blanket of drama, I could perhaps have more opportunity to do work in between acting jobs and auditions that I really love and that I'm passionate about.

First things first though, I want to obtain good grades in my B.A. Hons. I only have my oral presentation left to do in order to get the results that I really want for this course. Then, I can seriously consider where I want to go next with my studies.

Other than that, on a professional side of things, I have booked in to do a screen acting course over the next four Thursdays (Acting Up! at The Union Theatre). I'm looking forward to honing my screen technique. My busy periods for screen auditions tend to be August - September; so I thought I may as well brush up on my skills prior to this (HOPEFULLY) inevitable rush of self-tapes.

I am continuing on this tumultuous journey. I am opening opportunities for myself. I am carving my own life's path. As Margaret Atwood says: Nolite te bastardes carborundorum

Connecting Artefact / Presentation with Essay

An interesting point brought up in today’s Skype session was the notion to allow the process of my artefact and oral presentation planning to influence my essay. My artefact and oral presentation made me simplify my essay and pick out key points and themes that seem relevant and encompass my inquiry. Leading on from that - in the week leading up to the module 3 deadline - I now think it is a good idea to comb through my essay and see if my key points no themes are higihligited enough for whoever is reading it.

Bird’s Eye View rather than Chronological

At yesterday’s Skype session, we were encouraged to practice our oral presentation. Basically getting the message and essence of our inquiry across clearly and effectively. I struggled at first to assess what was necessary and interesting to include.
After a few goes, we were advised to not think about our inquiry process in a chronological order. Instead, the best option for an inquiry presentation is to describe our project with a bird’s eye view. This means including realisations and ‘eureka’ moments early on in the presentation - not when we actually figured them out.
This encouraged me to formulate some slides in a power point presentation of what I initially felt was important to include. I then jumbled them up into no particular order. I will now go back to my presentation and review the order they are in - but this was a helpful method to get me out of the chronological method.