Could you tell us how you would identify yourself as a practitioner and the context in which you’d like to work including who your audience or target market would be?
From a theatre practitioner sense, I identify as an actor. I aim to continue exploring my passion for acting through applying for acting jobs on the stage and screen- as well as participating in local theatre productions. From an acting point of view, I hope to explore the lack of Northern actors and characters represented in mainstream theatre- and work with groups who aim to cross the bridge for northern stereotypes.
I also aim to bring performance and the theatre into my community by creating a small theatre group where people can come, create and explore the joys of performance in a fun and safe environment. My audience, therefore, would likely be working class and northern people who want to explore theatre within a community setting. I hope to cross the bridge between working class and the theatre by inviting people who don’t usually have access to performing to explore theatre in their own community.
How is your identity as a practitioner both reflected in the portfolio; and produced by the portfolio?
Within my portfolio, my identity as a practitioner has been reflected through the chatty and non formal way I have written within my portfolio. It is important to me that when I am working with other people, I give a sense of ease and make my fellow cast members or participants feel comfortable. It is important for me to be reliable and easy to get along with as I want to draw community members into the joys of theatre- and if I am being rude or patronising the members may not attend or enjoy the sessions.
Within my portfolio I discussed my past projects and performances and reflected how these may have impacted and changed the way I am as a theatre practitioner and actor. For example I discussed exploring the comedy form of clowning and how it affected and advanced my knowledge and ability of forms of theatre.
Drawing on evidence from your portfolio, what would you identify as the most significant moments of insights to your learning as a practitioner?
I would say that one of the most significant moments of my learning was my Independent Practice and Research project in my third year at York St John University. This project was hugely significant to me as it was the first time I had directed, written and created a performance entirely from scratch. This experience was entirely new to me, and as I discussed in my ipar blog within my portfolio, I believe the whole experience transformed the way I see myself as an actor and a theatre maker. The process of creating my ipar piece meant I could see the process from every angle and role- and respect everything more clearly. Within creating my ipar, I also got to experience roles I would never usually choose; such as doing tech and stage design.
Another moment of significance is my CPP assignment, ‘The Answer’. Throughout my university career I have explored working with others as a group- but CPP has allowed me to work and form a theatre company with specific roles and the freedom to create what we wanted. This project stood out to me as being significant due to the freedom we had as a group and the time and research put into the project. This module is helping me to broaden my horizons and dive deeper into the creative process. Working with a group will also help me to get practice working with other people in a profession environment.
What do you need to do next and how do you think your portfolio evidences and helps this ambition?
After I graduate from York St John University I would love to go into acting and performance as a whole. I aspire to go on to act in some performances directed and lead by other companies- as well as to create a community theatre group. I have had a passion for performance from a young age, and would love to work within the theatre industry full time. I have practical experience within performance- from acting and participating in productions, but this portfolio will help me keep track of the progress I’ve made and the work I have done.
I believe my portfolio evidences the passion I have for theatre and my dedication to the arts. I hope that this portfolio can help me achieve some of my goals of going into acting, and will be proof of what I have achieved. I want to explore the class divide within the theatre and the lack of regional accents seen on the stage, and hopefully get acting roles using my Yorkshire accent.
This portfolio represents me for who I am; a northern, Yorkshire aspiring actress with a passion for all things performance. I hope that my love for theatre has been conveyed effectively through my writing and that it is clear of the changes I want to make. I want theatre to be accessible to all- and I hope that running a small theatre group within my village, and getting the Yorkshire accent on the stage, will do this.