1: Could you tell us how you would identify yourself as a practitioner and the context in which you’d like to work? (Supplementary question, who is the audience for your practice?) 

I would identify myself as a community arts practitioner in training.  I am also a theatre maker. Upon completion of my MA in Applied Theatre, I would like to work in the context of community arts. I want to work with different community groups, predominantly in the field of dance, and use the arts as a stimulus to increase social activity and well being. Dance is my main area of interest as I have a strong belief that our relationship between our body and mind is a vital part of our wellbeing as humans. I want to follow this career path because I believe that our physical self has huge impact on our mental self and that it is important to draw attention to the two as a whole. I further believe that energy plays a huge role in our physical and mental well being. Our mental energy can be known to convince us that we feel heavy, but our physical energy is much stronger than this. I therefore think that dance and movement, especially to music, can revel these lost mental energies, thus allowing us to feel lighter and happier. I want to become a community arts practitioner because I think that by dancing, we are reminding our minds that we are ok and that we are alive and I want to explore these beliefs with different community groups and share and experience the benefits the arts have on our wellness. I would like to build my own community arts company, based in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, in which I would freelance arts projects in and around the community. I am, however, aware that a pure freelance career can be very challenging at times, especially financially. Therefore, I would also like to work for/ with a larger community group, under a part-time contract basis, in which I can rely on a more reliable stream of work to help build my portfolio and establish myself in the field of community arts. The audience for my practice will vary depending upon the types of projects I end up running. My main area of experience is in community dance and dementia care, however, I would like my community practice to broaden throughout my career from this community alone. I have created a pitch for my first set of funding in which the idea behind my first project is explained. This pitch can be found on my portfolio page titled ‘What I Will Do’ in the section in the middle of the page titled ‘Community Arts Worker’.

Also, as mentioned previously, I want to continue making work as a theatre maker on the side of building my career. During the Independent Project and Research module at York St John University, me and fellow student Emily Binks established the theatre company Filthy/Gorgeous. Despite our different career paths, Emily and I want to remain united with our company to produce and tour work. Our company ethos can be found on my portfolio page titled ‘What I Will Do’ in the section at the bottom of the page titled ‘Filthy/Gorgeous’. We both believe that to keep making work and to keep performing together, alongside our careers, will be extremely important to ensure our passion as theatre makers and performers is not lost whilst we focus on our separate career paths.

2. How is your identity as a practitioner both reflected in the portfolio; and produced by the portfolio?

As previously mentioned, I identify myself as a community arts practitioner in training. As this is the very beginning of my career, I believe that my portfolio is vital in giving a good first impression to those who may potentially help me or work with me in the future. I also believe that my portfolio should not only reflect upon my skill set and ambitions as an artist, but also my personality and values as a person. Community work is completely people orientated and I think the aesthetics and appeal of my portfolio to its readers, is invaluable in giving a positive first impression of me as a person, as well as an artist. I would like to think that my portfolio is a physical documentation of myself as a practitioner in both its content and its format. My portfolio includes my artist statement in which I describe my values as a practitioner and my values about my work. This can be found on the main title page of my portfolio which is accessed by clicking ‘Bec Richmond’ in the top centre. I have also created a page titled ‘5 Years Time’ in which I discuss my future ambitions for my work.  I believe that creating small goals for myself will help keep my work and myself as an artist growing. Aesthetics wise, my portfolio is bright, colourful, organised and personable. I believe these are all traits that are reflected in my personality and my work. The portfolio is an ongoing process. It is full on thinking and ideas and ambitions. It is not definite or absolute. It will grow alongside myself and my work.

3. Drawing on evidence from your portfolio, what would you identify as the most significant moments of insights to your learning as a practitioner?

When I began university I did not know what type of work I wanted to do in the future. I chose to study a subject I enjoyed in hope that it would reveal a career path over the course of my degree. This career path was revealed to me in my first week. I heard about a project that was run by Elaine Harvey called the Dance and Dementia Project and I decided to volunteer, at first, for experience in volunteering and not specifically because of its nature. It was through my experience volunteering with this project that my passion for community arts work was enlightened. To witness how dance can be used to benefit a vulnerable group of people was uplifting, and the way Elaine held and ran these sessions was inspiring. Elaine is my main inspiration as an artist. I enjoyed being a student volunteer for the Dance and Dementia Project so much so that I decided to apply for the Student Intern role in my third year at university. By this point, I was very invested in the group; I had a strong relationship with Elaine and the other facilitators and also the participants, who I had formed bonds with over the couple of years I had volunteered. Once I became the Student Intern, myself, Elaine and Hannah (the Student Researcher), re-launched the project as Moving Minds. I have discussed in detail my reflections about my involvement with Moving Minds on the ‘Community Arts Reflections’ page in my portfolio.

Another significant moment of insight to my learning as a practitioner also relates to Moving Minds and how my experience with the project inspired me to write my dissertation. My dissertation was an analysis of how Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow State can be achieved throughout the holistic experience of dance for people living with dementia. I enjoyed researching the theories behind dance and its benefits for people living with dementia and then using this research alongside my personal reflections on the Moving Minds Project. I found this useful as a way of developing my appreciation for dance and dementia care, and it allowed for me to take a more knowledgeable and in depth view of Moving Minds as I participated during and after the production of my dissertation. I have reflected on my dissertation process on the ‘Project Reflections’ page of my portfolio in the bottom section titled ‘Dissertation’.

A further significant moment of insight during my learning was the Independent Project and Research module in my third year in which I co-created a theatre company called Filthy/Gorgeous. As the 40 credit major module of the degree and ultimately the module in which we had full reins on what we produced, the opportunity to really find ourselves as artists was given. It was an opportunity to take a chunk of time, a theatre space and an idea and see where it would take us. Oddly, this opportunity took me to a different style of theatre I had not yet experienced: clowning. Through learning the form of clowning and how to be comfortable with being uncomfortable on stage has opened my eyes to a form of theatre I really enjoy making and performing. Due to this new found love for clowning, Emily and I’s company will continue to create clown shows looking at political issues we both find important and interesting. I have reflected upon clowning and our company Filthy/Gorgeous in detail on the ‘Project Reflections’ page in my portfolio in the section titled ‘Filthy/Gorgeous’.

4. What do you want to do next and how do you think your portfolio evidences and helps this ambition?

Upon completion of my undergraduate degree, I would like to go on to study a Masters in Applied Theatre at York St John University. I believe that this Masters is the perfect stepping stone towards a career in community arts as it specialises in developing advanced skills and knowledge in the use of theatre in participatory, community and social contexts. The course also claims to be for students with a passion for theatre and a belief in social justice. I believe I fit these criteria and would therefore gain a significant amount of insight into community work through this Masters. I have included my Personal Statement/Application for the MA in Applied Theatre in my portfolio. It can be found on the ‘What Will I Do’ page under the section ‘Masters in Applied Theatre’.

After my Masters course, I hope to begin my journey as a community arts worker with the help of connections I will make throughout placements and opportunities. Now I have a website and professional social media accounts (these can be found by clicking ‘Bec Richmond’ the scroll down the page to the section ‘Contact Details’) I think that I can use and develop my online presence to make contact with practitioners who already work in the field I am interested in and build connections with like-minded individuals and organisations. As previously mentioned, I have created a pitch for my first set of funding which will hopefully, with the support of my tutors and other connections, help set me up on my feet.

Finally, for my theatre company Filthy/ Gorgeous, our next step is to look at developing our Independent Project and Research piece from the feedback received in the module and finding as many platforms to perform the developed piece on as we can. We will also begin to develop an online presence as a theatre company and work towards gaining a reputation in the theatre world.