Task 4b: SIG

Sunday 2nd October: Skype session with Lizzie Bell

After commencing the BA (hons) Professional Practice in Arts, Lizzie and I became friends on Facebook - the most popular form of social media to date by 710million! (Dream Grow) It is from there that I noticed all the amazing charity work that Lizzie took part in and for one charity in particular called 'Mind' that supports everything surrounding mental health. As this is an area of huge interest to me I was keen to get chatting to Lizzie. She had also commented on one of my blog posts in which I'd done a bit of general research into mental health and performing arts (http://meganlouch.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/how-light-gets-in.html) After messaging back and forth on social media and Skype we managed to accommodate our schedules for a Skype video chat. It was really useful to chat about our ideas and lovely to feel less isolated within my studies, as well as talking to someone generally with similar interests.

One of my question ideas so far is :

Does working as a performer impact on an individual's mental health? Do the variables of a touring environment effect the spectrum more so than a resident production?

We both have a keen interest in this topic because of personal reasons, reasons we didn't go into too much because of ethics, human values and confidentiality. However, we both said how upon researching and thinking about other areas we kept coming back to this topic. My current practice, as well as my previous, has been in a touring environment. As I was explaining the external factors that come with this to Lizzie, other than the performing itself, I said it would be nice to sort of come up with a 'how to' guide for touring folk so that they can go into it ready for the best experience possible.
One thing that was mentioned was how many different types of MENTAL ILLNESS there are and because of this, perspective is a massive thing. I also chatted with someone previously who suffers from mental illness about my topic. I brought up external factors like the travelling, lack of communication, different digs, access to home comforts etc where as they seemed to focus on dance itself in relation to being judged, pressure to deliver, self consciousness. I also took this person back stage at the theatre and upon walking into the dressing room: "Urgh I don't like it in here, there are mirrors everywhere. It so bright! I would not be able to sit in here and look at myself all day every day." It was so interesting to see such a sudden reaction as the mirrors and lights are things I don't even consciously think about.

As you will see in Lizzie's blog from the session, she was intrigued by the PERSONALITY of dancers. I also found this really interesting and would like to look into it a bit more. I feel it would link in with the mental health of performers. Lizzie said how we must have something in us that enables to go through the gruelling process of auditions, the training, unemployment. Something that drives us to want to perform in front of so many people and on stage. I agreed with this and expressed how I think we are a breed, our own species in affect. I know a lot of people in my home town think I'm crazy and I agree - I think we all our in our own way! Lizzie is currently teaching in academic and vocational schools so I asked if she gets the same satisfaction and buzz from that as she does performing. I also asked her about how varying ages of the students affect these inner feelings. I confessed that I feel I am a selfish person and how I admire Lizzie for teaching children of primary age. I prefer teaching older students because I get more out of it, you can do more challenging routines with them and see bigger results. You have more options with choreography and can push them harder. Also, older students are more likely to be at class because they've chosen to go. This means they can be more willing to learn and are more respectful. Following this, another area Lizzie was keen to look in to was DANCE as a subject IN HIGH SCHOOLS.  It was great to chat about this as we seemed to have completely different experiences of it. We spoke about whether it's seen as a sport or not? Whether it's seen as an 'easy' subject? The teachers themselves - does being experienced in dance stand against qualifications on paper? How is dance perceived in an academic establishment over a vocational? Lizzie expressed how her understanding in academic schools has increased and how her appreciation in vocational schools has increased - I said that working in both and seeing such varying capabilities and efforts has probably made her a better teacher over all but why are the two so different?

Another area of interest I have but am struggling to channel at the moment, is the idea of SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE from reader 4. Not necessarily looking inward at the skills i require for my practice as a dancer, but more outwardly at the skills and knowledge from other departments I could benefit from knowing in order to assist my practice. For example: what could I know about in relation to sound that would help me as a dancer in a theatrical setting? I think concepts such as communication, health and safety, collaboration and leadership could come into this and if I was to relate it more specifically to rehearsal and tech periods - that could be interesting.

Lizzie asked me a bit about how the show I'm currently in was going and we spoke briefly about the audience reaction to it. I mentioned how the majority of the time people went mad for it - irregardless of whether you felt you'd delivered your best show or if things had gone wrong. If you were having a down day or a tired day, the audience always picked you up and made you push through because of their enthusiasm and love for it. The fact the show was originally a film and that the songs are all from the movie or pop genre - almost everyone knows it and sings along. It is similar to the jukebox musicals such as 'Mamma Mia!' and 'Jersey Boys, and others that have come from films like 'Matilda' and 'Ghost'. It made me wonder what the RECIPE is FOR A SUCCESSFUL MUSICAL? So many amazing new musicals don't get the following or don't last very long - why? Is it the music? The marketing? Celebrities are often placed in lead roles to draw people in. I feel this could be an interesting topic to look into.

Would be great to hear people's thoughts on any of mine and Lizzie's ideas!