New Beginnings

Today began with my first one to one Skype session with my supervisor, Adesola Akinleye. The session was informative and it was great to establish communication and discuss my practice and past experience that led me to where I am today. We spoke through the study plan and I was asked to divulge into answers I had made in response to the questions, specifically discussing how I would manage my study time appropriately and use the blogs and discussion to reflect on my practice and learn through reading others thoughts and journey.

Through a recent blogpost by Adesola and the one to one process this morning, this triggered my thoughts into 'beginnings' and the process of starting a new journey. Through studying a distance learning programme it is interesting how the start date seemed almost elusive and passed by with no specific moment that affirmed it had begun. Adesola's blog describes this as the official beginning, and that a further energetic and effective beginning can also follow, a theory I agree with and can relate to as it is a process that I have experienced within my work as a musical theatre performer.

When working on 'Mack & Mabel' at Chichester Festival Theatre, the production involved a large amount of physical theatre comedy which was led by an external theatre group. Our official start date was given and we began with a 10 day workshop to learn the fundamental skills necessary to create the physical theatre work. The workshop was informative and inspiring, but a brand new way of working that I was not used to. I was obviously aware that the process was happening, but the digestion of new techniques didn't fully engage into my practice immediately.

As the rehearsal progressed into working on the production itself and working with others and sharing ideas, I began to feel the energetic beginning happening where as a performer the foundation skills we had learnt were now being applied and we were engaging more with the process and how it could benefit the work, whilst still reflecting back on the initial learning covered in the first workshop.

It was fascinating that by the time the production was in technical rehearsal and just before first preview, the effective beginning took control and as a performer I felt that there was shift in my understanding of the physical theatre element where I was able to discuss my own execution of the skills, and think autonomously correcting the technical process independently.

I believe this was achieved through integrating the new skill we had been learning into my rehearsal work and engaging with both the new element with my previous training of which I was confident with. I see this very much like the 'new beginning' of the Professional Practice programme, and how my development on the course can benefit from engaging with others through the blogs and thinking about and exercising ideas and thoughts from previous experience and applying this in an engaging and pro active way to my study.

This is a something I will continue to think about over the coming weeks to see if I experience a similar journey on this programme.

Link to Adesola Akinleye's 'Beginnings'

Blog:
http://adesolaa.blogspot.com/2018/09/beginnings.html#comment-form