Task 5a – My Thoughts on professional Code Of Practice

I decided to do the code of practice in the two main areas of my work at the moment which is as a singer and my part time job as a Pre production assistant.

I have never been given a copy of a code of conduct for either of these areas however as a singer I gained most of my knowledge around code of practice through either training or experience and peer support.  Again my part time job does not have any formal written code of conduct and as I started to write the list I realised there are a lot of similarities across the two areas.  So without seeking any official paperwork or web searching here are my thoughts and format on what I consider are codes of practice/regulation which guide the setting .

Code of conduct for a singer

A singer should:

·         General

o   Maintain and take care of their voice

·         Within a contract

o   Fulfil any contractual obligations

§  Appropriate timekeeping

§  Appropriate Dress code

§  Appropriate notification of absence

o   Should be aware of commercial or legal requirements and or constraints of their contract  i.e. copy right of materials

o   Perform appropriately depending on the role e.g. solo or ensemble

o   Respectful of cast members and peers

Code of Conduct for Pre Production Assistant

An employee should:

·         Wear appropriate attire according to the task e.g.

o   Smart casual when interfacing with the client

o   Casual safe clothing when working in the warehouse

·         Agree weekly work hours and locations

·         Be courteous and respectful to the client

·         Fulfil any confidentiality agreements

·         Comply with Health safety standards and rules

·         Complete accurate time sheets of hours worked and expenses to be claimed

·         Conduct themselves appropriately when on client sites

Developing Questions

I was really enthused by some of the SIGS and BLOG responses  so thanks guys for taking the time to answer my initial questions and give me your views.  Some of the responses have been helping me think about how I can start to focus in on my topic.  I have been continuing my research in particular how theatrical costume can cross over into fashion and pop music (Sparrow Nest).   Another line of enquiry that has come to mind which I think has some crossovers with other peoples thoughts is the link between a costume and how it can mentally distort your own personal body image.

Initial Questions

The theories and questions that came up in the reader helped me get going with my questions.  Like many other people it also helped me to understand what I consider to be my professional practice.  I trained and worked as a Musical Theatre Performer and it has always been my love and passion.   

I have really enjoyed reading Marks blog and SIG comments and think I will find them really helpful in my own line of inquiry.  Natalie’s was another blog that made sense to me.  Although I consider my professional practice is in Musical Theatre,  I am trying to break into a different area of the industry so I am hoping my questions will have some synergies with Natalie’s and Marks SIGs.  The main outcome of completing this course is to provide me a set of tools and skills to objectively think and pursue a new career path.  Having read the reader I realise now I have always been trans disciplinary.  I have taken advantage of gaps in performing and I have trained in a few other areas related to performing i.e. Costume making and Make-up artistry and I have done it because it fascinated me how in theatre, film and TV it is the costume and make-up that can really add and compliment the performance.  I also know from experience how a bad costume or inappropriate once can personally hinder my ability to perform at my best.  

One of the part time jobs I have at the moment, which is in a small specialised prop company, requires me to interface with stage and costume designers.  I think these contacts will be the first source of networking for what might be my next career path and more importantly at the moment some contacts of which I can start to ask some key questions.

I accept the best way to get to my final choice of topic is to go through a process of reflection and refinement.  So I have started with a thought shower and here are my initial questions :

·         What is it about costumes that fascinate me?

·         What makes a good costume?

·         What makes a bad costume?

·         How can a costume enhance or detract from a performance?

·         Does set, costume and props make a performance more believable?

·         What are the different aspects that need to be taken into consideration when designing a costume for dance or theatre vs. film or TV?

·         When can complete freedom on a design be appropriate?

·         What costume designers do I know?

·         How simple or how complex can costumes be?

·         Can the performer become the costume?

 I can use my own experience as a performer and the issues I have had when I have truly appreciated the value of a good costume, how it made me feel and how it helped with my performance.  I have had situations where I love the dance but felt so uncomfortable in the costume it really affected how I felt about that particular piece and since speaking to friends and colleagues have found many have been in a similar situation.  I would like to hear from others on the BAPP and see what they have experienced:

·         What qualities make a costume good for you?

·         What qualities make a bad costume?

·         Have you ever inherited a costume made for another performer?

·         How did it make you feel?

·         Why is it important to you?

I know this is a huge topic and I am constantly asking myself what if anything can I focus on that will give me enough breadth and depth to explore as practitioner research and will also help me in my professional practice.    I already know that construction will be too narrow and technical so I have already started my analysis!

Course Reader 4

Are there any ideas from work based or organisational knowledge theories of learning that could be used to understand your own professional inquiry?

I think that understanding some of the theory will help me with my critical reflection, comparing planned or theory with actual and evaluating why and how changes made me feel.  Also what the advantages and disadvantages were of the consequences of any changes.    I am not a theorist so as I am reading I am constantly finding real examples from my professional practice, which helps me understand what is being described

The theory from Argyris and Schon of single and double loop learning helped me understand some aspects of my professional practice.  The main example I could think of and have witnessed as a dancer is when the choreographer’s ideas are affected by the ability of the cast.  In one of the contacts I had, the original boy dancer was injured and he was hastily replaced.  The replacement was skilled in different areas, so the original choreography didn’t work as well.  So the constraints were the cast because it was too late to change again, the strategy (choreography) was now being reviewed and had to change (single loop) so the consequence was not what the choreographer wanted.  If the management had thought about the real long term consequences and adopted a double loop, remove the constraint and change the cast the outcome would probably have been the desired one. 

The other thing that really made me think was how; despite, wanting to learn and grow, some of the actions don’t actually help me do that for example when Senge talks about mental modes and how people make assumptions which may stop them getting the best from a situation.  So I will try to be more abstract in my thinking, look at others and think outside the box.

Do you work within a disciplinary context in the arts?  or is your situation more transdisciplinary

I think I work in all of them according to the role I am fulfilling at the time

·         When I am purely a dancer in a cast I am disciplinary.

·         When I am a singer dancer in a cast I am multidisciplinary because I use several skills to perform

·         When I was a company manager I was Interdisciplinary because I use many skills including management, health and well being, etc

·         When I work for the SPX props company I am trans disciplinary because I still consider myself a dancer working in a new environment crossing the boundaries into new sectors of the entertainment business referring to and building on existing skills and competencies.

http://www.hent.org/transdisciplinary.htm

What do you know, how do you know it

Skills
Many genres of dance	Education & experience
Singing	Education & experience
Acting	Education & experience
Costume making	Education & experience
Theatrical makeup	Education & experience
Teaching	Education & experience
Choreography	Education & experience
Back stage support	Experience
People Management	Experience & coaching
General
How to organise an event	Experience
Business admin	Training & experience
Holistic Therapy	Training

What knowledge and skills do think you will need for the future?

Short term I want to stay in the entertainment industry, so all the knowledge and skills listed above I will need.  For the future I want to learn about new sectors so whatever direction I move to, will influence what skills I will need.  The truth is I don’t know what knowledge and skills I will need for the future but what I do know is I want to continue to increase my existing knowledge and learn new skills as opportunities arise.    Depending on the career path I choose I will take any opportunity available to learn about the industry or the role I am fulfilling.  In fact if I can, I will learn about anything that interests me.

The points in the reading that will I will use to develop my topic:

‘we enter without knowing , in order to discover what we need to know to lead us to what there is to know.’  Penelope Hanstein (199,23)

This statement said it all to me and made me feel much more at ease about not knowing at this stage what my line of enquiry is.  I know the subject because it is the topic which is a key element of the big picture, something I take for granted and want to know more about.  So I am going to start exploring without knowing, so I can learn, discover, compare and question which will help me find out what there is to know.

As the topic is complimentary to my professional practice I will question knowledge and skills in, complimentary to and out of the workplace.   What the reading has done is broaden my initial scope to help me evaluate why and how different things might be in the scope of my professional practice.

The use of academic literature has always been a burden to me but now I see how complimentary it can be to practitioner research in particular Penelope Hanstein (199,23) “It is a way of thinking and acting; a way of posing and responding to questions; a way of expressing and communicating ideas”  In some situations the richness of the questions and challenge could be greater if you have some academic knowledge.

I will use primary research as much as possible and I will give some thought to the experimental knowledge.  The reading gave me a much broader idea of some data sources e.g. journal, case studies, policies, web, trade periodical, internal non published papers only available in the work place

Starting points I might use for my questions are to talk to the art directors, set and costume designers in my current work place.  Talk more with friends, colleagues and contacts who are involved in performance and costumes.  I also want to find out from people who are involved in costumes but outside of my professional practice.  I will look at courses that might include this subject and what resources are available.  They are going to be mainly questions to help me explore but more importantly refine my topic.

My expectations are:

·         Use my professional network

·         To highlight what I don’t know

·         To build on what I do know

·         To find some people are unhelpful

·         Keep open minded about my strategy (single loop & double loop approach)

·         To test out being more abstract with my thinking

·         To start challenging things