Laura Ferrin (England) BAPP Blog

Hi everyone! Just a brief overview of the Skype call in case anyone missed it. This evening we spoke with Helen about where we are at in terms of the essay and diagram. Everybody seems at different stages but generally a lot of us were trying to work out the layout and what to include in the diagram so we talked about the fact it could be different for everyone as long as it was a visual aid to the essay and linked all the different facets of our practice as a whole. This Skype definitely felt to me like a breakthrough moment as I got clarity and now know how to progress with my submission in this respect! Following our discussion on the diagrams we talked about the theories we were using and how they linked to our practice. We talked on reflection in- action and reflection -on action, Kolb’s theories and touched on Gardner’s theories as well. To round off, we discussed what the theories are adding to our practice. Main comments were on the fact the theories help us to think of our...

After an incredibly busy week, I’ve finally submitted my first complete draft of my essay. I have no idea if it’s any good, but this feels like a win due to the hectic nature of the past few weeks! In writing it, I’ve come to the realisation that theories directly relate to ways of working that I’ve always utilised within my practice without realising! Alongside working full time, we’ve had rehearsals for a feature film reading Tom and I are acting in next week, I had an audition for a play and finally the weekend ended with a late night at our latest cabaret ‘Rice Rice Baby’- celebrating the songs of Tim Rice which we performed in and hosted on Sunday evening! (Video below for fun!) I’m sniffling, overworked and coming down with a cold, but equally I’m so proud of all the little achievements during this incredibly busy period. I’d take a few weeks of little wins and small victories over sleep any day!

Quick blog today! Recent studies have shown that only 2% of actors make their living solely from acting. https://www.theguardian.com/film/shortcuts/2019/jun/05/only-2-per-cent-of-actors-make-a-living-how-do-you-become-one-of-them That may shock some people, but for those of us who have shifted between acting jobs and day jobs for a number of years.... it probably doesn't surprise us much.  This next two weeks I'm juggling my practice and a teaching day job as best I can whilst retaining my sanity.   Current Schedule: Monday- Friday- Teaching 8.30-5 at my day job Tuesday- Part of a new musical presentation for composer/lyricist course  Saturday- rehearsal for a live feature film reading   Sunday- Our Cabaret at Above The Arts Theatre Upcoming: film reading at a festival and voiceover work for podcast series 'Pod To Pluto' Christmas Special. As tends to happen in my practice, everything comes at once so it's unsurprising that the ...

Now that I'm five years removed from the situation, I am interested in discussing the 'Ethical Considerations' surrounding the 'norms' of drama school, specifically in second year. Various phrases I've heard in my own experience concerning training are along the lines of:  ' Second year, eh? You got the second year blues yet?'  'They have to break you down and build you back up again to prepare you for the industry' Confidently, I can say that these statements echo those heard by my peers from various training establishments and musical theatre courses. During training, the long hours and intense classes can definitely create a culture where you feel the need to impress with the emotional depth you have in class. The question is, if you give everything all the time, are you emotionally able to let it go or put any gas back in to your own tank? Personally, I found second year mentally gruelling and vividly remember crying most day...

In my down time at my medical role play job today-  I’ve been looking more in-depth at the lenses, especially part of one that really grabs my attention- Web 2.0! ‘The phrase Web 2.0 refers to a second-generation of web-based communities. This includes social-networking sites (like Facebook and Twitter), blogs, collaboration sites such as wikis, all which aim to facilitate collaboration and sharing between users’ - quoted from the Mod One Handbook As I graduated five years ago, I have noticed a marked shift in the use of technology within the arts as a means of networking, establishing community and finding work. There is no doubt that the way we can get auditions and jobs has changed massively even in such a short period of time. Self tapes and showreels mean we can apply to jobs all over the world and also that creative teams can see a wider range of people for first rounds and save money and time that would’ve otherwise be spent organising and running auditions. In terms of ...