Task 3c

Top 5 ways I network....

Friends 

To me this is my favorite way of networking as I tend to be having a good time whilst networking with my friends. As you can be networking whilst having a coffee or a drink! Because I will be feeling happy being with my friends I will have a brighter outlook on my career! I think it is a very efficient way also because you are sharing your knowledge with each other so together you will come up with lots of information from different sauces! Word of mouth is very good in this industry as you can hear something from someone and then get in touch with your agent to maybe get you an audition or more information. Having friends in the same industry is amazing as you learn so much from each other. 

iPhone  

What did I ever do without this! I think I would be lost without it now. I literally manage myself from my iPhone. I can email or call my agent to get updates or castings from them and they can also get in touch with me ASAP if they need to. Times have evolved take The Stage for example in started out as a newspaper for performers and it contained information about auditions, then they get a website and now they have an iPhone app! This means I can look for auditions at the touch of a button ( touch of my touch screen, there's no buttons) . I can input reminders about castings so I don't forget. If I choreograph I can film myself and upload it to YouTube as a sauce of information for myself or whoever needs to learn the choreography ! It literally does everything I would be lost without it! I think as the years go on and the iPhones develop there will be even more that you can do on them! 

Agent

I think this is the most professional way of networking that I use! I have a good relationship with my agent so I am in touch with them a few times a week . I call the office twice a week and speak with my agent to see if there are any castings in for me and anything that we need to discuss I.e new head shots. This type of networking works well for me as I have a good relationship with my agent, however I know it doesn't work well for some people, they might not get on with their agent as well so don't like getting in touch with them. As well as getting in touch with them on the phone and email I also have meetings with them when I can this way it is easier to discuss certain things.

Facebook/ Twitter (social networking

This also covers networking with friends as both of these social networking sites allow me to get in touch with friends all over the world which is good. For example when I worked on a cruise ship just before I came home I was getting in touch with friends to get info on upcoming auditions, this gave me time to prepare and I had an audition the day after I was home which was great. There is so much information posted on these types of sites now to help me along with me career. This has literally happened in the past couple of years so I hope more and more casting directors start using it as I think most performers ( and none performers) have access to Facebook/ Twitter and it is a quick and easy way to gain vital information! These types of social networking sites also help us forward our career in the way that we can advertise anything that we have got going on for example a dance class or a performance. Again this is another way of networking professionally that I think will grow and grow over the next few years.

Professional websites

As well as social networking websites I also network using other websites such as Spotlight, The Stage and Dancers Pro. These sites are similar but each have their different uses . Spotlight is one of the best ways to find out about auditions and castings my agent will also use this to submit me for certain jobs. I do think they aren't always very easy and straight forward and easy to use but they are still helpful. A lot of these sites will provide you with the contact details of casting directors or choreographs that you need to get in touch with regarding certain jobs. Some of these sites now link me to my agent so I can print my agent over the site if I am interested in a specific job! 

task 3a

Networking.... This was something I was told about at college! My teachers told me was very important. One of my teachers used to say
you never know who you are talking to, it could be a choreographer or a casting director etc. They told me to be very aware of networking
in a theaters surrounding areas such as coffee shop's and bar's, as they are close to a theater, its very likely that people in the performing 
industry will be in there! 

Different ways I Network. 

Work

I work front of house in The London Palladium, most of the front of house staff there are also performers so I always hear about auditions or other performing opportunities from my colleagues. Obviously this is a really easy way to network as professional things get brought up in conversation on a day to day basis! Also we are in contact with the people involved in the show (performers, choreographers, directors etc) 
so sometimes we may find out about a casting before its officially announced. When I am not in a dancing job I purposefully get a job in a theatre for this reason as you stay "in the loop" and don't loose contact with the performing world.

Facebook/Twitter.

I have always used these social networking sites but they growing more and more useful to the performing industry. It used to be that it was just a way to stay in contact with fellow performers but now many Agents/ Casting Directors have their own Facebook pages / Twitter accounts and post information about auditions on them. I think this is great as it is so easy to use and most people now have smart phones so it is easily accessed wherever you are. It is also slightly 
more informal so you don't feel as much pressure. I think this will keep growing and more Agents/Casting directors will start putting information on there, I like this as I think it gives more performers a chance to audition for things even if they don't have an agent.

Agents

Most performers now will have an agent, again this is an easy way to network. I call my agent twice a week to see if they have any auditions/castings for me, I also try to have regular meetings with them to make sure we are both working together. This is important to me as I feel the better my relationship with my agent the more they will help me with my career as they will know me well and see my passion and drive! Some people may not want to get an agent because they take commission from your earnings but I think it is very beneficial to have one as they do help you a lot with your career and they also do a lot of networking for you as they will be the ones who first speak to the casting directer etc on your behalf. 

 I am intrigued to find out new ways of networking, I think it is a very important key in our careers, there is that famous saying "It's not what you know, It's who know " and obviously the more we can network the more people we will be in touch with and hopefully then this will help us develop our careers further and further! I think this course is a great way to open our eyes to things that are right in front of us but we just don't realise!

task 2c

I think that everyday we are learning without realising it! For me it was very interesting to see Kolbs learning cycle I think that this is something that we all do naturally but to see the process down on paper was interesting. I think If I actually wrote down all of my experiences that I learnt from every single day, my room would be full of pieces of paper!

In day to day life I have interactions with different types of people in different types of situations and I think I end up reflecting on them all at some point, whether it was a disagreement with some or a good interaction, from reflecting on these situations this helps you learn how to deal with them if a similar situation rises in the future!

A recent example where I feel I used Kolb.s learning cycle is last year i attended a “We Will Rock You” audition (Concrete Experience). I didn’t do very well in the audition and I came away thinking of things that I could of done better in my audition as I would of really loved the job (Reflective Observation) which then links the next process (Abstract Conceptualisation) as I had figured out what I thought I could do better. Then this year I went for the audition again and I did really well (didn’t get the job however L) but I put into use what I had learnt from the previous audition and it benefited me (Active Experimentation).

Reading Donald Schon’s concept of “reflection-in-action” I feel this is the same thing as Kolb’s learning cycle. Your brain is extremely cleaver and fast, so I think your brain goes through all of the learning steps in these situations just really fast. I feel that these experiences might not benefit you as much because they are happening at the same time as the situation you are in you may not remember them as well!
I think developing your reflecting skills is really important and interesting its amazing how much you are actually learning without realising it.