5b

I spoke to my manager in the theatre about the ethics and rules and regulations of the theatre. He informed me that the company has a new HR department and many of our policy's will shortly be changing. He also informed me that the head of the HR department isn't from a theatre background so the policy's will be becoming more strict as for some reason you can get away with a lot in the performing industry.

He showed me the many files that they have in the office such as the whistle blowing policy, alcohol and drug misuse and general health and safety.

The points I spoke about in my previous blog did arise and all my thoughts were correct obviously the actual policy's go into a lot more detail. I wouldn't like to be in charge of all of these policy's as there as so many. Below I have taken a few photos of some of the policy's that my manager gave me copy's of.

5A

At the moment I am working front of house in a West End theatre as a supervisor so as every work place, I think there will be many ethical rules and regulations in place   To guide us through the working day at the theatre from plagiarism to staff hygiene .

I know that when every employe starts they are given a handbook with the general rules and regulations and what is expected from them.

Some ethics that I think apply are

PLAGIARISM

As we work in a theatre obviously we have shows in which are all copyrighted including the set. Also the design of the theatre is copyrighted so I would presume that no photography is allowed to be taken by staff or patrons. Also posting any information about the show/theatre on social networking sites won't be allowed

GENERAL CODE OF CONDUCT

I think this covers everything about your performance whilst in work including timekeeping , make sure that all staff are in work at the correct time and leave at the correct time. Uniform, we must be in the correct uniform durning working hours and make sure we are presented well. These are just two points however I think under the general code of conduct it will cover points like disciplinary's, what to do in certain circumstances such as sickness or holidays and how to carry out various aspects of the job.

 PROTECTING DATA

This is not something that I deal with in work however I know when you start working at the theatre the managers need personal details such as a copy of your passport, NI number and current address. I presume all of this information will be kept so that only the managers can access it. 

CPD 

I have recently been asked to attend a manual handling course this is something that I need to do to make sure I am carrying out my job properly and I know throughout the year there are various courses that we need to take part in.

4D

Ok so after spending a lot of time thinking about what award title I would like to propose I have come up with

BA Honours Professional Practice in Dance

The reason I came up with this is dance has always been my life and although I see my future in mainly dance teaching, I will still always dance and choreograph so I think "dance" fits all of these things and doesn't restrict me to just dance teaching, choreography or performing.

Survey

If you get a spare few minutes if you could answer my survey to help me focus my questions

Thank you ;)

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XDWR32B

4B

Sooooo I have got my sig on Facebook , please visit and comment if you want me to add you let me know :) http://www.facebook.com/groups/171353579680356/  :)

4a

Initial questions

I am at a new point in my career so I have many questions going through my head. I am going thought the transition from performer to teacher. I have taught Saturday school dance classes for many years now and my classes have always been successful  but obviously I still have things to learn and want me and my classes to be. The best they can be.

My overall general question I am thinking of looking at is:

What makes a successful/good dance teacher?

It is quite a generic question however I feel it opens lots of windows such as student teacher relationships, standard of choreography, previous professional performance experience my list could go on and on!

Thoughts please

:)

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!