Since beginning placement, I have unlocked a wealth of knowledge within the arts industry, not just in my home turf of Northern Ireland but also worldwide. My placement with Northern Irish theater company C21 has been a rewarding journey in which I have learnt so many new skills and qualities within myself. I went in with a strong belief in what I wanted to learn and how I was going to achieve my learning goals. My placement helped me discover new artistic interests, in which I hope to grow further into. Through this blog post I aim to reflect on my placement journey, the successes, and the challenges. Furthermore, I aim to reflect on the simulated interviews which helped me develop my employability skills. I will use Gibbs reflective cycle through this blog post.
As I now approach the end of my placement, I can reflect on how my placement has improved my knowledge within the arts industry. C21 are a successful theater company who are working towards touring their accessible D/Deaf show Expecting worldwide. They are also creating a new playwright scheme to help emerging artists produce their new work in the industry. Since starting placement back in September 2023 I have been keen to have some in person contact hours. I was keen to have this so I could experience what being in a professional rehearsal space would be like. As a new artist emerging into the industry, I am always looking for new learning opportunities. Whilst I have yet to have any in person contact it does not necessarily mean I have missed learning opportunities. Expecting is currently set to tour Washington D.C in May. It has been my responsibility to connect with the Keegan Theatre in D.C. Through that I have made connections within their team. I organized and released a press release on behalf of C21 to raise awareness on their trip to D.C. Through making a press release I was able to learn what marketing and public relations techniques are needed to attract an audience and funders to a show. ‘Press releases or tip sheets should be objectively written with “just the facts.” You can “pitch” subjective articles to feature writers, and your credibility is based on your knowing the difference between objective and subjective information.’1 This task was beneficial for me as a future business owner and entrepreneur. Marketing is a huge part of owning a business and you need to be sure your products look attractive to your audience.
Before my placement I did not have much knowledge of arts management. In a sense, I felt as though I was not exploring my creative opportunities. I was limiting my future employability skills. Having taken on an admin role within my placement has opened my eyes to new creative routes such as cultural arts management. One of my tasks involved me researching and applying for the international arts collaboration grant funded by the British government. I attended the information session which was very insightful and taught me a lot about International collaboration. From that I was then able to fill in the application for C21 to collaborate on producing Expecting with creatives from India. It was challenging and frustrating to complete the funding applications on my own as I was new to this. However, it was a brilliant learning experience for me, and it helped me achieve my learning goals of being able to widen my creative repertoire. I can now also see me developing the passion I have for arts management into a future career. I believe as a creative you need to find new passions to help you grow within the sector. Gathering new skills from my placement has made me feel optimistic about my future.
With the playwright program beginning, C21 commissioned two new writers and two new directors and a dramaturg to work with the creatives. Stephen, C21 artistic director, asked me to provide creative thoughts on the submissions to help select the successful applicants. It was insightful working with Stephen to select the applicants. He gave great creative guidance to me and the applicants. Through this process, I was able to discover the criteria that artistic directors such as Stephen look for in potential shows to produce. I thought this project was a great idea as it focused on artist career development and how the program could do that. The applicants for this project have now begun the research and rehearsal process for their shows. Before my placement ends, I would like to observe in the rehearsal process to learn from all the brilliant creative minds in the rooms. I feel as though it would be a beneficial learning experience for me.
My placement has given me the opportunity to grow creatively and academically. However, it has not come without its challenges. In the first semester of placement, I was feeling very frustrated as I was not given any in person contact hours. The company did have projects on, and I was keen to be in the rehearsal room or on site with them. I felt like I was limiting my learning experience by being online only. Now, however, I have grown to see how beneficial it has been for me to learn the administrative aspects of a theatre company. While placement was not what I originally imagined, I am thankful that I experienced challenges as it helped me discover many new career options within the theatre scene. From completing my placement, I have learnt new things about myself. More importantly I have learnt new areas of myself I wish to improve on. I wish that I were able to communicate better within my placement. I struggled to communicate my feelings of frustration at times with my placement provider. This was not professional of me. In the workplace it is important to communicate with your employers how you feel about your career growth. If I were to do placement again, I would take the time to work on my communication skills and articulation skills.
Interviews are a way of expressing your passion and knowledge for a job you aspire to. It is a way to show your range of talents. ‘Many of the best artistic director/freelance director interviews in my career covered an unexpectedly wide range of ideas, stories, and observations, not all of which related to the production. ‘ 2 For the simulated interviews I applied for the Young Creative’s Producer job at the Barbican Center. I chose this job because my ambition is to create theatrical work for young audiences. Having had the opportunity to be on the interview panel and the interviewee chair, I was able to experience both sides of the interview process.
In the lead up to my simulated interview I did research into the company I was applying for. The research I did into the Barbican Center allowed me to answer my interview questions with certainty and knowledge. I aimed to show my skills and qualities through the questions I was asked by the panel. My aim was to show the panel my experience and how I was fit for this job. I was proud of myself for being able to articulate my experience within this field. In my interview I was keen to show my passion for working with young people. I approached the interview with confidence and a wealth of knowledge that I had gathered throughout my career and my academic studies. The feedback I received from the panel was positive and helpful. I would describe myself as a passionate person, especially about my future carer. I was told by the panel that my passion for working with young people came across. The panel told me I was articulate and answered their questions with great depth and clarity. They did say I could slow down with my pace so that all my words came across and the information stuck with them. In future I will take my time delivering my answers, focusing on my diction and clarity within my voice. I aim to keep professional whilst also letting my personality and passion shine.
I found the experience of being on the panel insightful as I got to see the interviewees’ knowledge and passion. C21 are a small independent company, they have a small team but numerous opportunities for creatives. A company like C21 may look to recruit development officers or workshop facilitators, posts that need interviews. I took my knowledge of working within a small theatre company into the panel. The knowledge I had from marking the applicants on the playwright scheme helped me when providing feedback to the interviewees. Providing feedback for the interviewees helped me see what companies like C21 might look for when recruiting development officers for their team. If I were to be in a position which I needed to recruit an applicant to help my theatre company grow I believe I would know now what I am looking for.
In conclusion of my blog, I am happy with what I have been able to achieve within my placement. Placement has given me a wealth of knowledge that I can go and share. My placement has challenged me on a creative and intellectual level. I have faced conflicts within my placement, but they have helped me grow as a professional within this industry. For now, my action plan is to bring all the skills I have learnt from placement and simulated interviews into the creative industry. I hope the skills I learnt will help me emerge into the industry as a new artist.
footnotes
Jim Volz, ‘Introduction to Arts Management’, (Methuen, 2017), p. 173
Kent Thompson, ‘Directing Professionally: A Practical Guide to Developing a Successful Career in Today’s Theatre‘, (Methuen, 2019), p.27
Bibliography
Thompson, Kent ‘Directing Professionally: A Practical Guide to Developing a Successful Career in Today’s Theatre’, (Methuen, 2019)
Volz, Jim ‘Introduction to Arts Management’, (Methuen, 2019)
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