Harvard Referencing Aid

I am currently trying to write my Bibliography and References used ensuring I am using the correct Harvard referencing system. My sister pointed me to a useful online tool called the Harvard Reference Generator to reference Books, E-mails, Journals and Websites. You just enter all the information regarding the source you have used and it creates the reference in the correct form. It certainly helps speed this process up. Hope you find it useful!

http://www.neilstoolbox.com/bibliography-creator/index.htm

Professional Artefact

PROFESSIONAL ARTEFACT

My initial thoughts into my professional artefact included:
- New, Updated showreel that included clips of Choreography I have done this year
- Small booklet giving tips to business owners on starting-up a company
- Slideshow on the pitfalls that can lead to business failure
I understand that the artefact should not be the start of something new but should help us in our professional practice. I have recently been in discussions with a couple of ex-employees and the owner of the theatre as there is a new investor interested in buying the building and investing into a new show. I have been approached for my ideas for a new show and put together a brief. We have also brainstormed ideas for a new name of the theatre and had graphic designer design some new logos, which we approved. The investor has recently shot down 3 show ideas from a producer in Vegas. He is looking for something new, creative and original that isn't already in the area. We have a chance coming up to present our ideas to the investor.



Therefore, for my professional artefact I would like to submit two pieces.The first part will be the planning, initial ideas and development for a new theatre. My inquiry has studied business failure and what went wrong for the company. The planning and development section of my artefact will summarise the results of my inquiry and how I came to the ideas for the new business and why.
This will include:
- Brainstorms of ideas
- Summary of inquiry results
- Organisation structure ideas
- Photographs, Logos, Graphic Designs
- Market studies
- Magazine articles, video or website links
- 3 year financial plan
- Resumes of key managers/performers

The second part of the artefact will be a business plan for the new theatre. This will be a work in progress as any business plan must constantly be adjusted to the economy, market, area etc. It will include the following elements:
- A summary of the overall plan and history of the theatre
- Market analysis showing the target market, competition, media we will use to target customers
- Company description about the nature of the business, why it will be a success and our target audience
- Organisation and Management on how I feel the company should be structured from results of inquiry
- Marketing ideas and strategies
- Description of new show ideas in detail
- Description of logos and graphic designs that have been created
- Summary of the 3 year financial plan that the accountant has devised

Although the theatre closing was very upsetting and bad for my dance career it has pushed me to start thinking further about career transition and  has given me the chance to study the business side of the industry and setting up a new company. I have still been able to conduct and undergo an inquiry which although it was not what I had initially planned I feel will help develop my career further. I lost my job as Dance Captain and Dancer however, out of that I have been able to get involved with creating a brand new production. The reason I decided to take the BAPP course was to aid me when it came to making a career transition.  Even if the investor decides not to take our idea, I feel that producing this plan gives me a piece of work to present to future investors or employers, whilst also developing my business skills that an Arts Manager requires.

Career Transition and Theatre Management Survey- PLEASE COMPLETE!!

CALLING ALL BAPP STUDENTS!!!!!

This is a quick 10 question survey as part of my inquiry into theatre survival and career transition into arts management. Please take just 5mins out of your day to complete this and pass it onto anyone else in your professional community via Facebook or E-mail. I am looking to get a LARGE amount of responses.

Thank you!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SWX8T9T

1st Draft Due Date?!?

Does anyone know the date when our first draft is due? I thought I read that for Paula's group it was Monday 14th November and just wanted to confirm whether this is correct or not? Also, should this be the whole 6000 words or just what we have so far.

I am currently working on editing my introduction and writting my Evaluation of my Inquiry Process. I have also created a new survey for BAPP members and their network of dancers/performers to complete, which I will post soon.

Hope everyone is doing well. I have been so preoccuiped with my personal life over the past 2 weeks that I havent had time to do much. However, I am now ready to knuckle down and get my inquiry on paper.

Module 3: where I am at

In regards to Paula's recent blog Module 3 Blogging I thought it very useful to post where I am currently at in my inquiry.

Title: (Need some feedback on this as I fear it may be too long?)

How/why/can theatres survive the current downfall in the economy?
What skills must an arts manager posess to manage a successful company?
How can artists successfully transition from stage to management?

Inquiry Questions and Topic
My Inquiry is looking into what led to the downfall of the theatre I worked at. What went wrong, or happened in management and how could this have been prevented. I hope to look at the current national and international scene in theatres and compare what happened to other theatres. To look at business failure and compare some of these issues with the issues the theatre faced. I plan to find out what skills an arts manager needs to run a successful theatre company. What skills do Dance managers need? To look into career transition from performer to manager and how you can make a smooth transition.

Ethical Issues
Due to some law suits I have decided to make all participants from the theatre anonymous in the interviews and surveys they complete. I had gained permission for my inquiry back in May, however now the theatre is closed I have no way of gaining permission for any further inquiry. May need to discuss this matter with Paula.

Literature Review
Should this be just one piece of literature when it comes to writing the inquiry? So far I have reviewed 2 articles that related to my inquiry. I have also order a book, which I think will be of interest. It is called 'Hermanisms: Axioms for Business and Life' by John L. Herman Jr. I found this through reading his blog Hermanisms. He has owned more than 20 companies and his book is about what you can learn from a business failure and how it may be of much value to you.

Gathering Data
So far I have done a survery using Survey Monkey for ex-employees of the theatre entitled Why small businesses fail and so far have 9 responses. I have conducted 2 interviews with ex-employees, that were videotaped for my own record to analyse. One was the accountant which was conducted at his house and one was with one of the lead performers at my house. It was interesting as already I have two very different perspectives from someone who worked in the office to someone who was onstage. I have some more interviews set up this coming week. I also have started a new Facebook page to discuss issues with ex-employees and my inquiry called Arts Management CMT.

Analysing Data
To analyse my interviews I will need to review the videotapes and make notes. I will present any comments in my inquiry with quotation makes and use the Harvard citation for the source of the quote. In order to ensure anonymity, I plan to identify each participant using a letter and number, E1 (employee 1) or P1 (participant 1) for those people not affiliated with the theatre.
Survey Monkey allows me to easily analyse my results. It shows me a summary of the results from my survey giving a number of respondants, percents and response counts for each questions. It presents the data using bar graphs or table formats depending on the question. As many of my questions are on a rating scale I am currently researching the best way to convert the results into statistics.

New SIG Discussion

Hi guys,

I would like to start using the Facebook SIG to discuss various topics and thoughts with you that regard my inquiry. I found this a useful tool last term and think it will help me to develop my thoughts with a wide range of professionals.

I have just started a new discussion on the Arts Management thread on our BAPP Facebook page regarding budgeting in theatre companies. Please join and let me know your thoughts even if this may not be specific to your inquiry. I would like to hear your opinion.

Thanks!

Collecting Data

As the theatre I am doing my inquiry on has closed I have been thinking about what is the best way to get a survey done on all the ex-employees. As many of them have now left town or are hard to get a hold of I decided to rely on the very useful tool of Facebook. I have set up a page on 'Arts Management' and send invites to all old employees to "like" my page. As so many ex-employees from the company have a Facebook page, I thought this would be the best way to encourage people to discuss ideas and problems we faced and also take a quick survey.  Last semester I found Survey Monkey extremely easy to use and good way of capturing data. I only have a basic account which only allows 10 questions at a time so there will be more surveys to come.

The pros to this are that many people from the company are on my Facebook therefore it was simple to request them. I can also conduct multiple surveys and post the link to my wall, which allows people to easily access them.

You can view my Facebook page at:  Arts Management- CMT 

My survey on Survey Monkey at:  Why small businesses fail.

Both these are aimed at the theatre and its employees. Depending on the success I have on this page with getting people to participate in my survey, I may set up a page to for my wider community of dance and theatre professionals to discuss arts management topics and conduct surveys.

Revised Aims and Objectives

In my previous blog on Inquiry Aims and Objectives it seems I may have confused the difference between an Aim and an Objective. Cerys Dixie pointed out sometimes the line between what is an aim and what is an objective can be blurred. After further research I learnt the difference:

AIM: The overall goal or outcome of your inquiry

OBJECTIVE: The steps to take in order to achieve this goal

With that in mind, here are my revised Aims and Objectives in reference to my professional inquiry. I plan to make a copy of this for my interview participants.



AIMS:

* To discover what key factors help to set-up, run and manage a successful theatre/entertainment company. What organisational structure works best in a professional theatre?

* To understand what skills a dance professional needs in order to undergo career transition into dance/arts management.

* To look into the breakdown of the theatre I worked at, discovering what happened in management and what led to the downfall of the company. 

* Find out what problems local entertainment venues may be facing and how that compares to the national and international theatre scene.

* Find out how dancers cope with unemployment periods, how you can prepare yourself for future contracts and/or career transition.


OBJECTIVES:

* Conduct research into the following areas; the life and death of companies, dance management, skills for production managers, theatre organisation structure, entertainment in the Myrtle Beach area an information on first year of a new business

.

* Carry out literature reviews to base inquiry around and develop theories.

* Hold interviews with ex-employees of the theatre, other entertainment managers in the surrounding area not related to the theatre and investors and/or the theatre owner.

* Analyse results from surveys and interviews to form theories and compare with what has been said/written already. Compare results to my professional background so far and theories written about running theatres/arts organisations.

* Create a new show-reel for future employers to view that showcases my skills as a dancer as well as my new skills learnt from the theatre in choreography.

Developing Inquiry Title and Interview Questions

I am currently trying to come up with my inquiry title. I was not sure whether it has to be just one question or a few. So far I have come up with three questions that cover my line of inquiry but are not specific to the company I am looking at. So, any thoughts or suggestions on this would be appreciated.

How/ why/ can theatres survive the current downfall in the economy?

What skills must arts managers possess to manage a successful company?

How can artists successfully transition from stage to management?

Doing a couple of literature reviews has raised many questions I would like to get an answer to regarding the theatre. Taking Paula's advice, I am now trying to anonymize the theatre to protect management and the people that work there. I am still developing these list of questions and I am sure as the week goes on I will add to this. But here is my first draft of questions for the employees of the theatre.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS:
When did you join theatre?

When did you leave?

Why did your job at theatre end?

What was your job title?

Was this always your title or did your title change?

Briefly describe your job and duties?

Were you given or offered any training with the company?

Were you given or offered any housing/benefits/reimbursements etc?

Was your salary higher or lower than your previous job?

Do you know whether the company had a business plan in place for the theatre?

When did you start to realise things were not looking very good for the theatre?

What problems did the theatre encounter?

How did management tackle these problems?

Why do you think they tackled them this way? What would you have done differently?

What did you like about working at theatre?

What did you not like about working at theatre?

What do you feel management did right?

What do you feel management could have improved on?

What kept you working at the theatre?

In your opinion, what led to the downfall of the theatre?

What do you think was the biggest problem the company faced?

How did you feel when the company closed?

How did this affect you, your family, and your career?

What are you doing now?

If the theatre was to re-open and you were managing, what would you do to make it a success?

For Dancers/Artists:

How long have you been performing onstage?

Have you experienced bad management before? If so, why was it bad?

What skills could your immediate manager (Dance Captain/Production Manager/Stage Manager) have improved on?

                                          

How do you prepare as an artist for the next contract?

Have you thought about career transition after your performing career?

If yes, what do you think would be the hardest part about making this transition?

For Office/Management:

How long have you worked in the arts?

Have you ever performed onstage?

If yes, describe the transition you made from an artist to a manager? How you went about this, what was hard about making this transition etc

What key skills are important for an arts manager to possess?

Name 5 key decisions the company made that led to the theatre closing?

Looking back in your position in the company, what would you have done differently?

Literature Review 2

Literature Review: ‘The Seven Pitfalls of Business Failure And How to Avoid Them’

by Patricia Schaefer (2011, Attard Communications, businessknowhow.com)

 http://www.businessknowhow.com/StartUp/business-failure.htm

I found this article on businessknowhow.com. Owned by Attard Communications the site is aimed for starting, small and growing home-based businesses. You can find many free articles on here about sales, marketing, finance and starting up a small home business. It sets out to offer practical advice, tools and information reaching about 4 million people a year.

Patricia Schaefer is one of six writers for the company who has worked previously as a news reporter writing news, profiles and celebrity features. She has written articles such as ‘Stamp out the 10 Most Common Postcard Marketing Mistakes’ and ‘Get the best price for Heating Oil this Winter’. This article is dated 2011 so is still very much relevant.

Although it is not aimed for the Arts or Entertainment venues, the article sets out to offer tips on how to avoid some of the major mistakes start-up companies often make.  Unlike the last article I reviewed ‘How Six Companies Failed to Survive 2010’ that contained actual case studies and example of businesses that failed, this article is giving key factors to avoid in setting up a new business.

Points that relate to my professional inquiry:

-          “business owners frequently lack relevant business and management expertise in areas such as finance, purchasing, selling , production, and hiring managing employees.”

I feel this is especially true of the arts. Arts Managers are unique in the way that they must have a broad spectrum of knowledge- business and the art.  Our Managing Artistic Director’s background was performing in Broadway shows and teaching theatre studies at a University. He lacked the business knowledge and had no experience in the running of a theatre. His passion was producing Broadway shows and produced one , which cost the theatre money they didn’t have.

-          “he or she has a skill at hiring competent people, training them and is able to delegate”

One of the biggest mistakes that the Managing Artistic Director made very early on was hiring an incompetent accountant.  She was unable to keep track on the finances in an organized and structured way, which eventually led to her being fired. For a short time after the Managing Artistic Director managed the books trying to fix them, this took him away from delegating tasks to the other employees. When a new accountant was finally hired, he said he had never seen books like it. They were a mess. Plus, delegating roles led to a lot of confusion. Many managers started with one job title but ended up becoming something else.  There was no training given in the company to employees either.

-          “…insufficient operating funds. Business owners underestimate how much money is needed...”  “many businesses take a year or two to get going. This means you will need enough funds to cover all costs until sales can eventually pay for these costs”

This is all too true in our theatres case.  Not only was there little start-up capital but managers were told large figures that were never there. When things were bad and we were not getting pay cheques, one of the top investors/managers told the company he believed we should be able to break even in 6-8 weeks of opening in his experience. He had a very unrealistic idea of how sales would go.

-           “ A focus on slow and steady growth is optimum”

One major issue our company ran into was trying to expand too soon. We launched the new theatre with the in-house show ‘Superstarz! Live’. Rather than focus on this show , improving it each day, promoting it to the community we also had a Broadway Series introduced.  About a month after opening ‘Greater Tuna’ a comedy play with two actors playing several characters was performed over a couple of weekends. The problem here was the actors were the Managing Artistic Director and the PR lady in the office. Juggling the running of the theatre with performing did little to help the theatre run smoothly and stress levels were high. As if that was not enough just 2 months after opening and with little planning ‘A Broadway Celebration’ swung into production in just over 2 weeks. The show ran for 2 weeks but with little promoting was not much of a success. During this time employees were overworked and struggled to keep up with the demand of running one show whilst trying to produce another. It was a stressful time and resulted in a loss of money rather than gain.  But that did not stop them and so casting followed by rehearsals began for ‘Hairspray’, ‘All Shook Up’ and ‘Rocktastics’. Some performers were being cast in all three doing 12 hr days rehearsing whilst still performing in ‘Superstarz Live’. Halfway though these rehearsals and with stress levels though the roof and people being overworked these shows were cancelled and the Managing Artistic Director was fired.

Establishing your company for a year or so first is key. We were trying to expand when we had not yet gained a solid audience base or even had the finances to back these shows.


To conclude, this article highlights many problems new businesses face, which has helped me to think of the issues our theatre had and how decisions that were being made put us on a slippery slope down. Although aimed at small home businesses many of the issues raised can be used in any business including arts venues.

Managing time effectively

After reading Paula's Blog on Key Features of Project Management I realised that a key element of the inquiry is PLANNING. You can steam through the tasks but without and effective plan in place it is easy to get lost. Part of being an effective manager is having good organisational skills and often meeting deadlines.

Although I have made a start to my inquiry I started to feel that the days are rolling by and I am not getting many tasks completed. So far I have:

- Read through the module handbook and Reader 7 making notes

- Reviewed my initial plan and made the necessary changes due to my current circumstances

- Researched literature relevant to my inquiry and carried out a couple of reviews

- Written the aims and objectives of my inquiry

Feeling a bit overwhelmed by what I still have left to do I have created this ‘plan of action’ to the best I can for now in order to see week by week what tasks need to be completed. Currently living in the US cuts a week from my schedule in order to mail the coursework to England so I have had to take that into consideration. I also need to consider a new contract may come up forcing me to leave the area; therefore it is important I try to gather all the data using the inquiry tools as soon as I can. So with that in mind here is my action plan, which may change but allows me to see clearly what I need to complete.

PROFESSIONAL INQUIRY ACTION PLAN

WEEK                                    TASKS TO COMPLETE

10^th-16^th Oct               - Complete Literature Reviews

- Gain permission from Patrick Henry to carry out inquiry to theatre

- Ask selected participants to take part in an interview and send information on inquiry- summary, aims and objectives

- Arrange interview times

- Prepare interview questions

17^th-23^rd Oct              - Prepare for interviews: List of questions, video camera

                                     - Conduct interviews

- Complete survey on Survey Monkey. Post link on blog for BAPP network and email to professional community

24^th-30^th Oct                 - Start editing showreel for Professional Artefact

(New York 26^th-27^th)     - Start on pamphlet information for Artefact

31^st Oct-6^th Nov              - Carry out last interviews

                                         - Continue working on Artefacts

                                         - Catch up on any remaining tasks above

7^th-13^th Nov                       - Write first draft of introduction

                                           - Continue on Artefacts

14^th-20^th Nov                      - Analysis and Development of findings: discussion with SIGS and blogs

                                            - Start writing Evaluation of the Inquiry Process

                                            - Continue working on Artefacts

21^st-27^th Nov                       - Start writing Analysis of the Findings

(Thanksgiving Week)           - Continue Artefacts

28^th Nov-4^th Dec                 - Complete Professional Artefacts and send to Paula for feedback

                                             - Start writing Critical Reflection

5^th-11^th Dec                         - Catch up on above tasks

12^th-18^th Dec                       - Send first draft of Critical Review to Paula for Feedback

19^th-25^th Dec                       - Work on completing tasks

(University Holiday/Christmas)

26^th-31^st Dec                       - Make any necessary changes to coursework using feedback from Paula

(University Holiday/New Year)

2^nd-8^th Jan                            - Mail coursework to Middlesex University

9^th Jan                                   DEADLINE for submission of coursework 4pm Trent Park

Professional Artefact

When discussing my inquiry with Paula, something that was brought up was the Professional Artefact part of this module. She suggested getting a start on it and making sure it was not left till the last minute. In order to understand this further I looked at Rosemary McGuiness' slideshow, 'What is a Professional Artefact'. One thing stood out here and that was it should "Impress employers with your professional knowledge" (Rosemary McGuiness, 2011). This then led me to think about where I stand in my current professional practice.

As the theatre I was working at has now closed something that would be of great value for me to do is an updated resume and showreel. In doing this I plan to display my new found choreographic skills. It will have significant value to me when applying for jobs and takes what I have learnt from my previous job and puts into an artefact I can show to potential new employers. It relates to the career transition part of my professional inquiry as I have expanded my resume being the dance captain and choreographer. I have also learnt new management skills from my last job- managing the dancers, casting, producing and staging new shows which I wish to display in this artefact too. I plan to present this in a video format that will be clear and concise for my audience to view.

My second professional artefact I wish to present will be a book or pamphlet on Arts Management that will display what I have learnt from my inquiry by writing about the key management principles that underline the business of running an arts organisation or theatre. I aim to discuss the key skills an arts manager needs such as business, marketing, finance, organisation structure.  I also wish to discuss the key tips I have found to running a successful company and the common mistakes that are made in setting up a new business.

Literature Review 1

Literature Review: ‘How Six Companies Failed to Survive 2010’

by Eilene Zimmerman. New York Times (5^th Jan, 2011)

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/06/business/smallbusiness/06sbiz.html

This article sets out to inform people about the difficulties faced in setting up a new business.  It makes its readers aware of the problems small companies can encounter in their first year of opening, what went wrong and how its owners reflect back on the issues they faced. 

I came across this article on the New York Times website ( above) which gets more than 30 million hits a month. It was published in the business section of the ‘New York Times’ therefore its target audience would be business professionals, however being a national newspaper it is also geared towards general readers. It was written at the start of this year and I feel is still every relevant in the current economic situation regarding struggling businesses. The photograph used to illustrate the failure of businesses is of Elizabeth Kavanaugh and Jeff Rank standing outside their former business, Large Format Digital, in Edgerton, Wis. The photograph taken by a photographer for the New York Times represents the article well in the sense that it is bleak and snowing in the photograph. It reflects how the article sis concerned about how the people are affected in this type of situation, something I will look into in my inquiry.

The article starts with some statistics taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that show it was a better year for small businesses in 2010 than it was in 2009- in 2009 the net loss was 400,000 companies compared to 96,000 companies in 2010. Much of an improvement I’d say. However the article claims that “numbers do not tell the whole story” and sets out to look closely to how it has affected six small companies.

Eilene Zimmerman is a journalist based in San Diego, California that writes about a variety of topics including business, social and political issues and family life. Her article covers the topic of why companies failed to survive with a brief paragraph on the six companies with the headings; At its peak, What went wrong and Looking back. I was very interested in analyzing the ‘What went wrong’ section.

Findings that relate to and support the arguments in my inquiry:

-          “she spent thousands of dollars on advertising that didn’t work” -Ms. Kero of Gotham Concierge in Manhattan. This statement supports one of the issues I will be examining with Celebration Music Theatre.  Within the first few months of opening the company had signed a contract with an advertising agency for thousands of dollars of adverts. They charged for everything- each new graphic design or logo, the running of the theatres website to even their Facebook, which is free! The marketing guy at the theatre had a friend who was a graphic designer. He eventually got hired to start doing new graphics for the theatre.

-          “too much time and money were spent on enhanced functionality”- Mr. Milley of iParents.com . Our theatre got off the beaten track when the decision was made to do three Broadway Shows and a Kids Show for the summer that was then to be taken on tour. They were too ambitious. Simple is better. We got carried away with trying to produce so many shows we lost what we were really about and that was ‘Superstarz Live’.

-          “potential investors skittish about the economy, pulled out” -Lisa Beels and Christine Naylor of Petite Palate. One of the major struggles the theatre went through was finding an investor to keep the theatre operating as well as pay the employees back. The main problem was by this time we had accumulated a big debt already that no investor wanted to take that on.

Although brief, this article touched on some reasons companies failed to survive that support some of the points I will be looking at in my inquiry. It has helped me to discover further questions I plan to use in my interviews:

-          Why was the Colin’s Company chosen to be the main marketing and advertising agency for the theatre?

-          What was this agreement like and was it over budget?

-          Who made the decision on bringing in the Broadway revue shows and using the same employees to help make this happen?

-          How were these shows budgeted for?

-          When did you realise there was no money to produce these show?

Benchmarking

So I came across a new term today whist looking through Reader 7 and that is benchmarking.

"Benchmarking is the search for industry best practices that lead to superior performance"
- Robert Camp, logistics engineer who initiated Xerox's benchmarking program.

It is a way to compare how your own business is doing with some of the best organisations out there. The aim is to learn to how to achieve this great standard and then set out to implement it in your own company. It is a good way to inform top level management how the company is doing, measures how successful you are being, what is working and what needs improvement. In a theatre setting it would be a good way to see what has worked, what hasn't and whether the audience is changing over time.

This made me think about what if our theatre had engaged in some benchmarking of their own. It seems that it needs to be a continuous process. you have to understand the way your company is currently operating and look for the best organisation in the business to compare it against. You then need a method to collect the data and a way to implement changes in the problems that emerge. We could have done some benchmarking on the financial aspects as well as management processes. For example, housing all our production staff as they were not from the local area was money wasted. If you compare to other entertainment venues around the beach, none house their production staff.

I feel that although the theatre is now closed benchmarking might still be useful in my inquiry to compare how we were operating and  running, what were our management practices like and compare this to other theatres. This should help me to uncover what were the weaknesses and the areas that needed improvement, which helps to discover what went wrong.

Inquiry Aims and Objectives

In order to make a start on my final inquiry I felt it would be beneficial to make a list of my aims and objectives. As my inquiry has taken a slight turn from what it originally was this has helped me to put my thoughts in order and also have a base to work from. I also plan to have print outs available to inform my participants about my inquiry so they know exactly what it entails and my overall goal. The following is still a work in progress. Any feedback would be much appreciated.

TITLE (in progress):
An inquiry into the life and death of Celebration Music Theatre. What led to the downfall and whether we were on a downward spiral from the beginning? What happened in management? How did this affect the employees and performers?  What makes a successful theatre company? How can dancers work through this type of situation whether preparing for the next job or in career transition? How does this compare to the national and international performing scene?

AIMS:

* To look into the breakdown of Celebration Music Theatre, discovering what happened in management and what led to the downfall of the company. Comparing that to my professional background so far and to theories about running theatres/arts organisations.

* Discover what organisational structure works best in a professional theatre and what key factors help run a successful entertainment company.

* Inquire into the local entertainment venues, what problems they may be facing and comparing that to the national and international theatre scene

* Look at the dancer perspective. Inquire into how dancers cope with unemployment periods and how you can prepare yourself for future contracts

* Look at career transition for dancers. Mainly focusing on what skills a dance professional needs in order to gain a career in dance/arts management. .

OBJECTIVES:

* To carry out research into the following areas; the life and death of companies, dance management, skills for production managers, theatre organisation structure, entertainment in the Myrtle Beach area an information on first year of a new business

* To discover what it takes to set-up, run and manage a successful theatre company

* To conduct interviews with ex-employees of the theatre, other entertainment managers in the surrounding area not related to the theatre and investors and/or the theatre owner

* To create a new show-reel for future employers to view that showcases my skills as a dancer as well as my new skills learnt from the theatre in choreography. To aid my professional development as a performer.

Revising my Inquiry Plan

                                               RE-DIRECTION

 I have had to make some changes to my inquiry plan due to the fact that the theatre I was working at closed over the summer. The main reason for this was lack of funds. Since my inquiry was centered around the theatre and looking into the management there etc I have had to make some changes.


At first I was unsure what route to go. My inquiry involved looking at management and helping the theatre to succeed. Now there is no show and it has closed what could I inquire about? After my conversation with Paula yesterday, I realised that there are many issues there. What led to the downfall? What happened to management? How are the dancers dealing with this family organisation breaking up? When I say family organisation, it was not run by a family but felt like a home to many of us. We were all very close and treated eachother as such. But there are many issues with the way in which the theatre was run, what decisions were made and by whom and the organisational structure.
I also feel my time there developed my skills as a manager, being the dance captain and choreographer. I had never choreograhed in a professional setting before and now can put that on my CV. So some good came out of the experience for me personally. Financially there are still many ex-employees owed a lot of money, myself inclded and law suits going ahead. I still plan to interview employees of the theatre but will ensure they are kept anonomous for ethical reasons.

I am still focussing on the theatre, looking at what led to the downfall rather than how to improve management. This will still touch on management and marketing issues, what skills are needed for roles in arts and dance management as well as moving on from one job to another as a performer and career transition.

I decided to edit my plan using Wikispaces. This way you can see my original plan and the altered parts highlighted in blue. You can check this out at: https://inquiryplan.wikispaces.com/Inquiry+Plan

Back in the game...

Hello my fellow BAPP friends!

Well after 3 days of trying to log onto myUniHub, I finally got a new password and I'm in! I like the new layout and the fact that I can access everything on one site.

It has been a crazy summer. Things have been..well hectic. The theatre I was working at has now shut its doors due to not making enough money this summer. There are deals in the work to sell the building and produce a brand new show. I am currently involved in the set up and some initial ideas to start this brand new theatre, so we will see what happens. Needless to say I haven't thought much about the course what with planning a wedding although I feel things have happened that I have made note of that may come in handy to my inquiry.

I have now downloaded the new 3760 modules, which I plan to read through this weekend. I may be making a slow start but I am now ready to tackle this final module and really focus on my inquiry. I will be writing some upcoming blogs on my thought and ideas.

Unfortunately, I will be unable to make any campus sessions this semester so I am relying on all your blogs to keep me updated as to what went on.

Critical Reflection and Summary: Digital Portfolio

Critical Reflection and Summary: Digital Portfolio

In this module, WBS3835 I have examined my professional practice further by looking at how others have defined inquiry and research. I have engaged with the BAPP network as well as my professional work community to refine my questions and ideas.

The first part of this module looked at developing lines of professional inquiry. My first sets of questions were to understand the difference between leaders and managers and the roles of each (Appendix A). Asking these questions allowed me to examine my own workplace and any issues there. I discussed these questions further on my Facebook SIG (Appendix B), which then led to discussing skills managers should posses. Here we found the most important skills to be communication, leadership, decision making, organizational and analytical. I further developed and expanded my set of questions and took these to my workplace to gain some insight from my colleagues. I decided to conduct two informal interviews on with a manager and one with a dancer (Apendix C) that looked into managerial roles and skills and then into career transitioning from performer to manager.

The second part of this module looked at professional ethics. I found this a very interesting part of the module as it was something I had not considered much before this. I learnt how important it is to adhere to ethical standards in my inquiry especially where people are involved to ensure no harm is caused. I started by looking at my workplace and what the code of practice might be there (Appendix D) as a dancer and then as a manager or director. I then researched what my current code of practice is as a swing and dance captain in the show (Appendix E), which helped me to have a better understanding of what is expected of me in this new company. I examined the core values of my workplace (Appendix F) as well as my personal virtues (Appendix G). I learnt just how important ethics are in business. The trustworthiness of a business, the customer service, customer care, the way they are taken care of and the urge to retain their customers are all part of business ethics. Business ethics leave a long lasting impression on a customer, which build trust and helps retain them and a strong ethical value can take a business a long way. In my professional inquiry it will be vital to gain permission from managers in my workplace and consent from any participants I use.

The final part of this module examined the different inquiry tools I can use to carry out my professional inquiry. Here I learnt the different ways in which knowledge can be collected, analyzed and interpretated to aid my line of inquiry. Course Reader 6 set gave a brief introduction to the different tools used for inquiry (Appendix H). Here I learnt how to conduct a survey using survey monkey (Appendix I), in which BAAP students were participants. I was also given some feedback from my SIG about the way in which questions were worded and some of my answer options. I now feel confident in going forward and creating a new survey and feel this is an important tool to gain quantative information for my inquiry. I also conducted a pilot interview (Appendix J), pilot observation (Appendix K), focus group and reflected on the merits and limits of each (Appendix L).  Conducting pilots of each tool has helped me to gain a better understanding of how to use these tools to gain the best results. For example, the next time I use the observation tool I will video tape what it is I am analyzing as you cannot always write everything down.

I have also learnt how to review literature to gain more knowledge on management. Doing this has also opened up more topics and ideas, for example looking into career development programs in theatres in order to train managers in house. (Appendix M)

Finally, I have been introduced to a new tool ‘Delicious’ (Appendix N). This enables me to bookmark any relevant websites or sources of information I may need to refer to for my line of inquiry. I have found this very easy to use and a great way to easily access the sites I often refer to.

Summary

The tasks carried out over the course of this module have enabled me to develop my initial ideas into a line of inquiry. I have learnt how ethics will play an important part not only in conducting my inquiry but also in my everyday practice as a dancer and how good work ethics can help you go a long way in business. I have tried and tested tools of professional inquiry- survey, observation, focus group and observation- analyzing which might be the best to use in my inquiry and learning how to improve on them next time around. Reviewing literature has allowed me to see what has been written about arts management and what has not, why my inquiry is relevant and how it adds to what has already been written. I now feel I have the knowledge and understanding to propose my inquiry plan.

Appendix

Appendix A

http://lauraweir2001.blogspot.com/2011/03/4a-questions.html

Appendix B

http://www.facebook.com/pages/BA-Professional-Practice-Arts-Middlesex-University/145821545478191?sk=app_2373072738#!/topic.php?uid=145821545478191&topic=62

Appendix C

http://lauraweir2001.blogspot.com/2011/04/4c-developing-questions-within.html

Appendix D

http://lauraweir2001.blogspot.com/2011/03/5a-work-ethicscode-of-practice.html

Appendix E

http://lauraweir2001.blogspot.com/2011/03/5b-codes-of-practice.html

Appendix F

http://lauraweir2001.blogspot.com/2011/03/core-values-and-work-ethics.html

Appendix G

http://lauraweir2001.blogspot.com/2011/03/5c-professional-ethics.html

Appendix H

http://lauraweir2001.blogspot.com/2011/03/tools-of-professional-inquiry.html

Appendix I

http://lauraweir2001.blogspot.com/2011/04/6a-pilot-survey.html

Appendix J

http://lauraweir2001.blogspot.com/2011/04/6a-pilot-interview.html

Appendix K

http://lauraweir2001.blogspot.com/2011/04/6a-pilot-observation.html

Appendix L

http://lauraweir2001.blogspot.com/2011/04/6b-critical-reflection-on-four-tools-of.html

Appendix M
http://lauraweir2001.blogspot.com/2011/04/6c-literature-reviews.html

Appendix N

http://lauraweir2001.blogspot.com/2011/04/6d-delicious-tags.html

6c Literature Reviews

Literature Reviews

During the course of this module I have begun collecting relevant literature and resources that relate to my professional inquiry. I have tagged many links on my Delicious page, which some of you might find useful as well. The following are three different literature reviews I found that relate to the key themes and ideas of my inquiry.  

1.      Beyond Performance

Mindy Levine Advocacy Report

Article can be found at:  http://www.iotpd.org/beyond_performance.pdf

My first review is taken from Beyond Performance: Building a better future for dancers and the art of dance by Mindy N. Levine. It builds on a three-year research study, Making Changes: Facilitating the Transition of Dancers to Post- Performance Careers. It aims to set out actions that people in the dance field, organizations and the government should be taking in order to aid a dancer’s career transition. They found that dancers are not very well informed of the challenges faced in career transition. Their research highlights common problems artists currently face:

-          Low compensation

-          Short career duration

-          Unstable employment

-          Management support

-          Absence of contractual protections i.e. health benefits

-          Information gaps (uninformed of the challenges)

This research was carried out internationally and showed that dancers tend to be badly compensated not only compared to regular jobs but to other art disciplines as well. This leads dancers to having to pursue other paid work, such as the promotional work I take in between contracts in order to continue auditioning. Due to the short career as a dancer we have less time to save up funds to aid career transition such as re-training. Also highlighted is a dancer’s unstable employment, which I can relate to. Jumping from contract to contact means my income can differ year to year. Taking time out to audition costs money and full year contracts are hard to come by making access to benefits much harder. In the survey carried out support from management in a company was very low where the majority of support came from family and friends. I feel that the current company I work for will help aid me in my career transition, however I agree that my family have always been the main support throughout my career.

The article points out that “At a juncture when most adults are hitting their professional stride, dancers must embark on second careers”. This is exactly why I have embarked on this degree course in order to have sufficient educational knowledge for a second career. A dancers career is short lived, they must have a back-up plan.

“Professional dancers face unique career transition challenges, which diverge significantly from professionals in other arts disciplines and other physically demanding fields.” (Beyond Performance)

This research is relevant to my inquiry as it highlights how tough it is for dancers to make a career transition successfully. It even suggests arts organizations are not paying enough attention to their artists in helping them through this process. This is something I feel very strongly about and hope my inquiry might be able to change this especially in my current workplace where it is a new company. By reviewing this piece of literature I developed a new inquiry question:

How can arts companies help their artists/performers through career

transition from onstage to offstage?

2.      Matching managers to the mayhem, madness and miracle

of America’s professional theatres

Jim Volz. Grand Valley State University Theatre Management Article

 Article can be found at: http://www.gvsu.edu/theatre/index.cfm?id=4BC6D102-F34F-35D5-DBF364A0474C5DB5

(This article originally appeared in the January 2007 issue of AMERICAN THEATRE MAGAZINE.  It is reprinted here by permission of the author.  Jim Volz is the author of HOW TO RUN A THEATER [2005] and THE BACK STAGE GUIDE TO WORKING IN REGIONAL THEATER [2007] and a professor at California State University, Fullerton)

Jim Volz is one of America’s leading theater consultants with over three decades of work with theater, dance, music, museum and arts center management. He has carried out research into over a thousand regional theatres across America. In this article he points out we are coming to an arts crisis whereby theatres are finding it hard to hold down their managers. Many leave the stressful, under-paid and over-worked life in the theatre for a more stable position somewhere else.

He goes on to ask about University training as opposed to practical experience. John M McCann argues that there is no specific way of breaking into the arts management field as many aspects such as accounting, human resources and production can either be learned in school or on the job. I agree with this statement as I am currently assistant producer and choreographer for our upcoming Broadway show. Having never done either before it is a case of trial and error along the way. I am learning what works and what doesn’t in order to refine my professional practice. However, I feel formal training helps to give a solid base of knowledge to then take into the workplace. Volz points out that even having a degree will not guarantee employment as a manager. His view is that practical experience can be gained from internships and work experience (paid or unpaid). Text books can only prepare someone so much for the real life work situations that arise.   

Another way to break into management may be to rise through the ranks. However few theatres have the time or money to support professional career development. This echoes a point from the article ‘Beyond Performance’ where they found the majority of career transition support came from family and friends rather than employers. This is something I wish to explore further in my inquiry, looking into the theatres that do have in-house employee development programs and how successful they are.

Something that really struck a chord with me was when Jim asks whether we should adopt a new mantra of trying to make a “life worth living” rather than the old “work for the love of the art”. He points out that many great managers end up leaving theatres because of being over-worked and under-paid and there are many turn-offs to the business that is leading to an arts crisis. I personally have known many great creative minds that have left the entertainment industry to either re-train for or pursue a more financially stable position.

3.      Managing the Arts: Leadership and Decision Making under Dual Rationalities

David Cray; Loretta Inglis; Susan Freeman

Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society; Winter 2007; 36, 4;

 Article can be found at: http://www.jamk.fi/download/29488_Reading_3.pdf

This article tries to draw similarities between models of leadership with that of art organizations.

Something this article does point out is that “much of the sparse literature in arts management is framed in terms of “best practice” based on a few isolated cases. A more systematic approach is needed, one that uses existing concepts and models to understand precisely how arts organizations operate”. There seems to be little research on the structure of arts organizations. In my current company managers take on many different roles for example the Artistic Director also acts as Producer and Managing Director.

“Many arts organizations espouse participatory styles of leadership” Participative leadership involves all team members in defining goals and developing ways in which to achieve them. I feel this is the type of leadership my theatre currently has as it is a relatively small theatre and everyone in management has an active role in developing ideas. Many of the managers are ex-performers and they have been allowed to have creative input as well as using their talents in various shows or promotions. David Cray, Loretta Inglis and Susan Freeman have also explored aspects of management and leadership in arts organizations in Australia and found they are often led by more than one person just as the theatre I work at is run between the Artistic Director, technical director, producer and administrators. When they conducted interviews the feedback they gained was that in a small theatre environment a dictator does not work. They operate more like a small family, which reflects the way in which my company works. They conclude that the organizations studied do not have a single leader, but that leadership is shared and there was strong evidence that all the leaders studied were transformational leaders. Transformational leaders emphasize trust, their most important values, confidence and are admired as role models. Again I feel this reflects the style of leader I am working under.

It is important to recognize leadership styles in arts organizations if trying to transition into this career. Looking at this research shows how leaders in arts organizations differ to many other businesses, leadership is often shared and therefore comes with different challenges.

Most recently arts organizations have been under pressure to become more professional on the managerial side of the business in order to gain funding. With this being said, arts organizations have aesthetic concerns that managers must take into consideration. If a theatre presents a profitable but quickly and badly thrown together show it is sure to gain criticism. On the other hand if it comes up with a new and original show it is likely to have financial stress.