Abstract
‘Crisis’ can be described as an emotionally significant event or radical change of status in a person’s life, it is also an unstable situation of extreme danger or difficulty. Athletes undergo rigorous training programs to increase their personal best and improve on their general performance. This is a form of crisis as the body’s threshold is challenged, resulting in a certain level of physical trauma therefore testing the athletes’ stamina. This is not dissimilar to the type of ‘crisis’ actors may go through in certain training. Expanding the lens, adding to this form of ‘crisis’, there is a larger ‘crisis’ that affects student actors and institutions alike.
It is evident that in the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, performing arts training across most major universities and institutions has been heavily affected. Not only through cuts in government and private funding but also through the deficiency of student engagement and physical attendance. Compounding shifts in the social consciousness have also impacted on training, such as inclusivity, gender identity and cultural diversity being at the forefront of decision making and program development. Although this may not be a ‘cloud’ as such, rather a parting of clouds, it adds another layer of complexity and consideration when designing content.
The question now is, how do we now pull ourselves out of this cloud and stay resilient as an industry? Can we use the adaptive methods of online training and performance implemented over the past few years to move forward and create new methodologies in performer training or does performer training only existent if we are all physically together in the room?
‘Crisis’, however, may be used to our advantage as nothing great has ever been achieved with some form of struggle. Successful traits of innovators are evidenced in their error recovery as opposed to their error avoidance. Successful people and successful programs are ones who have failed and recovered; those who have seen failure and learnt how to turn it into something positive. Solving a real problem that hasn’t been solved before is about resilience and adaptability.
Dr Robert Lewis and Dr Soseh Yekanians reflect on their experience having gone through multiple course changes which includes the dismantling of various creative disciplines, merging of performing arts programs and learning to adapt in challenging times.
It is evident that in the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, performing arts training across most major universities and institutions has been heavily affected. Not only through cuts in government and private funding but also through the deficiency of student engagement and physical attendance. Compounding shifts in the social consciousness have also impacted on training, such as inclusivity, gender identity and cultural diversity being at the forefront of decision making and program development. Although this may not be a ‘cloud’ as such, rather a parting of clouds, it adds another layer of complexity and consideration when designing content.
The question now is, how do we now pull ourselves out of this cloud and stay resilient as an industry? Can we use the adaptive methods of online training and performance implemented over the past few years to move forward and create new methodologies in performer training or does performer training only existent if we are all physically together in the room?
‘Crisis’, however, may be used to our advantage as nothing great has ever been achieved with some form of struggle. Successful traits of innovators are evidenced in their error recovery as opposed to their error avoidance. Successful people and successful programs are ones who have failed and recovered; those who have seen failure and learnt how to turn it into something positive. Solving a real problem that hasn’t been solved before is about resilience and adaptability.
Dr Robert Lewis and Dr Soseh Yekanians reflect on their experience having gone through multiple course changes which includes the dismantling of various creative disciplines, merging of performing arts programs and learning to adapt in challenging times.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 12-13 |
| Number of pages | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - 28 Jan 2023 |
| Event | The Australian Actor Training Conference (AusAct) 2023: 2023 AusAct - Federation University, Ballarat, Australia Duration: 27 Jan 2023 → 29 Jan 2023 http://www.ausact.com.au/ |
Conference
| Conference | The Australian Actor Training Conference (AusAct) 2023 |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | Crisis and Creativity |
| Country/Territory | Australia |
| City | Ballarat |
| Period | 27/01/23 → 29/01/23 |
| Other | Federation University, Ballarat, Victoria, are hosting the 2023 AusAct: Australian Actor Training Conference on January 27th to January 29th. Specific times will be announced closer to the date. This conference and training event is a presentation of actor training scholarship by researchers, practitioners and pedagogues working with original performer training methods developed within the Australian context. It is an event focusing on Australian actor training pedagogies and research and its relationship to place, space, land, environment, culture and technologies. The conference will provide an avenue for the sharing of original materials and knowledge in dialogue within the Australian performer training context. The conference aims to celebrate, interrogate and showcase actor training methods that have been created and developed in Australia. We invite individual papers (20 minutes duration) and workshop sessions (up to 90 minutes duration). The conference will have two main parts: Conference and Training. |
| Internet address |