This course is encouraging the expansion of our methods of reflection, and as I looked through the course reader, I began to consider how some of the theories of various thinkers may apply to me and how I reflect. I began by looking at John Dewey’s theory of reflective thought; it is a theory which is very appropriate for this course, in my opinion. His theory suggests that the higher the level of engagement with the education, the higher the quality of the education. This immediately struck a chord with me, as the importance of communication through learning, using our blogs etc, has been reiterated to us from the start. This example was the easiest for me to relate to. My own experiences support his definition of active thought, as being ‘active, persistent or careful consideration of any belief’ (Dewey 1993), as I have noticed during this module that I have not gained as much out of some aspects as others and this lack of, I suppose, knowledge and understanding is in correlation with my periods of limited communication with others on the course.
The theory of reflection on or in action as suggested by Donald Schon (Schon 1997), was another that I found easy to relate to. Reflection in action is used constantly in dance. For example, one day you may be more ‘on your leg’ during adage or pirouettes than on other days, and you will have to alter weight placement, impetus, etc accordingly, as with improvisation – your situation is never identical from class to slass, day to day, performance to performance. It can be simply referred to ‘thinking on your feet’ which is always necessary in a performance. Schon described this process as follows,
‘The practitioner allows himself to experience surprise, puzzlement, or confusion in a situation which he finds uncertain or unique. He reflects on the phenomenon before him, and on the prior understandings which have been implicit in his behaviour. He carries out an experiment which serves to generate both a new understanding of the phenomenon and a change in the situation.’ (Schön 1983)
During my time on tour, there was a moment when I had to use this. One of the cast members had been battling a throat infection for a number of days, until their voice eventually went completely, unfortunately during a performance. I took it upon myself to step in, and with a reassuring look in their direction I sang their verse.
In doing so, I had to change my whole ‘intent’ for the rest of the scene, or else the lyrics would not have made sense to my character. It was one of the scariest moments on stage I have ever had, throwing myself out of my comfort zone like that, but it made realise that I can do it. It is the same with actor when they have to adlib for whatever reason, be it a late cue or a missed line.
Performance on action is a notion that I am very familiar with, and it is my most preferred method of reflection. During my time at The Hammond, I was required to reflect weekly on each subject, looking at corrections and things that went particularly well, and why. Students also have termly assessments; during feedback sessions, we were asked how we thought they had gone, and whether we agreed with our given marks, or not, and also the reasons behind our opinions. The same can be said of our annual fitness assessments, the results from which were used to develop an ongoing training regime to better ourselves technically. This process was of huge benefit to me, as I have had an ongoing injury, and these results were able to highlight my weaknesses, so that my exercise plan was specifically useful to me, rather than it being a generalised one for the entire class.
We were also provided with reflection sheets for theatre visits and workshops. This broadened our reflective practises to the work of others, rather than just ourselves. I enjoyed looking at the choreography, lighting and musical ideas of others, as well as the teaching methods of others during the workshops. It helped me to highlight which aspects of each experience are valuable to me personally, enabling me to better channel my focus in what I do.
The school also encouraged us to reflect on any auditions we did, during our time there. We had weekly sessions of ‘Audition Technique’ which were mock auditions with feedback at the end. This helped us to iron out any major problems and to remember key highs, before we auditioned in the ‘real world’. This initially helped with the self-reflection process, but there is no true substitute for the real thing, which is why I am enjoying being able to reflect on my current job, and current ‘real’ auditions.
My job is perfect for me to be reflecting alongside it, as I am constantly being given targets, and I am able to see those targets being met, and the journeys to get there.
I am able to see what works well and what doesn’t work so well, with regard to teaching methods and approaches for individual students. It has been, and continues to be, a huge learning curve for me, and I feel that I am really benefiting from it.
From my journal keeping, I have realised that I become more and more critical of myself, as more time passes. Maybe this is due to having more time to dwell and linger on every part of the performance, whether it be in class, on stage or during a day of teaching; I tend to engage in a much deeper reflection. This, for me, has always been the source of my main problem – a lack of self confidence. My constant nit-picking of myself has worn me down, to the point where I had very little self belief. That was, however, until the start of this course. I have seen, through the incorporation of other methods of reflection, that I can channel my criticisms in a more positive and constructive way and, upon reflection, see each slight blip in a performance as purely a learning curve, and not something to freak out about.
I researched the frameworks of Reid and Moon, before I began writing my journal, and I found a model, shown below, created by Gibbs, which seemed to mirror the frameworks in a way that I could easily understand.
It was this framework, similar to that found in the Course Reader, that I used to aid my journal writing and my reflection on a specific day. I am a believer in structure, and while I know sometimes writing needs to be spontaneous and free, I like this framework to refer back to, when writing in my journal.
