Performing Arts Research

Warm ups
Warm ups is something that is essential to make your performance better and
you auditions. If you take great responsibility in your work you can achieve great
things.

To prepare for rehearsals, auditions, or performances, actors need to do

three types of warm-ups. Physical, vocal and mentaland the mental,
which is focusing your attention on the work will actually be combined
with the physical and vocal warm-ups. To do all of this should take you no
more than 15 minutes.
First you need to do a physical warm up. While you do this, you can work
on your focus and concentration, by paying attention to your breathing
and to the feeling in your body and muscles. When you find yourself
thinking about other things, simply come back to your body or your
breathing.

Your physical warm up should take you briefly through your entire body,
with the goal being to reduce tension. Why? Because tension and stress
can stop you from breathing, thinking, feeling, and respondingall things
that are essential to good acting. Because the voice is housed in the body,
the physical warm-up is also essential to preparing your vocal apparatus.
After you do a physical warm-up, its time to do a brief vocal warm up.
The goal is release any tension, prepare the vocal apparatus, and work
your range. As in the physical warm up, keep breathing and keep your
focus on what you are doing and experiencing.

*, N. (2010) Acting is.. Available at: http://www.actingis.com/2010/02/21/warming-up/ (Accessed: 28 April 2016).

The risks with not warming up

There are two possible effects arising from misuse of voice and especially if you
didn't warm up before a tolling performance. Keep in mind that losing your voice
is the worst possible side-effect of not taking proper measures before a
performance.

1 Sore throat
2- Vocal cord damage
This could all lead to strained vocals enabling you from delivering a good
performance, and unfortunately it does show.
Fix damage caused by not warming up your voice (no date) Available at:

http://visihow.com/Fix_Damage_Caused_by_Not_Warming_Up_Your_Voice (Accessed: 28 April 2016).

(2004) in A students guide to A2 drama and theatre studies for the AQA
specification. Rhinegold Publishing, .

The Henley college: Sixth form college (2015) Available at:

http://www.henleycol.ac.uk/henleycollege/home.html (Accessed: 29 April 2016).

From the Henley College website.

Sylvia Young Theatre

School in north London
is home to many
famous celebrities, one
of them being the
musical lengend Amy
Whinehouse who once
walked through the
corridors. Many people
who currently attend
aslo perform on stage
in musicals like Oliver,
Bugsy Malone and
Matilda.

2016 Scholarship

Martland, L. (2016) The stage

scholarships 2016: D&B school of performing arts. Available at:
https://www.thestage.co.uk/advice/scholarships/2016/the-stage-scholarships-2016-sylvia-young-theatre-school/
(Accessed: 29 April 2016).

Name (2015) Its just a doss subject, 20 April. Available at:

https://hgozzers.wordpress.com/2015/04/20/its-just-a-doss-subject/ (Accessed: 29 April 2016).

Performing Arts. Acting. Dancing. And everything in between.

Through school, college/6th form, University, in society, many see these subjects
as a passing subject something easy, easily obtainable, easy to do, a doss
subject.
Fighting my ground, I luckily have had the honour of having a wonderful
education and encouraging parents and family to gain great grades in all my
other subjects, to be able to discuss current issues, trends political, social,
environmental and so on, forming my own opinions, as well as continue into my
theatrical career. I am proud to be well educated. But that was not where my
path lead. Little inclines of being very good at literature, poetry analysis, Theatre
devising, dance competitions, picking up musical instruments quickly and well,
always showed I was not going to be a scientist or Doctor.
Stated in former blogs, I chose to expand my theatrical and creative hobbies
instilled throughout my whole life, when it was doomed for me to go into
medicine.
Yet, without knowledge of my grades, or getting to know me, my status as I recall
it as working in the Theatre Industry as I am skilled in many areas from
performance, to directing, managing and journalism and many more areas, or as
a Theatre Practitioner is still looked upon as easy and as a doss we are
known to prance around and sing show tunes. Which, is a stereotype coming
from somewhere, but we are much more than this.
It seems that those who say this are in fact lacking in their theatrical horizon.
Some pieces really hit emotions and opinions hard no fear of boundaries or
subjects. They contain research, a vital and detailed look into facts and opinions
surrounding the topic. There is a lot of intelligent work that goes into
performance. Yet, that is not seen. And maybe it is purely from their lack of
theatrical versatility.
Speaking to fellow performers, it was a realisation how versatile performers are.
We have the ability to be confident and when failing that, fake it. We are
approachable, able to talk to others, public speak, throw ourselves into different

roles, environments, jobs and so on. A performer can bring what they learnt in
training the comfort-ability with other people; the lack of worry with proximity
to others, able to take on many issues with acting abilities allowing us to bring a
happy and calm persona, even in the worst of times. We are fearless, or at least
appear to do so.
For me, I luckily have had many job opportunities one notably as the founder
and owner of Creative Bubble a city wide project I solely created in Swansea
that went from strength to strength with my night and day, weekend and early
morning and late evening work on it. I networked, asked for favours and debated
and negotiated, addressed people I would not have normally done, made things,
created things, organised things that I would not ever have had the opportunity
to do. My life solely was dedicated to my solo project, something I am proud is
the way it is because of what I did. But the me several years before would have
never been able to accomplish that.
I have always struggled with confidence, and public speaking and networking
was a real worry. With nerves, my minor speech impediment and nervous
tripping of words would stop me from wanting to do such things. However, all the
abilities I mentioned that were developed in my training made me into the
person who has no fear of any of this anymore. Yes, I still get nervous but it is no
longer debilitating as it once was.
We performers have a wacky, creative personality a confidence, a ability to look
outside and beyond the box, to fit in any position we are needed and this makes
our training in a doss subject a very ironic opinion.
The best performers are the well-educated, or with a willingness to learn. People
forget, their attendance to experience something or to be entertained, does not
come from just prancing around It comes from this doss subject and mostly
with hard word, dedication, research and sheer fearlessness. It may be
entertainment for them, but it is a way of life for us mind, body and spirit.

So called "soft" subjects, in both arts and science, have been given a hard time
and the exams regulator, Ofqual, is considering whether to axe subjects like
performance studies and film studies, along with economics and business,
engineering and human biology.
But that doesn't mean they're easy pickings. In 2014, 1.4% of candidates
obtained a A* in media studies, whilst 17.3% got a similar grade in maths. Yet
comparing like for like is almost impossible and could just reflect the intake of
students, rather than the subject's difficulty.
New graduate Sorrel Kinton believes the subject choices she made at A-level
placed her at a disadvantage. Determined to study dance as a 14-year-old, she
chose English literature and language, dance, art and performing arts, before
going to Falmouth University to take a degree in dance performance.
Since graduating last year, she has found it difficult to find work. She believes it's
because, despite obtaining a first-class honours degree, employers perceive her
academic credentials as lacking in rigour compared to those studying more
established subjects.
"I would be in a better position now if I had chosen more traditional subjects,"
says Sorrel. "People have very set ideas about what sort of skills I've got. They
seem to think I can just put my toe in my ear, or do a triple pirouette, which is
not what it's about. I've learned to build relationships and perform well under
pressure, but that's hard to express on a CV."

The report goes on to say: "The most commonly withdrawn subjects are drama
and performing arts, which had been dropped in nearly a quarter of schools
where a subject had been withdrawn (23%), followed by art (17%) and design
technology (14%). BTECs have also seen a decline (dropped in 20% schools
where subjects have been withdrawn)."
Just prior to the last election, Sir Jim Rose's ill-fated draft primary curriculum was
thrown out. He had drama at last clearly placed in "understanding the arts" as
one of the four main art subjects (art, music, drama and dance), all of which
were considered to be of equal status. The Tories and Lib Dems united, even
then, to vote against this well-rounded curriculum that most primary teachers
had welcomed.
Later came Darren Henley's report on cultural education. This followed his earlier
report on music education which recommended drama and dance should be
given equal arts status as curriculum subjects in their own right as did the All
Our Futures report had also recommended this in 1999.
However, Henley's important recommendation was selectively ignored and none
of the initiatives that received Michael Gove's support following this report, were
drama initiatives.
Drama's position in education has been continuously damaged in many veiled
ways since the election. When Gove surprisingly announced without consultation
or warning, that schools should now be judged in relation to their performance in
the English Baccalaureate subjects, I know of secondary schools that
marginalised drama placing it into after school study slots (competing with
sports clubs).
In June there was another giant blow for drama in the shape of the minimal draft
primary curriculum. National Drama, the leading UK professional association for
drama and theatre educators, had expected some involvement in drawing up the
programmes of study for English but it seems a decision had already been made
to cut drama from English. Even the speaking and listening framework within
which drama sat was being silently axed, ignoring the fact that speaking and
listening is the bedrock of English.
Baldwin, P. (2015) In defence of school drama: Dont let arts fall off the curriculum. Available at:
http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2012/oct/30/defence-school-drama-artscurriculum-ebacc (Accessed: 29 April 2016).