Task 6C: Award Specialism Title

Award Specialism Title Proposal: BA (Hons) Professional Practice in Arts (Acting)

I have decided to conduct my research on the above title as I have a great desire to succeed now as an actress. My ultimate goal would be to perform in straight plays, especially Shakespearean dramas. My main passion has always been for acting and throughout my studies on the 3 Year Professional Diploma in Performing Arts at The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, the straight acting classes and Acting Masterclass, which I was chosen to be part of, fuelled my love for straight theatre. In the final year of my studies at Italia Conti, I chose to study the acting option in the first term and this resulted in touring with a TIE production of Macbeth. Following this experience I knew that I wanted to pursue straight acting for stage and also film and television.

In my inquiry, I would like to focus on the positioning of the performer between musical theatre and straight theatre/acting. I want to find out how performers who have been trained in musical theatre are perceived in the world of straight acting and if there is room for performers to work in both acting and musical theatre. I would also like to investigate different forms of theatre including pantomime and Fringe work, and how actors can keep themselves afloat in resting periods between acting work. I want to find out what kind of effect the industry has on an actors self esteem and confidence and also the importance of actors in our society today and how they would be affected if funding for the arts was completely cut.

Tasl 6B: Reviewing Inquiry Tools

Whilst choosing the method(s) which I believe are most relevant to my inquiry, I have critically reviewed the merits and limits of the tools discussed in Reader 6 in order to make a decision on which tool(s) to take forward to benefit my inquiry. I have analysed the merits and limits of 4 tools below.

Interviews

Merits:
- I am in charge of the questions
- Answers can be recorded for later reference
- Can get both verbal and non verbal communication (from watching the interviewee's body language)
- Able to choose exactly who you want to interview
- Allows the interviewee to expand on the questions therefore gaining more detailed answers
- Information is completely true and accurate
- Allows me to explain the questions in further detail if need be and allows the interviewee to expand on the question into a more developed conversation

Limits:
- Time consuming
- Might be difficult to arrange a time that suits both myself and the person I am interviewing
- Interviewer might cause a question to be taken the wrong way based on their tone of voice/the way they ask the question

Surveys

Merits:
- Data is collected from a wide range of individuals
- Doesn't take much time to create a survey and can be easily shared online
- Interviewee can remain anonymous so responses might be more honest and truthful

Limits:
- Sometimes a quantatitive approach only provides you with yes and no answers and these may not provide much information or help
- People might not leave enough time to complete the survey especially if it is on Web 2.0 and they are completing it on the go
- Participants might get bored and not complete the survey if they do not find it interesting
- Questions might not be 100% understood by the participants

Focus Groups

Merits:
- People can discuss in an open environment which may encourage them to be more honest
- As discussion continues more ideas and points might be brought up as individuals bounce off others' ideas

Limits:
- May not stick to the original points if the conversation wanders
- Some people may not say anything at all if there are individuals who are controlling the conversation
- Might be difficult to gather everyone at the same time
- Participants might feel that they cannot say everything that they would like to infront of other individuals

Documents

Merits:
- Will expand your current knowledge
- Research is easily found on Web 2.0 and can be great to back up your point
- Can help act as a starting point for inquiry

Limits:
- The document might be out of date information
- Could be biased and not truthful
- Can be difficult to find documents that relate to your inquiry and might mean that you don't stay on track

I think that interviews and documents will be the most beneficial in helping me with my inquiry. Interviews will help me to gain the exact information I need and ensures that it is true and accurate. I can record the interview to use for later reference and this will help me stay on track in my inquiry. Documents will also be essential for my inquiry as I want to gain knowledge and a better understanding. Documents will also give me evidence of what practitioners and professionals have said to use to back up my inquiry and this will act as a starting point.

I will be using the tools and methods in my inquiry planning and this will give me a broader understanding. I hope that my inquiry will provide performing arts students and professionals with a better understanding of the positioning of the performer between musical theatre and straight theatre/acting. After I have presented my inquiry I hope to add knowledge to this field.

Task 6A: Reviewing Reader 6 & Informal Trial

Reader 6 contains a great number of tools/methods needed when it comes to an inquiry. The reader explains how research can be approached in a qualitative or quantitative way.

"A common distinction in research is the difference between qualitative approach, which relies on the words that people use to understand phenomena, and a quantitative approach that can be translated into numerical data", (Punch, 1998).

Reader 6 also talks about 3 concepts:

- Validity of the Inqury: "whether your methods, approaches and techniques actually relate to, or meausre, the issues you have been exploring" (Blaxter et al, 2001, p221) (Reader 6, Middlesex Uni)
- Reliability of the Inquiry: "if another researcher were to look into the same questions in the same setting, they would come up with essentially the same results" (Blaxter et al, 2001, p221) (Reader 6, Middlesex Uni)
- Generalisability of the Inquiry: "this relates to the ability of the inquiry, or practitioner research, to apply to or have relevance beyong the immediate objectives of the research" (Blaxter et al, 2001)(Reader 6, Middlesex Uni)

Types of data collection tools include:

- Interview
- Survey
- Focus group
- Pilot observation
- Looking at documents

After looking at the different methods, I decided that conducting interviews will be the most appropriate tool to use to benefit my inquiry. I plan on making the interviews structured with a list of set questions, but I also want the interviewee's to feel free to add points or information that would be helpful to my inquiry. I would love to conduct all interviews in person but due to most people having busy schedules this may not be possible! I will look into using some Web 2.0 platforms such as Skype, FaceTime and telephone calls to conduct some of the interviews. I feel that an interview will be the best tool to use in order to hear people's real thoughts and opinions.

Last week, I interviewed a close friend as a trial run by sending her a few questions via email. I made sure that she was aware what her answers would be used for, what I wanted to achieve and that she was not obliged to take part. When I conduct the real interviews, the interviewee's will be shown the ethics form so they will give them more detail. I felt that by asking her the questions over email I did not gain quite as much information as I would have liked to. Carrying out a trial run has allowed me to learn from my mistakes and this will ensure that when it comes to conducting the real interviews I will gain more from them.