More Ethics...

Looking at ethics in a professional context has deepened my awareness of my work place - as Simone Grandjean said ethics are generally 'known but not seen.'  I saw what I now know to be professional ethics as a set of rules and obligations I adhered to because of my personal ethics.

As a performer my product is ME so it is easy to loose sight of the bigger picture of the industry and think of ethics as a purely personal thing.  I have come to realise how important is is for me to distinguish between personal, professional and organizational ethics in order to move forward with more clarity and understanding of my own practice.

Personal: Values, morals, conscience and character - This is all had ever really thought of ethics as.  I saw my personal ethics as the reason I approach my work in the way I do.  I still do really and from history it is where it stems from but I can see there is more too it than that in a professional field.

Professional: Systems in place within a particular profession. - I saw this as law but I can now see laws stem from ethics.

Organizational: Ethos of a company - how we do things around here.  - My awareness of this related to codes of conduct as a rule base to work from.  I always thought I would not be employed by a company or want to work for a company if my personal ethics were not right for them.

So as you can see I had an awareness of all of these but I just had not labelled them in this way or put them all under the bracket of ethics.  With this new knowledge it is ethics become clearer in a professional context and how they all in twine but also stay separate. And....ETHICS ARE EVERYWHERE!!

"Ethics pervades all parts of our lives - personal and professional, public and private.  It's a matter which governs our actions and guides the decisions we take and things we do."
Reader 5: Professional Ethics, Middlesex University.

The case studies in the reader got me thinking about important aspects of my ethical approach to my professional practice and my inquiry:

• Importance of relationships with my colleagues and senior management.  Maintaining good relationships is key to creating a professional work ethic and so important to career progression.  You never know who people may know or even who they are and what they do.
• Awareness of the higher powers that are answered to - the chain of accountability. Who does my area manager answer to? Who does the company manger answer to? Who does the artistic director answer to? Important to see the bigger picture to have a better understanding of the company as a whole not just what you see on a daily basis.
• Knowing who monitors my work and how.  Important to remember there is a record of everything eg. show reports, feedback forms from workshops - it is easy to forget.
• How wanting to achieve can distort ethics.  In relation to my work if in a rush may not do health and safety check every time.  In regards to my inquiry wanting to get the answers I want to hear and therefore only asking a certain group would not be ethical research.
• Ethics can be distorted because of fear of truth sharing - it is human nature not to want to be wrong!  Especially in our work place as it could loose us our job!

In understanding the theoretical ethical framework it is easier to break down and understand how I work and how those around be do:

Consequentialist: The consequences of ones conduct are the ultimate basis for any judgement about the rightness of that conduct.

Denotologist: The morality of an action is based on the actions adherence to rule or rules.

Virtue: Character or morals determine evaluation of ethical behaviour.  Being rather than doing.

These may be frameworks but I do not believe that many of us fit perfectly into one or the other.  I would say I mainly sit within virtue ethics but within my professional practice I also sit in denotologist ethics as there are strict rules and obligations to adhere to that I would not dare break.  I am sure I work with consequentialist ethics sometimes too especially when working with children as protecting them is paramount and I also believe in protecting their innocence to a certain point.  However the awareness of this framework is essential to be aware of moving forward with my inquiry and dealing with a variety of people who may work in different ways and the tensions that may arise.  

Hollie x

Getting my head round ethics

I am a visual learner so I just wanted to gather some images surrounding ethics to make things a little clearer:

Labels limit learning

Gemma Wright Press commented on my last blog that she had been to a workshop with James Nottingham - that is the guy in the video above.  I looked into his work and found this video.  James talks about learning in relation to children but I think it directly links to our journeys on BAPP.  He talks about how learning is about making progress not being the best.  In regards to our professional inquirys we need to work out where we are starting from in order to work out what we want to know to judge our progress at the end NOT if we were the best.  If we change our attitude to focusing on personal progress our application enhances.  We are given labels from a young age of things we can and can not do and in approaching something we have been told we are not so good at our application lessens because we immediately associate it with a struggle.  James talks about this theory:

Application = Value x Expectation

We may value something but if our self expectation is low our application will also be.  I think I have a tendency to have a low expectation of myself on this course because I am a creative and practical person, I am not very good at intellectual study - at least that's what I have been labelled as!  In letting go of that and making it about progress my application will heighten.

In relation to my line of inquiry I know I am starting from a very small knowledge base and my journey through my inquiry is about my personal progress not getting comparing myself to others and striving to replicate their level of knowledge.

This whole theory relates to striving for an inclusive society maybe this is why it interests me so much.  Thanks Gemma it is a long video but if you have the time I think it is worth a watch.

Hollie x

May have hit my idea....maybe.....

After a chat with Alan Durrant about my progression with a line of inquiry I feel clearer and more positive about my approach.  He reminded me to think about where I was coming from in asking my question. He told me to imagine myself at the end of the BAPP course and distinguish what I want - not in terms of my career but what I wanted to have gained.  I want to gain knowledge about a new field, I want to understand what is going on out there and where it has stemmed from, I want to know how I can get involved.  This doesn't mean I am ignoring what I currently do and enjoy I am simply adding to it.

This discovery led to me deciding that as a whole I want to gain knowledge.  This will help me progress in this new field even if it is just no longer being a novice and being able to hold a conversation on the topic.  The topic I really want to explore is inclusive theatre and if I am honest with myself I don't really know anything about it.

So it is about mapping out inclusive theatre and understanding the territory.  Looking at it's features, domains, where it is inhabited and uninhabited.  Understanding what is going on in that field, where it has come from and how.  Looking at the development of access within inclusive companies and beyond - what symptoms are indicative of creating change.  Our values and perceptions of disability for example are changing but what is driving it - politics, human nature, other countries?  Maybe it is about drawing a comparative study to look at the underlying principles.  We spoke about agencies and how we are all acting on behalf of someone or something in everything we do.  So I could look at the agencies behind inclusive theatre:

What are the social drives behind inclusive theatre?

This question will enable me to gain knowledge and have an informed opinion on current practice.  It isn't for definite yet but I am feeling positive about it.

I spoke with Alan about exploring literature and he made a good point that literature doesn't necessarily mean going to the library and ploughing your way through endless books to find something useful.  If I followed the inquiry mentioned my literature would lie in current companies and what they do so I would explore their websites, articles written by them and productions/projects that they have done. 

We also spoke about the course as a whole and how sometimes I feel I lack direction but the BAPP is all about taking responsibility.  Alan said 'people that you admire have got there by themselves.  They are centred and knowledgeable about themselves.  They are self reflective and self questioning - you need to grasp doing the same in order to take control and progress.'  He also mentioned that 'we need to get into a confused space to move forward - if everything made sense then we would not be learning.  When you think you understand something - grab on to something new.'

This conversation really helped me so I wanted to share it - hope it helps you in some way too!

Hollie x

What they thought...

I have continued to put my questions to my peers, here are some more thoughts:

Liam - Charity Fundraiser (Disability charity)

Liam picked out the question:

How can theatre be made more accessible to disabled and disadvantaged young people?

These were his thoughts on this:

• I need to be more specific - choose between disabled and disadvantaged.
• If I chose disability what disability do I mean? Learning or physical?
• What do I mean by accessible?  He referred me to 'the social model of disability' which focuses on the fact that it is only society that makes someone disabled not the condition.  It has key principles to consider attitudes, social support, information and physical structures.  These all contribute towards accessibility and I plan to research this further should my line of inquiry go that way. 

Social model of disability - It is explained further here!

• If reference to my question what are the benefits? he pointed out that in his view benefit implies an assumption that there is no barriers when there is.
• He mentioned that in general that my questions are very broad as an experienced academic he gave me the advice that in gaining focus I will gain a stronger inquiry.

Amanda - Performing Arts Teacher

Amanda picked out these questions:

How can access to live theatre and arts enhance a child's progression?

How can theatre act as a form of therapy - what are the benefits?

These were her thoughts:

• Be more specific! What do I mean by theatre - watching or participating?
• In regards to a child's progression I need to think about if I mean socially, emotionally and physically.
• If I decide to go into child psychology she recommended a visit to the RAD library as there is lots of resources there.
• She mentioned that my questions are all very positive and general, maybe having more of a statement to explore arguments/theories for and against this would create a stronger inquiry.  She gave the example of 'Does ballet have a negative effect on a child's body?'

These comments are great food for thought as I progress with my inquiry questions.  I know I need to be more specific but I am finding it hard when I don't want to choose a certain group of people or distinguish between watching or participating in theatre - maybe this is Inclusive Theatre?

Hollie x

Ethics in performing...

Finding codes of practice/regulations for a performer was a little harder to come by.  Looking back at previous contracts I have had they are very factual and in my eyes full of legalities rather than ethics.  Or are legalities ethics?  I guess they are in a way as laws stem from ethics and are there to create a better society - without them we would be in chaos.  So my contracts are full of dates and agreements to adhere to such as publicity, understudy and youth workshops.  I believe the work ethic of a performer is ingrained at the stage of professional training and when you are employed you are simply expected to know this and conduct yourself in a certain way. 

I found this link that stood out to me regarding the ethics of a performer, take a look:

An Actor's Code of Ethics

This is similar to the original ideas I had for the code of ethics of a performer.  This task got me thinking about the merge between what I saw as laws and ethics - they are more combined than I had thought before.  It also got me thinking about how as a performer our work ethic comes from our training and it becomes second nature that is expected by an employer.  The ethos of each company I work for may change and it is important to be aware of that but I feel in regards to my personal practice there are certain things that are just expected because of my training.  What do you think?

Hollie x

Ethics in workshop facilitating/teaching.....

I looked into the actual ethical framework of my workplace - here is what I found:

Workshop Facilitating/Teaching

• We expect a creative, inventive and energetic approach with parents and children coupled with a dedicated supportive and ‘can do’ attitude. Contractors should have the excellent interpersonal skills and positive outlook required to become an inspirational motivator of children and colleagues.
• When dealing with customers, you are the public face of the company. Parents and schools are entrusting their children to you and will in part judge you on your appearance. Therefore you should aim to be neat and well-groomed at all times.
• Punctuality is vital when providing services for the company. Teachers are advised to arrive at least 15 minutes before the start of a workshop as that is when the hall is hired from. If you are going to be late for any reason, communicate immediately with the appropriate Area Partner/ Principal/ School/ Parent as required.
• You are expected to comply with all policies regarding health & safety and child protection. Please see the appendices to this document for more information.
• You may well come into contact with confidential information about a child’s health or domestic situation. You must not disclose to any unauthorised person any information relating to the children in your care or their families.

Regarding policies of health and safety and child protection there is links to endless documents they have in place to adhere to.  The health and safety guidelines cover everything from driving to the venue, buying and preparing fruit to fire safety and workshop risk assessment.  The child protection policy covers child collection procedure, accident/medication procedure and policies regarding detecting and referring possible abuse.

Comparison to original thoughts

I think I was pretty close to the actual framework in place in my initial thoughts.  I have worked for the company for a few years now and because of the nature of the work the codes of practice are drummed into their employees.  Child protection is of extreme importance and this is never to be forgotten.  In saying that it is interesting that I focused on my approach to my work and what was expected of me in relation to the company more than the safety and protection of the children in my care.  I think this highlights my perception of company ethics as a set rules I personally have to abide by in order to impress my employer rather than overall obligations/laws the company as a whole is expected to adhere to.  Or are these obligations/laws the company ethics or legalities?  I remember the notion of avoiding harm and doing good from the campus session.  I think I see personal ethics as doing good and professional ethics as avoiding harm when it is really about combining the two. What do you think?  

I did not think about the aspect of confidential information and even though I know there is lots of policies and procedures in place regarding health and safety and child protection the extent of them still surprised me!  I think I abide to them in my practice but I will be having a re-read to make sure!

Hollie x