A Way Forward – New Progression Pathways

Project Report November 2009 Aims and Overview of Project

For almost 50 years, East 15 Acting School has produced actors, directors, producers and technicians for stage, TV, film and radio. East 15 was founded by Margaret Bury and grew from the work of ’s Theatre Workshop; it is one of only a few drama schools to have come from such a background. Theatre Workshop broke new ground, re-interpreting the classics for a modern age, commissioning new plays from socially committed writers, and creating an ensemble capable of inventing new work. In September 2000, East 15 merged with the University of Essex, offering new opportunities to develop new and innovative courses in a number of different areas, including technical theatre.

East 15 Acting School introduced its technical theatre degree course in 2004. From the outset the two-year Foundation degree course with optional BA Hons top-up year was to be a practice-based course with an emphasis on learning through practical application rather than primarily classroom based or academic approaches. The intention was to develop a course that would reference traditional theatre apprenticeship-style training but progress to a higher level of training appropriate for undergraduate work. The innovative aspect of the course was to offer training based on a broader combination of skills across the curriculum rather than to offer highly specialist routes, as was the case in the majority of established courses at that time.

As the course became established we realized we could offer opportunities to students whose backgrounds and inclination were more practical than academic (in the traditional sense). Our intake over the years since the course was established has included some very talented individuals from ‘non-standard’ academic backgrounds and a significant number of our students have held BTEC qualifications in related subjects. The learning environment of the course enabled students who might have been out of formal education for a period or who had not been particularly successful at school or college to flourish. We are aware that a number of students with special educational needs associated with dyslexia have done very well on the course.

By 2007 the technical theatre course was well-established yet we were aware that the training opportunities we could offer were still unknown to a large number of colleges and schools, particularly in relation to the less traditional progression routes such as BTEC and HNC art and design course, textiles, fashion etc. Industry links had been established, and continued to be developed to provide work placements for the students but we were aware that a higher profile amongst employers would be beneficial for graduate employment prospects.

The Creative Way Development Fund project offered an opportunity to free up time in the technical department to devote to disseminating information about the course to a broader range of potential applicants and to widening participation amongst schools and colleges within the East 15/Thames Gateway catchment area.

1 The main aims of the project were to:

I Develop working relationships with partner colleges with the aim of agreeing progression pathways from relevant BTEC qualifications.

I Explore the possibility of joint curriculum development to gain closer alignment from L3 to Year 1 of the technical theatre course and to develop certain aspects of the original curriculum to bring it into line with professional practice, there by improving employability.

I Run IAG and related curriculum sampling events for identified groups of L2 and L3 students and/or staff.

I To create an information pack (CDs/web materials/ packs/ workshops or employer link projects) as a vehicle for Information, Advice and Guidance.

I Develop relationships with potential placement providers in the Thames Gateway area and beyond, and to open up possibilities of progression into employment upon graduation.

I Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of partnership working as a mechanism to secure learner progression.

The objectives of the project and the outcomes intended to be delivered were:

I To have three signed progression agreements in place by July 2008 I To have other good links with schools and colleges in place I To create a range of employer contacts I To develop and run taster sessions.

The main activities to be undertaken were:

I Contact meetings with identified potential partners’ staff I Student visits I Meetings/communications with employers I Curriculum Development I Events at East 15.

The project leader was Alison Taylor, Deputy Head of Technical Theatre.

An initial letter offering opportunities for staff and students to visit East 15 with a view to establishing links was sent to approximately fifteen colleges in the Thames Gateway region on the basis of desk research to identify those with the best for the project. As a result of these initial approaches follow-up activities were initiated with:

I South East Essex College, Southend-on-Sea, Essex I Palmers College, Grays, Essex I Barking College, Romford, Essex I Lewisham College, SE4 I Epping Forest College, , Essex

2 South East Essex College

A meeting took place between Alison Taylor and Bill Kenney, Head of the Faculty of Media and Creative Arts, South East Essex College on 22nd May 2008. A range of traditional and non- traditional progression possibilities were discussed and a number of SEEC courses, including fashion and art and design, were identified for which the technical theatre course at East 15 Acting School might provide a suitable progression route. Opportunities for Information, Advice and Guidance activities were also discussed. It was agreed that because of the large student body and the high number of potential feeder courses at SEEC it would be worthwhile holding an Information, Advice and Guidance event at the College in Southend rather than inviting groups to attend an IAG event at East 15’s Loughton campus where the technical department is based.

Attempts were made to organize an East 15 ‘road show’ event at SEEC. However, as a result of the complexities involved in aligning the commitments of staff and students at both SEEC and East 15, plus the organizational problems associated with booking suitable premises, the event did not take place as planned.

A further information-gathering meeting took place at East 15 in Loughton with Alison Taylor, Lulu Gunter (Faculty Programme Manager) and Jennifer Snart (Course Leader, BTEC National Diploma in Technical Theatre) on 19th March 2009. This was a very positive meeting that covered a range of partnership possibilities and also clarified areas of potential overlap in provision at Level 4 and above between the College and East 15.

It is noteworthy that the initial meeting took place in Southend and the IAG event was also scheduled to take place in Southend. East 15 has a campus in Southend but the technical department is based at its Loughton campus. Despite great good will on both sides it proved to be very difficult to co-ordinate work commitments to enable SEEC staff and students to visit the East 15 technical department in Loughton.

Palmers College

A meeting with Alison Taylor and Sarah Waterman (Curriculum Manager for Theatre Studies) took place at the College on 1st July 2008. Following a tour of the college facilities and discussion of opportunities for progression it was agreed that there was potential for agreement in principle.

Sarah indicated that the College would welcome an Information, Advice and Guidance event, preferably before the end of the summer term but, if that proved not to be possible, the autumn term would be fine.

The intention was to invite Palmers College students to the road-show event at SEEC but owing to the complexities mentioned above this event did not take place.

3 Barking College

A meeting took place at Barking College of Performing Arts with Alison Taylor, Rachel Schwartz- Holford (Stagecraft Tutor) and Justin Farndale (Technical Theatre Tutor) on 9th July 2008. Rachel and Justin were initially interested in exploring possibilities for progression from HNC to the top- up BA Hons Technical Theatre course at East 15 Acting School. However, at this first meeting it became obvious that there were a number of opportunities to consider including progression from HNC and BTEC courses.

A follow-up meeting was held at East 15 Acting School in Loughton on March 20th 2009. Rachel and Justin were given a tour of the School and were then joined by Technical Department teaching staff led by Alison Taylor with Erica Gilchrist (Stage Management Tutor), Esther Love (Lighting Tutor), Jake Wakstein (Sound Tutor), Matt Farley (Construction Tutor) and Aurelie Mann (Prop Making Tutor). The discussion focused on curriculum alignment issues and was structured in a series of conversations on each strand of the East 15 course, with the relevant tutor for that strand.

The discussions established that there was significant existing curriculum alignment between the College and the School’s Stage Management provision such that progression from HND level to Year 2 of the Technical Theatre Foundation degree would be relatively straightforward.

East 15 technical staff were very impressed with the training delivered by Barking College which it was felt reflected the professional backgrounds of tutors and thus aligned very closely with the School’s industry-facing and highly practice-based technical theatre course.

Following that meeting the School received an application from a student at Barking College who wanted to progress to the second year of our Foundation Degree. The application provided an opportunity to test the progression assumptions that had been discussed at the meeting in March 2009. The student was interviewed and asked to produce a portfolio of work, as normal for technical theatre applicants. Following a successful interview the student was offered direct entry to the second year. Non-standard admissions offers such as direct entry to second year currently require the approval of the University’s Faculty Dean on a case by case basis. Approval was sought and given by the Dean of the University’s Faculty of Humanities and Comparative Studies.

The project has been extremely valuable in both establishing links with Barking College of Performing Arts and clarifying new progression possibilities. Progression routes have been established for Stage Management and LX/Sound. Progression to Scenic Production is a possibility, based on consideration of applicants’ portfolios of relevant work. At the moment progression to the Costume strand is not possible as there is no costume construction course at Barking.

Progression is on a case by case basis; there is no formal progression agreement in place. Admissions decisions are based on interview and dependent on places available as normal. Our understanding at the present time is that a formal agreement would require ratification under the University’s Academic Partnerships structure. It is very important to note that not having a formal agreement in place has not stood in the way of establishing links with Barking College. As a result of communications enabled by the development fund project we have put in place new progression routes and raised the level of awareness of employment and further training opportunities amongst students.

4 Lewisham College

A meeting with Alison Taylor, Sue Baynton (Head of Technical Theatre) and Lisa Stubbs (Programme Leader, Media and Drama) took place at the College on 11 March 2008. After a tour of the College facilities and identification about the range of training at both institutions, it was agreed that progression from the College’s BTEC Theatre Production course to the first year of the East 15 Technical Theatre Foundation degree would be straightforward though some areas would be new to the students, for example costume construction. This is unproblematic as we do not expect entrants to the course to have experience in all production areas.

It was noted that the College already has an established link to Rose Bruford College specialist courses. However, it was agreed that it would be appropriate to pursue a progression agreement as an additional route.

A very useful discussion about recruitment and interview tasks ultimately led to changes to the East 15 interview process. We were challenged by the suggestion from Lewisham College staff that our interview exercise based on a Shakespeare text could be seen as “presenting another layer of language problems for students” with English as an additional language. This created a debate within the technical department that resulted in our questioning what we were looking for at interview. The debate helped us to clarify that a positive attitude to learning, a good work ethic and creative problem-solving aptitude were the most important attributes to assess at interview. The ability to decipher a complex text was a skill that can and should be taught as part of the course.

By chance, Alison met the then Head of Art and Design during her visit to the College who expressed interest in discussing potential progression from A & D courses to the East 15 technical theatre course. However, a change of staff was imminent and it was agreed to postpone further discussions until the incoming Head of Art and Design was in post.

Also discussed were potential opportunities for Lewisham students to visit East 15, to have a tour of the School and meet technical department tutors. The School was very keen to encourage Lewisham students to visit the campus to experience the practice-based learning environment. It was thought a visit to the School would help to dispel a possible perception amongst Lewisham students that East 15 was somehow ‘not for them’. An invitation was subsequently sent to the College together with an offer to meet transport and staff cover costs from project funds. Disappointingly, no reply was received in response to the invitation and the opportunity to visit East 15 was not taken up.

Epping Forest College

This initiative was aligned to the Creative Way Development Fund project in that it formed part of the East 15 strategy to identify non-traditional pathways for entry to the technical theatre course. Epping Forest College is, however, not within the Thames Gateway region and therefore no Creative Way funding was used for this development. We have included a report on the activity here because it is relevant to the overall project aims and objectives and has provided valuable generic learning points for us to reflect on in terms of future developments.

5 At an initial meeting with Jo Wickham at EFC it was established that there was abundant enthusiasm throughout the College for strengthening links with East 15 Acting School and for exploring progression routes for Performing Arts courses and also for Art and Design courses. Consequently, separate draft Progression Accords were drafted as the basis for further discussion.

One of the most significant learning points for us arose as a result of these draft accords. We realized that whilst it was in theory highly desirable to have formal agreements in place, the process also had the potential to inhibit developing links. Whilst individual front-line teaching staff are enthusiastic about enhancing their students’ progression opportunities through informal links it becomes much more difficult if they are asked to commit their students, departments and their institutions to a specific number of IAG events per year, for example, or reserving a specific number of places on the course for the progression route. The progression accords drafted in relation to Epping Forest College contained commitments that neither partner felt able to sign up to, in all good conscience, simply because delivery could not be guaranteed on either side. The intention was to redraft the accords to be more flexible in terms of the commitments involved but before this could happen we realized that in actual fact we could achieve our objectives on both sides without a formal agreement in place.

Four groups of about sixteen students each from a range of Epping Forest College courses were able to visit East 15 for an ‘Open Day’, to have a tour of the School and experience the technical department learning environment. There were many things for the students to see and do during the day. They had plenty of opportunities during the day to talk to East 15 technical theatre students and staff. EFC students were also invited to see the BA Technical Theatre students’ Graduation Exhibition in the School’s Corbett Theatre on campus.

As a result of this initiative we were delighted to welcome two students from Epping Forest College into the first year of the Foundation degree in Technical Theatre in September 2009, both of whom have a background in Art and Design.

Curriculum Development

Curriculum development was undertaken to introduce changes that would streamline vocational progress. The technical theatre course had previously allowed students to chose any subjects from a range that were not necessarily congruent choices and therefore not in the best interests of either graduates or employers. For example, skills in Sound without congruent skills in Lighting resulted in a less employable graduate than one with both Sound and Lighting skills.

The technical theatre Course Team began by consulting existing students through a series of student focus group discussions and surveys regarding their employment aspirations and skills base. Desk-based research of online job opportunities was conducted and curriculum development consultations culminated in a series of meetings with staff and student employers.

Arising from these consultations the technical theatre Course Team proposed amendments to the course structure using established strands to guide students towards making good vocational choices of compatible options.

6 Some theoretical written work was taken out of the curriculum to provide scope for a greater emphasis on research and its application to production processes as this was thought to be more relevant to technical theatre. Methods of assessment were redesigned to place more emphasis on students’ ability to present arguments orally and to reflect on their own practice.

Curriculum development was completed and in place by the beginning of the academic year 2008- 2009 and has been well-received by students, work placement providers and employers.

Employer Links

Development Funding was used to compile a simple database of established and new work placement providers for technical theatre students. This allowed us to log and make notes on each placement in order to build a long term record of companies and individuals. Prior to the development project employer links tended to be London- based but as a result of the analysis made possible by the employer log we have been able to widen the work placement catchment area. We will endeavor to keep the database up to date but without further resources in terms of staff time it will be difficult to do this systematically.

Examples of new placement providers identified during the project:

Theatre by the Lake, Keswick Robert Allsop Harlow Playhouse Capital Scenery Outback Rigging Orbital Sound GMTV Rainbow Productions

In May 2008 and 2009 we invited (and paid) industry professionals to sit on a panel of mock interviews arranged for third year students to gain experience of a typical theatre interview process and to receive feedback on their mock applications.

As a direct result of the development work on employer links two graduating students in July 2009 have gained work arising from their professional placements, one of which is a long term contract with a long established placement provider and the other a new employer approached during the course of this project.

A number of new work placement providers have expressed an interest in taking our students arising from contacts made during the course of the development project. We will continue to develop new employer links beyond the scope of this project purely and simply because this is necessary to ensure the continued success of the technical theatre course. Without constant consultation with and input from employers we would not be able to maintain the high standard of training for which we are pleased to note the course is becoming increasingly well-known.

7 Evaluation

The project has resulted in some notable successes and has also given us a wealth of insight into the problems and pitfalls of attempting an ambitious programme of developmental activities whilst at the same time delivering a heavily practice-based technical theatre course. We are happy to share these insights with readers of this report.

I Our first insight is that no matter how carefully developmental events and initiatives are planned between partners there will always be something arising at one or other partner institution that will have to take short-term priority and will force busy staff to divert their attention away from longer-term developmental work. It is therefore extremely hard to maintain the momentum necessary to achieve developmental objectives.

I In retrospect, initial approaches should have been phased in stages to facilitate a more focused and managed approach to follow up activity.

I In large institutions, such as South East Essex College, with a high number of potential feeder courses it is likely to be more effective for discussions to be focused on specific courses rather than to try and cover all the possibilities in one go.

I Progression accords are likely to be more successful if they are flexible in terms of commitments and expectations. The absence of formal accord does not in any way inhibit the development of progression routes.

I Geographical location is relevant to development activity. We invited a number of colleges within the Thames Gateway region to both the Open Day and to the 2008 Graduation Exhibition but take up was limited compared to the response from local colleges such as Epping Forest College.

I It is much easier, and likely to be much more effective, to deliver information, advice and guidance events in situ that are linked to existing activity than it is to organize special events. We could not, in the end, do the road-show in Southend because it was impossible to find a suitable time and place to transport all the necessary staff, students, equipment and materials to provide a worthwhile technical theatre showcase. Inviting students to an Open Day, on the other hand, meant that visitors could see a very wide spectrum of interesting activity whilst at the same time the practice-based work of the staff and students on the technical theatre course could proceed as necessary to fulfill timetable and curriculum requirements.

I We will therefore be seeking to develop more Open Day events to which we will continue to invite colleges and schools, including those with whom links have been made through this project. We will promote student group visits to East 15 Acting School shows, some of which take place in London venues, to which IAG technical theatre sessions can be slotted in relatively easily before or after performances. We intend to use the annual technical theatre Graduation Exhibition as a vehicle for IAG sessions and to this end we intend to use a larger venue and run the exhibition for longer with effect from 2010.

8 I Three students joined us this year as a direct result of development project activities. Two came to us from the non-traditional route of Art and Design. We will continue to monitor progression particularly in relation to the student from Barking College who entered directly into the second year of the Foundation degree from an HNC course to ensure that our assumptions with regard to curriculum alignment are correct.

I We will continue to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of partnership working as a mechanism to secure learner progression. Our initial judgment based on the experience of this project is that partnership working is effective on the simplest of levels – awareness of tutors at FE and HE institutions about courses and facilities, opportunities for conversation, mutual trust in quality of training, ongoing communication that takes little time and practically no financing. The more elaborate the projected outcomes, the more difficult it is to achieve anything.

We are very pleased to conclude this report with two quotes - one from a tutor’s reference for an applicant and one from a student. We feel that these comments give an indication of the successes achieved through the development project.

“A visit to a local institution specializing in all aspects of stage production and management gave C a focus for his work and galvanized his decision to make a higher education application.”

“Since I went on a visit to East 15 with my college my interests and thoughts have been constantly around technical theatre.”

Alison Taylor, Deputy Head of Technical Theatre Sheila Chan, Academic Manager East 15 Acting School November 2009.

9 Acknowledgements

Judy Kenney, Programme Manager: Art, Design & Technical Theatre, The Creative Way

East 15 Acting School:

Harry Bowerman, Head of Technical Theatre Erica Gilchrist, Stage Management Tutor Esther Love, Lighting Tutor Jake Wakstein, Sound Tutor Matt Farley, Construction Tutor Aurelie Mann, Prop Making Tutor

South East Essex College: Bill Kenney, Lulu Gunter and Jennifer Snart.

Palmers College: Sarah Waterman

Barking College: Rachel Schwartz-Holford and Justin Farndale

Lewisham College: Sue Baynton and Lisa Stubbs

Epping Forest College: Jo Wickham

Cathy Gardner, MOVE LLN for the East of England

The students of the East 15 FDA/BA Technical Theatre course.

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