Monday Night Skype Discussion

 We had our first module one focus Skype on Monday and as always it raised some very interesting ideas about our module. As with any good discussion, it left me with a lot of new questions floating around in my head. The main topic that stood out to me was Web 2.0 and social media within the arts. I am planning to perhaps write a blog post entirely about the relationship between technology and my practice. But here I will delve a little bit into the thoughts I was left with from Monday night's discussion. 

I first asked myself the simple question: 'what role does Web 2.0 and social media play in my practice?' This feels like a tricky question and I am forever battling with how much of a role it should or shouldn't play in my practice. The first time social media or Web 2.0 crossed my professional path was before I graduated. We were told that we had to create separate professional Facebook pages and keep it active as it could be important for our livelihoods. I remember inwardly scoffing and thinking what on earth is the point of this? But I made the page and have half-heartedly kept it up to date since. I had to create an Instagram account for a T.I.E. tour I was on to engage the students outside of the shows and workshops we did. I still have random French students following me now! A fellow actor also suggested to me that I create my own website for all my professional work, a sort of online CV. 

While I think understand the potential benefits of these ventures, I am definitely resistant. It just doesn't feel authentic. I'm not a social media person and I don't see that changing any time soon. In fact, it's been my goal over the last few months to get further and further away from social media all together and maybe one day, not to have any at all. I can't help but feel like it's robbing you of actually having a life and making real memories. That's just my opinion. Of course I still find myself scrolling away like everybody else but increasingly it's not something I like deep down. So is it beneficial for me having all these pages and accounts if I'm not the kind of person who enjoys them or has any enthusiasm for them? Whenever I have to make a new post I feel incredibly trepedatious because I'm displaying my work, the thing I'm most passionate and perfectionist about. I suddenly find myself worrying if enough people will 'like' it or if it's good enough. It doesn't feel healthy. But on the flip side of this, I have had the odd opportunity come from the things I have posted so it is perhaps worth it and I just need to manage my stress? An actor friend of mine has been struggling with this concept recently and decided to throw herself into it. But the more she did her research the more she said it felt like a full time job just keeping up to date and current and left very little time for actually creating and working on creative projects to actually post about! 

A YouTube video came to mind during the discussion. A TED talk with Joseph Gordon-Levitt 'How craving attention makes you less creative' (2019). I re-watched this talk and so much of what he said resonated with me. Social media is distracting, it's designed to distract you for as long as it possibly can and make you crave more and more attention. Levitt argues that the internet is by no means a bad thing, in fact it is an incredibly useful tool and when used well, perfect for collaborating with other artists. But this desire for attention can leak into one's work and impact it negatively. This and our discussion has given me a lot to reflect on in my own practice and I want to investigate this idea more. 

Another huge topic we touched upon was ethics within our practices. Still thinking of the context of the  internet, I think there are many ethically questionable situations that I face in my industry. While we network online, get jobs online and so many new doors are opened and it's fantastic, I think our rights are sometimes at risk. Primarily our right to be safe and to be paid fairly. Myself and my friends have texted each other too many times about the location and time of a potentially dodgy audition 'just in case'. I think there's way too many people trying to take advantage of performers in many different ways, including not paying them a fair wage or not paying them at all. I think an important part of my practice has been joining Equity, the trade union for UK creative practitioners. It's made me a lot more aware of my rights as a working professional. I think we as creatives, somewhere along the line, pick up these notions that stick with us in the beginning of our careers. For example, idea of the 'poor jobbing actor', the idea that you probably have to do a lot of unpaid work in the beginning, that you have to put up with terrible behaviour and poor conditions in jobs while you build up your CV, hopefully to something bigger and brighter. Don't get me wrong, I've done all these things, I also believe in working hard, that nothing in life is just handed to you. But I think that you should still feel safe and secure whilst doing the job and get paid a decent wage to live on. 

Before this post gets any longer, I'm going to leave it there! I'd love to hear your thoughts and am looking forward to whatever comes up in the next discussion.