A Sentimental Education?

A Sentimental Education?


I have witnessed first hand and been deeply disturbed by the narrowness and superficiality in focus, of the vast majority of the UK's current creative theatre student curriculae.
Having taught everything from dance to Care and feeding of An Agent at all of the above, indeed most of the major graduate schools over 25 years, I remain aghast at the Graduate Theatre Courses' almost fetishistic focus on West End, drivelling MacMusicals, the insane and single minded need to ingratiate themselves with casting directors and the bland, paranoid competitiveness, the sad limits of their material and dramatic choices and paper-thin skills, with which an uncomfortable majority of the graduates turn up at auditions.

I find myself working with increasing numbers of producers and directors who when casting, simply bypass the MT and Acting schools no matter how reputable, because they simply despair of ever finding people who do not feel the constant and desperate need to perform for them, thereby obscuring who they really are, if indeed they have any idea once the Stage School veneer has hardened to its uniformly chromium finish.

Conversely, the academically focused private schools reliably acknowledge that they know very little about "professional" theatre and therefore go out of their way to work a great deal harder on behalf of their customers.

They tend to ensure that a far wider spectrum of theatre knowledge is taught and with all the depth and breadth that true education rather than "up-skilling" is all about.

It is a great irony that the "specialist" schools, with purportedly far more specialist teaching resources are actually far more limited and constrained in what they manage to impart to their students than is generally undrstood either by confused and worried parents or indeed a large number of professional employers.

Increasingly these poor angst ridden creatures merely get splurged out at graduation, like so many sausages, brainwashed into believing that unless they get an agent at their graduation show, preferably at least three auditions for musicals but mailnly I want to be seen by David or Pippa or Debbie or Anne or ...or..., 4 commercials or a Soap on A Rope, per month, then they are probably already headed for the scrap heap.

Theatrically, also described as creatively, at 20 to 25 years old, a person should merely display an interested, enquiring, open and humble mind.

Instead the stage schools provide us with ever increasing numbers of indefatigably smiling, bright and shiny, dyed-in-the-wool, kick-ball-change merchants, most of whom clearly ducked drama classes in favour of a lie-in on Thursdays for the last three years.

Unless they are incredibly well connected and/or powerfully aware of all of the other opportunities which their "training" frankly militates against, they might juuuuuust get lucky enough to build a bit of a career. I've bred and co-launched four of these, trust me on this one, I know.

By the way, I do wonder at what point theatre producers understand that part of their wealth if they are successful, is directly attributable to the well-being of their human resources.

I wonder how much more creativity could be channelled into helping develop talented young performers? Opening up instant stardom opportunities is not developing your talent bank, it is merely skewing the pitch. Nor is investing more in the schools merely to lubricate the sausage machinery.

The vast majority will get out of the business prematurely when confronted with the law of diminishing returns which is the inevitable legacy of the under-educated and thereby disempowered, no matter how "talented" they are. They wont reeeally believe it, because all the actors at every read through will mostly make them feel intellectually impoverished. The actors do it on purpose and er...its an act, to get their own back for knowing that they are going to have to ask the "trained" dancers to help them out of some tight spots when comes to the dance calls - but still, too many people are being turned out of too many courses with beautifully polished chips on their shoulders which are mostly the only things keeping their ears apart.

By the way, under-education and empty heads have been, still are and always will be entirely the fault of the educators - if the cap fits wear it.

I worked for one of the most successful Musical theatre agencies for six years. Of the 50 or so Graduates we took on from the start of their careers, only about 10 are still working with any regularity a few years later, and our agency used to get the pick of the litters.

All of them, premier league bright and well "trained", but resolutely ignorant of their true potential through creative under-development, by those responsible for the strategic development of their curriculae.

Real world basic career management strategies for real world people with aspirations and the education to enter and explore fully the vast and magical world of the theatre in its broadest sense, is probably the only set of skills upon which we should focus as educators. Once you know where to put it, your talent will take care of the rest.

I feel it essential to get through to the Stage Schools and Graduate Theatre Courses that a complete rethink of their curricula focus across the board, is desperately overdue. The ability to do 3 or even 8 pirouettes and a walk-over into splits in tune, is far less likely to pay the rent long-term than a true understanding of what it is and how to create eclat, a real awareness of the crucial importance of properly integrated choreographic design, a detailed understanding through study of theatre micro-economics and a firm grasp of the mechanics of how professional theatrical projects are budgeted, capitalised and production scheduled. Every single one of them needs this knowledge in its entirely if they stand a hope and they do not, repeat do not , qualify to further crowd this industrial endeavour until they can demonstrate they have.

Really, not a hard set of measurable criteria - tea..anyone?

Until this occurs, I'd far rather work with catholically well-educated and enlightened young people whose minds and aspirations have not yet been closed by the limited dreams and blandishments of West -End stardom or how to impress a theme-park choreographer.

More importantly for their own peace of mind, it is crucial to teach the simple ability to compute the relentless maths urgently pointing out that 4500 formal Musical theatre graduates a year, every year, year after year - you get my point - chasing approximately 476 annual job opportunities, makes absolutely no sense as any kind of choice, let alone that of a "career" unless you really have your mojo running..

And these numbers do not X -factor-in the Wannabees who get a free pass to knee-slide in ahead of all of them at the whim of a reality TV show text vote and the clenching of a buttock muscle.

However these last as ever fall by the wayside for even more of the reasons above and anyway, will present less and less of a threat as professional standards rise.

As far as Stage Schools are concerned, these are still truths which dare not think, let alone speak their name.