Almost two years ago in September 2009 I enrolled into a BAPP course without much knowledge of what it would entitle and with no idea about how much it would affect my life. Since then my professional attitude regarding how I approach new projects and how I reflect upon my own work has changed extremely.
The BAPP course sets out to introduce the students to new working tools, such as Google docs, delicious, Skype and blogging. Having been surrounded my computers all my life I was more than aware of all these tools beforehand so no drastic discovery was made I this aspect, however it did open my eyes to possible new uses these tools could have.
Before the course I was not a big fan of Blogging, I had a personal blog to which I shared some stuff with close friends, but this was hardly ever updated. This course has made me realize the professional potential blogging holds. As a professional actress it is a perfect chance to express my professional in order to make an impact on people within the industry including potential employers.
Google Docs is another tool I used previously for personal uses such as sharing documents and lists with friends, again through this I have discovered the professionally uses it can hold too as it is a perfect way to share comment and work on acting documents with other colleagues.
Skype, now been originally from Spain Skype is a tool I used a lot previously, but funnily enough I would only ever use it with people I was far away from. Using it regularly during this course made me realize how silly this was. I can use it with close friends in order to save money and even more importantly I found that when working on a scene with a fellow actor it was ideal to say go through the scene and notes and ideas for 30 minutes on Skype previous to meeting and working on it in person saved so much time giving us much more of a chance to use the time together putting our notes and ideas into practise.
The skills I have learned during the research definitely show in my day to day life; I find myself analysing the way people express themselves and their body language when telling a story, I am much more ware of if somebody is been 100% truthful or is a voiding a subject.
Within my profession I find that I approach new characters in a much more analytical way. I relate their emotions to my own and pin point any possible links between the character and myself creating a much closer and conscious bond. My interest in new methods is at an extreme, and I am already enrolled in a 4 week intensive method acting course, wanting to learn as much as possible about all the different techniques. During all this I also keep a reflective diary in order to be permanently conscious of the effect my career is having on my life.
I have just completed my last module, the one in which everything finally came together and to be honest it has been the most fun part of the course. The previous modules I admittedly found difficult to link to my career however this one has given me insight I couldn’t imagine into my working environment. Also thanks to my research I got the opportunity to meet some amazing people as well as hear some incredible stories and have changed me and inspired my approach to acting.
In honesty these last months have been extremely difficult and have taken up a lot of time and effort. The writing up the project part was definitely the hardest, I have an extremely busy schedule and finding the time to fit it in and continually having to “get back into it” makes it even harder.
The other day I came across my first draft and was extremely surprised, I compared it to my final draft and couldn’t believe how different they were. It’s curious as I remember finishing my first draft and thinking that not a lot would need to change, its amazing how much I wasn’t conscious of then, and how much re drafting would need to be done.
One of the best parts of this module has been the literature, I have come across so much inspiration and interesting knowledge, however I also wasted a lot of time reading information that was useless but interesting.
My analytical and questioning skills are what I feel have improved the most. These have helped me understand who I am and what I want in life. This self-awareness also gives me a realistic view of what I have to offer and with this I can clearly show employers what that is. My skills of expression have also gone through a massive improvement, this has been something I have always had trouble with, whereas now I am confident I can get my point across accurately and directly with the ability to strongly defend my case.
When I started this course I only had the final outcome in mind, a piece of paper; I never imagined how much impact it would have on me and how much it would involve. When taking on a degree you assume it will just be writing up essays and possibly gaining a bit more knowledge on a certain subjects, however this course has changed who I am.
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