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TheHigher

EducationAcademy

PALATINEDance, Drama and Music

Mark EvansPrincipal Lecturer, Performing ArtsCoventry University

ICEBreakerAn examination of models and practice for the effective integration of creative practice and entrepreneurial skills and understanding, at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, within Performing Arts

TheHigher

EducationAcademy


ICEBreakerAn examination of models and practice for the effective integration of creative practice and entrepreneurial skills and understanding, at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, within Performing Arts

Mark Evans

Copyright © PALATINE, 2006First Published November 2006ISBN 1-905788-22-3

All pictures included by permission of the author

Published by: PALATINEHigher Education AcademySubject Centre for Dance, Drama and MusicThe RoundhouseLancaster University Lancaster, LA1 4YW

All rights reserved. Except for quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, and for use in learning and teaching contexts in UK higher and further education, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher.

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, neither the publisher, or author is responsible for applications and uses of the information contained within. PALATINE takes no responsibility for the content of external websites listed in this guide.

THE AUTHORMark Evans is Principal Lecturer in Theatre and Programme Manager for Performing Arts at Coventry University. He is currently holder of an iPED (Inquiring Pedagogies Research Network) scholarship to research reflective practice and the development of student entrepreneurship. He has recently published a book on the French theatre director Jacques Copeau (Routledge, 2006).

PALATINE is the Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Dance, Drama and Music. Our role is to provide, for the performing arts communities in UK higher education, high quality information, expertise, and resources on good and innovative learning and teaching practices. We also promote and transfer such practices to enhance learning and teaching activity in the performing arts HE sector and to the wider higher education community.

ICEBreaker

An examination of models and practice for the effective integration of creative practice and entrepreneurial skills and understanding, at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, within Performing Arts Mark Evans Principal Lecturer, Performing Arts, Coventry University

A P A L A T I N E P U B L I C A T I O N

CONTENTS Introduction Acknowledgements Undergraduate 4

The Wider Picture 4 The Local Context - Coventry University Performing Arts 8

Course redesign 2006 11 Is Professional Practice enough? 17 Teaching and assessment of the creative elements 17 How do students learn to use failure constructively? 20 Recognizing success 21 Implications for recruitment 21 Institutional developments – Coventry University’s Add+vantage scheme 21

Postgraduate 24

Innovation and Creative Enterprise (ICE) Academy 24 Why an MA? 26 Resident artists/agencies – why and who? 26 Why is this important for the University? 27 MA Performing Arts Innovation and Enterprise 29

Current position 29 New developments 30 Proposed new structure for MA Performing Arts Innovation and Enterprise 32 Assessment 35 How would the PgDip/MA split operate? 36 Recruitment 36 Preparation for exit 37 Overview 39

Conclusion 40

Recommendations 40 General 40 Undergraduate provision 40 ICE/MA in Performing Arts Innovation and Enterprise 42

References 43 Online Resources 45 National 45 Regional 46 Appendices 48

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Introduction This report aims to examine the development of a Performing Arts curriculum at undergraduate and postgraduate level designed to enable students to create real and sustainable career opportunities for themselves after graduation. It takes as its starting point Ralph Brown’s comprehensive report on Performing Arts Entrepreneurship for PALATINE (Brown, 2004), which is recommended as a key resource for any department wishing to review and develop the delivery of enterprise and employability skills and knowledge. Coventry University’s Performing Arts department has, since the early 1990s, consistently sought to develop innovative courses with a strong commitment to the investigation of professionalism within the Arts. As the department approaches a significant period of review and growth, this report examines past and present practice and looks towards future developments. In order to fulfill this aim, the report adopts the following methodology:

An examination of current practice, involving an audit of existing and planned course and module content.

An evaluation of relevant course content against industry needs. Is it current, adequate, appropriate, and are delivery modes effective?

Formulation of recommendations for future practice and development, and identification of possible indicators for success.

Examination of the University’s ICE project for graduate creative enterprise development. Identification of potential models for content and delivery of postgraduate provision in relation to industry needs and current practice.

Summary of key recommendations for effective implementation of undergraduate and postgraduate developments.

Summary of relevant resources. It is hoped that this report will provide a useful model for other performing arts departments interested in reviewing and developing employability and enterprise within their courses. See the appendix for examples of audit mechanisms and general resources.

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Acknowledgements Many thanks to: Ralph Brown, Projects Officer, PALATINE. Charlotte Carter, Third Year BA (Hons.) Theatre and Professional Practice, Coventry

University. Simon Day, B Theatre. Tim Ellis, Creative Director, Hybrid Arts. Lyndsay Evans, Non-Descript. Anna Fenemore, Research Fellow Contemporary Arts, Manchester Metropolitan

University (Cheshire Campus) Lucy Foster, Improbable. Kelly Higgs, Third Year BA (Hons.) Theatre and Professional Practice, Coventry

University. Clare Huby, Arts Development Officer, Coventry City Council. Tony Inglis, Business Development Manager, Coventry University Enterprises Ltd. Jill Journeaux, Associate Dean of School of Art and Design, Coventry University. Phelim McDermott, Improbable. Kirstie McKenzie, Improbable. Vanessa Oakes, Arts Development Officer, Warwick District Council. Jonathan Pitches, Principal Lecturer Contemporary Arts, Manchester Metropolitan

University (Cheshire Campus) Liz Read, Business Development Manager, Coventry University Enterprises Ltd. Amy Saunders, Non-Descript. Nick Sweeting, Improbable. Mike Tovey, Dean of School of Art and Design, Coventry University. Janet Vaughan, Talking Birds. Sarah Whatley, Head of Performing Arts, Coventry University. Sarah Worth, Highly Sprung Performance Company. …and to all who helped with and/or took part in ‘Sustaining the Dream’, the Open Space event at Coventry University on Wednesday 21 June 2006. This project is a component of the CoLab project, a collaboration between PALATINE; the Department of Contemporary Arts, Manchester Metropolitan University (Cheshire); and the Performing Arts Department, Coventry University. The project has been funded by the Higher Education Academy.

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Undergraduate The Wider Picture The introduction of enterprise and employability as key concerns within the Higher Education sector has been a gradual but sustained process over the last fifteen years or more. The term enterprise was barely mentioned as an important aspect of higher education in the late 1980s and early 1990s1, now it is wide-spread. Significant changes have taken place since the Dearing Report into Higher Education and the granting of degree awarding powers to the ‘new’ Universities (who had traditionally placed more emphasis on vocationalism). Graduate enterprise has been increasingly encouraged at a governmental level, and is now supported by several national agencies. By the end of the 1990s, there was a clear recognition, both nationally and within the European Community, of the value for students of training and education which blended skills development and creative exploration with an understanding of employment and enterprise opportunities within the industry (Birch, Jackson & Towse, 1998: 63, and, European Community, 1999). The two terms are often used together, and generally taken to mean broadly compatible things. How do these terms function with respect to practice within the Performing Arts industry? Employability can be broadly characterized as a set of skills and modes of behaviour which are both essential requisites for professional employment in the Performing Arts and also compatible with the customary practice within the industry. For instance, a professional actor would typically be expected to be skilled in voice, movement, characterization, text analysis, rehearsal techniques, stage combat, social dance and perhaps singing. She would also be expected to be reliable, flexible, presentable, on time and able to learn lines. She would typically have to manage her own finances and market herself as a freelance artist. This is a complex and demanding set of skills and knowledge, traditionally associated with a conservatoire style training, and embodied in the content of texts such as An Actor’s Guide to Getting Work (Dunmore, 2004). This set of skills and capabilities constitutes the conventional criteria for employability as a professional actress. Enterprise within the Performing Arts however implies something related but different. Most typically, enterprise would be associated with the starting up of a new performing arts business, and with self-employment. As well as a grasp of relevant performance and employability skills, performing arts entrepreneurs would also be expected to demonstrate skills and knowledge in relation to the setting up of a new business, the identification of market opportunities, marketing strategies, communication skills, and the development of original ideas. Modes of behaviour associated with performing arts enterprise would include: high level of self-motivation, flexibility, risk-taking, self-confidence and endurance (Onstenck, 2003: 76). Of course both sets of skills are to some extent a mode of development towards the

1 There are, for instance, only two mentions in Eggins, H. (ed.) (1992) Arts Graduates, their Skills and their Employment: Perspectives for Change(London: Falmer Press).

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other; more especially so in an age when movement between employment and self-employment is likely to be increasingly fluid. Most performing arts students in Higher Education are driven by a desire to practice their art-form. The majority of students are, as a result, highly motivated towards practice, and wish to pursue careers which relate more or less directly to their ability to dance, act, write, choreograph, compose and/or perform in their chosen field. Most performing arts students would like, on graduation, to join or to set up a business involved in their chosen discipline. However recent surveys show that the majority of students, both at Coventry and elsewhere, migrate into other employment fields, typically in order to address problems of debt or economic survival. It may also be that self-employment in the arts and creative enterprise are still not adequately understood and promoted within Higher Education. A principal consideration for the (re)design of the Coventry University performing arts courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate level therefore needs to be: to what extent is it possible to improve the ability of students to achieve sustainable self-employment within their chosen specialism on graduation.

Non-Descript – ‘A Tale of Competition’ (2006)

Self-employment offers the performing arts graduate several real benefits, which may be under-estimated by students considering career options after graduation. Self-employment within the performing arts typically offers:

The opportunity to continue practicing and developing in their chosen field, at a level they feel comfortable with, and to test what they have learnt in the market place;

The opportunity to further explore their own creativity; The chance to see clear results of their own efforts; Continued interaction and/or collaboration with others in their chosen field; A greater degree of control over their own career choices; Valuable experience in project managing and working in partnership; A chance to develop their ability to work independently.

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Performing Arts is an area of employment where free-lancing, self-employment and enterprise are the norm (Wilson & Stokes, 2001: 3-4). There is indeed evidence that graduates are keen to set up their own arts businesses; a survey at Leeds University suggested that up to 30% of performing arts students wanted to set their own company. A report on occupational destinations of Design, Drama, ICT and Media Studies graduates, commissioned by Coventry University, revealed that 45% of students went into employment related to their area of study; however only 2% set up their own business after graduating. At a time when nationally only 20.3% of drama graduates and 10.1% of music graduates are entering occupations related to their studies (PALATINE – Career Project, see: http://www.palatine.ac.uk/sitefiles/career_fsheet1.pdf), it is clearly appropriate to examine the role that entrepreneurship can play in developing career opportunities for performing arts students. Several factors inhibiting a move into self-employment in the creative industries have emerged from discussions with students, graduates and artists.

Fear of failure. It is safer to get work with others than create your own – ‘Am I good enough?’;

Difficult to ‘make it big’ – large number of small companies and small number of large companies;

Fear of own inexperience – ‘Am I going to cope?’; Fear of financial insecurity and low returns; Lack of venues for promotion of work; Lack of finance required to initiate business; possibly related to… Debt problems on graduation; Too much knowledge is a bad thing – more you know about what’s involved

the less likely you are to do it; ‘Business’ not seen as attractive, business skills development not interesting

enough; Arts are too frivolous to form the basis of a respectable and/or sustainable

career or business; You need to know/learn a lot to run your own business.

There may also be socio-cultural factors affecting a student’s confidence in moving into self-employment. Students from particular backgrounds may experience either disapproval or positive encouragement from family, community or peers. There is very little research available on the effects of ethnicity, class, economic background, religion or gender on progression to self-employment in the performing arts. This is definitely an area that merits further attention and that may well have some real and significant part to play in improving levels of graduate self-employment. There has long been an acceptance that recently graduated artists will probably find that they are required to supplement their income in order to survive. Socio-cultural and economic factors may well, for instance, determine whether graduates from different backgrounds find it easy or difficult (or even possible) to gain part-time employment or other sources of temporary additional income.

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http://www.palatine.ac.uk/sitefiles/career_fsheet1.pdf

For most graduates, it is nonetheless clear that self-employment is no easy option:

There is a high failure rate among creative enterprises but those which do succeed can be highly rewarded. It is of note that creative products have a tendency to have a short shelf life and there are a very high proportion of sole traders, freelancers and micro enterprises in the sector.

(ABL, 2005: 14)

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The Local Context - Coventry University Performing Arts

Highly Sprung – ‘Unspoken Echoes’ (2001) In 1997, Coventry University’s Performing Arts department set out to design a suite of degree courses which would encourage students to engage creatively and critically with the business aspects of being a successful performance practitioner. This project grew out of a recognition that: on the one hand an increasing number of performing arts graduates were emerging from university degree courses and aspiring to careers in some area of the performing arts industries; and, on the other hand, the nature of university degree courses meant that students tended to develop innovation and creativity above technical excellence. There was a recognition that whilst some graduates would always succeed by joining existing arts organizations (theatre companies, dance companies, orchestras or ensembles), others would be more likely to succeed by setting up their own companies or arts businesses and making their first career steps for themselves. The course design drew on the staff’s previous experiences of running BTEC HND courses which had a strong commitment to industry relevant training, and of running top-up degree provision which extended the HND experience into degree level interrogation of policy, administration, practice and theory, as well as their experience as professional performers and arts administrators. At the core of the 1997 course design was a thread of study examining professional practice within the performing arts. These modules, together with the general emphasis throughout the courses on industry practice, aimed to support students in the

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development of the entrepreneurial skills required to establish themselves in the early stages of their careers (as performers or freelance artists, or as small-scale companies). The titles of the courses: Dance and Professional Practice; Music Composition and Professional Practice (later joined by a course in Music and Professional Practice); Theatre and Professional Practice, directly reflect these key features. Central to each course was a set of core modules: Year One

101CPA Professional Practice 1, 102CPA Contextual and Critical Studies,

Year Two 201CPA Professional Practice 2, 202CPA Historical and Analytical Studies,

Year Three 301CPA Professional Practice 3 302CPA Performance, Policy and Culture, 304CPA Collaborative Projects

This cluster of modules aimed to give students: the knowledge, skills and understanding relevant to professional practice with the performing arts, and their field in particular; and understanding of the organization, marketing, funding and presentation of their own performance work; and, the interrelationship between professional performance practice, contemporary culture and arts policy. The culmination of the course for each student was their ‘Collaborative Project’, which enabled them to bring together their subject-specific skills and these core skills to present and market a project of their own choice, which could act as a stepping stone for them towards their chosen career(s) after graduation. The original course documentation recognized the changing nature of employment in the performing arts industries during the last decades of the twentieth century, focusing in particular on the need for performing arts graduates to be equipped with the skills and knowledge to survive and thrive as independent freelance artists and as small-scale performance-based companies. Small scale performing arts practice was identified as an important space for ‘experiment, innovation, resourcefulness and accessibility’ (BA Theatre and Professional Practice, Definitive Course Document, 1997). During the 1980s and 1990s, the costs of undertaking a traditional drama school training increased rapidly. As HND courses arrived on the scene and BA courses became increasingly practice-orientated, higher education programmes became increasingly popular. The Coventry programmes were distinctive and innovative in offering a core element which focused on the entrepreneurial skills and knowledge that students would need to succeed after graduation.

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Relevant aims of the original programmes included: Theatre

To provide students with an understanding of the way Arts and theatre policy is generated and implemented.

To familiarize students with the nature of a professional theatre artist’s career structure and the potential career opportunities available nationally and internationally.

To encourage qualities of enterprise, co-operation, initiative and resourcefulness. Music Composition

The creative, management and personal skills needed to operate successfully as self-employed, e.g. tax, NI, copyright, performing rights, opportunity seeking/creation, marketing, programming, etc.

A thorough knowledge of the current Arts providers, societies and funding structures and local and national levels.

Dance

Provide students with understanding of the infrastructure of the performing arts industry, and the effect of arts policy decision making on it.

Promote understanding of the interrelationship of the creative and interpretative processes of dance within the cultural and professional context in which it takes place.

Encourage the qualities of enterprise, initiative, resourcefulness, collaboration and co-operation.

These aims positioned the courses in line with what was then known as the University’s Enterprise Code of Practice. The delivery of enterprise skills was integrated into a few key modules, but essentially it was directly delivered through the core modules. Over the years since 1997 several further refinements and amendments have been made, including: the amalgamation of the level 3 module in Professional Practice and the Collaborative Project module; the redrafting of the level 2 module in Historical and Analytical Studies to allow for a more subject-specific focus; and the development of course modules which offered subject specific employability skills and knowledge (e.g. 301TPA Professional Development (Theatre)). The advantages of this ‘golden thread’ model of curriculum design were:

Clear identification of relevant entrepreneurial skills and knowledge and their validation as important and relevant to all performance practice.

Delivery of relevant general skills and knowledge to large groups of students. Cross-course collaboration and discussion at student level. Opportunities to develop skills through classroom session and hypothetical

projects rather than just through live projects.

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Disadvantages included:

Hypothetical projects are less motivating for the students. It is harder for the learning to become ‘deep’ learning if it is not linked to practical application and real-life complex problems.

Results in a heavy workload for the relevant module tutor. Can result in the perception by students and staff that other modules do not

need to concern themselves with aspects of professional practice. Not all professional practice skills and knowledge are common to all subjects –

how to deal with diversity of interest, and ensure relevance to subject specialisms.

The emphasis on professional practice was perceived as a marketing strength, and past graduates continue to value the knowledge and skills they acquired on the courses. The QAA Development Engagement with the Performing Arts department in October 2003 concluded in its report that the curricular emphasis on vocational and professional practice was highly valued by students as aiding their employment prospects. Recent graduate artists surveyed for this project stressed that they found that they drew on the learning from the professional practice modules within the degree programmes ‘all the time’. They felt that these elements were important in making the course a ‘realistic’ experience of the performing arts, not just a course of academic study. Through the delivery of these courses, Coventry University’s Performing Arts Department has trained a wide range of performers, composers, choreographers, directors, and administrators who have contributed to the development of the performing arts within the West Midlands (and further afield) over the last decade or so. The staff have also played a key role in the regional arts industry through their practice, as well as their membership of boards, advisory groups, and committees. The teaching on these modules has been supported by valuable input from local artists, arts officers, arts administrators and arts consultants. Their input has been vital in ensuring industry relevance, work-place authority, and professional rigour. At the same time it has also been seen as important to blend this input with critical engagement with policy and practice (Why is it done this way? How could it be done differently?) within the common modules. The aim was that such critical engagement might also lead students to consider working outside the limitations of existing professional models. Course redesign 2006 In 2005, Coventry University committed to a re-design of its undergraduate programmes from an eight module framework to a six module framework. The redesign aimed to bring the University more closely in line with the principles of the Bologna agreement, and to stream-line its course delivery. It was also determined that the University should commit itself to being a leader in delivering employability and enterprise skills across its full suite of undergraduate courses. This has resulted in two important processes: the re-design of the undergraduate courses to fit into a smaller

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module framework; and the design of a suite of cross-University half-modules, called Add+vantage modules, focusing on the delivery of clustered employability and enterprise skills and knowledge. All students must undertake and pass their chosen Add+vantage modules in each year as a compulsory part of their course requirements. Each Faculty was invited to put forward suggestions for Add+vantage modules. The Performing Arts Department has proposed five Add+vantage module streams, to be managed internally: Arts Funding and Enterprise (levels 1 - 2), Creative Enterprise (levels 1-3), Capturing the Creative Spark (Level 1), Into the Dragon’s Den: How to Pitch (Level 1), and Five Life Skills Right Now (Level 1). These modules were designed to draw on the Department’s previous experience of offering the professional practice skills and knowledge within its previous module scheme. In addition the Department took the decision to make a radical change from its previous policy and embed the key professional practice knowledge and skills into the programmes as a whole, rather than re-validate them as stand-alone modules. In order to achieve this change, course leaders and the programme manager for Performing Arts had to be able to identify appropriate modules within the new programmes for the teaching and assessment of skills and knowledge relevant to professionalism, enterprise and employability. These modules, and the relevant new learning outcomes, can be identified as the following: Theatre

111TPA Theatre Manifestos LO2 Examine the relationship of relevant theory and practice to concepts of professionalism

and funding policy; 210TPA Theatre in Practice LO4 Through allocated roles and production tasks, participate cooperatively, creatively and

effectively in the preparation of a performance. 212TPA Touring Performance LO5 Participate in the efficient management of a touring group project. 310TPA Professional Production LO1 Knowledge and understanding of the requirements of working within a professional

environment; LO2 Identified and utilised practical skills appropriate to assigned responsibilities and the aims

of the production; LO3 The ability to work with an appropriate professional attitude at all times LO4 An intimate understanding of the importance of professional working practices within

the context of overall learning and career trajectory. 311TPA Professional Development (Theatre) LO2 Realistically identify their own strengths and weaknesses and to have assessed

appropriate employment opportunities. LO3 Identify and formulate a coherent personal and innovative strategy for working within

the theatre/performance industry

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Dance 110DPA The Moving Body 1

LO4 Apply focus and concentration, attend the required number of classes and respond appropriately to tutor correction thereby demonstrating professionalism in relation to daily class practice

114DPA Dance Performance Projects 1 LO1 Demonstrate a basic awareness of the economic, social and political context for the

production of dance performance events. 210DPA Dance Performance Projects 2 LO1 Demonstrate awareness of responsible professional practice and relevant project

planning/management requirements. LO2 Analyse and evaluate the operational aspects of a performance project. LO5 Apply business skills in the organisation and management of a dance performance

project. 213DPA Dance Practice and Composition 2

LO1 Demonstrate awareness of funding policies in relation to arts projects. LO5 Construct a funding application. Music

124MPA Performance Seminar 2 LO7 Exhibit professionalism in the preparation for and presentation of a performance. 224MPA Performance Seminar 4 LO7 Demonstrate professionalism in the planning, management and presentation of a publicly

performed event. 310MPA Practical and Analytical Performance

LO3 Participate in and respond to a directed ensemble situation with professionalism. LO5 Analyze and evaluate material effectively to particular target audiences. 311MPA Music Arranging LO5 Prepare scores (and parts if required) to professional calligraphic standards. 312MPA Music Recital LO3 Approach concert preparation in a professional manner. LO4 Demonstrate projection, communication and professionalism in performance. LO7 Independently produce and stage a concert.

Music Composition

129MPA Composition Projects 2 LO6 Demonstrate professionalism in the presentation of new works ‘in concert’. LO7 Demonstrate, in writing, an understanding of the term ‘Professionalism’ in the context

of contemporary composition. 227MPA Composition Projects 4 LO5 Demonstrate professionalism in the organization, planning and presentation of a publicly

performed event. 311MPA Music Arranging LO5 Prepare scores (and parts if required) to professional calligraphic standards.

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All Performing Arts degree programmes

310CPA Final Project LO4 Demonstrate awareness of target audience, client, participant, consumer, and/or reader

need in the creation and presentation of the final project. LO6 Create a substantial and coherent body of work that integrates appropriate artistic,

scholarly and business concepts. LO7 Manage the process of creation and production adhering to appropriate scholarly

conventions, legislative frameworks and safe practice. In addition there will be a level one module which all students in the School of Art and Design will take – 100AD Personal Development Portfolio 1 – which supports the students’ reflection on their learning and encourages them to develop an overview of their studies in relation to their future career aims. This module will be central to the fulfillment of the University’s policy for PDP delivery. Second year students will also be able to take an optional level 2 School module – Professional Experience – which covers work-based learning such as placements and live brief projects. There are two Performing Arts modules – Critical and Reflective Practice (level 2), and Documenting Performance Practice (level 3) – which aim to build on the students’ work on their PDPs at level 1 with skills and knowledge relevant to a further understanding of professionalism, creativity, innovation and career development. The appendix includes a mapping of the new modules against the old. This audit of new/old module content illustrates both the areas in which embedding has taken place, and the areas of omission where further module development may be needed to ensure that the embedding of skills is thorough, consistent across courses, and adequately rigorous. Industry needs This project included a survey of local artists, arts administrators and recent graduates. They were asked to identify what they saw as key attitudes, behaviour traits, skills and knowledge, useful and appropriate for undergraduate performing arts students who may wish to set up their own arts business. The principal topics they identified were: Funding, planning and finance

Forward planning: what is a business plan and why do you need one? How to research and write a business plan. Can you put on paper what you believe in, and how does this feed the work you do?

Arts funding policy and practice: who is funded and why, what can you get money for, how does funding impact on your work, where does funding come from – local, government, lottery or Arts Council funding, private sponsorship, etc.

Arts funding applications: required data, how to complete the forms, strategies for success, ‘application-form-speak’.

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Budgeting and account-keeping – awareness of legal responsibilities and tax, when and where to get help.

Flexibility – how to think laterally and adapt your project without compromising your vision.

Roles, structures and organization

Basic understanding of roles and responsibilities within professional arts organizations. A taste of the various skills needed in your field (e.g. lighting, sound, prop-making, design, acting, etc.). Know your own skills and how to develop and expand them.

How to liaise with other companies – what are the relevant hierarchies, structures, roles and practices.

Company status: what kind of a business are you – limited, not-for-profit, collective, charity, unconstituted, voluntary, etc.

Understanding of professional discipline – promptness, attendance, rehearsal conduct, cooperation.

Understanding safe and good practice – health and safety principles; basic risk assessment; insurance; CRB and child protection; relevant aspects of the 2003 Licensing Act; duties of care to participants, audiences and employees; access and equality.

Understanding responsible practice – sustainability, ethical awareness, cultural sensitivity.

Communicate and collaborate

Ability to communicate, collaborate and work with other people. Build relationships with partners, sponsors, funders and audiences. Work as a group and take responsibility for each other within projects.

Know how to describe what you do. This is the starting point for selling an idea. Explain clearly what stage your project is at. What is your ‘unique selling point’?

Networking: knowing who is doing what and where, and how they might help you. Exposure – being seen in the right places. Contacting agencies, joining support networks, getting a mentor, choosing graduate courses.

Talk to artists about their careers and how to make a living. How to ask useful and appropriate questions of other artists.

Managing self

Awareness of own strengths and weaknesses – peer evaluation, skills audit, self-knowledge.

Early in course (first year?), students need to get a taste of different areas of specialism within their subject, and use this as the beginnings of their career planning.

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Confidence in experimentation and innovation, knowing how to learn from failure.

Nurturing enthusiasm, inspiration, integrity, imagination and bravery. Career management – the realities of work in the performing arts: part-time

jobs, short contracts, ‘snakes and ladders’, work/life balance. Identifying what you can control and learning how to deal with what you can’t. Recognizing different levels of success.

Critical awareness of industry

‘Crits’ – gaining an understanding of the value of your work and that of others; gaining confidence in yourselves and your product.

Sense of art world and where innovation is, what it is and its value. Understand creative process of others. Understand how to identify areas of opportunity.

Understand industry from financial point of view – the value of things. How do you place financial value on what you do, on your time?

Understanding the potential role of new technologies, and their limitations. These perceived needs are mapped against the course modules in the appendix. There are a number of existing models for the mapping of employability skills against course content (see, for instance: http://www.ssv.uce.ac.uk/Careers/car-staff-employ.htm). However these tend to be generalized and focus largely on transferable skills. This mapping exercise sets out to evaluate proposed provision against a set of criteria which more closely match specific industry needs. The mapping of transferable skills is, of course, a valuable exercise; nonetheless, enterprise and employability within the performing arts involve some very specific sets of skills and knowledges, and the method employed here aims to reflect that situation. The skills and knowledge identified need to be mapped into module and course delivery through a range of delivery modes including: stand-alone sessions; sessions within modules; and group tutorial sessions. Some of the suggestions for content and delivery have clear implications: the use of professional input may need to be increased, greater emphasis may need to be placed on practice and work-based projects, live briefs and placements. Indeed, some respondents suggested that third year work on final projects needed more structure, focus and guidance on how to use the final project as a launch pad for work. They also felt that more contact with artists, arts officers and relevant people in the region was needed in the final year. The responses also seem to indicate that the assessment of professional practice needs to involve practical activity – the filling in of application forms, the opportunity to respond to live briefs, and to create work for client groups. It is not seen as adequately effective to work on hypothetical projects; students are less motivated and/or construct projects that they see as easy to complete. Students should be encouraged and/or required to design projects that they really want to do, then think about funding. Designing projects and applying for funding have greater educational purpose when they are not undertaken simply as a task or chore, but when they represent and embody the

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http://www.ssv.uce.ac.uk/Careers/car-staff-employ.htm

student’s personal aspiration and artistic vision. Hypothetical projects are seen as failing to empower the student to see beyond ‘ticking boxes’. Is Professional Practice enough? Part of the rationale behind the removal of a ‘golden thread’ of modules in professional practice and the embedding of these skills and knowledge into relevant course modules has been the recognition that it is not enough simply to provide discrete skills sessions in project management, company structuring, marketing and administration. These skills and knowledge are only as good as the product they are aiming to produce and sell. Entrepreneurship is more than a bundle of skills, it can be seen as a way of life (Onstenk, 2003: 76). Beyond the knowledge of effective business practice, students need also to develop motivation, flexibility, confidence, independence, creativity, originality, initiative, risk-taking and endurance (ibid.). Discussion with artists and arts administrators has highlighted the importance of the development of creativity, and the nurturing of bravery, integrity, ambition and passion for an art form. Creative engagement with an art-form is central to establishing value as an artist, to providing a constant flow of enterprising ideas, to establishing a niche as an artist, and to staying at the leading edge of practice. No amount of business and enterprise knowledge can replace inspiration, passion and creativity. Clearly we need to ask ourselves what support we can we give students in generating creative, innovative and/or productive ideas, in learning to understand their worth and value, and in converting those ideas into viable business opportunities. On one level, nurturing creativity and understanding its role in developing enterprise and employability should be a core concern of any performing arts degree that includes practical work. If creativity is core to industry success in theatre, dance or music, then it should be core to the relevant courses. The exploration of creativity and innovation is not simply a tool for encouraging students to engage intellectually with their practice. It also offers a locus for students to take control of the way in which they want to engage with their art form, and through that to convert enterprise and employability from a chore to something profoundly connected with their studies and practice. Teaching and assessment of the creative elements There is a common conception that ‘assessment can be a major inhibitor of creativity’, that it does not ‘permit failure’ (Jackson, 2005). The modular system has long been held to blame for encouraging students to focus on the outcomes the tutor desires rather than what they would like to achieve or what might be possible. The reality of course is that tutors can play an important role in pushing students to achieve things through risk-taking and moving beyond their own boundaries. Tutors can do much to help students recognize creativity and innovation, and to understand its cultural, social and economic value. On a more personal level, that knowledge can then be used to help students

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reflect on their own creative practice. As Jackson states, ‘evaluation is critical to the very idea of creativity (…) Deliberate contemplation is integral to the self-awareness that is necessary to harness creative capability and to understand why something is creative.’ (Jackson, 2005) Models of creativity and their possible application in the world of work need to be made available for exploration and examination. Through critical engagement with the creative processes and practices used by professional artists and tutors, students can develop an appreciation of the nature of creativity and refine their own critical skills. Higher education can be well placed to provide students with an international perspective on their practice, an understanding of the networks of production and practice which drive market change and trends. By coming to understand the frameworks that currently exist they can have a more accurate sense of how and when they might move beyond them. Jackson (2005) suggests that the teaching and assessment of student creative practice and enterprise can be enhanced through the following:

The involvement of professionals within the field in the planning, teaching and assessment of key elements of relevant study.

Use of placements and internships as learning opportunities. Open discussion between tutors, students and professional artists of what it

means within a field to be creative and successful. Opportunities for formative assessment as well as summative, allowing for the

development of risk-taking, and learning from failure. Careful consideration of grade criteria and marking schemes. Use of case studies to encourage understanding of creative practice and

enterprise. Use of reflective processes to surface personal creative processes. Use of ‘crit’ sessions to develop students’ ability to give and respond to

feedback. Ensuring that the development of creative practice and enterprise is a continuous

thread through course design, and through teaching, learning and assessment. Ensuring that assessment is evidence-based and not viewed as overly subjective.

This list has a close correlation to the list of skills and knowledges suggested by artists and arts administrators for undergraduate students. This indicates that a close relationship between effective teaching and assessment of creative practice and the teaching and assessment of professional practice and enterprise skills is possible, and indeed desirable. Creative process is harder to teach and assess. Such processes typically ‘pursue a sense of direction rather than a preordained pattern and specific criteria’ (Jackson, 2005). Tutors need to ‘help students recognize and understand their own creativity and help them express it and make claims against the evidence they feel is appropriate’ (Jackson, 2005). The messiness of creativity does not make it easy to assess, but it does make

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assessment and evaluation valuable. Effective assessment and evaluation should form a key part of making valuable connections to the students’ career aspirations. Jackson suggests that assessment might include:

Portfolio or practical presentations of products which evidence risk-taking and innovation against current conventional practice. Can the student evidence solutions to problems, individuality, new insights, new products, re-working of ideas. The amount and quality of new ideas might also be taken into account. This could include initial assessment of the product’s market potential.

Demonstrations or documentation of processes which evidence risk-taking and

innovation against current conventional practice. Can the student evidence relevant behaviours, flexible responses, attitudes, thought-processes, reflections, individuality, sense of ownership of idea/project? These behaviours can be evaluated against industry standards.

Assessment might happen through reading, listening, witnessing, observing, or watching. Clearly wherever possible, more than one tutor must be involved in assessing creative practice and creative enterprise. It will not be possible to remove subjectivity completely, but shared assessment will go a long way to ensuring open-minded and fair assessment. Evaluation and assessment should ideally occur not only at the end of a project, but should also be on-going. Tutors and students should identify key phases in projects when evaluation could take place, and establish possible indicators of success/failure and creativity/cliché. Students can develop their creativity through:

Devising interesting approaches to presentations. Learning to recognize creativity in themselves and others. Identifying how, why and when to take risks. Working on unsolved (even insoluble) real-life problems. Re-positioning knowledges and skills in new contexts. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation of process.

Evidence could come through:

Performances and presentations. Evaluations of presentations, events, performances against agreed SMART2

criteria. Portfolios – that provide context, evidence, process, decision-

making/justification, outcomes. Annotated scrap books and sketch books

2 SMART stands for: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-specified.

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Blogging and on-line discussions. Concept maps. Reflective writing and creative journals. Vivas, and ‘crit’ sessions during which students defend their process, opinions,

performances, ideas, etc. How do students learn to use failure constructively? Creativity and innovation require risk-taking. As a result, failure is always only one bad decision away. Tutors need to help students deal with and recognize the value of failure. All concerned need to be able to identify when failure is likely, when it has already happened, and/or how it may be avoided. Tutors and students also need to be able to differentiate between different kinds of failure. Protecting students from failure (through ‘soft’ grading criteria, for example) is counter-productive; students only learn that failure does not matter. It is more effective to provide students with opportunities for formative assessment which allows and encourages them to recognize and deal with the immanence of failure. Learning to deal with the uncertainty which the possibility of failure creates is a key attribute for the aspiring entrepreneur, and a vital life skill for the professional performing artist. Originality is the flip-side of plagiarism – students also need to be ‘aware of the ethical dimensions of making claims for creativity that is not their own’ (Jackson, 2005). Identifying plagiarism in respect of performance practice is a complex issue, with less of the clarity already established with respect to plagiarism within academic writing. Nonetheless students need to understand the relevance of intellectual property rights within this field, as a key part both of their business knowledge and of their responsibilities as professional artists. Plagiarism, in one sense at least, represents a failure to take risks and value newness. It also provides a useful introduction to the ethical aspects of enterprise activity. The criteria for assessing creativity need therefore to be carefully considered. To what extent is it possible to include notions of risk-taking, innovation and originality, or willingness to change and adapt to new ideas? Can students a) recognize these qualities and their value, and b) employ them effectively in their own work so that they can produce evidence? It may be possible for students to be involved in negotiating these criteria – referring them to their own career aspirations and enterprise ideas? How might assessment recognize valuable failure? Ultimately, it is valuable to recognize that not all problems have a solution. Occasional failure may therefore be an inevitable outcome of creative endeavour. Students would be helped by the production of a broad set of grade descriptors that embody for a particular field the holistic characteristics of being creative. At the heart of such activity is a recognition of the need for students to become adept at identifying behaviours and outcomes that are associated with creative enterprise, and with success or failure.

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Recognizing success Just as important is the ability to recognize success when it happens. Specifically, in the context of this report, it is important that tutors and students work together to recognize the entrepreneurial value of successful projects. This kind of recognition is of course in addition to the academic value that might be placed on a piece of student work, and is focused primarily on the potential of the work for income generation, development as a performance product, marketability, commercial viability, and its relationship to current professional practice. Academic and industrial/commercial value need not necessarily be incompatible, though differences and distinctions should be made explicit by tutors. Nonetheless students will benefit from placing success in a variety of appropriate contexts, each valid in different ways. The development of a critical understanding of success goes hand in hand with a complex understanding of creative enterprise that doesn’t limit students’ visions of what successful entrepreneurship might be. Such understanding can be developed through opportunities to engage with professional performing arts practitioners and discuss with them their notions of success (and failure). Tutors can help students to place such notions in the larger socio-cultural context, and to reflect on the assumptions behind their own notions of success. Implications for recruitment An effective and imaginative integration of business knowledge and creative skills has the power to continue to strengthen the courses’ market profile. These aspects need to be considered for their value in course marketing. At the point of recruitment, evidence of student success, opportunities to hear graduates talk about the courses, and evidence of industry links would be worth highlighting to applicants. In order to encourage students to see this area of their studies as having personal relevance, it would be valuable to have a mechanism to identify what skills and knowledge incoming students come with. Students may not realize how much existing knowledge they already have. Integrating creative and business skills should also help to change students’ and applicants’ negative perceptions of classes in business skills. Aligning this work with the development of the students’ Personal Development Portfolios should also function to bind their learning experiences together in ways that they find revealing and motivational. Institutional developments – Coventry University’s Add+vantage scheme What is particularly interesting about the current position at Coventry University is that the developments in Performing Arts are taking place alongside an institutional initiative to place Coventry at the forefront of student/graduate entrepreneurship. The University

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has committed itself to designing courses that enable students to become ‘enterprising and entrepreneurial graduates’ (CU – ‘Developing Student Capabilities in Add+vantage modules – draft’ Jan 2006). The key themes identified as core to achieving this aim are: innovation, creativity and productivity. At the start of the project to launch Add+vantage, nine capabilities or skills were identified for mapping employability:

Learning to learn Working with others Problem solving and innovation Numeracy IT and Online learning Communication Career management Information management Personal development planning

From this list, the proposed generic capabilities to be developed through Add+vantage were identified as:

Problem solving skills Action planning and organizing Written and oral communication Questioning and listening Team work and working with others. Key personal qualities to be developed included: Achievement orientation – result driven approach. Initiative – taking action unprompted, pro-active in putting forward ideas. Self-confidence – making decisions and taking action. Reflectiveness – reflecting evaluatively on own and others’ performance. Adaptability – coping with change. Influencing – expressing self effectively and influencing others. Career management skills – self-awareness, opportunity awareness, decision-

making and managing transition. At this stage, Faculties within the University were invited to propose Add+vantage modules which might address the delivery of these generic capabilities, and enhance students’ entrepreneurial skills and their employability. The Personal Development Portfolio was identified as a key tool to help bind the various skills developed together and integrate them with the subject specific knowledge students acquired in their main degree programme. The Add+vantage modules proposed and managed by the Performing Arts department (i.e. Arts Funding and Enterprise 1, Arts Funding and Enterprise 2, Creative Enterprise 1, Creative Enterprise 2, and Creative Enterprise 3, Capturing the Creative Spark, Into the

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Dragon’s Den: How to Pitch, Five Life Skills Right Now) were designed to complement the main programmes within the Performing Arts degree courses. These modules offer a form of elective ‘golden thread’, whereby students can focus on at least some enterprise skills and knowledge which is more closely related to their field of study. There is also the opportunity for students to take modules from a wide range of areas, drawing on relevant expertise in other Faculties. It will be interesting to track take-up of Add+vantage modules by Performing Arts students, and to evaluate the extent to which general modules in broadly transferable skills prove successful in developing students’ employability and enterprise. It will also be important to monitor the extent to which tutors and students are able to integrate the skills and knowledge acquired through the Add+vantage modules into the rest of the programme. One potential danger is that tutors and students will assume that the Add+vantage modules are where all enterprise-related activities happen. Personal Development Portfolios may have a significant role to play in encouraging students and staff to look at learning across the programmes of study and in relation to the development of their enterprise skills. Details of Add+vantage modules can be found in the University’s on-line module directory (MIDS), located at: http://mid.coventry.ac.uk/ .

Non-Descript – ‘A Tale of Competition’ (2006)

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http://mid.coventry.ac.uk/

Postgraduate Innovation and Creative Enterprise (ICE) Academy In 2003 Coventry University commissioned research into the employment destinations of graduates from the School of Art and Design. The report identified that a relatively low proportion of graduates were progressing into jobs related to the nature of their studies. As opposed to more formal, professionally accredited degree programmes, where graduates may enter established careers (e.g. law or medicine) or set up business with relative ease, setting up as a self-employed artist or setting up a small creative enterprise can be a particularly daunting prospect for a graduate. One of the conclusions from this report was a recognition of the need for more proactive encouragement of graduate enterprise in arts and creative industry related areas. Initial plans included proposals for a Creative Village Incubator for Coventry (in partnership with University of Warwick Science Park, and several other key regional agencies). A feasibility study was commissioned which recognized the potential for such an initiative, but which also raised questions over location. In 2005, a further feasibility study was commissioned to examine the potential for the ICE academy as a Coventry University initiative. The feasibility study aimed to examine the following key issues:

How could creative enterprise and postgraduate learning be combined effectively?

What market might there be for such an academy? What level of competition already exists? How sustainable would a project such as ICE be? How would the academy select and recruit students? What disciplines should be offered within the ICE academy? What sort of scale should the project operate on? How would such a project best be managed? How would business support and mentoring best be arranged for graduate

enterprises? What kind of spaces, facilities and resources would be both affordable and

suitable? The key aims of the ICE academy were that it should:

Enable postgraduate students to develop creative business ideas while pursuing their study in a uniquely supportive and creative environment.

Improve graduate retention rates in the sub-region. Enhance the reputation and profile of Coventry University as a centre for

innovation and academic excellence in art and design. Enhance the profile and image of Coventry as a creative and innovative city. Improve the prospects of creative graduates in following the careers of their

choice for which they have been trained.

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Encourage better links between higher education and industry through a mentoring and championing scheme.

Original aspirations were that the cost to student entrepreneurs should be as low as possible; that the location for ICE should offer a distinctive creative environment; that there should be some public services and facilities; that the academy should be self-sustaining. The intention was to supply office space, studio/rehearsal space, meeting rooms, social space and exhibition space, relevant to the needs of the various disciplines. Research undertaken by Advantage West Midlands, the regional development agency, in 2004, indicated that the West Midlands region has ‘the best evolved clusters’ of creative industry activity (ABL, 2005: 9). A SWOT analysis revealed that the region is rich in successful and competitive companies delivering within the broadcasting, games and music industries. The potential for regional growth is clearly there, although possible inhibitors include the relative proximity to London and the relative scarcity in the region of key brand leaders (leading international artists and organizations). An important difficulty in designing provision for graduate artists is the problem of tracking industry needs and monitoring the provision against those needs. The higher education sector is not well equipped to measure and respond to the needs of the creative industries at this level, where activity is often fragmented and multi-directional. A key challenge for the development of ICE lies in the design of course routes which are flexible enough to match the graduate student companies’ needs. Indeed, the ABL report notes that:

Practitioners have found existing provision to be inflexible in terms of content and delivery, and pedagogic approaches and packaging and timing of provision are often insufficiently adapted to the needs of people in demanding professional careers, especially where people are self-employed. (ABL, 2005: 10)

What is currently lacking, and where ICE can provide a regional and national lead, is in the provision of programmes which blend learning and business development, and which seek to build real links between graduate companies, local artists, and industry agencies. The proposed link-up between work-spaces, business development and postgraduate training would be innovative and meet a gap in the current market. Coventry University has taken the decision to commence the ICE project. The University has taken up the lease on the Oyez-Straker building, formerly home to a printing business, situated between the University Technology Park and the main campus, and only a short walk from both. The intention is that the academy will open in 2007, with tenants moving in over the year and MA programmes in Performing Arts and other related areas running by October 2007. The building will have 24 hour secure access, car parking, and facilities for eating and drinking. There will be exhibition spaces, rehearsal spaces, multi-purpose spaces, meeting rooms, office spaces, work-spaces and on-site technical support. ICE will be run by a Director of the ICE project, and staff will include a Project Officer and two technicians. The Director will be responsible for

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taking the concept forward and generating funding for expansion. Clearly this post will be of key importance to the success of the project as a whole. The ideal appointment will have a national profile relevant to the post, experience of managing major projects, experience in bringing in significant funding, experience of working in/with both creative arts industries and higher education, the ability to lead in course development and management. ICE will be run by Coventry University Enterprises Ltd, with the School of Art and Design as a key client providing postgraduate qualifications, along with other clients such as professional artists and companies, and the Centre for Media, Arts and Performance. The graduate companies will be recruited from performing arts, fine art and media production in equal measure. Why an MA? The MA award represents a clear measure of achievement which is internationally recognized. More conventional practice-based MAs still tend to do relatively little to support the student in converting their studies into career opportunities; this MA will offer unprecedented levels of support as an integral part of the programme. One PA graduate who has successfully established her own creative arts business thought that support over first three years of trading was very important for emerging companies. The combination of business support and space for learning and experiment within the ICE MAs would give students a special opportunity to try ideas and practices out, and to (re)discover and explore their creative voice, in a new, challenging and professional environment. Resident artists/agencies – why and who? ‘In Coventry’s creative industries, there is a high level of interest in the ICE concept’ (ABL, 2005: 18). A key part of the ICE concept is the location of resident artists, companies and agencies within ICE as a core part of the infrastructure which will aim to nourish new businesses. Clearly the criteria for the choice of tenants need to be explicit and strategic. Possible/desirable criteria might include:

regional/national profile, and indications of appropriate quality of work, commitment to ICE vision, mentoring experience, experience of partnership working, evidence of good practice in running workshops and other class-based activities, potential for contribution to development of ICE (regionally, nationally and

internationally), potential for relevant contributions to post-graduate programmes, evidence of innovation and enterprise,

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quality and nature of arts practice blends with CSAD practice and expectations. Making the right choice regarding resident artists will be very important – in terms of the public profile of ICE, how it is perceived by the national Arts community, its relationships with the local/regional Arts scene, and in terms of its attractiveness to postgraduate students (including international students). At present discussions have taken place with a number of established regional arts businesses with a view to potential residencies within ICE. These businesses include:

A+MT (Arts and Media Training) (www.amtcc.org.uk) Theatre Absolute (www.theatreabsolute.co.uk) Talking Birds (www.talkingbirds.co.uk)

As current ACE Regionally Funded Organisations these three have the potential to bring to the project specific experience of fund-raising, touring, marketing and project management. Consultation with ACE and with Coventry City Council’s Arts and Heritage Service will be essential to ensure that their vision of resident companies’ future development is in line with relocation to ICE. High profile artists and creative entrepreneurs, with national/international profiles may not be willing to relocate to Coventry, nonetheless there could be enormous benefit from researching funding streams to allow for significant figures within the field to be appointed as Visiting Fellows in Creative Enterprise, functioning as role models, advisors, ambassadors and offering occasional master-classes and surgeries. Why is this important for the University? The MA represents a clear point of intersection between the University’s aims to maintain its place as a centre for applied research and as a leading provider for the teaching and training of young artists and entrepreneurs. A commissioned report (Bingham, 2004), identified the close match between the proposed ICE project and the University’s strategy for enterprise and employability within its course delivery. The students will receive valuable business support, but this will be underpinned by questioning, critical thinking and reflection, and by research and experiment. The ICE project should also be supported by and itself support traditional research activity. Its profile and effectiveness would surely be enhanced by developing traditional research which investigated cognate areas such as: local and regional cultural policy development, regional creative industry development, knowledge transfer opportunities within the performing and creative arts, and possibly by initiating practice-based research projects and PhD studentships. Opportunities might exist for collaborative PhD studentships (possibly with the Arts Council), and for aligned research projects in collaboration with other local, regional or national agencies, businesses or institutions. The University could have an important role to play in developing applied research

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http://www.amtcc.org.uk/

http://www.theatreabsolute.co.uk/

http://www.talkingbirds.co.uk/

within this area, for example through the building of a coherent picture of the regional creative sector – its size and composition, its needs, its potential for development, its trends. The presence of CeMAP within ICE should be important in terms of adding applied research activity to the portfolio of ICE activity, and facilitating research practice around the themes integral to ICE and its activities. Both will gain added credibility from the relationship, particularly in relation to media production, but this should be expanded to embrace a more active relationship between CeMAP and ICE with regard in particular to art practice and performance.

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MA Performing Arts Innovation and Enterprise

Highly Sprung – ‘Candyfloss’ (2004) Current position The linking of a postgraduate qualification to the development of a new creative enterprise is an innovative feature of the ICE concept. The challenge, as with the undergraduate provision in Performing Arts, is in balancing the theoretical with the practical, and with designing a curriculum structure and pedagogy which best responds to the needs of the industry in general and of the various graduate artists in particular. The course of study should facilitate entry into the industry, not act as another bar to it. The connection to ‘real world’ business practice is clearly important to ICE, and central to the design of the overall project. The practical and administrative requirements of running a small business are undervalued in the majority of courses3.

3 This position is however beginning to change. Projects such as PACE have functioned to widen awareness in the Performing Arts sector.

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Performing Arts plans to launch its own MA programme in September 2007. Currently the department contributes to an MA Performance and Media Arts, which is managed by the Design and Visual Arts department. At the moment the structure for this programme is as follows: September to December M01PA Performance Concepts (Triple module) M02INF Reactive Media Production (Double module) January to June M05INF Media Arts (Double module) M03DVA Research and Development (Single module) M10DVA Experimental Practice (Double module) June to September M07INF MA Project (Quintuple module) The current design includes no explicit preparation for self-employment, enterprise or employability. The course is however designed to respond to perceived market needs, and there is implicit coverage of innovative creative practice, current market trends, and opportunities to interact with professional practitioners. MA Projects can also offer students opportunities to produce material which can be showcased in order to attract employer/client interest. New developments Research by the ABL consultants suggested that key business skills delivered within the ICE MA programmes should include:

Issues around tax Applying for funding Marketing IT Accounting Copyright and intellectual property issues Legal requirements Support networks (art-form networks, Arts Council contacts) and networking

practices Identifying future support (accountant, board membership) (ABL, 2005: 20)

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Discussion with local artists, administrators and arts funders confirms the general importance of these elements. In addition to the above, respondents also identified the importance of: Workplace experience

Students experiencing a significant period of time on attachment with a company. Establishing good working practices – equal opportunities, disabled access, child

protection, health and safety, sustainability. Working in the community – value, opportunities, networks (Creative

Partnerships), Ofsted, applied arts (social inclusion, prisons, educational) – the pros and cons. How to run workshops and community-based or client-based activities.

Personal development – careers, challenges, etc.

Learning how to map career trajectories and understand the implications of career decisions. Managing the balance between creative development and practical necessity.

Dealing with change, challenges, insecurity and evolution – emotionally, organizationally and artistically.

Developing skills in collaboration and managing partnerships. Understanding what it means to be part of a community of artists.

Further development of ability to deal with and understand new ideas and new practices. Ability to recognize and critically engage with innovation, originality and creative practice.

Project management

Managing meetings, managing time and managing roles. Setting up and managing project teams. Learning to present your vision, practice and background succinctly and

imaginatively, using languages and formats appropriate to the context, with artists, funders, banks, clients, customers, service providers and other relevant stakeholders.

Artists’ Contracts (e.g. ITC or Equity), employment law, national insurance, company insurance, etc.

Business planning – forward planning for company and project development, and integrating artistic vision, financial planning, marketing strategies, SWOT analyses and budgeting. Pricing and costing. Understanding purpose of business plan and need for review, revision and re-focusing.

Planning tours – venue relations, journey planning, venue contracts, technical information and support, marketing factors, getting bookings. Event planning – performances, showcases, launches.

Researching business location – where to hatch, where to fly to. Radius of viable company activity.

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Ways of tracking, recording, documenting and reflecting on/evaluating the journey traveled. Annual report writing. Portfolio development.

Publicity and marketing strategies. Market data – compiling audience/customer database, identifying and analyzing

markets for products.

Networking and information gathering

Developing your own ‘handbook’, tailored to your own needs, that collates the course information relevant to your business and career needs.

Being able to view the ‘whole picture’ in regard to creative business development, seeing your own practice in context, and working out how to make your own opportunities within that field of practice.

Creative practice development

Space for the continued exploration and development of practical skills and creativity.

Space to play – reflective and critical studies are important, but so are opportunities to try out ideas without pressure. Space is needed to make mistakes, so artists can learn and find out how to make sense of the mistakes. Programme structure needs to recognize the time it takes to refine your own style.

Masterclasses with leading figures in the field – ideal chance for feedback from experts. This kind of input was seen as immensely valuable on many levels.

Formal modes of delivery (lectures and seminars) may be suitable for some elements, but flexible and work-based study and teaching methods (e.g. on-line learning, workshops, mentoring, sharing sessions) must be included as better fitted to the nature of the subjects, and in order to allow for more adaptability and relevance for part-time students. It is also perceived as vital that the creation of performance-based or performance-related live or recorded material is core to the programme of study, as this is the central motivating factor for student artists. The exact balance of formal teaching, networking, skill-sharing and mentoring, and decisions about who delivers what, will all need careful consideration. Proposed new structure for MA Performing Arts Innovation and Enterprise Discussion with relevant professionals indicates strong support for the notion that the MA provision needs to be based around an innovative structure which enables the student artists to develop a programme of study responsive to their needs. The traditional MA structures as used for the recent MA Creative Arts linked suite of programmes, including the MA Performance and Media Arts, were seen as too bound by the traditional academic structures. Further, the ICE suite of MA courses would benefit enormously from a shared structure across all areas that was flexible enough to respond to the needs of each discipline, and of each student. It is clear from existing research

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that business support for graduates must ‘engage with the individual and be directly meaningful in terms of their contexts, their interests, their experiences and their lifestyle’ (NCGE, 2006). For teaching and assessment on the MA course to be equally valid and relevant to students’ needs, then the same criteria should be taken into account. Both the ABL report and the professional artists consulted for this report supported the idea that the MA programme would need a clear thread of professional practice activity and assessment. Such a thread would be required for the credibility of the course as a space for the development of this kind of entrepreneurial activity. The study mode should be flexible; it should offer both full-time and part-time modes in order to allow for actual business activity, and for flexibility of study activity. Graduates should also be able to access relevant undergraduate sessions, and to develop their practice through working with undergraduate students if relevant and possible. Two or three years is currently proposed as the length for a graduate company residency within ICE. This would be long enough to allow the MA to be undertaken at a pace which allowed the business to develop and grow. As one artist interviewed for this project put it: ‘There is real value in sticking at your company. You get better by doing it’, and a three year period would enable this process of development through practice to happen in a meaningful and unrushed manner. Modules Based on the research undertaken, the suggested module framework is as follows: September to December M01PA Performance Concepts (Triple module) Professional Practice Placement (Single module) Small Arts Enterprise Marketing (Single module) January to June Performance Innovation (Double module) Creative Enterprise Research and Development (Single module) Performance Project Management (Double module) June to September Creative Enterprise Performance Project (Quintuple module) Key issues for module/course delivery Skill-sharing and networking Shared workspaces and informal areas will be provided within ICE that will do much to facilitate networking discussions, sharing of problems and practices, and opportunities for interaction on a practical level. This would need to go hand-in-hand with a carefully established culture of partnership and collaboration. Negotiation of the relationship

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between resident professional artists and graduate companies must be handled with sensitivity, and overseen by course leaders. Showcasing MA student work will benefit from the opportunity to be profiled appropriately. The status of the MA programme and its association with ICE and the resident companies would help to raise the profile for any showcase event, such as a festival of postgraduate student performance work. This could take place alongside the existing undergraduate CUPAFest (May/June), and/or with the Godiva Festival (July), and/or to a presentation of work at a venue such as the Belgrade Theatre or Warwick Arts Centre. Mentoring It is vital that any mentor must have relevant subject expertise and be committed to the programme and the ICE project (ABL, 2005: 21). Mentoring is not the same as tutoring and the distinction again needs to be fully understood at all levels. Mentors should typically have previous experience of mentoring (or commit to undertake training in mentorship), as well as authority to practice, and this authority will make them valuable confidantes for graduate artists. Mentors do not necessarily have authority to teach or assess, though they may nonetheless be involved in both under the supervision of module leaders. Role of e-learning There is a developing trend towards on-line learning, and the degree of independence it offers is attractive to students who may need a flexible programme of study. The development of skills and knowledge in respect of digital technologies also has business value. E-marketing could be an ideal subject to deliver through on-line learning for instance. E-learning enables students to collate and share reflections, evidence of learning, examples of practice, critical evaluations, and resources. It will be important that the facilities at ICE enable e-learning to take place, and to be developed as a tool for mentoring, as well as for teaching, learning and assessing. Formal tutoring The Performing Arts department, like the rest of the School of Art and Design, is fortunate to have a healthy proportion of academic staff who combine their traditional teaching and research activities with professional practice and pedagogical expertise. There is a wealth of knowledge and experience here which can contribute to the ICE MA programmes. Such input will be particularly important with regard to:

Identifying originality and innovation and placing it in a wider context. Supporting the development of skills in research and presentation. Developing new pedagogies for the effective delivery of the relevant skills. Linking undergraduate and postgraduate provision, and ensuring the

dissemination of good practice throughout the academy. Providing examples of innovative and/or research-based practice, and in this

manner informing and engaging with ICE tenants’ practice.

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As with the delivery of the undergraduate programmes, it is clear that at postgraduate level the same emphasis on the development and application of knowledge and skills in work-related situations is valuable and likely to be most effective. Students will benefit from simulations, problem-solving exercises, contact with current professionals, professional and work-related scrutiny of their work, collaborations with professional artists, and live briefs. Assessment Clearly there will need to be some focus on the development of the students’ business project in terms of the final assessment of the postgraduate award through the MA project. The central issue is the negotiation of the criteria for success. Whilst profit-making may be possible, it will not necessarily be attainable or in certain circumstances even desirable. Many arts businesses survive solely though subsidy (e.g. Arts Council or Local Authority funding), because their core activities are not aiming at producing profit. Nonetheless, such companies may still be sustainable and offer real employment and career-development opportunities for the graduate students concerned. Therefore, while factors such as profit, turnover, and growth provide interesting indicators, they cannot be used as sole criteria for assessment of arts enterprise. The variety of possible graduate businesses is likely to mean that criteria need to be flexible and developed in relation to the nature and potential of each business idea. Discussions to establish criteria might include:

What is the nature of the market for the proposed activity? How thoroughly has this market been researched, using what methodology?

What are its key features? How has this informed planning? How effectively has the business been monitored and evaluated, against external

criteria and against the business plan? What research could students undertake in order to identify industry relevant

markers of success within the field? How has the business developed? How has the company balanced art and business imperatives, and on what basis

were decisions between the two made? How has students’ practice evolved and developed, and how has this

development related to their business practice? How rigorous, robust and useful is the project evaluation document? What evidence could students provide to substantiate claims of success, viability,

commercial potential, effective management?

This kind of approach implies an assessment strategy which centres not on essays and tests, but instead around portfolios of evidence.

35

The conventional model for an MA involves a significant element of research and a dissertation. How would this work within ICE? One solution might be that the research elements are contained within several compulsory pieces of evidence, and embedded into the final project in particular:

case studies of relevant companies, a business plan, and/or a marketing plan, the collation of business information into a personal handbook for the future

development of student’s business/career a reflective review of student’s own practice and process, with comparative

analysis against the work of others, exploration of practical working methods and evaluation of their relevance to

students’ needs. Final project evaluation; drawing on clear methodologies, identified benchmarks,

and identified sources. How would the PgDip/MA split operate? The split would have to fall at the point where PgDip students did not do the final project – the setting up of the business. Inevitably this raises the question: who would want to take this route? One answer may be that students who already had a business could in this way undertake some or most of the programme of study without the need to then (re)establish their own small business. Recruitment Clearly the MA PAI+E needs to build on the successes of and developments within the existing undergraduate provision, and the postgraduate developments already taking place within the School of Art and Design, as well as developing its own marketing profile. The match between undergraduate and postgraduate study is clearly important. There is an expectation that Coventry University graduates will apply to join ICE and undertake an MA programme within the project. The project is innovative and attractive enough to recruit applicants regionally, nationally (and possibly internationally) as well. The postgraduate programme will need to help entrants identify their existing knowledge base and match this against what is offered within the programme. This stage should be an important aspect of the process in recruiting graduate students.

36

The criteria for acceptance on to the course need to include academic ability, evidence of creativity, initiative and independence, and ability to communicate initial ideas and respond to questions with confidence. This might, for instance, be represented by the following:

a (good or excellent) honours degree in a relevant subject (or evidence of equivalent level of achievement);

Should the MA/ICE only be open to those with a first degree? Would evidence of achievement in relevant modules be required? Should the degree be in relevant arts subjects only? a good creative enterprise idea, presented with coherence, clarity and evidence

of research; evidence of ability to self-manage and work/study independently, and to

collaborate effectively with others. The interview and application process needs to ensure that applicants are aware of the contract they are potentially entering into: what will be expected/required of them, what support will be provided, what responsibilities will be theirs/shared/the University’s. The point of exit from the MA and from ICE will need to be clearly defined; the students must understand that there will be a limited period of tenure. Preparation for exit Assuming successful completion of the MA course is achieved, how can students also be best prepared for exit from the programme and from ICE? On one level this is what the whole project should be about. One measure of the ICE project’s success may well be the launch trajectory of groups leaving the project. There will be value in building towards this point from an early stage. Fundamental to a successful departure from ICE will be the setting up of a viable business. However, ICE graduates can also further prepare for this moment in the following ways:

Researching the experience of others launching new businesses out of this kind of support network.

Developing plans for the first year after leaving which include financial forecasting, but also a realistic assessment of the personal, emotional and organizational stresses they are likely to face.

Researching the next level of support networking. Establishing projects that take them beyond the period of tenancy. Developing an ‘archive’ of work which is well documented, and a portfolio of

projects which are designed with departure from ICE in mind. Negotiating new spaces and bases well in advance of departure. Remaining mobile, flexible, responsive, and communicating well.

37

Establishing a clear and visible market presence beyond the immediate demands of any course requirements. Developing the company’s identity and visibility. Developing an audience, client-base, sponsorship contacts and network links.

Focusing on sustainability. Is the business low-cost? Is it responsibly managed? What is the bottom-line for income generation? Will other part-time jobs be required?

Organizing their business – the right team of people, the right contacts, identifying strengths.

Regional agencies such as A+MT and Creative Launchpad could have important roles to play in helping creative businesses to ‘fly the nest’.

Highly Sprung – ‘Pretend I’m Not Here’ (2002)

38

Overview The MA Performing Arts Innovation and Enterprise, and the ICE project offer a unique and distinctive opportunity for students to combine the further exploration of their subject with realistic preparation for self-employment. ICE will be a project of national significance in the support of new creative enterprises in the Performing Arts. This represents a natural extension of the work Coventry University’s Performing Arts Department has pioneered in developing professional practice as an important area of study within the Performing Arts. The impetus provided by the ICE project has the potential to re-invigorate this process and contribute to further valuable collaboration between regional artists and Coventry University.

39

Conclusion Recommendations General The Performing Arts Department has very good links with artists, companies, arts organizations and networks in the West Midlands region. There is the potential to make greater use of these connections and to generate a stronger synergy at various levels between local artists, students and staff. There are a number of ways that this can take place: ICE residency, participation in module teaching at u/g and p/g level (visiting lecturers, workshop sessions, interviews, etc.), performances for students, informal discussions with students, collaborative projects with staff, commissions for student artists or groups, mentoring.

1. Recommendation: Identification of relevant artists and arts organizations, and negotiation of nature of interaction with department. Regular meetings organized with key artists/organizations to ensure good maintenance of relationship.

2. Recommendation: Identify potential for improved professional arts

input across all PA modules. 3. Recommendation: Further research is needed into the influence of

socio-cultural and economic factors on graduate progression into self-employment.

Undergraduate provision There continues to be some reluctance within HE to recognize the value of enterprise, employability and professionalism as areas of academic study. In part this is because the arts have often positioned themselves outside, or even in opposition to, conventional notions of business and enterprise. The challenge is to develop pedagogies which sustain the traditional emphasis on iconoclasm, innovation and risk-taking whilst at the same time developing a responsible and imaginative sense of what it means to be ‘professional’ and supporting new ideas towards some kind of financial stability.

4. Recommendation: Continued institutional support for development of pedagogical methods appropriate to the development of enterprise skills.

5. Recommendation: Staff development to support tutors in generating

an environment which promotes and supports enterprise.

40

6. Recommendation: There needs to be a policy of regular review of course design and content to ensure that the courses adequately support the development of graduate enterprise. Module/course audits should be followed by action plans to address omissions and anomalies.

Employability and enterprise are becoming equally important focuses for schools and colleges. Whilst there is a danger that this may lead to saturation of students with enterprise skills before they even arrive in HE, there is also clearly a potential market for developing and disseminating expertise throughout the education sector.

7. Recommendation: Examine potential for income generation through delivering short courses for teachers.

Enterprise and employability is as much a state of mind as a set of skills. Students need to be encouraged to perceive their work as not just a response to specific educational requirements placed on them by their tutors – in which the objectives are often largely educational – but also as having possible commercial value.

8. Recommendation: Tutors supported in expanding own knowledge of current innovative practice.

9. Recommendation: Tutors help students to recognize the potential

market value and/or commercial viability of their performance work. 10. Recommendation: Tutors develop use of PDP and reflective practice

to encourage students to reflect on the links between coursework and their career aspirations.

In addition to this, it is important to recognize the value of creativity and innovation in relation to enterprise and employability within the performing arts industries. This is a complex area, and it would benefit from further pedagogical research.

11. Recommendation: Further exploration of effective means to develop and assess student creativity and innovation.

The module audit tasks undertaken have demonstrated that module re-design from a ‘golden thread’ model to an ‘embedded’ model needs very special care. It is all too easy to lose valuable course content unless a clear mapping exercise is used to ensure consistency and coherence. The audit identifies some gaps in the module re-design which would benefit from further examination.

12. Recommendation: Mapping exercise used to ensure that any omissions and gaps in provision are identified and addressed.

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ICE/MA in Performing Arts Innovation and Enterprise The involvement of regional/local professional artists and arts organizations in both ICE and the new MA in Performing Arts Innovation and Enterprise is very important to get right. Expectations and commitments must be clear.

13. Recommendation: The negotiation of service level agreements to ensure clarity and consistency.

14. Recommendation: Establish accreditation for mentors to ensure

standards, and set clear criteria for assessing residents’ ability to contribute to module teaching.

15. Recommendation: Investigation of funding streams for a Visiting

Fellowship in Creative Enterprise. It is vital that ICE and the new MA are given an excellent initial profile. Together they represent a significant opportunity for the University to achieve a lead position in the HE market. ICE provides excellent resources, but lacks a showcase venue for presentation of work.

16. Recommendation: Commitment to identification of suitable venue and negotiation of format for showcase.

42

References I recommend consultation of the PALATINE website for a comprehensive set of resources, case studies, projects, reading and downloadable publications (http://www.palatine.heacademy.ac.uk). ABL Cultural Consulting (2005) Coventry University: Feasibility study into the concept of an

Innovation and Creative Enterprise academy (ICE) London: ABL Cultural Consulting Bingham, E. (2004) Evaluating the Strategic Fit of a Proposed Academy for Creative Enterprise

at Coventry University Coventry: CUE Birch, E., Jackson, C. & Towse, R. (1998) Fitness for Purpose Report – Dance, Drama and

Stage management training: an examination of industry needs and the relationship with the current provision of training London: Arts Council of England

Brown, R. S. (2004) Performing Arts Entrepreneurship Lancaster: PALATINE (available at:

http://www.palatine.ac.uk/sitefiles/performing_arts_entrepreneurship.pdf) Dunmore, S. (2004) An Actor’s Guide to Getting Work (4th Ed.) London: A & C Black. ELIA (2000) ‘Life after graduation: ways to meet the employability needs of graduates in

higher arts education – A Thematic Network report’ in Toolkit for Innovation: Thematic Network Higher Arts Education in Europe, Amsterdam: ELIA.

European Community (1999) Action Plan for Promoting Entrepreneurship and

Competitiveness Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.

Gibb, A. (2006) Towards the Entrepreneurial University: Entrepreneurship Education as a

Lever for Change Birmingham: NCGE. Jackson, N. (2005) Assessing students’ creativity: synthesis of higher education teachers’ views

London: Higher Education Academy Moon, J. (2004) Learning and Employability 4: Reflection and employability York: Learning

and Teaching Support Network. Moreland, N. (2006) Learning & Employability: Entrepreneurship and higher education: an

employability perspective York: Higher Education Academy. NCGE (2006) ‘New Report on Career-making into Self-Employment’, available at:

http://www.ncge.org.uk/communities/newsdetail.php?id=69 . Accessed: 19/5/06. Onstenk, J. (2003) ‘Entrepreneurship and Vocational Education’, European Educational

Research Journal, Vol. 2, No. 1 (2003).

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http://www.palatine.heacademy.ac.uk/

http://www.lancs.ac.uk/palatine/pace/publications/performing%20arts%20entrepreneurship.pdf

http://www.ncge.org.uk/communities/newsdetail.php?id=69

Pedagogy for Employability Group (2004) Learning and Employability 8: Pedagogy for

employability York: Learning and Teaching Support Network. Porter, R. & Johnson, D. (2004) Subregional Dance Development Research Final Report for

the Sub-Regional Dance Partnership of Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire, available at: http://www.nuneatonandbedworth.gov.uk/freedominfo/documents/375dancedevelop.pdf

University of Leeds (2005) The Business of Art: Developing skills for business start-up in the

arts and media (CD-ROM) Leeds: University of Leeds. Wilson, N. & Stokes, D. (2001) Cultural Entrepreneurs and Creating Exchange Kingston:

Kingston University Small Business Research Centre. Yorke, M. & Knight, P. (2004) Learning and Employability 3: Embedding Employability into

the Curriculum York: Learning and Teaching Support Network. Yorke, M. (2004) Learning and Employability 1: Employability in higher education: what it is –

what it is not York: Learning and Teaching Support Network. Coventry University’s Performing Arts modules in dance, music, music composition and theatre are available at: http://mid.coventry.ac.uk/ – go to Art and Design, then Performing Arts, and then click on ‘Get modules’. The University’s ‘Add+vantage’ modules are also available on the same site/links.

44

http://www.nuneatonandbedworth.gov.uk/freedominfo/documents/375dancedevelop.pdf

http://www.nuneatonandbedworth.gov.uk/freedominfo/documents/375dancedevelop.pdf

http://mid.coventry.ac.uk/

Online Resources National

Arts Council – http://www.artscouncil.org.uk The Artist’s Development Toolkit – http://www.a-n.co.uk/cgi-bin/db2www.exe/tour.d2w/input?section=4&topic=77174&id=168331&username=&password=&textonly=0 Arts Marketing Association – www.a-m-a.co.uk

Arts Research Digest – www.arts-research-digest.com Artswork – www.artswork.org.uk Asian Arts Access – www.asianartsaccess.org Business Link – www.businesslink.gov.uk Creative Clusters – http://www.creativeclusters.com/

Creative Industries Development Agency – www.cida.org

Creative Partnerships – http://www.creative-partnerships.com Department of Culture Media and Sport, Creative Economy programme – http://www.cep.culture.gov.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=main.viewSection&intSectionID=334 Equity www.equity.org.uk Federation of Small Businesses – www.fsb.org.uk

Flying Start – online graduate support programme from NCGE – http://www.flyingstart-ncge.com/index.php Generator North East – music development agency for the NE – www.generator.org.uk

Grantnet – online database of grants, loans and other initiatives in UK – http://www.grantnet.com Health and Safety Executive – www.hse.gov.uk

Home Business Alliance – www.homebusiness.org.uk

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http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/

http://www.a-n.co.uk/cgi-bin/db2www.exe/tour.d2w/input?section=4&topic=77174&id=168331&username=&password=&textonly=0



http://www.a-m-a.co.uk/

http://www.arts-research-digest.com/

http://www.artswork.org.uk/

http://www.asianartsaccess.org/

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/

http://www.creativeclusters.com/

http://www.cida.org/

http://www.creative-partnerships.com/

http://www.cep.culture.gov.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=main.viewSection&intSectionID=334

http://www.cep.culture.gov.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=main.viewSection&intSectionID=334

http://www.equity.org.uk/

http://www.fsb.org.uk/

http://www.flyingstart-ncge.com/index.php

http://www.generator.org.uk/

http://www.grantnet.com/

http://www.hse.gov.uk/

http://www.homebusiness.org.uk/

Independent Theatre Council – http://www.itc-arts.org Inland Revenue – ‘Working for Yourself: The Guide’ – http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/startingup/working-for-yourself.pdf Innovation Networks – http://www.2wm.co.uk/innovation-networks Mustard.uk.com – http://www.mustard.uk.com/mustardFiles/index.asp National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship – http://ww.ncge.org.uk NatWest Bank business start-up course – http://www.natwest.com/startuptraining New Work Network – http://www.newworknetwork.org.uk/index.php PALATINE – http://www.palatine.heacademy.ac.uk Performance Initiative Network – http://www.perform.tv Prince’s Trust – www.princes-trust.org.uk Shell – Livewire – http://www.shell-livewire.org/ Small Business Service – www.sbs.gov.uk Startups – online support for business startups – www.startups.co.uk T-Shirts and Suits – Business and Creativity – www.t-shirtsandsuits.com Young Enterprise – http://www.young-enterprise.org.uk/ see: Graduate Programme.

Regional

Arts & Business – http://www.AandB.org.uk Artspages (directory of artists and arts organizations in Coventry area) – http://www.artspages.org.uk Coventry Music Network (support platform for those involved in music industry in and around Coventry) – http://www.coventrymusicnetwork.com Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire Partnership – http://www.cswp.org.uk/

46

http://www.itc-arts.org/

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/startingup/working-for-yourself.pdf

http://www.2wm.co.uk/innovation-networks

http://www.mustard.uk.com/mustardFiles/index.asp

http://ww.ncge.org.uk/

http://www.natwest.com/startuptraining

http://www.newworknetwork.org.uk/index.php

http://www.palatine.heacademy.ac.uk/

http://www.perform.tv/

http://www.princes-trust.org.uk/

http://www.shell-livewire.org/

http://www.sbs.gov.uk/

http://www.startups.co.uk/

http://www.t-shirtsandsuits.com/

http://www.young-enterprise.org.uk/

http://www.aandb.org.uk/

http://www.artspages.org.uk/

http://www.coventrymusicnetwork.com/

http://www.cswp.org.uk/

Creative Alliance – http://www.creativealliance.org.uk/ Creative Launchpad – http://www.creativelaunchpad.co.uk/ Emerge (online newsletter for arts in Coventry) – http://www.emergemag.co.uk The Ideas Factory – http://www.ideasfactory.com/index.htm Midpoint – (network for independent theatre companies in the West Midlands) – http://www.midpoint.org.uk/ Red Teapot (online resource and network for artists working in Coventry and Warwickshire) – http://www.redteapot.co.uk

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http://www.creativealliance.org.uk/

http://www.creativelaunchpad.co.uk/

http://www.emergemag.co.uk/

http://www.ideasfactory.com/index.htm

http://www.midpoint.org.uk/

http://www.redteapot.co.uk/

Appendices

1 Mapping of industry needs against CU Performing Arts modules (post 2006)

2 Module audit – review of pre-2006 CU Performing Arts modules against proposed 2006 modules.

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Mapping of industry needs against CU Performing Arts modules (post 2006) Funding, planning and finance

Forward planning: what is a business plan and why do you need one? How to research and write a business plan. Can you put on paper what you believe in, and how does this feed the work you do?

Add+: Creative Enterprise 1-3. Dance: (210DPA Dance Performance Projects 2) Music: Music Comp: Theatre: (212TPA Touring Performance) PA: 310CPA Final Project

Arts funding policy and practice: who is funded and why, what can you get money for, how does funding impact on your work, where does funding come from – local, government, lottery or Arts Council funding, private sponsorship, etc.

Add+: Arts Funding 1-3. Dance: 210DPA Dance Performance Projects 2; 213DPA Dance Practice and Composition 2. Music: Music Comp: 129MPA Composition Projects 2. Theatre: 111TPA Theatre Manifestos PA: N/a

Arts funding applications: required data, how to complete the forms, strategies for success, ‘application-form-speak’.

Add+: Arts funding 1-2. Dance: (210 Dance Performance Projects 2), 213DPA Dance Practice and Composition 2. Music: Music Comp: 129MPA Composition Projects 2. Theatre: (212TPA Touring Performance) PA: 310CPA Final Project

Budgeting and account-keeping – awareness of legal responsibilities and tax, when and where to get help.

Add+: Creative Enterprise 1-3 & Arts Funding 1-2. Dance: (114DPA Dance Performance Projects) Music: Music Comp: 129MPA Composition Projects 2. Theatre: (113TPA Making Performance; 212TPA Touring Performance) PA: 310CPA Final Project

Flexibility – how to think laterally and adapt your project without compromising your vision.

Add+: Creative Enterprise 1-3, Capturing the Creative Spark. Dance: 114DPA Dance Performance Projects Music: N/a Music Comp: Theatre: 113TPA Making Performance; 212TPA Touring Performance. PA: 310CPA Final Project

Roles, structures and organisation Basic understanding of roles and

responsibilities within professional arts organizations. A taste of the various skills needed in your field (e.g. lighting, sound, prop-making, design, acting, etc.). Know your own skills and how to develop and expand them.

Add+: N/a Dance: 114DPA Dance Performance Projects Music: (120MPA Performance Seminar 1) Music Comp: 129MPA Composition Projects 2. Theatre: 113TPA Making Performance, 210TPA Theatre in Practice, 212TPA Touring Performance, PA: 310CPA Final Project

How to liaise with other companies – what are the relevant hierarchies, structures, roles and practices.

Add+: N/a Dance: 114DPA Dance Performance Projects Music: (120MPA Performance Seminar 1) Music Comp: 129MPA Composition Projects 2. Theatre: 113TPA Making Performance; 212TPA Touring Performance; 310TPA Practitioner Production. PA: 310CPA Final Project

Company status: what kind of a business are you – limited, not-for-profit, collective, charity, unconstituted, voluntary, etc.

Add+: Creative Enterprise 1-3 (A+v) Dance: 114DPA Dance Performance Projects. Music: Music Comp: (129MPA Composition Projects 2) Theatre: 212TPA Touring Performance PA: 310CPA Final Project

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Understanding of professional discipline – promptness, attendance, rehearsal conduct, cooperation.

Add+: Five Life Skills Right Now. Dance: 110DPA The Moving Body. Music: 124MPA Performance Seminar 2. Music Comp: 129MPA Composition Projects 2. Theatre: 111TPA Theatre Manifestos; 110TPA Text, Space, Performance; 112TPA Character and Rehearsal; 210TPA Theatre in Practice, 212TPA Touring Theatre, PA: 310CPA Final Project

Understanding safe and good practice – health and safety principles; basic risk assessment; insurance; CRB and child protection; relevant aspects of the 2003 Licensing Act; duties of care to participants, audiences and employees; access and equality.

Add+: N/a Dance: (114DPA Dance Performance Projects; 210DPA Dance Performance Projects 2) Music: Music Comp: Theatre: 113TPA Making Performance; 210TPA Theatre in Practice; 212TPA Touring Performance, PA: 210CPA Stepping Out: Performing Arts in Community Contexts; 310CPA Final Project.

Understanding responsible practice – sustainability, ethical awareness, cultural sensitivity.

Add+: N/a Dance: Music: Music Comp: Theatre: 212TPA Touring Performance (?), PA: 210CPA Stepping Out: Performing Arts in Community Contexts; 211CPA Performance, Politics and Culture;

Communicate and collaborate Ability to communicate,

collaborate and work with other people. Build relationships with partners, sponsors, funders and audiences. Work as a group and take responsibility for each other within projects.

Add+: Five Life Skills Right Now, Into the Dragon’s Den: How to Pitch. Dance: Music: Music Comp: Theatre: 113TPA Making Performance, 212TPA Touring Performance PA: 310CPA Final Project.

Know how to describe what you do. This is the starting point for selling an idea. Explain clearly what stage your project is at. What is your ‘unique selling point’?

Add+: Into the Dragon’s Den: How to Pitch. Dance: N/a Music: N/a Music Comp: Theatre: 212TPA Touring Performance; 111TPA Theatre Manifestos; PA: 310CPA Final Project

Networking: knowing who is doing what and where, and how they might help you. Exposure – being seen in the right places. Contacting agencies, joining support networks, getting a mentor, choosing graduate courses.

Add+: N/a Dance: N/a Music: N/a Music Comp: 129MPA Composition Projects 2. Theatre: 311TPA Professional Development (Theatre); PA: 310CPA Final Project.

Talk to artists about their careers and how to make a living. How to ask useful and appropriate questions of other artists.

Add+: N/a Dance: N/a Music: N/a Music Comp: 129MPA Composition Projects 2. Theatre: 210TPA Theatre Practice; 212TPA Touring Performance; 310TPA Practitioner Production. PA: N/a

Managing self Awareness of own strengths and

weaknesses – peer evaluation, skills audit, self-knowledge.

Add+: N/a Dance: N/a Music: N/a Music Comp: N/a Theatre: 110TPA Text, Space, Performance; 112TPA Character and Rehearsal; 210TPA Theatre in Practice; 212TPA Touring Performance; 311TPA Professional Development (Theatre).

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PA: Critical and Reflective Practice; AD: 100AD Personal Development Planning

Early in course (first year?), students need to get a taste of different areas of specialism within their subject, and use this as the beginnings of their career planning.

Add+: N/a Dance: Music: N/a Music Comp: 129MPA Composition Projects 2. Theatre: 110TPA Text, Space, Performance; 113TPA Making Performance; 112TPA Character and Rehearsal. PA: N/a AD: 100AD Personal Development Planning

Confidence in experimentation and innovation, knowing how to learn from failure.

Add+: N/a Dance: N/a Music: N/a Music Comp: N/a Theatre: 110TPA Text, Space, Performance; 113TPA Making Performance; 212TPA Touring Performance; 310TPA Practitioner Production. PA: 100AD Personal Development Planning

Nurturing enthusiasm, inspiration, integrity, imagination and bravery.

Add+: N/a Dance: N/a Music: N/a Music Comp: N/a Theatre: 110TPA Text, Space, Performance; 113TPA Making Performance; 212TPA Touring Performance; 310TPA Practitioner Production. PA: N/a

Career management – the realities of work in the performing arts: part-time jobs, short contracts, ‘snakes and ladders’, work/life balance. Identifying what you can control and learning how to deal with what you can’t. Recognising different levels of success.

Add+: Five Life Skills Right Now. Dance: N/a Music: N/a Music Comp: 129MPA Composition Projects 2. Theatre: 311TPA Professional Development. PA: N/a

Critical awareness of industry ‘Crits’ – gaining an understanding of

the value of your work and that of others; gaining confidence in yourselves and your product.

Add+: N/a Dance: All modules. Music: All modules. Music Comp: All modules. Theatre: All modules. PA: Critical and Reflective Practice.

Sense of art world and where innovation is, what it is and its value. Understand creative process of others. Understand how to identify areas of opportunity.

Add+: Creative Enterprise, Catching the Creative Spark Dance: All modules. Music: All modules. Music Comp: All modules. Theatre: All modules. PA: 310CPA Final Project.

Understand industry from financial point of view – the value of things. How do you place financial value on what you do, on your time?

Add+: Creative Enterprise 1-3 Dance: N/a Music: N/a Music Comp: N/a Theatre: N/a PA: 310CPA Final Project

Understanding the potential role of new technologies, and their limitations.

Add+: N/a Dance: 114DPA Dance Performance Projects 1. Music: N/a Music Comp: Some elements of new technology involved in various composition modules. Theatre: 113TPA Making Performance PA: 211CPA Performance, Politics and Culture (option module).

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Module audit – review of pre-2006 CU Performing Arts modules against proposed 2006 modules. Old modules New modules – Year 1 PP1 Dance Theatre Music Music Comp Add+vantage,

PA and CSAD 1. Identify individual roles and working practices within the performing arts industry.

114DPA Dance Performance Projects

113TPA Making Performance

(120MPA Performance Seminar 1)

129MPA Composition Projects 2

2. Examine and evaluate the relationship between professionalism and the performing arts practitioner.

114DPA Dance Performance Projects; 110DPA The Moving Body 1

110TPA Text, Space, Performance; 112TPA Character and Rehearsal

(122MPA Ensemble and Musicianship Studies 2) 124MPA Performance Seminar 2


100AD PDP

3. Identify key concepts within arts policy


111TPA Theatre Manifestos

Arts Funding 1

4. Critically assess the rationales for policy interventions and funding allocation


111TPA Theatre Manifestos;

Arts Funding 1

5. Discuss the complex and interrelated nature of identified areas within the performing arts, including such issues as the funding system, arts institutions, employment structures/patterns, audience/client profile.




Arts Funding 1; Creative Enterprise 1

6. Apply skills in information technology to present information, data and/or images as appropriate.

100AD Personal Development Planning


100AD PDP

7. Communicate ideas and interpretations in writing.

111DPA Dance Perspectives


In addition, this module will provide opportunities for students to develop the following skills, although this will not be assessed explicitly:

1. Apply knowledge to carry out a range of tasks in support of live performance events.


113TPA Making Performance

124MPA Performance Seminar 2


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Old modules New modules – Year 2 PP2 Dance Theatre Music Music Comp Add+vantage,

PA and CSAD 1. Explain the principles behind relevant project planning requirements, budgeting practices and funding criteria

210 Dance Performance Projects 2

210TPA Theatre in Practice; 212TPA Touring Performance; Physical Theatre



Creative Enterprise 2

2. Assess the value and importance of responsible professional practice.


210TPA Theatre in Practice; 212TPA Touring Performance; Physical Theatre

(224MPA Performance Seminar 4)

Critical and Reflective Practice

3. Analyse and evaluate the professional life experience/operational aspects of a particular artist/organisation/company/project.

(210 Dance Performance Projects 2)

(210TPA Theatre in Practice; 212TPA Touring Performance; Physical Theatre)

(Critical and Reflective Practice)

4. Practice project management in the preparation of a hypothetical arts project.


210TPA Theatre in Practice; 212TPA Touring Performance; 213TPA Physical Theatre




5. Critically assess the key factors determining specific career paths.

212DPA The Moving Body 2

212TPA Touring Performance

Critical and Reflective Practice

6. Demonstrate business skills including budget management, marketing strategies, effective organisation, use of IT.

(210 Dance Performance Projects 2)

210TPA Theatre in Practice; 212TPA Touring Performance




7. Practice a variety of research methods.

Performance, Politics and Culture

8. Communicate ideas, both orally and in writing.

Performance, Politics and Culture

53

Old modules New modules – Year 3 Collabs Dance Theatre Music Music

Comp Add+vantage, PA and CSAD

1. Formulate a project proposal that fulfils the stated criteria, integrating business and artistic concepts.

Creative Enterprise 3; 310CPA Final Project – non-assessed

2. Articulate the aims and objectives of the project, arguing for its purpose and viability.

Creative Enterprise 3; 310CPA Final Project – non-assessed

3. Apply skills and knowledge to formulate a marketing strategy.

310TPA Practitioner Production

Creative Enterprise 3; 310CPA Final Project

4. Undertake and present creative research as a basis for the collaborative project.

Creative Enterprise 3; 310CPA Final Project – LO2

5. Demonstrate awareness of target audience/client/participant need in the construction, presentation and documenting of the project.

310TPA Practitioner Production;

Creative Enterprise 3 310CPA Final Project – LO4

6. Demonstrate the ability to generate, structure and present material, drawing on discipline-specific expertise for a performing arts project.

310TPA Practitioner Production;

310CPA Final Project – LO5

7. Manage a complex project, demonstrating practical and organisational ability incorporating financial good practice, IT, people management etc.

310CPA Final Project – LO6, LO7.

8. Synthesize a range of materials to document and evaluate the project, communicating in writing, incorporating graphic and other visual materials as appropriate.

Documenting Performance Practice. 310CPA Final Project

In addition, this module will provide opportunities for students to develop the following skills, although this will not be assessed explicitly: 1. Working effectively in partnership

with others at all stages of the module.

310TPA Practitioner Production

310CPA Final Project

54

working together to enhance the student learning experience

ISBN 1-905788-22-3© PALATINE 2006

PALATINEThe Higher Education AcademySubject Centre for Dance, Drama and MusicThe RoundhouseLancaster UniversityLancasterUK

tel: +44 (0) 1524 592614e-mail: [email protected]

www.palatine.heacademy.ac.uk

TheHigher

EducationAcademy


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