Kevin Dowsett
Artistic Director of Theatretrain writes:
We have a saying in Theatretrain – dare to be different. What does that have to do with dance, act, sing? You might imagine that performing arts training is all about doing things exactly together like singing a song as a choir or performing a dance routine. Well yes sometimes in performing you do work as a team doing exactly the same thing together. But not all the time. The point of performing arts training is that it is there to help the performer find themselves in what they do.
None of us asked to be born, it was thrust upon us and we are getting on with the job of living. Human beings have a tendency to want to be the same as the people around them. It gives us security to know that our friends, our family, our team are like minded. If you ask a group of young performers to move around a space you will find that they will pick up a similar speed as each other. Without realising it they are checking out each other and modifying what they do to be the same. And school teaches us more of the same. There’s an unspoken (sometimes spoken) set of rules in the playground about what to wear, what not to wear, how to be cool, how not to be cool. So, it’s not surprising that everyone tries to blend in.
Performers are taught to be different. To be artistic you need some courage, some daring and some thinking outside the box. What is unique about performing arts training is that it takes place in a space that is different. For a start whether it is acting, dancing or singing this place is imaginary. Different rules apply and for many young people this is a space where they can feel safe enough to express themselves without the constant need to see if they have the right answer from the people around them.
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