In a nutshell.... My inquiry

In a nutshell...

   As explained in previous blogs, I spend a great deal of my professional life, working within care and residential homes, providing musical theatre style entertainment for the residents. As this is such a sensitive and unique performance space and environment, I felt it was a perfect opportunity to expand my existing knowledge and experience to research is topic further and bad my professional inquiry on this performance environment.

I wanted to understand how performance arts can be a beneficial form of entrainment when  delivered in care and residential homes.

This can be catorgorised into sections;

* What forms of performance arts are used within care and residential homes? How successful are these programs in terms of positive feedback, audience participation and rebooking? Using interviews and document reviews, I will gather knowledge from other professionals to gain different thoughts and perspectives.

* What performance based organisations are in place already in care homes? How do they operate to ensure the residents benefit from the sessions/performances?

*How can I expand my existing knowledge and experience to find patterns and attain new interpretations? Moving forward, it is important to see if performance is adapting within these environments as the audience changes over time

 I felt these were all questions that would help me find out how I can develop my skill set to cater for the needs of the residents within my shows in order to benefit my own personal practice, and other performers who work in this sector through a better understanding.
  Firstly, To gain a better perspective, I looked into various organisations and how they operated in order to provide a beneficial form of entertainment within a care home. These benefits can be determined by the positive feedback they receive, the success in terms of continued bookings and/or funding, and also any support from medical/scientific organisations that back up their ideas.  I was also interested to explore the obstacles and limitations they faced and what they do to overcome them. To progress in my practice, I feel it’s vital to highlight these problems, working to resolve them, thus bringing a better service to my clients. The companies I looked at were;

*Green Candle- Remember to dance
*  Age exchange Hearts and Mind programme
*The Baring foundation

Each one brought new ideas into how performance arts can be delivered within care settings, who they are successful along with the obstacles they faced. I found similarities within my own practice e.g the use of props by Green Candle appeared to play a positive part in audience participation and engagement. But I also discovered many new ideas that I will aim to provide within my own shows to improve my services. One point was  the idea of training staff within these programmes, so they become involved in the performance workshop/show itself, to encourage the residents to be more included and involved. These new innovative thoughts, will help channel my shows into a new direction of growth and improvement.

Inquiry tools-

* Observations-
  I wished to understand how other performers plan their entertainment sessions, seeing first hand how they operate and format their programmes. I observed and recorded a show of two performers from the same entertainment company, to see how they structure their shows, what choices they make and why they make them.

Specifics I focused on;

* Song choices- eras, genres etc. I also want to find out if they use a mixture of upbeat songs and ballads and how they work out a set list.
* If dance is involved, if so what style and to what standard.
* What themes do they do? Which one works best? Why?


*Gathering data and reflection as part of my work-

  Working within care homes, I am able to observe and account experiences of performances within different environments.  Each day I’d record events of my shows which I thought were successful e.g received positive feedback or had lots of interaction, along with areas I feel need improvement.


* Interviews-

   Interviewing 6 performers in this field, I wanted to find out how they work and if this is successful- going through the structure of their shows, the music they choose, style of performance and if they get a good reception after the performances.
This is tool I felt not only benefited myself but also the people I interviewed. As Bell says it is an advantage that ‘can follow up on ideas, probe responses and investigate motives and feelings’ (Bell, 2005, p.157). This meant I could get a full insight into how someone works, what their feelings are and their motives behind the choices they make within their career.

Using these tools, I focused on a few specific areas;

Focuses;

Genre- The material used in performances, what era and style e.g. musicals, wartime etc.- I discovered whilst the 1940s appear to be the most popular, (due to the age of the clients and the relevance the era has to their life), the 1950s are becoming increasingly popular as the audience becomes of a younger generation. I discovered the importance of reading an audience and delivering what they engage with and enjoy the most, rather than sticking to your exact plans, despite the reaction you get.

Staging- How material is delivered, including audience participation, choreography and costumes- Naturally, performing in care homes completely differs to usual theatre spaces, so staging of shows is crucial to enhance performances.There can be limitations with spaces varying from small lounges, to specially designed areas for entertainment. As this space can change daily, your shows must be adaptable in order to work for all homes.
     During my inquiry I intended to find out about the use of costume, if people used them, why they did or didn't use them and if they did any changes within a show. From the observations I can see why their use of costumes is so important. The traditional 1940s navy uniform, complete with makeup and hairstyles, added a sense of occasion to their performance, bringing the era to life and creating another dimension to the songs. Again this links in with the sense of nostalgia in which an object or being can arouse memories.
      The final aspect of staging I looked into was how the show was delivered; were the performances closed/fourth wall or we're they interactive with the audience. From my own experience and also the knowledge taken from interviews and observations I feel audience participation, getting people to sing and dance along it extremely effective but , I feel the best thing is to try adapting to each audience to give a personal yet professional service.
   
 

Why they feel their performances can be beneficial- Looking at different positive , experiences of performances that have affected the audience’s mood, moral or reaction from staff-My main aim was to understand the way in which performance arts is beneficial when delivered in care homes, particularly the musical theatre style shows like the ones I carry out. Using interviews, I recorded personal experiences in which the performers felt they had a positive impact on either a particular audience member or a collective group. One of my main findings were that feelings of isolation can be improved, uniting people, to enjoy the performance together. Burrows comments on the effects of the 'Remember to dance' project having positive effects on 'levels of non-verbal interaction, body/facial gestures and eye contact' (Vella Burrows and Wilson 2016 pg 58).
   

How the service of bringing performance arts to care homes can be improved- what areas of bringing shows into care homes can be altered to give a better experience for the residents, be it the performers own actions, or the way in which care homes receive the performances.- The biggest issue raised in this section was staff/management involvement. From the interviews it was clear that in some cases performers are left alone with residents so are unable to get many people up dancing, and joining in, gaining a less positive experience for the residents. When staff are involved as well, they can encourage residents, helping them to dance along and get them engaged with the performances.

 
    Overall I feel my inquiry was a success, in terms of progressing in my career. I have developed a greater understanding of how other performers, be it national organisations, to individual singers operate; what their strengths and weaknesses are, in turn helping me evaluate my own programmes to improve on areas to provide a better service to my audiences.


 







 

The journey

   Having finished my main schooling over 8 years ago, going back into academic work at university has been a challenge to say the least. Balancing a full time job, whilst completing BAPP tasks and projects, all whilst renovating and moving house, has been extremely tough at times, yet has allowed me to learn some valuable lessons, both professionally and personally. Aside from the knowledge and experience I have learnt from the actual inquiry findings (blog on this to follow) I have developed in many ways;

* Time management- I have gone from quite a hectic and spontaneous person, to a more organised and productive time keeper. During the course, I developed a personal timetable/schedule to ensure I fit in course tasks, my business accounts around my working schedule whilst allowing time for creative and development (dance classes, music research)

* Using social media to network and expand my opportunities- Before beginning BAPP I would only really use social media to socialise and catch up on gossip. Through the skills I learnt and the group and one to one Skype sessions, I began to understand the importance social media can have professionally. Now I have an up to date LINKD IN in which I communicate frequently with like minded professionals, created two professional media accounts on Facebook and Instagram, where I have managed to network and create new business opportunities.  I have also created a YouTube channel to broadcast my work (show feels, voice-reels and live performances) platforming myself onto a virtual stage in which many people can see my work.

   *Blogging- I have gained the confidence to blog effectively, something I always wanted to do, but never felt I could. I have also created new professional contacts through blogging and commenting on other blogs. They have sparked online conversations, inspiring me as well as challenged some of my beliefs, making me more reflective and open to new ideas.I have then transferred these conversation subjects to my work place and to other creatives, gaining their perspective. Sharing ideas and understanding others opinions is important to expand one’s mind, seeing theories from all angles.

 * Reflective practice- This altered my perspective, challenging me to reflect upon my work. Through journal writing I am now able to look back upon performances, evaluating positive and negative aspects. I am more organised, thinking things through, becoming a mature and well rounded professional. Not only do I now write a journal, but I found other styles of recording my accounts with various ways to reflect taking my practice to a new dimension.


   Through all the challenges, hurdles and endless evenings of almost pulling my hair out, I can see the light and the end of the tunnel, and can look back on my BAPP journey and be proud of how far I have come.

First draft down....how do I feel?

     My first draft of my critical review is complete! I have mixed feelings, of relief the content is down on file and hopefully now it will just be tweeting and adapting rather than a full rewrite (fingers crossed), of worry for my feedback, and apprehension of beginning looking at my professional artefact.
    I have enjoyed the process of looking for sources from different journals, YouTube and websites, feeling a great sense of progress within my practice as I have been able to take advice and knowledge from them to adapt my work. It is surprising once you begin to search, just how much content is out there for you to analyse and draw conclusions from. This has actually ended up being a small issue as, because I avefound so many useful resources, it has been difficult to condense into the 2500 word count.   I have gone over this count as I felt getting in content was important for the first draft, as it's easier to condense existing work than having to add more on, which would mean more research, analysis and evaluation.
    Now the wait..... For feedback,

Blogs will follow as I continue my final part of my BAPP journey

Finding yourself in the arts!

  As the research into my inquiry progresses, I find many articles and writings that I can completely relate to, not only from my professional perspective, but often on a personal level. This statement from the 2009 Baring foundation article I feel goes so much further than entertainment for the elderly but an insight into many lives and how the arts can effect them;

   'Participation in the arts has many benefits, the intrinsic value of creative expression, the affirmation of ones sense of self and the process of acquiring and developing skills which sometimes provides a livelihood'.

   I found myself thinking through my day to day life, away from my profession in the arts, and just how much we incorporate the arts without realising. What would your life be without music? Without being able to enjoy a concert, or a show, be it live or on tv? How would you react if you realised you could never dance again? Or sing in the shower? We take these things for granted, yet without them our lives would simply not be the same. It is also a huge part of our social lives, attending plays or shows with friends, dancing with a partner at an event, singing along at a karaoke... imagine those social activities no longer taking place in your life and how that would effect your sense of self. This can often be the case within care homes that do not incorporate the arts of any form into their schedules, with residents having no form of entertainment or creative activity besides watching a television. Particularly those with dementia as 'for many people with dementia, diminishing confidence in communication and cognitive skills commonly result in withdrawal from usual social activities (De Haan 2016), they therefore they loose a big part of their lives and involvement with others.
    However involving people in performance arts, be in live music they can sing along to, dance or movement workshops or other forms of arts activities, it brings people together into the same space, focusing on the same thing. This then encourages social interaction, creative expression and the chance to reform a major part or what was a 'normal life' before being in a care home. It is sometimes misjudged as a simple way to pass an hour or so for the residents yet it can give an 'opportunity for the subjects to be involved in social activities and reinforce(d) positive emotions towards relatives, friends and carers'(Sixsmith 2007).


   I personally could never imagine a life without the arts... Could you?


Quotes taken from-
'An Evidence review on the impact of participatory arts on older people'pg 31 Sixsmith (2007)
'Green Candle Remember to Dance 'pg 8 (De Haan 2016)
'Green Candle Remember to dance', pg 10, The Baring Foudntion (2009)pg 21, Cutler, D. (2009) Ageing Artfully: Older People and Professional Participatory Arts in the UK. Baring Foundation

Using props within performances

Continuing my research for my inquiry, I have come across many interesting papers and articles on performance arts within care homes. In 'Remember to Dance'(Vella-Burrows, Wilson 2016) they talk about the use of props in their dance sessions;

'A growing body of evidence has examined the benefits of props to stimulate sensory integration, interaction and self expression. Dance movement therapist Patricia de Tord observes that variety of props can be used to support participants co-ordination, creative impulses and imagination'

   This got me thinking of my performance and the different shows I do. For some shows I use props and others I do not. For example in my 1940s shows, I give each resident a Union Jack flag to wave during the show. I feel this does encourage the. to participate more, as they feel a part of the whole thing, becoming involved rather than being outside observers. It often gets people feeling patriotic so gather a sense of pride for their country and the songs that were so relevant during a time the country was at war. This supports the idea of improving social integration and interaction, as I always find this show most people sing along, dance (if they are able) and wave their flags throughout.
    One other example of this is during my Christmas festive shows, I give each resident a party prop e.g a tinsel scarf, santa hat, reindeer antlers etc. This appears to get them more into the party spirit, with the props being a focal point for interaction with others. Some props, the reindeer antlers for example, are very comical, so it usually strikes up laughter and conversation between residents,even ones that do not usually interact. The props also add a sense of occasion to the shows which I feel has a positive effect on the residents participation.
   Moving forward as a professional I feel I should look into my other shows and see what props I could perhaps incorporate and how that would benefit the way in which the audience received the performance.

Quotes taken from- Remember to Dance
Evaluating the impact of dance activities for people in different stages of dementia
Trish Vella-Burrows and Lian Wilson

De Tord, P. and Braununger, I. (2015) Grounding: Theoretical application and practice in dance and movement therapy. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 43. DOI: 10.1016/j.aip.2015.02.001

Themed workshops within care homes.

   Continuing my research on the Hearts and Mind project, they talk about their case studies, in which they go into care settings and conduct reminiscence arts workshops. These workshops include, dance, drama, singing and other creative arts. They explain how 'Most workshops were organised around a theme that was designed to prompt reminiscence and memories' and one theme was 'Summer holidays'. This immediately cast my mind back to a Summer themed show I did this year at a particular home. Previously I have talked about the importance of carer involvement and how the activities coordinators can really make or break an atmosphere for a show. When I arrived, they had completely transformed the downstairs of the home into a holiday camp seaside resort. Everything was decorated with bunting and seaside shop signs, all the staff were dressed as Butlins 'red coats', they were making fresh donuts and even had a candy floss stand. The residents were also wearing sun hats, sunglasses etc and it really was like stepping into a seaside town. Of course this created an extremely positive atmosphere from the get go as everyone was in 'holiday mood'.
   My Summer show has all classic seaside songs such as 'I do like to be beside the seaside', 'Summer Holiday', 'My little stick of Blackpool Rock' and many more. Because these are such well known Summer songs, everybody was singing along and dancing, evoking memories from their own holidays in the past. With the help of the staff, residents were all involved, either singing, dancing and even throwing around a beach ball! When speaking to the residents afterwards they were sharing their own stories and the whole moral of the room was so positive.
    Creating a reminiscent environment, I feel is so beneficial to these sessions, and it is shown through the residents participation and helping them relive past memories. I would love to see in the future, staff becoming more involved in activities, as the benefits are so clear to see in developing a greater living experience for residents in care homes.

Quotes taken from- 'Summative Evaluation of Hearts and Minds. A Three Year programme by Age Exchange Theatre Trust.' Royal Holloway University of London, Professor Helen Nichilson- pg 46.

Getting the most from the arts

Whilst researching articles for my literature review I came across a very interesting statement, which I feel directly affects my work on a daily basis.
   The 'Hearts and Mind' organisation ran a three year programme with 'Age Exchange Theatre Trust', writing up an evaluative report on this in between 2011-2013. They ran performance workshops in care and residential settings throughout those years and reported their findings. One recommendation they stated was, 'Age Exchange's creative practice and ability to influence the culture of care is restricted by a lack of management involvement, regulations in care settings and some inflexibility in the model of workshops' (Nicholson, 2013). I find this extremely true within many residential homes I perform in; factors such as funding cuts, restricts how often they can hire outside entertainment, lack of staff involvement plays a significant part in how much the residents become involved themselves. Also time restrictions, often due to set meal times, the only convenient time for shows are 2pm, so naturally these slots are always very busy so it is difficult for homes to book in the times and dates they desire.
   Below are two extracts from journals, comparing two shows; one where I was left alone with the residents with no involve met from staff, and one experience which was completely the opposite.

Quote taken from: 'Summative Evaluation of Hearts and minds, A Three Year Programme by Age Exchange Theatre Trust, Royal Holloway University of London, Professor Helen Nicholson, 2013, pg 8)

Journal extract- May 2016

   First show of the day was a 'Musical madness' show. My first visit to the residency, I was shown to the dining room where the residents had just finished breakfast so were still sat around tables, facing various directions of the room. I set up as instructed in the corner of the room, assuming the residents would be gathered around the area and turned around from the breakfast table. However I was soon enough left alone in the room without careers or staff and none of the residents were moved around to face the performance. Of course I cannot handle anyone so could not move them myself, so had to adapt my performance to move around the room so they could see me at some point.
  Although the residents appeared to enjoy the show, and said they did afterwards, I felt most of them could not get a full experience due to being all over then room. Something so simple as moving everybody so they are in clear focus can have such an effect on an experience. They were not fully engaged as they had restricted view and therefore could get distracted or loose attention quickly.

Journal extract- February 2016

   I arrived around 15 minutes early to set up, and the residents were already sat waiting listening to a 'Frank Sinatra' cd, which tied in well because I was performing a Swing style show. The activities co ordinator was handing out drinks to the residents and some snacks. There were three other care staff in the room tending to various residents as they were settling down for the show. Once the show started the residents began to sing along, with the careers and co ordinator going round to residents encouraging to sing and dance in their chairs. During the song 'Can't Take my Eyes off of you' they got several residents up to dance and then a few more got up on their own accord. This spurred the other residents to clap along to the song. This positive atmosphere was kept up the. For the rest of the performance wit various people getting up to dance throughout and everyone was singing along and clapping.


The two performance were so different from a little participation from the staff. I feel this is such an important part of performances as the residents know and trust the carers so are much more likely to let go and get more involved with their encouragement.