Areas of learning-transferable skills


What are my transferable skills?

  • Fully preparing
  • When attending auditions its very important that you are fully prepared (warmed up correctly to prevent injury, being at the venue early, knowing the material you are going to perform)

This can be transferred to : 

  • preplanning where a job interview is, meaning I arrive on time/calculating what could go wrong on the journey ensuring I leave time for that
  • Teaching dance classes and being prepared with music and dance routines so the class runs smoothly 
  • When being interviewed for a role within a cooperation finding out what ethics/values/promises the company holds. Like when attending an audition researching the creative team before hand 
  • Performing well under pressure
  • When performing Hairspray I was given 12 hours notice that I would be changing track in the show completely. The show that evening was set to be the most important of the contract as many industry professionals were watching it. I managed to change my track and perform it that evening.

This can be transferred to:

  • Getting a job in a caffe. On my first day working at a cafe I was put on the floor straight away. The cafe was full and the manager was evaluating how I dealt with this. Keeping a cool head I was able to serve everyone I needed to whilst ensuring I stayed professional and polite. 
  • Learning quickly and adapting 
  • In auditions you are given a routine to learn in a short amount of time 
  • Sometimes for auditions you will be sent script/songs the night before the audition. You have to be able to learn it as quickly as possible in order to perform it well the next day. (for hairspray I had to learn 5 songs over night)
  • When performing in a show one of the cast members may go off sick at the last minute. This means you have to ‘reblock’ the show in a short amount of time. You have to change choreography and spacing accordingly and be able to perform it perfectly in an hour or so’s time. 

This can be transferred to :

  • When teaching a dance class with children I had never taught before I had prepared choreography which I thought would be suitable. When I began teaching I realised the choreography was far too advance for the class. I quickly adapted the routine to suit the class 
  • Doing agency work for a big retail cooperation meant I had to work on new brands everyday. When I would arrive at the brand I would be given 5/10 minutes to learn about the brand and the products I would be selling that day. I had to feel comfortable enough to sell these products straight away to high end clients.
  • Personal presentation 
  • When in musical theatre college or auditioning or rehearsing its very important that you are presented well. Looking the best you can will ensure people take you seriously and you make a good impression

This can be transferred to:

  • Working in luxury retail you have to look your best. Through my training in musical theatre I had become very good at make up. This meant when the opportunity arose I was selected to work on high end make up brands meaning I was able to get more shifts
  • Confidence 

  • Being a performer teaches you to look and sound confident even if you’re not feeling. You are able to mask your real feelings with performance

Comments

  1. Alice PettiniNovember 16, 2020 at 9:48 AM

    Hi Morgan, great blog! The transferable skills we learnt as performers are so important to our current work/everyday lives, I never even realised before we started this course! That's why I find it so hard when people say that the performing arts industry is full of 'low skilled' jobs.. x

    ReplyDelete

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