Networking - that very important yet very underestimated word in the performing world. In the last two years the famous saying 'It's not what you know, it's who you know' has never been more true.
After graduating from the Hammond School in Chester I made the move to London. Personally I feel one of the major disadvantages of training out of London, which is the heart of the performing world for the UK, is that your links and connections are nowhere near as strong as those who have trained down south. I have come to know many performers who trained in London and they talk about how they had guest teachers in, directors and choreographers still working in the business come in to conduct workshops and other people still very active in the industry. This giving them a strong stepping stone on their way to start making those all important connections and getting their faces known.
With the way modern technology has progressed there are many ways and tools people can use to network. One big tool that I use is e-mail. This is how I keep in touch with my agent. Any corresponding that we do takes place over e-mail, with the odd phone call thrown in here and there. It's a simple, fast way to keep in touch. Also a lot of people these days have smart phones so can receive e-mails on the move.
Another major tool that I use is that ever so wonderful web site called Facebook. Facebook allows me to keep in touch with other performers no matter where they are in the world but also casting directors/ casting organisations have started to take advantage of the web site and have created there own pages that you can follow where they update the page with up and coming audition information. Once again the joys of technology means that this is very easily accessible. People can download an app onto their phones that will allow them to access their Facebook page in seconds. This method of networking is also being used by some agents. For instance my housemate's agent, Gielgud Management, will simply post any jobs on their Facebook wall and if you wish to be submitted all you have to do is leave a comment on that particular post.
More experienced practitioners will properly still have a Facebook page but I would imagine they would keep this private and only visible to friends and family; so they don't cut themselves off from the public most established artists will have their own personal website. This tends to be a page where people can get information on the person in question and can keep up to date with events that they are taking part in. A more popular craze to come out of the twenty first century is the app known as twitter. This app allows people to post their feelings, thoughts, inform on what they are up to, connect with people, post pictures etc. The amazing thing with this app though is that you don't have to know the person to follow them. When you follow a person anything they post will appear on your update page. So it has allowed the general public to get a closer connection to a high ranked artist. A connection that ten years ago people would have laughed at. An artist who is really well known for using this way of networking is Will.I.Am. who is constantly tweeting, even on the live shows of 'The Voice:Uk' he would be known to be tweeting while they were recording. It's a free way to connect with people and use it to your advantage by publishing the release of your new single/ album, new music video, future events/ concerts etc.
Again this app is used by casting directors. I have found out about two auditions from the same casting director by using this app in the last 6 months. Ann Vosser constantly tweets about events and auditions that are happening, opening the doors to a new way of getting the word out about auditions.
It's very clear why these have taken off so quickly and with such great effect. As I mentioned they are so accessible due to phones/ laptops, fast, you can receive information on the move and to top it off these ways are free! It's a way people can stay in touch and informed using tools that have become an everyday part of the socialising network. When speaking to people it's become very clear that most people cheek their Facebook at least twice a day and this is just for general socialising so to combine these social sites with a perfisional networking aspect is a very easy and personally I feel wise move.
At this particular moment in my carer I feel my connections in the performing area are strong. In-between performing jobs I always work front of house at theatres which means I am still working in the theatre environment and the majority of people I work with are fellow performers. This is very handy as it allows us to share information on auditions, agents, singing teachers etc. Also we socialise with cast members, dance captains, resident directors - allowing us to get are faces out their and you never know when you might come across these people again in the future. My main area to focus on at the moment is my networking in the teaching world. In London this is very weak, I have some good connections up north that I am still in touch with but would like to develop my connections down south. I
Aim to do this by connecting with teachers via e-mail and also I would like to look into researching web sites and chat forums that have been set up to allow teachers to connect with each other. This is something that I need to look into.
I am currently in touch with the head of drama at a high school in Hackney via e-mail. From this I have set up the opportunity to shadow her classes next year. This will hopefully open new doors and widen my connections in this particular environment.
