Justify Yourself
‘Two out of three ain’t bad’, he sang….
He was right. Two out of three is good enough.
I talk about three ways to explain and justify your work:
- to yourself
— to your students
— to gatekeepers/employers.
When I say ‘justify’, I don’t mean some kind of ‘begging for acceptance’. I mean answering the basic — very reasonable — question: ‘Why?’
I mean having answers when you ask yourself:
Why do I teach?
Why am I running this exercise?
Why do I work with this sort of person and not a different sort of person?
Why should someone work with me rather than someone else?
Being able to answer your students when they ask:
Why are we doing this?
Why should I listen to you?
Why does acting/dance/Shakespeare/clowning etc. matter?
Why should I learn performance if I don’t want to be a performer?
Being able to answer employers/gatekeepers when they ask:
Why should I employ you instead of someone else with similar skills?
Why/How will getting you to teach meet my policy/educational objectives?
Why should I spend (scarce) money on performance classes?
Why does Performance matter?
They’re all perfectly good questions, however frustrating we sometimes find them. You need to have answers.
YOU need to know YOUR unique answers.
It’s tempting to each for noble, profound or really, really clever answers. Something about the human urge to self-actualisation or the ennobling effects of art.
Those answers are great.
Art IS transformative, self-actualising, an expression of the highest achievements of humanity.
Sometimes you need simple answers though.
‘I’m running this workshop because I’m getting paid’.
‘You need a creative input into your curriculum and I can provide it’
‘Doing this will make you feel more confident’
Simple answers because what we do is simple.
Complex answers because what we do is complex.
Justification means being able, confidently and easefully, to answer the questions ‘why’ and ‘how’. (Actually in ‘How To Teach Performance’ I go the full fandango, and ask you to consider WHY, HOW, WHERE, WHO and WHAT — of which ‘what’ is the final, least important question….)
On a good day you get to deliver workshops that make all ‘stakeholders’ feel great. The students feel they’ve had a rich experience, the gatekeepers have met their objectives and used their resources well, and you’ve fulfilled your vocation and earned some money!
That’s the ideal.
It’s not always possible though.
Sometimes you gotta settle for two out of three.
If the students and the gatekeepers are happy, that’s a good result. You did your job — even if you don’t feel tremendously fulfilled. You’ve served your community and there’s dignity in doing work well.
If you feel you taught excellently, and the students had a deep experience, but the gatekeeper/employer is sceptical, you can be satisfied you served your biggest function — to guide your students. Sometimes gatekeepers and employers are the hardest to explain to, because they speak a different language and have different objectives. Sometimes you must settle for knowing you and the students saw value in what you do, (though it’s best not to ignore the needs of those who hold the purse-strings and unlock the room you work in!)
Sometimes — though this is perhaps the hardest — you and the gatekeepers know why you’re there, but the students remain unconvinced. Perhaps they’re in an institution or social situation that makes them suspicious, hostile, antagonistic or disconnected. Perhaps you weren’t able to overcome their disconnection. It’s frustrating, sometimes confrontational, when that happens, but you must always remind yourself that you planted seeds. You made an offer. You opened doors. You never know when someone will come back to you and say ‘do you remember you once ran a workshop with me….. it changed everything……’
We want the sweet spot of everyone being happy.
We want three out of three.
It’s not always possible though.
So if you hit two out of three, you’re doing pretty well.
‘Two of of three ain’t bad’. (RIP Meatloaf)
Two out of three means you’ve earned a night off!
Stay safe out there!
Art Matters.
John
Teach Performance
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If you really want to dig into the deep-levels of teaching performance in excellent and transformative ways, ‘The Teach Performance Programme’ is a 40-video comprehensive training that explores pedagogy, the learning journey, feedback, structuring exercises, developing attention, presence, experiential learning and a LOT more. HINT — if you buy ‘How To Teach Performance’ you will receive a one-time offer to access ‘The Teach Performance Programme’ at a massively reduced price…….
If you’d like to join the Fire-Maker’s Community for free (where Artist-Teachers meet), then go to https://fire-makers.tribeplatform.com
