Task 3a- Current networks

Task 3a- Current networks 

In this profession, networking is something that we need to take quite seriously. If I chose to just sit at home and wait for something to happen in my career, I don't think I would get very far. It is essential to be active and engaging  with different ways you can help improve your professional practice.

Attending auditions for many performers can feel like a very repetitive experience. Most auditions that you go to you don't actually get the job, so you can begin to feel very disappointed in yourself and maybe like you don't want to go to the next audition because the same thing will happen again. Most  importantly you should not give up. Also,  attending an audition is a great way to network with other people who are there. 9 times out of 10 you will definitely hear from someone there about an audition they are attending the week later or even sometimes if you are cut from that audition, in the room next door there may be an open audition that you are lucky enough to go for while you are there. Bonus... Two auditions in one day! Another great thing about auditions is that a lot of the time you see the same panel of judges popping up. If you keep attending they are soon going to recognise you and eventually a role that is suited for you may come up and you might be just the person they had in mind. They might even watch you and see that you might not be right for that particular job but they may consider to send you for another audition that will be suitable for you.

One of my favourite ways of networking is with friends. I talk to my friends everyday and I always hear of auditions and castings coming up. In some cases I have been sent for an audition  for a job that one of my friends has already done, this gives me the opportunity to get some information from them about what the casting director might be looking for and even more helpful sometimes they might even be able to teach me some of the dance that I will be learning in the audition or recommend a song I should sing or give me advice on the clothing I should wear.
Whilst on the subject of talking, another great way to network is by getting out there to events and making contacts. For example, your friend asks you to go and watch her in a show. Then afterwards you have the choice to stay and go for a drink, or go home. The right choice I personally think here is to just stay for that one drink, you never know who you are going to meet in them after show drinks.Chances are the choreographers working in the show , directors etc.... You get my point. If you make a good impression and then the next week they are the judging panel, they might just remember you.

Social networking is another great opportunity for your professional network. I am a little bit obsessed with Facebook and twitter if I am honest. I am constantly refreshing my news feed every five minutes to see if anything new is going on but I don't think it is a bad thing. There is always some body up dating there status about whose going to the a certain audition tomorrow, or people asking has anyone got the sheet music for a song that they need. Without the social networking sites we wouldn't be able to do this. Think about it you don't have all the numbers in your phone book of all the people you are friends with on Facebook , that would just be too many, but it is great to be able to have all those contacts on the click of a computer screen and it's such a fast and easy way of sharing your information about upcoming events socially and professionally . This point being said, I don't think Facebook and twitter are such great ways of networking if maybe a casting director was able to access your Facebook. Sometimes it's not a good idea for them to see your personal life so I think a more professional and personal website should be used in this circumstance.

Making a good and long lasting impression on people that you work with is always something to think about. You never know it could lead to other opportunities. They are more likely to employ you again or even recommend you to another director/ choreographer.
Having a good relationship with your agent is something very important and I have to admit this is where I have not been as engaging as I should have been.  I know I should call my agent on a weekly basis to chat about the work I want to audition for and also generally about life to make sure I have a good strong relationship with him as he has a lot of other people to take care of as well, but I don't seem to put this into practice.  I am glad that this task has made me realise this and I am going to make sure I contact him more as he is really one of my main sources to get auditions and castings from.

There are also many websites out there which you can get a lot of information from about upcoming work like the stage, spotlight, and casting call pro. Theses are just a few examples.

As you can see there is such a wide range of networks to help in your professional practice and these are only a few that I use. I am  looking forward to learning more about professional networking in this part of the module, so for now that's all I have. Now to for reader 3, to help me expand my knowledge on the network professional.