Choosing the Critical Incident

Part of the reflective practice that forms the first part of the Professional Doctorate is examining a critical incident from your own profession. My critical incident flows from a letter written by me to the Head of School at Bretton Hall in 2005. (letter may be uploaded later). This is two different professions clashing, my sense of identity and the endless critical decision-making that forms a major part of the profession I belong to, have belonged to, may still belong to. The reason why so many theatre people are so superstitious is that success or failure to thrive doesn’t simply depend on talent or hard work…it really is being in the right place at the right time and having the ability to recognise that point, that “tipping point” that Malcolm Gladwell describes. Despite the difficulties and insecurities that can go alongside a career in theatre, many hate the idea of taking up another job or career, no matter how compatible, interesting or downright necessary. I believe that much of this is to do with a fear of losing identity with oneself and mainly with one's peers and community. "Oh poor X, I hear she's doing this now...such a loss" is a common and dreaded report. When working with international colleagues, I get the impression that having other jobs and professions alongside making theatre is considered normal and practical - particularly when funding for performance is hard to achieve. However, in the UK there remains a tendency to compartmentalise - you may take a lightly regarded temporary job when between contracts but anything too serious is regarded as defection. And always, always, hanging over the heads of would be teachers is the dreaded GBS quote: "he who can does, he who cannot teaches".  So the decision to take up a teaching post after a long career in professional theatre is often seen as failure, quitting the team, no longer being "one of us". That can feel like losing a family and identity for the petty and pernicious need for financial security.