Task 3A My Range and Value of Current Networks

As a performer there are many ways in which we can use and create networking to help us in our professional practise. Here are some examples of networking I use frequently and find very valuable to my career.

Agents

I find my Agent a very valuable and important source of networking in my industry. As my agent has a wide source of clientele and casting directors contact information she is a great way to be seen for jobs that I would not necessarily be able to apply for myself! The more your agent manages to provide you with Auditions the more your face is seen and networked among important casting directors the higher your chances are at securing a job in the future! Therefore I think it is very important to have a good relationship with your agent and work together to promote yourself in the best possible way within the industry.

Taking Class

As a dancer taking class is very important while out of employment to keep you on top form, but it is also a great networking tool! While at class wither it be at pineapple in london or my local dance class in Glasgow, you are socialising and mingling with other Industry professionals! Talking to others in your profession is a great way to hear of auditions or an up and coming show you did not know about. Nine times out of ten when leaving class I have gone out with the knowledge of a new audition I did not realise was happening either through another professional in class or from the notice boards in the studio.

WebSites

I think my main and most valuable tool for networking is through websites. Websites such as Spotlight, The Stage, Dancerspro and Dance Cast are all very important means of information and communication for performers. The Stage provides us with information on musicals and new shows arising keeping us in 'the know' and also giving us ideas of auditions which may arise. Spotlight is hugely important for networking as it allows casting directors and industry professionals to view our online C.V. And head shots and allows them to approach us if necessary. It also provides us with A lot of industry information keeping us up to date in theatre land!

Social Networking

Social networking if used appropriately can be a great tool to help in our professional practise. Things such as Facebook and twitter can be a great way to promote yourself  by uploading professional pictures, contact information, previous employment information etc but this must be done on a professional level. In this industry if you are going to use Facebook as a networking tool I feel it is important to separate your professional from your personal. Make a separate facebook or twitter account for employers to view as I am sure they are not interested in reading our status updates of what we had for dinner or how hungover we are from the weekend!

Previous Employers

It is very important when in a job to have a very good work ethic, always be on time, be polite and do what is asked of you as in this industry if you piss an employer off you never quite know the extent of the outcome it could cause. You don't know what contacts your boss may have and it could lead to you being bad mouthed within the industry maki g it hard for you to secure a Job in the future. I also think it is important to stay friendly and in touch with people you have previously worked with, wither it be the casting director or the stage manager, your choreographer or dance partner, you never  know when you will bump into them again and need their help in the future! Keeping this network of connections is very important and building on them as you continue through your career.

Friends

Friends within your professional Industry are a great source of networking, and good friends are always willing to help as long as you help them in return also. It's all a out give and take and helping each other out in what is usually quite a brutal and unfriendly Industry. I am lucky to have good friends who I can call and ask to borrow sheet music from, ask if they know of any auditions I've missed out on, or getting the low down on an audition she went to today and I have tomorrow! It is very important to keep a good strong relationship with your friends in the Industry as not only are they a great networking tool they are a very important support network when this Industry sometimes gets hard and upsetting they know what you are going through.

We are so lucky in this day and age to have such incredible sources of information and networking  opportunities at our finger tips all at the click of a button. I honestly don't know how I would hear of so many auditions or gain the jobs I have in the pervious years without the help of social networking and web sites and for that I am hugely grateful. Still, I believe in the importance of personal communication and relationships and would much rather be someone's true friend than a Facebook friend. I would much rather meet a casting director face to face for a meeting than countless emails and Skype chats.