Module 1
"How to Spot Opportunities"
"How to Spot Opportunities"
Aim
The purpose of this module is to encourage performing artists to recognise opportunities on a local and national level and develop the confidence to approach those who are influential in providing opportunities.
By the end of this module, you should be able to...
Knowledge
- find opportunities on a local and national level.
- identify those who are influential in supporting performing artists to develop career opportunities within the industry.
Skills
- evaluate the various opportunities that are presented to them in terms of feasibility and economic benefit.
- develop a personal plan that can be used to approach influential people within the performing arts industry.
Attitudes
- develop confidence to spot opportunities available to performing artists and to approach those who are influential within the industry.
Key-concepts
Communication
In relationships, communication allows you to explain to someone else what you are experiencing and what your needs are.
The act of communicating not only helps to meet your needs, but it also helps you to connect with the other person.
In business, communication skills are highly important.
Cognisant
Being cognisant of opportunities is very important when communicating. Being aware and having knowledge of what is allowed or not allowed is imperative.
It is also important to be cognisant of yourself and your own wellbeing, what your boundaries are and what paths you should or shouldn’t go down.
Self-belief
If you don’t believe in yourself , what makes you think someone else will? You’ve got to have the belief and mindset that you are willing to push yourself to the limit to get to where you want to be.
If you believe in yourself, you’re half way there, it’s just about how can you make others think that way. The answer is usually Hard work!
Positive thinking
Positive thinking, knowledge and talking to other people are all useful ways to help improve or boost your confidence levels.
Confidence comes from feelings of well-being, acceptance of your body and mind (your self-esteem) and belief in your own ability, skills and experience.
What opportunities are there within performing arts?
- Actor/actress
- Theatre director
- Stage manager
- Dancer
- Choreographer
- Singer/Musician
- Art therapist
- Film director/Videographer
- Presenter (radio and television)
- Broadcaster
- Teacher (secondary level)
- Trainer (adult education)
Finding Opportunities
Networking
Networking is the exchange of information and ideas among people with a common profession or special interest, usually in an informal social setting. Networking often begins with a single point of common ground. By having a bigger network, it leads to more chances of opportunity’s arising. The networking opportunities are varied in such a fast-moving industry. You need to establish contact with people such as producers, performers, investors, students and educators. This interaction with like-minded people can be useful and be carried with you through your career.
Cold Calling
It’s not everyone’s favourite but sometimes it takes picking up the phone or sending emails and calling different agencies and management companies or record labels to see if they will take you on board. For this, you must have good communication skills and be confident in selling yourself. Why should they hire you compared to the other thousands of artists?
Develop an online profile
The internet is the main source of human consumption these days. By having yourself and your discipline online it makes it easier for the right people to come across you – this could be via LinkedIn, Instagram, Youtube or Spotify.
What are the benefits of having an artist manager?
Before thinking about getting an artist manager, it is important to set goals and work out a strategy based on where you plan to go.
The managers job is to take care of all the things you don’t have the time for or don’t have the experience or connections to do. An artist manager or personal manager is the single most important member of your professional team when building a career in your discipline. The manager handles the general business operations for his artist, but often the relationship goes much deeper. The manager helps to guide an artist to their full potential and has the ability to effectively push your career as an artist to the next level and beyond.
By creating connections within the industry and nurturing them, advancing to the next level becomes increasingly likely.
I just need a little help and I promise I'll be the next star!
Your task today is to develop a profile about yourself that you will send off to different agents and management companies. You must write about yourself, your goals as an artist and why you are contacting them.
When you have finished writing your profile, research people you look up to in your industry:
- Do they have a management team behind them or are they independent?
- Have they ever spoken about the importance of having a team behind them ?
Discuss this with your colleagues.
Developing a personal plan that can be used to approach influential people within your industry
Ability to self-reflect
Perhaps not the most obvious skill, but those working in the industry need an analytical mind.
If you’re involved in drama, you’ll need to be able to scrutinise and interpret a role and script, while dancers need to be able to break down and analyse choreography, and musicians need to be able to dissect and interpret a piece of music. You also need to be able to apply these skills to your own work when critically analysing your performances
Confidence
Those who aspire to work in the wider industry will face stiff competition. A confident, can-do attitude will help you stand out in interviews and may help in securing backing from the influential people in your industry.
If your self-confidence needs a bit of a boost, there’s plenty you can do. Join university clubs or societies, or local groups such as choirs, orchestras, dance or amateur dramatics groups. You could also consider entering local or regional competitions or talent contests to build your confidence.
Ability to market yourself
Lots of people working in the performing arts are self-employed, and actors, dancers, singers and musicians all need to audition to secure work, so it’s vital that you’re able to sell and market your abilities to potential employers.
To get your name recognised and to help secure future work, you’ll need to employ your networking skills to make as many industry connections as possible.
Resilience, self-discipline and stamina
Due to the competitive and highly-skilled nature of the industry, it’s likely that those working within performing arts will experience rejection at some point in their career. To cope with these challenges, resilience and tenacity are essential.
You need to be able to use these experiences to hone and develop your craft and bounce back better than before.
Further Reading
Pursuing Opportunities
Capitalising on opportunities
Action Plan
Developing Confidence
Participate in any local competitions, talk to people you meet from your industry and exchange ideas and goals with each other. Get used to performing in front of a crowd and if that’s not feasible try in front of the mirror.
Set Goals
It’s important to set goals as to where you want your career to go. When an opportunity arises, think “will this benefit me in any way to achieve my end goal?“ Setting goals is also important as self reflecting on how far you have come and how far is left to go. It helps with perseverance.
Contact Influencial People
By doing steps one and two you now have the ability to approach influential people in your industry. You know what you want from them, and you have the confidence to make them believe in you. You will have expanded your network by steps one and two and this should be a big step in the right direction for your career.
English 
Italiano 
Português 
Español 
Čeština 
Deutsch 
Српски језик