Audit your Theatre Skills

Theatre Skills Self-audit
This handout is designed to help your application: with your profile for your personal statement, and for interview /audition; and in helping you work out what you need to do. You need to decide for yourself:
> what you know and have done already, not forgetting other forms of performance than drama
> what it is you want from your course and career
> what it is you want to develop
> how do you learn best

Once you have filled it in, put it aside for a day or two, and then read it as if it were from someone else. What conclusions would you reach about the person you’re reading about?

Creative & Cultural skills
How you’ve been involved
Acting – types of performances
Directing
Devising
Comedy, magic and variety performance
Attending or running drama workshops
Writing plays or poetry
Visual arts – art, 3D design, web, graphics
Theatre set and or costume design
Music performance; instruments, singing
Performance in church/temple etc
Carnival / processions
Rap / DJ / Scratch
Dance & choreography
Helping actors in rehearsal (Amateur or professional) – prompting, organising logistics
Giving or taking technical cues
Any other

Knowledge of industry
How you’ve been involved
Seen West End / large regional
Seen touring theatre
Seen pub/ fringe theatre
Seen outdoor / site specific events
Festivals, clubs, music events
Done backstage tour / paid backstage work
FoH work
Collected theatre programmes?
What newspapers or journals do you look at?
Who have you talked to?
What have you read about theatre/performance?
What websites have you checked out?

Personal qualities
How you’ve been involved
Enterprise and initiative – things you’ve done outside your course
Self –organisation – time, money, work
Open to ideas
Patience and taking care
Attention to detail and or going for the big picture
Ambition, aspirations, plans
Dreams and ultimate destinations (be ambitious)
What contribution you can best make to the industry

Study, Research, Reflection
How you’ve been involved
Kept diary of events / reflective journal / analysis of contribution
Note taking in meetings or rehearsals
Used internet searches
Reported and analysed events, scripts
Analysed figures
Communicated complicated ideas to people
Reading novels, plays, poetry
Languages and travel
Background reading, performances
Knowledge of period, history, cultures, social backgrounds
Found and quoted book or play references
Used to writing essays or reports
Discussion and debate

Technical skills
How you’ve been involved
TV, media, video projection
Scene changing / Crewing
Workshop skills, carpentry and metal
Rigging lights, scenery, sound
Marquee and stage building
Making up sound effects, sound operation
Prop-making
Board Operation,
Lighting or sound design
Running a venue
Working with different staging formats
Flying / aerial ballet / rigging
Costume / garment making
Metal working, engineering

Organisation & Management Skills
How you’ve been involved
Working in or leading teams
Financial skills
Working out timetables, schedules
Organising checklists
Contacts lists / database
Website design, management
Leading meetings
Counselling and care
Motivating colleagues
Taking minutes of meetings

Learning styles / approaches
How you do it
Thinking through one’s hands
Watching and observing
Talking it through
Visualising and imagining
Association with song or tune
Explore by moving around
Calculating it out
Brainstorm / mindmapping
Visual noting (doodle)
Reading
Skimming’ through text
Making notes, keeping notebook
Discussion
Making lists

My personal development agenda: