Balancing risk? First year performing arts students' experience of a community arts event

Rachael Hains-Wesson
Deakin University
Angela Campbell
Federation University Australia

This study examines participants' responses to first year students' street performances as a non-placement work-integrated learning (WIL) activity over a two year period. The purpose of the study was to determine: (1) community perception, (2) continuous improvement, and (3) future needs. Data was collected through surveying participants' post-viewing of the street performances, students' reflective notes, and a recorded focus group interview. The findings indicated that audience members require additional assistance to value the students' street performances. The results revealed that students require more guidance around researching the sites of practice, understanding group work dynamics, relaxation methods, intra- and interpersonal skill development, conflict resolution and how to effectively build community relations with the local government Council. From the findings, specific recommendations for continual improvement are made. These include offering an explanation of the street performances' historical and aesthetic connections to the building sites for audience members, affording battery operated body-microphones and light rostrum for improved sight lines, delivering group dynamics information and arranging opportunities for students to engage more effectively with the Council. While the recommendations in this study are intended to advance the field of research that evaluates non-placement WIL performing arts curriculum in higher education, the findings are relevant to any group-based performance activity in learning and teaching.

Introduction

Here were young performers in pancake make-up mixing with Saturday and Sunday crowds, their words jostling with rev-heads on motorbikes, brass bands pumping it out from a pub balcony and the crash of peeling bells. Students blossomed. (Ryan, 2014).

Evaluation research

For the performing arts, audience participation in theatre marketing, theatre studies or "visitors" satisfaction (Boerner & Jobst, 2013) as well as "subjective experience in theatres" (Boerner, Moser & Jobst, 2011, p. 877) have also arisen in the area of evaluation research. Empirical research on the importance and impact of audiences' responses when visiting multiple types of theatre is rare (Boerner & Jobst, 2013; Boerner, Moser & Jobst, 2011). Other areas where evaluation research is implemented is around the student learning experience, such as investigating specific evaluation instruments or practitioner-based learning outcomes (Gibbs & Simpson, 2004; Jones, Higgs, De Angelis & Prideaux, 2001; Richardson, 2005) and assessment for learning (Gibbs & Simpson, 2004; McDowell, Wakelin, Montgomery & King, 2011). A closer review of the literature highlights the use of evaluation research in relation to reviewing assessment for learning. This area focuses primarily on primary and secondary education (McDowell, Wakelin, Montgomery & King, 2011; William, Lee, Harrison & Black, 2004) and undertaking commissioned evaluation reports on key programs (White & Conventry, 2000; White & Mason, 2003; Wilson & Wright, 1993). Alternatively, the literature positions work-integrated learning (WIL) as a key contributor for evaluating assessment for learning (Billett, 2009; Boud, Cohen & Walker, 1993; Calway, 2006; Coll & Chapman, 2000; Eraut & Hirsch, 2007; Orrell, 2011; Yorke, 2006). However, minimal reference has been made to performing arts WIL and non-placement WIL in these studies (Bruns & Brien, 2002; Hains-Wesson, 2012; Orrell, 2011; Pollard & Wilson, 2013).

In this study, first year performing arts students were offered an opportunity to present street performances to a 'live', diverse and roaming audience. The non-placement WIL assessment task was a complex learning experience that had real world value (Billett, 2009; Boud, Cohen & Walker, 1993; Calway, 2006; Coll & Chapman, 2000; Eraut & Hirsch, 2007; Orrell, 2011; Yorke, 2006).

Street performance

Why a mixed method?

The following research question guided the research process and assisted the authors to identify what was being evaluated (the street performance task), why it was being evaluated (impact and effect), and who the evaluation was for (students and audience members). The research question was:

How can responses to students' street performances influence the re-design of a non-placement WIL activity for enhancing first year performing arts students' learning experience?

In the following section, the project and the assessment task under scrutiny are explained, preceded by the methods used, and followed by a results and discussion section. A conclusion section is then presented which focuses on the seven recommendations for continual improvement of the WIL activity, elicited from the findings.

The project

The street performance assessment task formed part of a regional community arts event titled, Heritage Weekend on 11 to 12 May in 2013 and from 10 to 11 May in 2014, in the City of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The Heritage Weekend event is an annual tourist attraction that celebrates Ballarat's gold rush history and architectural heritage, for and by the community. The event usually attracts around 14,000 visitors (see http://www.ballaratheritageweekend.com/ for more detail).

The street performances (titled Living Heritage) required eight groups of five students in 2013 with the same number occurring in 2014 to devise 5-7 minutes, site-specific performances for Heritage Weekend. Student groups developed characters, scripts and created street performances around historical narratives connected to the sites that they were allocated to by the lecturer. The street performances were presented in weeks eight and nine during the first semester. Each student group performed four times over two weekends. During the creation phase of the street performances, students were required to research historical material, and plan and develop the shows, which were based on the research findings. Students were also required to negotiate and collaborate pre- and during the performances with the local community and Council members as well as manage technical requirements and crowd control. This was often challenging for students due to the public outdoor space environment which is often associated with street performance.

A designer was commissioned to help students create a unified performance aesthetic. For example, in 2013, students' presentations were linked through design by the incorporation of a white, web-like fabric destined for landfill but reclaimed. The design technique encouraged students to explore ecological impacts and cultural consumption (Beer, 2013). In 2014, students were allocated a third year visual communications student to assist them with the design of the shows and the development of the groups' artistic identity for the street performances (Figure 1).

Students' ideas and experiences were filmed by a professional camera person for wider audience distribution and for post-performance publicity beyond the project (for more detail see https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4r2ELVSxx09cEVSMks0Z19qRzQ/edit?pli=1 and https://vimeo.com/72618852).

Assessment

Figure 1: Students take part in the Living Heritage event and showcase
the overall design of their show (Photo: Chrissie Smith, 2014)

Item	Assessment task	Assessment type	Weighting
1	Attendance and participation.	Attendance and participation at lectures, tutorials and excursions.	10%
2	Class presentation of mood board/ performance of Living Heritage	Presentation of practice-led research, including a verbal report.	50%
3	Casebook, including library task (20%), reflection and test (20%).	Research, analysis, reflection and documentation on an area of study based on the practice-led research.	40%

Students were required to present evidence of research, historical and theatrical reflection, critical thinking and creativity regarding the non-placement WIL activity. Marks were allocated according to a mixed grading approach (formative and summative), which included quantitative and qualitative feedback. This approach aided in providing a clear indication of students' progress towards meeting the unit's learning outcomes. The unit's learning outcomes were:

• Describe the notion of the self-reflexive artist and his/her role within society;
• Describe some key dramaturgical paradigms and practices that underpin an applied study of the performing arts;
• Illustrate what is meant by performance analysis including the specific types of language that might be applied;
• Illustrate some of the complexities involved in creating work in the community;
• Illustrate connections between applied research, theory and practice;
• Illustrate the creative potential of practice led research.

Summative and formative assessment

Students' contributions (process and product) of the creative work were graded according to a Likert grading scale where 5 represented 'always' and 1 represented 'never'. The following lists the guidelines that the lecturer used to determine students' grades.

• The student demonstrated teamwork and commitment to the task;
• The student showed evidence of understanding dramaturgical principles and an ability to effectively apply them in rehearsals and in performance/s;
• The student demonstrated an ability to create a coherent narrative from the research materials;
• The student showed originality and flair in the creative task, i.e. scenographic thinking;
• The student demonstrated an ability to respond to and work with dramaturgical feedback;
• The student demonstrated an ability to work with a range of audiences.

Methods

University ethics approval was obtained and information was provided to participants, inviting them to take part in the study. No incentive was offered. A modest number of students (n=80) and audience members (n=69) engaged in the process.

Audience survey

The audience survey was administered after they had viewed the street performances at the Heritage Weekend community event in 2013 and 2014. Closed-ended questions were calibrated on a Likert scale 1 to 5 with a score of 5 indicating that audience members believed that the 'live' performance met their 'entertainment' expectations and to be of a high quality (see Appendix A).

Student survey

• Researching the sites of performance
• Theory to practice when creating and presenting the street performances.

Reflective notes and focus group

Data collection

Five distinct themes arose from the codes which aligned to the researchers' non-placement WIL framework and the research question for this study. For example, the development and understanding of the following WIL related outcomes such as theory to practice, group work, intra- and interpersonal skills and lifelong learning are important factors for effective learning during WIL placements (Crebert, Bates, Bell, Patrick & Cragnolini, 2004, p. 1). When WIL activities are incorporated into learning it is a key opportunity for improving the work readiness of all graduates (Govekar & Rishi, 2007; Rossin & Hyland, 2003). This includes students studying in disciplines that have not traditionally been linked to clear employment outcomes such as performing arts and creative writing (Haigh & Clifford, 2011; Hains-Wesson, 2012; Lee, McGuiggan & Holland, 2010). The themes were:

• Research skills
• Group work
• Audience experience to the performances
• Learning styles
• Lifelong learning.

Results

Audience members

The majority of audience members either 'strongly agreed' or 'agreed' to the questions being asked about the street performances in relation to 'authentic', 'engagement' and the 'quality' of the shows. This result indicated an overwhelmingly positive response to the student street performances in 2013 and 2014.

The following section highlights the audiences' quantitative responses in detail. A visual representation of the quantitative data sets, using bar graphs, is shown in Appendix A. The data is presented in the same order as the survey questions that were asked.

Audiences' perceptions of understanding the street performances

Audiences' perceptions of hearing the street performances

Audiences' perceptions of seeing the street performances

Audiences' perceptions of the characters in the street performances as being authentic

Audiences' perceptions of the issues and themes of the street performances

Audiences' perceptions of the street performances connecting the city and its people

Audiences' perceptions of the street performances illustrating historical evidence

Audiences' perceptions of the street performances adding value to the City of Ballarat and its surroundings

Audiences' perceptions of the street performances' connection to the building sites

It is worth noting that the volume of data illustrating "neither agree nor disagree" in the qualitative data sets may have been due to the nature of street performance per se; for instance, where overall engagement and entertainment with the event is not always dependent upon a single element of performance such as acting techniques, lighting or design. As a result, it is possible that participants may have answered the questions in this fashion (such as choosing "neutral") due to the complex 'nature' of effectively evaluating street performance.

A further and detailed analysis of the audience' and students' responses is presented in the discussion section of this paper. In the following section, the students' qualitative responses from the survey, reflective notes and recorded focus group interview are presented. The data is presented in order of the themes that emerged from the analysis.

Student members

Students' perceptions of the street performance to research

I never used to rely on research all that much and used to go into a performance head on which only caused a lot of worry and sleepless nights. But now that I understand the benefits of research I can apply this method of work to all of my work as a performer.

Students' perceptions of the street performance to group work

• The balance of give and take;
• Being open to new ideas;
• Not taking difficult situations personally;
• Developing mutual and consistent group goals and expectations;
• Listening to others, being flexible and welcoming everyone's ideas;
• Resolving conflict early by communicating openly and clearly;
• Acknowledging and welcoming diverse and individual skills and perspectives.

Students' perceptions of the audiences' experiences of the street performances

It was expectantly rough, but I learnt a lot about how much I can cope with and my ability to deal with added pressures through interaction within my own group and the live audience from the experience.

The biggest complication for me was the traffic lights. Having to improvise while waiting for the lights didn't aid the performance but broke the proverbial fourth wall.

Students felt highly motivated when they heard comments from the audience such as "being genuinely moved by our piece". It was these types of verbal reactions from the audience members that validated many students' beliefs about themselves in a positive way, even though they experienced considerable stress managing the creative task and the audience members.

Students' perceptions of their own and other's learning styles

Students viewed the task as "risky". Students felt overwhelmed and did not know if they could achieve the required outcome. One student noted, "I haven't worked in front of a live audience on the street before. It was a new experience and honestly, I didn't really know how to react to some of the situations that came up". Many students found opportunities through the complex and "risky" assessment challenge by discovering new ways to link their particular learning style to future everyday life experiences such as:

I am starting to realise now that I don't have to go searching for something clever or creative when devising a performance because it's already there. I think I can also apply this to my everyday life.

Another student said:

So much of what I learn in all my classes is about awareness and connection - bringing it outside of yourself to the people around you and I think that this sort of focus on others helps us to get along better with people in both acting and life.

Students' perceptions of the street performance task to lifelong learning

Another student wrote:

In life, we would always be faced with the prospect of working with difficult people or people who we may not feel comfortable to work with. But in an ironic way, these are also the people that we would mostly likely gravitate towards as a means of confronting our habitual ways of dealing with things.

A number of students said that they "learnt more" about themselves as a developing professional due to being involved in a complex and difficult WIL assessment task. One student said:

There will be differences in opinions and people who will get on your nerves but there are ways to manage these issues and as long as it is achieved in a professional and respectable manner then the work shouldn't be too difficult.

If I can apply the positive interactions with other team members and proper forward thinking and commitment to a piece of work to other scenarios in life, such as working in a company and jobs that involve working with people and reacting and responding to the general public, then I think that some of the skill sets that I have gained over the experience of Heritage Weekend will have given me a positive and long lasting basis for my future.

Discussion

• Offering research skill development;
• Designing group work strategies and group dynamic skill development;
• Offering resources around understanding peer and self-awareness of learning styles;
• Discussions around lifelong learning via a stressful and life changing learning activity.

With this in mind, it could be argued that curriculum development for non-placement WIL activities is dissimilar to traditional types of learning, especially for the performing arts. Firstly, the need to provide students with non-traditional resources to help support them with their individual learning experiences, managing stress and integrating theory to practice is crucial. Secondly, the findings from audience' and students' responses have helped the research team to unravel practical areas for continual improvement around the WIL activity, especially when the learning is "complex and occurs outside the classroom environment" (Fitch, 2011; Herrington, Oliver & Reeves, 2003). Thus, a set of seven specific recommendations for central planning for the activity have been developed. These are:

• Provide students with the opportunity to create and hand out small flyers/postcards about each performance to explain the themes and the specific development journey of each group's work so that the audience members have a framework to follow;
• Consider introducing battery operated body-microphones so that audience members can hear well;
• Consider using light, solid boxes (mobility and storage use) to improve sight lines so that audience members can see well;
• Provide students with a group work resource/workshops that can assist them with conflict resolution, goal setting and managing time more effectively;
• Provide students with a brief outline of the tangible benefits of problem-solving, group dynamics, conflict, stress and crowd control in order to support students around the complexity of the 'risky' assessment task;
• Provide relaxation workshops throughout the rehearsal process to assist in developing students' self-confidence, minimise stress and nerves prior to performances;
• Provide ongoing opportunities for the community and Council workers to interact with the student groups earlier. This, in turn, will enable the forging of stronger, lasting relationships, which have the potential to go beyond the university experience.

Conclusion

The study presented here is limited in that it is specific to a performing arts discipline in an Australian university context. However, the recommendations developed from the findings are relevant to teaching and learning across the creative arts industry, locally, nationally and internationally, and to any non-placement WIL group-based assessment activity that has a 'performative' component.

A similar research method at other universities would be useful in order to compare findings and differences. Therefore, the results from this study need to be interpreted with caution due to the modest sample size. In addition, undergoing qualitative interviews with audience members to gather similar data that was collected from students may have gained wider understanding. Time and opportunity did not permit the research team to undertake such a task. This was mainly due to the mobility of the audience members as they roamed from one performance site to another, creating difficulties for the researchers to capture data.

Students' and audience members' responses, beliefs and opinions around the creating, performing and/or viewing of students' street performances for a community arts event (as a non-placement WIL activity) illustrates a major concern for the teaching of this unit. Firstly, audience members require specific assistance in order to value the shows more effectively, and secondly, students often viewed the street performances as a 'risky' activity, which was complex and stressful. This in turn, emphasises the urgency for the teaching team to implement a variety of non-traditional learning support resources to enhance and support participants' learning experiences without necessarily 'watering down' the authenticity, proximity and complexity of the opportunity. Students often expressed that despite the assessment task being 'risky' it was important for developing self-directed learning and professional skills via a life-changing event. Therefore, the implementation of the seven specific recommendations will provide students with crucial and needed support. Finally, a future mixed method evaluation process is planned for this unit in order to identify whether or not the recommendations aided in achieving such an outcome.

Acknowledgments

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Appendix A

Audience survey questions and overall percent scores of audience' responses and perceptions about the students' street performances in 2013 and 2014 where SD=Strongly Disagree, D=Disagree, N= Neither Agree nor Disagree, A=Agree and SA=Strongly Agree.

Appendix B: Student survey

Research

1. Do you believe you were given enough training in research to adequately respond to your site? (Please circle one of the following answers):
   • Yes, and please state why you have answered this way
   • No, and please state why have you answered this way

2. How effective do you believe the readings were in developing your understanding of the performance-making task? (Please choose from one of the following):

   Extremely effective
   Very Effective
   Moderately effective
   Slightly effective
   Not at all effective

   Please state why you have answered this way

Work-in-Progress

1. What were some of the challenges of the performance-making process? (Please explain)

2. What were some of the challenges of the performance-making rehearsal process? (Please explain)

3. What problem-solving skills did you bring to these challenges? (Please explain)

4. How did you manage the time limitations in your rehearsal process? (Please explain)

5. How did you manage the group dynamics in this performance-making task? (Please explain)

6. In your opinion do you believe that you received enough information to successfully accomplish the performance-making task? (Please choose from one of the following answers):
   • Yes, and state why you have answered this way
   • No, and state why you have answered this way

7. What practical instruction/s was/were most useful in accomplishing the performance-making task? (Please explain)

8. What practical instruction/s was/were least useful in accomplishing the performance-making task? (Please explain)

Performance Day

1. How do you feel the audience affected your work? (Please explain)

2. In your opinion how would you rate your preparation of being adequately ready on the day of the performance? (Please choose from one of the following answers)

   Extremely prepared
   Very prepared
   Moderately prepared
   Slightly prepared
   Not at all prepared

   Please state why you chose this answer

3. How did your involvement in this performance event affect your understanding of yourself as an actor? (Please explain)

4. In your opinion what was the most important thing that you learnt throughout this unit experience? (Please explain)

5. What might have you done differently? (Please explain)

6. Are there any other comments you would like to make about the performance-making process that affected your learning throughout this process?

Authors: Rachael Hains-Wesson is a Lecturer in Blended Learning at Deakin University in the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment. She provides support and expertise around blended learning design and evaluation. Her research interests include: curriculum evaluation, science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) education, reflective practice and work-integrated learning. Email: rachael.hainswesson@deakin.edu.au Angela Campbell is a Lecturer in Critical Studies, Performing Arts at Federation University. Her teaching, research and published work incorporates both practical and theoretical investigations into theatre and performance. Her current research includes the connections between history, heritage and performance, methods of practice-led research and work-integrated learning in creative arts. Email: a.campbell@federation.edu.au Please cite as: Hains-Wesson, R. & Campbell, A. (2014). Balancing risk? First year performing arts students' experience of a community arts event. Issues in Educational Research, 24(3), 320-342. http://www.iier.org.au/iier24/hains-wesson.html