Working and auditioning

MORE GOOD NEWS!

I got a call from my agent to inform me i have an audition tomorrow for a tv series called Mad Dogs which is played on sky1!
Wicked news!! I'm really excited/nervous and just hope I get it as I think the role would be a regular part in the series and starts after my play which would be IDEAL! And just what I want!!
I met with my agent today to go through a few things on the script which has made me feel more at ease.
FINGERS CROSSED AYE!!? Haha will post on my reflective experience tomorrow!  X 

Helter Skelter life.

So I have been away for a while due to my HECTIC life! There's been ups and some downs unfortunately which has naturally steered me away from my Uni work. 

So a little Un-Uni catch up on my life: 

(The low) my dad had a big health scare recently and was hospital bound for quite some time. This had a massive impact on our family as we're all so close and none of us have ever had any problems with our health thank god. My evenings and any spare time i had were spent by his bed in hospital and luckily he recovered from his operation very well and is now home and back to his normal self again, with no signs of any scares to come in the near future! 

(The High/s) So After a low something goods gotta come right?! I landed myself a part in a play! I am going to be playing Yuliya in Checkovs play 'The Wood Demon' which is going to be shown at The Lord Stanley Theatre in London from the end of Nov to the middle of Dec. I am soooo excited and rehearsals are going great! 

Also I have kind of been promoted at work (my side job in a primary school). My previous role was of a general teaching assistant in a year four classroom, but seeing as there are so many children in my class with needs, whether they be special needs, academic support or behavioural issues, I have been asked to work with one child in particular as a one to one mentor because our relationship is a very good one. This is asking a lot more from me in my side job than any other role I have played before on the work front and can be very tiring but I love it so far and feel I am helping his life. 

ONE LAST THING BEFORE I BORE YOU TO DEATH! 

I'm 21 this Sunday!!!!! And I'm MEGA excited!!!! I am having friends and family come together to celebrate at my house and can't wait to see everyone together which doesn't happen much! WOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!

THAT'S ALL!! Haha sorry- but thought it necessary for me to continue on if you all know why I have been 'avoiding' work! 

IF ANYONE HAS ANYTHING THEY THINK WOULD HELP ME WITH THESE NEXT SET OF TASKS PLEASE LET ME KNOW! - I hate feeling out of the loop, especially not being there for the last campus session!!!! Arrghhh! X

Onto the next set of tasks! Much love, Ellis x 

Task 1b: Professional Communication Technologies

How Web 2.0 or professional communications technologies can advance your professional practice, learning and knowledge

Web 2.0 is the creative commons for users on the web. It has changed our workplace and the way we relate to each other enormously; and with platforms such as facebook, youtube and twitter we can search, find and add friends, music and other useful information that previously with web 1.0 sites, wouldn't be so accessible or easy to find. We become the creator and the user which means we have power and control over these platforms which is and has already created a massive boom of users in social networking sites. 

These platforms are used in almost everyones life nowadays, one way or another and is such a big part of todays society. But are all these social networking sites doing our world the world of good? Web 2.0 is a highly debated concept in the sense that whilst these sites can allow us to gain access and information easily and freely, i think we should look at what it is doing to our future generation. Here are my views:

Pros

I myself am a bit of a social networking junkie! I have a Facebook profile, a Twitter account, a Yotube channel, Instagram and a blog. I love the fact that I can contact the people in my life so easily, I can share photos with my friends in seconds and can check up on how friends or other followers are feeling or what theyre doing at that moment. There has been many times when my phone has ran out of battery and i need to get in contact with my mum, so i pop into an apple store or a phone shop, click on Facebook and sent my mum a message and she has recieved it instantly! 

The average user on Facebook has 130 friends. that's a lot of friends! Currently I have 1,245 friends on facebook... that's rediculous!! I DO NOT have 1,245 friends in real life at all! but people add me because i might be friends with someone they know or who they are interested in and so they add me to stay connected. I think its great that we can do that, we can find family who live on the other side of the world, add them in a single click and then that's it you're connected. As Feenberg & Bakardjiva (2004) quote 'Strangers and almost strangers come together as equals'.

Web 2.0 platforms have helped me in many various ways in a professional manner. using facebook as a target, i have in the past been able to send out invitations and information about productions i have been a part of to boost ticket sales. I am also a Zumba fitness instructor and have a zumba page via Facebook and this is where i can advertise myself and bring in customers in. I am also part of the Zumba instructors network page on facebook which is private and enables instructors to swap classes etc. This has been a huge help for me and my Zumba classes and has saved me lots of time and money.

Our world today is constantly changing- with our biggest followings such as fashion, music and the latest gadgets (phones, ipods..) all continually and frequently updating and getting better. This is also a familiar feature with web 2.0 sites and familiarity is a comfort to most people. 

These platforms are all free, quick, easy and availible to the user 24/7 so ultimately user friendly, which is in turn building web 2.0.   

Cons

On the other hand i feel these new, continually updating sites might be driving u forward to a good future with web 2.0 but then steering us away from the simplicities in life. 

For example i'm a very creative person and have always loved to write stories, draw pictures and read books, but honestly i was a bit disappointed at first reaction when i found out our work for this course would be written online and posted on a blog. Maybe i'm a bit old fashioned and not used to writing anymore since i have been out of school but i have always enjoyed feeling my hard work in my hands in a hard copy. It always gave me such satisfaction after working so hard! 

I work in a school from monday to friday as a TA in a year 4 class and the children practice their handwriting everyday. but now i'm starting to think what for? whats the point when they're not going to use it? and I love handwriting practise! 

We have Kindles instead of books, we send invitations to parties out on Facebook- not by hand, we get e-cards online for our birthdays rather than through the post and it feels like personal sentiment is forgotten. 

The most worrying factor for me is how bad it is going to affect our next generation. Kids would rather stay in and play games online than go outside and play in the park. This to me is a worry and i can see the difference at work with the children now to what i can remember from when i was at school myself. I used to be eager to get to the park after school if the weather was nice, but listening to the kids at school they are eager to get home and play the new Fifa game on their playstation. not only could this affect their healh but also their social skills which i think a massively important for their future. I know times have changed and we do live in a bubble wrapped world now and we do have to be careful, but it's the parents who should be encouraging their children to do more socially and i think they should be made aware of the long term damage it could have. 

My boyfriend says: 'When we are older, we will all remember the friends we've made, not the TV shows we've watched.' which i think is ultimately true. 

O'Reilly attempts to show what 2.0 means. He starts off giving of general views of other people towards 2.0 saying that some think the web is 'overhyped' whilst others say it is a 'technical revolution'. He goes on to show the benefits of 2.0 compared to 1.0 sites and from first reading his article it opened my eyes to how many doors web 2.0 actually opens for me and us as users. 

Ulrich et al speaks of the 'perpetual beta' which means web 2.0 has the functions to develop and replace data, which I mentioned earlier. 

I read through a few of these tasks on other peoples blogs and I agree with Melanie browns comment that 'Technologies in learning and communication should be completely cast aside. We must not let the younger generations of today get completely lost in Cyberspace.'

To conclude, even though networking sites will continue to develop and grow, i hope that our world will not forget the beauty of the simplicity of life. 

1st Campus session today

Today I attended my first campus session for module 1.
Prior to today, The one task I didn't start was task 1b; this was because i wasn't sure what the question was asking or where i should start?! and although I had read through the reader, copious blogs and seen how others began to answer this task, I still felt like I didn't fully understand what i needed to be looking at to complete the task correctly. But today's campus session was extremely helpful as we looked at all the areas i was unsure of.
I found it helpful to read the articles independently and then talk about the notes everyone else and myself had made aloud. I now know how to pick out the important points in the article that could help what i'm looking for. The long words used in the articles threw me at first, but Bobbie had a great idea of replacing those words with simplified terms in the actual article itself, after finding the definition in the dictionary. Then every time this words pops up it will help me to get through the text quicker.
From reading the O'Reilly article on his attempt to explain what web 2.0 means, I came to a clear understanding of what O'Reilly wanted to get across. He showed a positive approach to 2.0 and gave pros and cons in comparison to 1.0 sites. I thought this article was a good introductory visit to web 2.0 and have made a few bullet points to explain to other bloggers who might want to know what 2/0 is:

What is web 2.0?

• Web sites that use technology beyond the static pages of earlier web sites
• Users can participate in 2.0 sites (delivered as a service- not a product)
• Can be formal, informal, social or an informative database
• web 2.0 sites are said to be 'continually improving'

Examples of web 2.0 sites: Facebook, Twitter, Wiki, blogs, Youtube

Hope this may help future bloggers looking for a better understanding ;) 
Tomorrow i will start my task 1b! Until then.. x

LGE Runway @ Business Design Centre 2012

This summer I did a job for LGE Runway which was at the Business Design Center in Islington.

With rehearsals and the shows it lasted 2 weeks altogether. It was such an enjoyable job and with my friends doing it with me, it just made it so much more fun.

It was different to any dance show i have done before as it was dance/runway. The stylists watching the show spoke to us dancers after and said it was like a revelation for catwalk.

I made some really handy contacts too and booked another modelling job!

Just thought i'd post the promo for you guys to have a sneak peek! 

Enjoy! x

Task 1c: Starting out at BAPP video.

Task 1b: Starting out at BAPP video. 

Recorded my initial thoughts about the BAPP course and how i think it could help my future as a professional performer. 

My solo at Wimbledon Theatre - Contemporary Jazz dance by Pat D. ENJOY! (a bit of previous work)

Task 1d: Ellis Higgins' photostream

Ellis Higgins' photostream on Flickr.

Just a few pics from college and recent jobs.

Task 1a: My Informal CV

My Name is Ellis Rose Higgins and I am 20, born on 18/11/91. I am from London, England and have always lived in North London. The performing buzz came early, at the age of just 2 years old. I attended my first ballet class at The London Academy of Dance and a few years later joined The Italia Conti Barbican associate's and continued my training every Saturday until i was 11. I took multiple classes and exams such as Ballet, tap, modern, drama, singing and street dance and my passion only grew stronger- I knew this was what i wanted to do with my life. When the time came around I auditioned for a place at the full time school and was honored to be awarded with a scholarship to attend. Here was where i took the first stepping stones to becoming a successful performer and fulfilling my dreams. I Learnt from some of the top professionals from the industry in the oldest theatre school in London; and with an extremely close group of friends like mine at school, I can safely say that these were the best years of my life. I Passed My GCSE's and knew exactly where I wanted to go to college, even though i did audition at other musical theatre colleges such as Urdang. I had to re-audition for the 3 year Musical theatre course and when they offered me a place with a second scholarship I knew that Italia Conti was the place for me and I couldn't bare to leave my family! With new additions to the family i got to make some amazing new friends and here is where I took those next stepping stones forward to my dreams.
As well as Going to college and getting together a singing repertoire, creating assesment routines, working on coursework for the end of year and still try to be a socialite, i was now 16 and had to get a job for the weekends to hep out. I first started working at Abercrombie and Fitch- an American clothing brand which was fresh and new to London at the time. I enjoyed Meeting new people, learning about the brand and actually having a 'normal' job! Since then i have worked in numerous places, in all different areas of work, going through my college years such as a Dance teacher for various venues including Esporta gyms and local weekend dance schools. I worked as a receptionist with Esporta Gym, i was a silver service waitress for High Society catering services, a shot girl in various west end clubs, a Bar tender at Bar Soho in Soho and I have been a sales assistant in Harrods for an agency called TBC. I always say "You can never have too may strings to your bow!" I think it's good that people and especially performers can do other things in all areas.
As well as these jobs the Italia Conti agency would put us forward for auditions whilst at college. I was lucky enough to get a few jobs with them such as an advert for x-box Kinect-a grease lightning game and to appear in the ISTD gala show at Sadlers Wells.
Throughout my time at Italia Conti, I have got to perform in some of the top theatres in England such as Thw New Wimbledon Theatre, the Shaw Theatre, Avondale Theatre and Grovsner house. At the end of every year we had our production shows in these places. My favourite time of year!
Since graduating from college with my National Diploma in Musical Theatre I set out to get myself an agent and after being a lead in a play in Islington with a drama class I am now represented by YAT Management. I have grabbed lead parts in 2 plays at the Young Actors Theatre and was lucky enough to film a short film with a BBC director earlier this year. I am still auditioning with YAT and enjoying every second!
One thing i have learnt whilst growing up is that it's not what you know it's who you know and with this in mind i have been asked on a few jobs from fellow students and teachers. My latest dance job was from a friend who i trained with at college for LGE runway. It was amazing!
I currently have 2-3 side jobs depending on what comes up, but i work part time a Zumba fitness instuctor around London and i enjoy this very much. I also work full time at a primary school called Barnfield where i take on the roll as a teaching assistant. I have worked there for a year already and am happiest here out of all of the side jobs i have ever done. Teaching came naturally to me as a child and so i think as i have grown up my skills have developed and then confidence and fluency followed along.
My dreams and aspirations sometimes seem like a long way off with all of the knock backs from auditions and lack of jobs out there but i have learnt to stay strong and keep going. One day i would like to see myself on T.V as a regular on a soap or a drama. Maybe even in some Hollywood films!? a 'Lara Croft' type role springs to mind! I'd love to get a permanent musical job right now in something like 'Wicked' or 'Hairspray'.
Going back to Learning with the BAPP course was a step i wanted to make so that I can take my hard work to the next level. So far its not so bad!

Task 1a: CV- Side Job

Ellis Higgins
ellishiggins@hotmail.com  
07825561235
1495 High Road, Whetstone, London N20 9PJ
18.11.1991

PERSONAL STATEMENT

I am a very hard working, capable and focused individual, undertaking all tasks given to me with a very hands on approach.

I always strive to over achieve on the goals that I set myself. I want to develop my career potential to the fullest and therefore carry out any job role to the highest standards at all times, always willing to learn new skills

  My customer service skills are excellent, always aiming to exceed the customers’ expectations. I believe having the ability to communicate and being able to work as part of a team is important and that this plays to my strengths.

 I have very good organisational skills, with a polite and professional persona. I am ambitious, determined, confident, and easy to get along with.  

KEY SKILLS

Technical Skills

o   Basic First Aid skills

o   Extremely computer literate.

o   Excellent command of English

o   Ability to multi task.

Personal Skills

o   Training in voice and drama allows me to have a clear and approachable way of communicating with people.

o   Versatile and able to adapt transferable skills from one field of work to another.

o   Organized, reliable and confident.

o   High standard of personal appearance.

CERTIFICATES & MEMBERSHIPS

• Basic First Aid
• Fully trained Bar tender and Cocktail maker (Bar school)
• Qualified Zumba fitness instructor
• Qualified and Insured Aerobics fitness instructor
• Grade Advanced2 ISTD Tap dance
• Grade Advanced2 ISTD Modern dance
• Grade Advanced1 ISTD Ballet dance
• Level 2 stage combat- self defense
• Bronze Graded in LAMDA
• Grade 2 Piano
• Grade 2 Singing- Rock School
• Advanced Open water Scuba Diver
• Full Licensed driver
• Moped Licensed (CBT)

EDUCATION

• College: Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, London. 3 yr Performing Arts, Diploma.
• School: Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, London. 8 GCSE’s- A-C grades.

EMPLOYMENT

Sales Assistant/ Counter Cover- Harrods Ltd (TBC Agency) - Knightsbridge
www.tbcmodels.com

www.harrods.com
Dec 09- Current date

Zumba Fitness/Aerobics Fitness Instructor- Freelance/YMCA/Mariott County Hall- London

www.cityymca.org

www.zumba.com/ellishiggins

www.mariotlesiure.co.uk

Oct 10- Current date

Bar Tender- Bar Soho- Soho, London

www.barsoho.co.uk

Sep 11- Current date

Shot Girl- London Top club venues

www.glamslamenertainments.com

Aug 11- Current date

Silver Service waitress- High Society- London
www.high-society.co.uk

Jan 10- Jul 10

Receptionist- Esporta Gym- London

www.esporta.com

09-10

Dance Teacher (Jazz dance)- Esporta Gym- London

www.esporta.com

09

Sales Assistant- Abercrombie & Fitch ltd- London

www.abercrombie&fitch.com

08-09

REFERENCES

·        Sara Zavaleta (Studio and Class Co-Ordinator)- YMCA & County Hall- London.

Tel: 07595583158

E-mail: sara_zava@accamail.com

·        Nina McInally (Agent)- Italia Conti Agency- London.

Tel: 0207 608 7523

E-mail: nina@ItaliaConti.co.uk

PERSONAL INTERESTS

o   Photography

o   Film/Theatre

o   Travelling

o   Music

o   Scuba diving

o   Adventure sports/water sports

o   Reading

o   Drumming/Piano 

Task 1a: CV- Performance

Ellis Higgins - Curriculum Vitae (Performance)

AGENT*

YAT Management                                    T: 0207 278 2101

 70-72 Barnsbury Road                             E: agent@yati.org.uk

 London, Islington N1 0ES                        W: www.yati.org.uk

PERSONAL DETAILS *

Height: 5 ft 5 inch                                     Playing Age: 16 – 25 years

Weight: 8 st 7                                           Voice Quality: clear & engaging

Eyes: Blue/grey                                        Location: London, UK

Hair: Light brown                                     D.O.B- 18/11/91

Role Type: White                                     Mob: 07825561235

TRAINING *

Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts - 2008-2011 (3yr) National Diploma MT

TELEVISION *

Character           Year           Production                       Company                        

Kate                   2009            Eastenders                       BBC 

Lily                    2008/9         The Bill                            ITV

Jess (gang)          2007            Silent witness                   BBC

Amy Cole           2006            Eastenders                       BBC

Emily Sanders     2000            London's Burning             ITV

MUSIC VIDEOS*

Character               Year      Production                                                    Company

Featured Dancer    2012      David Jordan ‘Wild, wasted &Wonderful’       Control LDN ltd     

 STAGE *

Character.           Year       Production                            Company / Venue                   Director

Main Dancer        2012      LGE Runway                         LGE at Business design ctre     Mert Avci

Libby                   2012      Slash- On a Spree                 Young Actors Theatre              Donna Bamford

Soloist Dancer     2011      Italia Conti centenary              New Wimbledon theatre          Hayley Newton

                                           Show & gala show

Rose Cook           2011     Blood Stained Pumps             Young Actors Theatre             Niall Phillips

Featured Dancer   2011     Italia Conti centenary              Grovsner house                       Karen Halliday

                                           Ball

Jet Girl                  2011    West side story                       Avondale theatre                    Rachel pressland joy

Featured Dancer  2011      Made2move.                         Avondale theatre                    Gregory Apostolidis

Soloist Singer       2010      Band jam- Witches                Avondale theatre                    Karen Halliday

                                           Of Eastwick

Soloist Dancer      2010.     Legends                                New Wimbledon theatre.        Karen Halliday

Featured Dancer  2009.     It's a shaw thing.                    Shaw theatre.                          Karen Halliday

Featured Dancer  2008.     The circle of life.                    New Wimbledon theatre.         Karen Halliday

Featured Dancer  2004      ISTD Gala centenary show    Sadlers wells                           Denise Ranger

FILM *

Character.             Year.              Production                     Company.                         Director

Kayla Thomas        2012              Cut Loose (short)            BBC                                   Pier Wilke

Ellis                        2012              Home (short)                 Lonesome Schoolboy       Niall Phillips

School girl              2008.             An Education.                BBC films.                         Lone Sherfig

Refugee.                1999              Loves Labours Lost.       Miramax                            Kenneth Brannagh

COMMERCIAL *

Character.            Year.              Production                           Company

Grace                    2012             Lynx Effect ad                       N20 London

Millie                    2012             Lynx Effect ad                        N20 London

Featured dancer.    2011.            Grease dance game Xbox.       Freeform London     

Lucy.                    2010.           Morrisons Christmas ad           ITV1

*Various commercials for Danone yoghurt, British gas, Muliti-biotic vitamins, The Times, Sky (x3), Ready Break, Luton airport & modelling for Marks & Spencer's, Asda and Early Learning Centre.*

RADIO *

Character.          Year                Production                             Company                  

School girl.          2000               Multi-biotic vitamins.                Various radio stations

ACHIEVEMENTS *

Stage Combat- level 1 (1st)

Advanced 2 - Modern dance ISTD

Advanced 2 - Tap ISTD

Advanced 1 - Ballet ISTD

SKILLS *

Accents:       (Native*) American-Standard, American-southern, New York, Cockney, Welsh, Dublin, Irish-Southern, Glasgow, Liverpool,

                     London*, Northern, RP, Yorkshire

Dancing:       Ballet, Tap, Modern, Jazz, hip-hop/street, commercial, contemporary/lyrical, Latin.

Instruments: Drums, piano, keyboard

Sports:         Scuba-diving, Swimming, Running, Stage Combat, cycling, ski-ing, tennis, rollerblading, football

Vocal:            Mezzo/Soprano

Other:           Improvisation, Role Play, Zumba fitness instructor, bar school -cocktail mixer trained, full UK Driving Licence & CBT moped license.

Just browsing..

So after hours of looking through hundreds of blogs, checking how other students present their work and peeking at the tasks i will be facing in the future, I discovered that there are LOADS of ways to show your work! I also discovered old friends from the same college i studied at are also doing the same course and have either started in Jan or last Sept. Always handy if i need an extra bit of help or guidance. Good to know! The tasks look fun and I'm not so scared anymore with what i thought requirements might involve.
Today i have had a day of getting to grips with Myunihub and Libguides- finding my way round as it were! Have to admit, it looked a bit daunting at first but i think I've got to grips where everything is. (well most things?!) For my task 1a I am going to upload both my performing and side job CV's and then a brief Description of my working life so far in chronological order. Just to give a bit of everything!!

Back to Work!

Well Hello There - isn't this exciting!

I have just finished setting up my blog. Lots of new ideas, tasks and other cool stuff for you guys to check out! After all... 

Kahlil Gibran
"Work is love made visible."