Why we write essays in arts based studies.

     On the 24th of February I was lucky enough to have a day off for Estonia's Independence Day which felt like a welcome relief for my body during my intense schedule. However, Russia had other plans and on this day the world woke up to devastating news. The timing was heartbreaking; on a day where Estonia took pride to wave its flag and celebrate its small but mighty nation its neighbour took a step forward to threaten Europe. 

    Throughout Estonia's history the people have used song and dance to unite their nation and gain power from the arts. These days I have run into many reminders of what kind of influence the arts can have on a society, which I'd like to write about in a future post, but I think it's important to remember that what we see in the theatre is the tip of an iceberg and what's under the surface is so much bigger than we can begin to imagine. That is a reason why it's important to write, reflect, record and research about what we do in the arts. 

    In the morning of the same day we got to have a discussion with Peter Thomas from the Learning enhancement team. Our supervisor Dr Sam Murray raised some really interesting points on writing essays in arts based studies: words give the power to articulate our thoughts, give us a chance to contribute and engage, and also help stimulate change. Research should always create further questions so it can evolve, whilst being constantly contributed to.

    In the afternoon we went to the Estonian National Museum and had the privilege to hear the orchestra, band and choirs rejoice in their music and national dance. My eyes welled up on the most moving songs, even if I didn't understand their language, share their heritage, or fight for their independence, it was impossible to not distance myself from the emotional power of song and the huge significance that art has on people, politics and ultimately unification. 

    During the meeting Peter gave us many tips to be able to easily digest facts when reading and gave us an exercise from a short paper from Rose Martin to put those techniques to the test. We were advised to scan the text for a minute and pick up key points and raise questions that we might've come across, then when we had the chance to revisit the text we would begin to attempt to answer our questions. He then gave us a mind map of Reading Techniques which followed a step by step process: 1. Survey, 2. Question, 3. Read, 4. Recite, 5. Review. This was very useful from a practical stand point but one thing I think that was missing in the mind map was the most important factor: appreciate the author! I have a bad habit: to skip to the back of a book and read the ending, however through this bad habit I developed a "secret super power" to read. I realised that a lot of factual books finish with a bio or "about the author" section and I began to believe that once a reader can appreciate its author, a reader can truly take on what a writer has to communicate as the facts are much more likely to shine through. Developing a narrative for your writer, connecting with them and bringing them to your level makes them relatable, and forming an emotional response helps bring weight to what they have to say. It also can help us see if what they have to say may hold a bias. So before I read any paper or book, I read their bio, I listen to their TED talks, I listen to their voice on Podcasts and I try to grasp a sense of their motivation, influences and intention. This has helped me hugely. I then realised that with Theatre that is exactly what we do: we tell stories through emotional connections to help shine a light on what we want to say to the world. I value greatly the ability this course has to put my theatre life and my academic life in parallel and form connections that help me bring more meaning to my art form. 

I want to share the first song from the concert. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.