by Naomi Joseph

I had been looking forward to Laura Lundy’s coaching session all week. Here is what I learned:

1. I am not ‘just’ anything. I am not ‘just’ an artist. I am an artist.
2. Similarly, a simple change in vocabulary can change your perspective on the hurdles you find yourself facing. ‘I don’t have collaborators’ can become ‘I want to find the right collaborators.’
3. Learn who you are as an artist and what work you like to create. You can then experiment with how to articulate this in a tagline. For example: My name is Naomi Joseph and I am a theatre maker who makes work about bereavement. But when I consider all of the art forms I work in and the specifics of the stories I tell this might then change to ‘My name is Naomi Joseph. I am an artist who creates live performances which recognise the way women carry bereavement in their everyday lives.’
4. Self-defining your practice is hard work. It is also an ongoing process because you are constantly developing.
5. Laura can not tell you the answers (how easy would it be if she did?!) but she will guide you there.
6. Everybody thinks their art is global and capable of changing the world. That’s a lovely sentiment, but when you are actually specific about your artistic intentions, you find your collaborators and your audience a lot more quickly!
7. Get comfortable talking about money.
8. The key to carrying yourself like a pro is to accept that you are valid and deserve to take up space. Whether it is in the audition room or someone’s inbox, take up space.
9. The taglines of the #devise18 crew are electric.

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IMAGE: Laura Lundy coaches Davinia Hamilton (left) in an audition role-play exercise.