Making Theatre Work: Educating for Entrepreneurship in the UK HE Theatre Sector

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Making Theatre Work Educating for
Entrepreneurship in the UK HE Theatre Sector
Dr Mark Evans ENCATC Chicago July 2009
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Making Theatre Work Context

• Funded by PALATINE Learning and Teaching
  Support Network for Performing Arts in the UK.
• Sector context Performing Arts
  Entrepreneurship (Brown, 2004), Mapping Dance
  (Burns, 2007), ICEBreaker (Evans, 2006).
• Personal interest National Council for Graduate
  Entrepreneurship Education Fellow (2008-present).
• Interim report survey, analysis and case
  studies.
• Recognised need for further research (World
  Economic Forum, 2009).

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Entrepreneurship and the Performing Arts

• Significance of creative industries to the UK
  economy (Cox Report). Creative sector largest in
  EU and relative to GDP one of largest in the
  world (Million, 2008).
• Theatre industry cross-section of heritage,
  innovation, social impact, commercial, etc. Feeds
  major industries such as Film and Television.
• Long tradition of entrepreneurial behaviour and
  activity in Theatre, but often not high growth.

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Aims of the project

• Identify and evaluate the different kinds of
  curriculum design and pedagogy employed.
• Identify examples of good practice and areas for
  future development.
• Investigate potential need for wider network to
  support and share good practice.
• Raise the profile and understanding of
  entrepreneurship education in this field.

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Approach

• Survey (paper and online) of relevant
  institutions.
• Evaluate pedagogical frameworks and methods
  against existing conceptual models.
• Identify and present case studies.
• Create database of institutions and individuals
  interested in future networking and collaboration.

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Survey reponse

• 114 institutions surveyed.
• Full responses from 40 respondents.
• Breadth of responses
• pre- and post-1992
• English, Welsh and Northern Irish
• FE/HE colleges and drama conservatoires
• large and small theatre departments (average 180
  students).

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How do theatre courses prepare students for the
industry?
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Models for integration of entrepreneurship in
curriculum
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Support from external agencies
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Time spent on key areas Level 1
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Time spent on key areas Level 2
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Time spent on key areas Level 3
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Time spent of key areas Level M
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Distribution of entrepreneurship skills

• Level 1 problem solving, decision making,
  company roles, professional discipline, working
  with others, negotiation, skills audit,
  confidence and reflection.
• Level 2 forward planning, policy, project
  management, problem solving, decision making,
  opportunity recognition, company
  responsibilities, professional discipline, safe
  and responsible practice, confidence, reflection,
  adaptability, time management, working with
  others, networking, skills audit, new
  technologies, costing and budgeting, marketing
  and negotiation.
• Level 3 arts funding, budgeting, project and
  problem managing, company structures, business
  start-up, skills audit, career planning,
  networking, understanding life-world, innovation
  and new technologies, career planning, priority
  setting, working with clients.

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Teaching and Learning
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Assessment
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Involvement of professionals in course activities
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Good practice

• Final independent projects creative response to
  market needs.
• Festivals, platforms and showcase events.
• Entrepreneurial ethos e.g. participation in
  staff practice and practice-as-research events.
• Involvement of industry role-models (mentors,
  case studies).
• Delivery of key skills by artists, consultants,
  experts.
• Learning by doing active learning and
  acquisition of need to know knowledge.
• Embedded delivery seamless and holistic
  experience.
• Internships, placements and live briefs value
  of know-who and work-place knowledge.
• Allow submission of professional work (Masters
  programmes).
• Incubation units and Enterprise Units directly
  involved.

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Challenges for the future

• Collaboration across institutions and with other
  stakeholders.
• Tolerance of failure, failure as learning
  revision of work as part of process. Practising
  safe danger. Educating for risk.
• Encouraging students to plan adventurously for
  life beyond their course, while they are still
  fully focused on their course.
• Terminology, language and perception.
• Distance between what works in class and what
  works professionally/entrepreneurially.
• Pedagogic research in entrepreneurship education.
• Sustainability and the environment.
• Measuring success what metrics.
• University as entrepreneurial model ethos,
  staff activity, business.

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Challenges for the future (cont.)

• Global recession dealing with anxiety and
  educating for global entrepreneurship.
• Pedagogies that help students to understand the
  uncertain world and take better control of their
  lives.
• Resourcing for new technology.
• Balancing learning and doing.
• Educating stakeholders students as advocates,
  teachers as partners, artists as mentors.
• Linking artist entrepreneurs to administration
  entrepreneurs. New models for linking process and
  business.
• Educating for life-long enterprise.
• No single answer challenge of flexibility.

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Case Studies

• Leeds University
• Bath Spa University
• Queens University Belfast
• Swansea Metropolitan University
• Coventry University
• Lancaster University
• North Devon College
• Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts

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Conceptual issues

• Dominant models for entrepreneurship education
  business school model versus creative
  entrepreneurship.
• Language barrier artist entrepreneur?
• Typology for curriculum design embedded,
  integrated, aligned, facilitated and
  self-directed.
• Pedagogies for enterprise or for
  entrepreneurship?
• Education for work, for life, for social good or
  for self?
• Experiential versus traditional teaching models.

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• Gibb (2007) emphasises culture, empathy,
  organisation design, context and development
  processes and embeddedness in relationships with
  local stakeholders. Places key importance on
  motivation towards entrepreneurial values and
  life world.
• Final stage of project evaluate alignment of
  practices and models. For example, against Gibbs
  framework
• Capacity to get into the market place
• Ability to adjust to what is learnt in the market
  place
• Ability to learn from interaction with customer
  needs
• Harvesting stakeholder knowledge

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• Capacity for strategic thinking in relation to
  above
• Applying knowledge in practice through creative
  problem solving
• Holistic management within context of uncertainty
  and complexity
• Understanding small arts business as not a small
  large business
• Wide range of contexts for student learning.
• from Gibb, A. (2007) Entrepreneurship Unique
  Solutions for Unique Environments IJEE 5
  93-142.
• Lack of longitudinal studies - value of hard
  versus soft skills, and embedded versus aligned
  curriculum design in performing arts
  entrepreneurship education effective metrics
  success of recent initiatives.

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Finally

• Performing Arts could and should be at the
  forefront of entrepreneurship as the skills of
  imaginative and creative thinking, teamwork,
  innovation, role play and presentation are
  central to this area so we should promulgate
  these skills to others working in
  entrepreneurship
• Richard Knapp, Swansea Metropolitan University

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• Dr Mark Evans
• Associate Dean, School of Art and Design
• Coventry University
• m.evans_at_coventry.ac.uk
• (44) 24 7688 7496