ICTheatre has always known that to be a successful performer in this industry, you need more than just talent. You need to have drive, determination, strong core training and technique, willpower and focus to thrive as an actor.
Those aren’t skills you can just learn overnight! So while you receive your core practical training that is going to improve your talents and all-around ability as a performer, you will also learn how to be your own business and succeed in what is famously a very difficult industry.
You’ll graduate a step above the rest, with the willpower to accept rejections and knowledge on how to push ahead when things aren’t going to plan.
This training is at the heart of ICTheatre, as they believe wellbeing to be equally as important as the practical training you will receive. Guiding all of their teachings is a framework of seven mindsets, that can be followed to achieve a well-rounded outlook that can further you in your career and life. This framework is as follows:
- Everything Is Possible: Dream big, embrace creativity, act, and adjust.
- Passion First: Explore unknown possibilities and be authentic.
- We Are Connected: Everyone is connected; embrace everyone, lead with value.
- 100% Accountable: Own your own life, take responsibility and overcome limiting beliefs. Focus your energy, continue to grow.
- Attitude of Gratitude: Treasure yourself and others, pay it forward and elevate your perspective.
- Live to Give: Stretch yourself, make a difference, receive gracefully, create a legacy.
- Embrace Every Moment: get in the zone; be vulnerable and act with purpose.
By keeping this ethos in mind, you find yourself opening up to the world around you and the possibilities it may present, which is going to elevate you in your career when times get tough. This is what’s going to keep you a step above the rest.
So how is this incorporated into your training? Not only do our tutors focus on our ethos in their teachings to cultivate your confidence and growth, but you receive frequent coaching from tutors such as our Head of Personal Development Katie Stibbs.
Katie is a professional lifestyle coach who helps people reach their full potential, and she extends her teachings to our Brighton ICTheatre Training Professionals as part of their coaching.
Speaking from experience, I can say that the knowledge Katie gave me over my 3 years at ICTheatre was some of the most valuable – I left with a stronger sense of self, and a toolkit in my arsenal to help me manage difficult situations (including graduating into a pandemic!).
Katie gave us a few words about her work at ICTheatre.
“We are passionate about providing a 360 degree approach to life, incorporating mindset, the body, nutrition and breathwork to our students’ attention.
As humans we don’t work in isolation; we need to nurture and shine a light on everything that enables us to thrive.
We are all experiencing the myriad of human emotions on a daily basis and being able to navigate this is the ultimate life skill.”
“Self Development plays a huge role in understanding who we are and how we operate. Our thoughts create our emotions that inform our actions. Shining a light on our unconscious behaviour allows us to first understand, and then choose how we wish to show up in our life.
At ICTheatre we give our students a toolkit of strategies that enable them to dig deep, choose resilience, and bring compassion to themselves and others, while still moving forward with their training. We invite our students to consistently reflect on what is and isn’t working for them, so they can strive to constantly improve.
From the practical – organising their daily lives, healthy meal planning and budgeting – to the importance of mindfulness and time out in nature, being grateful and helping others. Wellbeing and personal development is an integral part of the process and the journey for our students and we take our commitment to it very seriously.”
Over here on the Mindset series of this blog, we’ll cover some of the tools Katie teaches for a stronger Mindset. This will include things such as Meditation, Gratitude and Manifestation, among other things.
We’ll take a quick look into these practices to see how they benefit us, so you can prepare for or continue the work you do with Katie and her colleagues!
Sometimes hearing about these practices can be hard. Sometimes you’ll think they’re a bit ridiculous – honestly, I did when we started! But as soon as you find something that clicks in your mind, you’ll be ready to open yourself up to a whole range of new possibilities. And who knows where these possibilities will take you?
In 2020 53,000 actors and performers were working in the UK according to Statista. That’s a daunting number, and could be enough to scare some people away from their dream career – but a strong mindset matched with your determination and drive (as well as your talent) could be the thing that sets you apart from everyone else and gets you to your dream career. So what have you got to lose?
Keep your eyes peeled for The Mindset Series if you fancy learning more about the practices Katie teaches. You can find out more about Katie on her Instagram @alivemindkatiestibbs or through her website here.
Think a mindful ethos is the thing you’re looking for in your performing arts training? Find our more at one of our open days and prepare to join the #ICTheatreMovement!
Author: Charley Morgan, ICTheatre Graduate 2020
