Actiontrack has always been committed to the training of participatory artists.           Contact us for information on work placements, company shadowing, work experience and any other needs you might have.           The Actiontrack Training Manifesto           Aims     The aim of the Actiontrack Training Programme is to train practitioners in the participatory arts through the use of the Actiontrack Ensemble Method.           Objectives     To establish an industry-led training model founded on the existing and developing ethics and practice of Actiontrack Performance Company.           To equip trainees to deliver high quality participatory arts practice in a variety of professional, social and community contexts.           To increase the quality, diversity and status of participatory arts practice within the cultural industries and beyond.           Who is the programme for?     The Actiontrack Training Programme aims to develop and contextualise the skills of participatory arts practitioners with some proven degree of ability in at least one art form. It is not intended as an introduction to participatory arts practice for individuals with no previous experience in the field.           The Actiontrack Training Programme           The following programme is to be piloted in collaboration with Dartington College of Arts in Devon UK from October 2005. Anyone interested in further details should contact us.           The Ensemble Method     Central to the Actiontrack Training Programme is the belief that artists and collaborators learn from each other in the field in a more purposeful way than can be provided by an institutional or academic framework.           To this end a training ensemble (of up to six members) will be formed which will enable trainees to learn from each other, as well as from their practical attachment to ongoing Actiontrack projects.           The Ensemble Method recognises clear evidence throughout Actiontrack’s history of the benefits of being part of a creative team, as opposed to working as an individual.           Through the Ensemble Method, aspects of individual art form skills can be challenged and enhanced. The flexibility and support that a team presence offers is invaluable both educationally, and practically.           However, the Ensemble Method of training also gives individual empowerment, so that those who complete the Training Programme are able to operate both as part of future ensembles, or to work individually.           Core Skills     The Actiontrack Training Programme will provide trainees with the following core skills:           1. The ability to set up, administer, run and produce participatory arts projects within a variety of contexts.     2. The ability to empathise with colleagues and to motivate and inspire a collaborating group.     3. The ability to produce ideas to task, deadline, budget and brief.     4. The ability to deliver genuinely collaborative pieces of work.     5. The ability to assist, support and contribute to at least one other art form outside a trainee’s specialism.     6. The ability to react positively to the demands of a developing creative process.     7. The ability to articulate those processes and to act as advocate for their promotion.     8. The ability to recognise and address personal skill deficits.     9. The ability to set adventurous personal and group goals and work to achieve them.           Recruitment / Selection     Actiontrack will continue to recruit potential trainees as part of its existing programme.           The company has already identified a national and international network of potential associates who could refer trainees for its Training Ensemble.           The programme will also be promoted and advertised through recognised national and international recruitment channels.           Thereafter recruitment strategy is as follows:           a. Visit, monitor and assess prospective candidates in situ to observe their current working practices and to investigate their aspirations and compatibility for the Programme.     b. Selected applicants will be invited to watch Actiontrack Performance Company at work.     c. Formal interview.           Successful candidates will then be offered a place on the ensemble, subject to an initial mutually agreed probationary period. (Up to 2 months)           Structure and Methodology     The Actiontrack Training Programme will be delivered in four interlocking phases and be underpinned by input from DARTINGTON COLLEGE OF ARTS staff and departments to address issues of reflective practice, self learning, academic currency value and accreditation:           1. INDUCTION     The full Training Ensemble will undergo a period of intensive training that will include the supervised creation of in-house productions, sessions and seminars from key professional and educational practitioners; both artistic and administrative; observations and discussions of the variety of career paths within the participatory arts and individual skill development and sharing. (2 Months)     2. COMPANY SHADOWING     In smaller groups, or as individuals, members of the Training Ensemble will join Actiontrack as project workers in the company’s existing programme. Trainees will be expected to observe, assist and take responsibility for aspects of a variety of projects, delivered at a professional level. Issues and concerns arising through the work will be addressed through a mentoring tutorial system. During this second phase of training, the full ensemble will still be expected to maintain and develop its collective identity. (6 Months)     3. ENSEMBLE PROJECTS     The full training ensemble will engage in the management and delivery of a discreetly supervised Participatory Arts Project. They will be expected to initiate, negotiate and produce an agreed number of projects, which will either address a broad constituency of participants in a single project, or a variety of constituents on smaller scale events. The ensemble will be expected to put into practice such skills as project planning, budget preparations, project management, delivery and subsequent evaluation. Actiontrack will be available to assist at each stage of the project, but will not be involved directly in the delivery of the project. (4 Months)     4. SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENT     For a period of a year to eighteen months after Ensemble Training, former trainees will receive ongoing support from Actiontrack. This will take the form of visits by Actiontrack staff and regular monitoring of ongoing work undertaken by former trainees. Subject to the successful conclusion of this post-training year; and in conjunction with Dartington College of Arts, and other regional and national monitoring bodies, a certified qualification will be granted. Former trainees who successfully receive this qualification may then be invited to contribute professionally to subsequent Training Programmes.

© 2004 Actiontrack Performance Co. Ltd.