Evidence-based self assessment for acting

I am a lecturer in acting at The Liverpool institute for Performing Arts. Our BA (Hons) Acting programme is a three-year vocational programme and I teach a wide variety of subjects across the levels.

I also teach pedagogy to early career lecturers and I'm currently doing a PhD in Enhancement, Evaluation and Research of Higher Education. My area of interest is assessment and feedback, and recently I've been working on self-assessment.

There are many challenges in teaching acting. It is an art form that depends on external feedback. A painter can see her painting ‘as she is painting’, a dancer can look in the mirror ‘as she is dancing’ but an actor cannot see what she is doing ‘as she is doing’ it. She can watch her recorded performance but even then, the recording does not provide immediate feedback. Instead tutors, directors or coaches provide actors with immediate feedback throughout the rehearsal process, and students build an internal framework to adjust and consolidate their work.