My Solar System

So I have finally caught up with this week's classes, and there was quite a lot to unpack... 

I was able to join Peter Thomas' class for about half an hour and it was the first class I've been able to attend in person. It was a shame to have to leave halfway through, but I was grateful to at least be able to attend for a little while. I struggled a little bit with the freewriting but did get into the flow of it during the second exercise. I like to consider what I write before I write it so taking that filter out definitely felt hard. 

I watched the rest of that class yesterday and today I was able to watch the Zoom recording for Week 3. I wish I could have participated in the class because it all seemed so interesting (as it does every week), but in a way I was also grateful to be watching it from afar as I didn't really have a good understanding of the task that was set and it helped me a lot to watch how others did it. 

So, after revising my solar system a lot based off what other people said, this is what it looks like: 

The Sun: Being a successful musical theatre and film/TV performer, whilst also being a voice for change in terms of accessibility and equality regardless of religion. 

My rings (I will be using initials instead of full names): 
1. My parents - as cheesy as it may sound, they have always been there for me and they are always the people I know I can fall back on. They support me and love me and help me no matter what and I wouldn't be who I am without them. 
2. My extended family - My parents live on the other side of the world and therefore it can be lonely and hard at times (despite the wonderful invention of WhatsApp). My extended family (cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles, etc.) have taken me in with open arms and looked after me and been such an important support system and I couldn't do any of this without them. They've also helped me to celebrate my religion wholeheartedly in a world where it can sometimes be hard to.  
3. My partner - Once again, someone who has supported and will continue to support me every step of the way. He is also in the same field as me (we met in drama school) and is interested in doing the other side of it (writing, directing, etc.), which could actually help me in my career as well. Whilst he is Christian, he is very supportive of my religion and willing to adapt his life to match it, so that is just another support and way to celebrate it. 
4. W. B. - This fantastic woman is someone who came in to our drama school temporarily and has been absolutely life-changing. Whilst being an actress and director herself, she has now also taken up a focus in mental health and life coaching. She is unbelievably supportive (I know I keep using that word but luckily I am surrounded by people who cheer me on) and understanding and has a great approach to the field and life in general.
5. T. J.ish C. - I have worked with this company once before in one of their fundraisers for a new show they're creating to do with being migrants in the performing arts field. I would love to explore more with them and discover their opinions and approaches to various things and how we can make theatre more accessible for the actors, especially with regard to their religion. 
6. David Baddiel - I read 'Jews Don't Count' a few months or years ago, I don't remember, and he had some very interesting points to make about the inequality between Jewish people in society and Christians. I would love to deep dive more into this and his thoughts and people's opinions to his book and stance and see if it can help drive change.
7. T. J. J. WhatsApp Group - This is a WhatsApp Group that has connected me to many other people who are in the UK theatre world that are not Christian. Ranging from writers to directors to producers to actors, this group consists of people from the same religion but different streams within it. I don't tend to use this group very much but I'm sure I'll be able to ask around as to expectations and how they navigate working in creative industries alongside their religion. 
8. Equity - At the moment I am not actually part of Equity but I know that they are largely responsible for setting the standards for performers in our industry. Eventually I think that would be the place to go in order to really push for a change and help to create equal opportunities regardless of religion.
9. The government/society as a whole - This one is very vague and very far removed. It's going to take a lot to see a change in society's acceptance of other religions, rather than just living by the Christian standard. The government at the moment hasn't really proven itself to care too much about minority religions, and as a result (or because of?) the general British society does not really seem to care either. I don't expect to see a change in this but if we're dreaming big and wide, this is where it would get to (although, ideally, it would just become a new standard across the globe). 

I really struggled with this exercise initially, and what I've written up here does not at all reflect what I wrote down in my notebook whilst watching the class. I think taking some time to consider it more carefully has really helped. Whilst I was thinking about it during the class I started to feel really hopeless and like it was an impossible task. Coming back to it now makes me feel like there are some potential smaller steps and people to talk to that don't feel quite as drastic as asking the whole world to change their standards overnight. I still don't feel like it's a particularly realistic dream, but it may be possible to at least see some change at some point, and if not, at least to start some discussions about it.