Reflections on a Session I Taught: Intro to Furniture Repair

Subject: Trial run of a furniture repair class
14 November 2017

Hi Cool Kids,
I have an idea for a potentially fun morning’s work in week 9 depending on people’s availability and interest. After a delightful session repairing and restoring some antique chairs with a couple of your cohort it occurs to me that everyone might appreciate some practise and training in furniture repair. We can rummage in the furniture store for items that need love or you could bring your own project pieces or both. We can practise dowel-fitting, reshaping and replacing components, high-tension knots, clamping and wrap techniques (for holding it together while the glue dries), and discuss painting, staining and different types and applications for adhesives. This is for theatre-grade furniture repair, not museum- or consumer-grade, but a morning or a few hours may be all you need to get those chairs back to work at their primary job: being jumped on by actors. 
Do let me know by reply if you’re interested, and which day(s) of week 9 you might be available for a morning or afternoon.
Thanks!
KG

17 November 2017

Hi Stage Managers,

Thank you to those who have replied with your availability. I’m happy to run a session Wednesday morning of week 9, the 29th of November starting at 10am. Please do let me know if you are keen to participate and haven’t already replied.

Do make sure you wear work clothes and steelies, tie long hair back, and bring your comfortable goggles and ear defenders if you have them (we can also lend you what we have). You may want to bring a notebook, pencil, camera-equipped calculator and your favourite tape measure, but please leave any other valuables somewhere safe and clean (like your scarf and coat; if it’s chilly we’ll put the heater on).

Also, as this is trial run please feel free to offer honest feedback during and after the session about what was or was not useful to you, what you’d like to see happen if we do it again, and anything else that could help it gel into something cool.

Kind regards,
KG

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Broken Chairs and You: Assessment, Repair and Restoration
Class Outline and Selected Definitions
29 November, 2017. 1000 to 1300
   
Starting Points, Equipment and Materials:
How was it made in the first place? What was it worth new? How much will it cost to repair?
Parts of the Chair. (Top Rail, Mid Rail, Stile, Leg, Corner Block, Seat, Spindle, Rung) (Draw and label)
Is it Broken, Dismantled, Weak or Squeaky? How does it need to be used?
Mould, Dry Rot and Decay (or when to just say no).
Whether to repair components or replace them—what is the line?
Two types of Dowel, Wedges. Appropriate use of Hardware, and Why to Avoid Brackets (Hint: they bend!)
Types of Adhesives: Flexible, Rigid, Expanding, Epoxy, Filler, Cyanoacrylate (why, and their cure times).
Pilot holes: Why? Where? How? And what to do about hairline cracks?
Use the Least Hazardous Product you can that is still effective.

Common Chair Materials:
Hardwoods: Oak, Maple, Hickory, Beech, Teak, Iroko (Mahogany), Eucalyptus (Grandis), Cherry. DURABLE.
Softwoods: Pine, Spruce, Cedar, Fir (and other evergreens) CHEAPER. Not usually good to use outdoors.
Sheet: Plywood, MDF, Particleboard, OSB (Sterling Board), Cardboard. OFTEN CHEAPER STILL except ply.
Plastics: Polyester, Polypropylene, Polyurethane, Polyethylene, Acrylic, Polycarbonate. RANGE OF QUALITIES.
Metals: Steel, aluminium, cheap chromed alloys. RANGE OF QUALITIES.

Holding It Together while the Glue Dries:
Clamping (padding, protecting clamps from adhesives, protecting furniture from the clamp)
Ropes for Knot Tying: Nylon, Polyester, Manila/Hemp, Polypropylene. No string.
Clove Hitch: a tight-fitting, simple and reliable knot, for attaching a line to a fixed object (such as a pipe)
Constrictor Knot: One more step beyond a Clove Hitch, this knot is self-tightening and difficult to remove.
Bowline: A permanent, slip-resistant loop that can be introduced anywhere in a system.
Trucker’s Hitch: a double-purchase system without pulleys, makes a very high-tension line.

Finishing: Painting, Staining, Scuffing, Scraping
Painting: If your furnishing has already been painted with a flat emulsion, paint it with another flat emulsion.
If your furnishing is multi-tonal, paint it all white or black before painting it again (prime it).
Staining and Varnishing: If your furnishing is a raw softwood and needs to be a hardwood-tone, select a stain and follow the instructions on the tin. For most solvent-based stains you will need GLOVES, GOGGLES, a RESPIRATOR and ruin-ready clothes. Be prepared to let it soak and then wipe off the excess. Once it is dry you should varnish, or glaze it. Use the Least Hazardous product you can that is still effective.
Scuffing: if your furnishing has been varnished but needs to be painted, you do not need to remove all of the varnish in order for the paint to stick. Use sandpaper to thoroughly scuff the varnish, or make a ‘tooth’ for the paint to hold onto. Sanding all the way down will often re-shape the wood and waste a lot of paper.
Scraping: If your item is varnished or painted and needs to be stained another colour, you will need to remove all of its existing coating. The easiest and most effective way is to scrape the varnish off with a heat gun and flat scraper. You will need leather gloves for this, a respirator and a very well ventilated space.



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29 November 2017

Dear T, S and E,

Thank you for participating in the furniture session today. I hope you enjoyed yourselves--I sure had fun! I still have bits of rope for you if you want or need it. Please do practice your Trucker's Hitch when you have nothing better to do (or when listening to podcasts!) I've attached an annotated picture of the hitch we worked on. Yes, that's a chair in my office. Does green on greyscale work for you?

I've attached my lesson plan, which includes a cheat-sheet about painting techniques, which we did not get to but that's absolutely fine. If you have any questions, or would like clarification or reminders about anything, please do feel free to ask.

I would appreciate your feedback about today's session when you have some time. Don't spare my feelings! Was it useful? What would be more useful? Was it relevant to your practice?

Kind regards and thanks again,
KG

6 December 2017

Hi KG,

Thank you for all your useful resources!

From my point of view, your session was very useful. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to stay for the whole duration of the session, but in the hours I was there for, it was really insightful and it taught me that there was more to fixing a chair rather than just drilling things back together.

I believe it would have been more useful if I had more time to spare to learn more things from you.
Fixing chairs is something I believe that is very useful for Stage Management. It's good to know basic knowledge when you can attempt to fix a chair onsite during a tech rehearsal rather wasting time to find the right person to fix the chair for the job. Also, it's just generally a great skill to have.

Thanks,

E

Observation of teaching: 1/11/2017. Prof: PC

Counterweight Flying Part 2: Loading weight and drapery. Year 1 BA-TP Technical and Production Management, Stage Management, Production Lighting joint session,

Considerations for planning, with specific considerations for health and safety:
This class is one of the most hazardous of the first year experience for BATP students, involving many people learning how to load weight at height, move large heavy battens overhead and engage with open traps in the stage deck. Communication must be clear and people must be alert.

Classroom observations: Five students are on the pinrail and another two are loading weight above. The tutor is up with them and the session appears to be predominantly for their benefit. Twenty students are on stage level to shift drapes onto and off of battens, wearing hard hats and steel-toed boots.  Five lighting students are hanging fixtures off the electrics and tidying cables down cables and into deck-side traps. A VL appears to be trying to guide some activity on floor-level, but she doesn't appear to be sure what she's expected to do. Confusion and disorder abound. Communication is absent or poor.

Feedback session at the end of the day is very self-congratulatory. Small chides here and there and plenty of snarky asides from students and VL both, but the overall feel is one of pride and accomplishment.

Questions:There are too many students in this room doing absolutely nothing. These mostly stage management students are bored, disruptive, irritable and in the way, and appeared to be completely detached from the proceedings. They were not required (or invited?) to participate in the actual operation of the counterweight system. Why are they here? Why have they just been dumped on you? Were they told to take notes and pay attention to what the TPM students were doing? I'd imagine they tried for a while but there's only so much they can soak up from the sidelines while other students are intensely learning at height. Why did they not practice communicating with the fly tower? And why were the students left effectively to their own devices to develop a flyloft communication lingo when one not only already exists but it standardised across the global theatre industry?

This whole thing feels unnecessarily risky. I don't understand why the SMs are here, at least not all day. It could have been useful, if they are not really expected to learn how to operate flys but do need to know what's going on up there, for them to be invited in at the end of the day so the TPM students could show them what they've learned. That helps solidify their learning and gives the SMs an idea of what goes on when they're not around.

I can't bring myself to tell PC that this session needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. I like him and respect him as a colleague. But this was scary and resoundingly ineffective as a teaching opportunity. I don't know what to do.

Observation of teaching, 14/11/2017: Prof: NM

Session: Semiotics.

Session description from tutor:
The session is an introduction to Semiotics and Dramaturgy for the Theatre Practice first years, in two groups. Each session is planned to be around 75 minutes long.

Tutor's considerations in planning for the session/tutorial. Please include any considerations regarding health and safety (Quote tutor):
The session is based on a PowerPoint - and I aim to follow basic guidance on this, including using sans serif fonts and an off-white background. The majority of the slides cover a single point, unless they are re-capping material.

I have run the core of this session several times for a variety of different audiences. I will need to be aware of the mood in the room and work to keep as many of the students engaged as possible in subjects they may feel "have nothing to do with my practice".

My overall aim is to enable those students to think differently about the subjects and their own practice.

Areas of focus for the peer observer (from tutor): How well do you think I succeeded in achieving this overall aim?

NOTES FROM OBSERVATION:

Semiotics: the study of language as an idea, how the brain engages with language. Limitations of understanding, based on community, culture. Signing vs signage. Communication is a two-way process, you are not finished communicating until the other person understands the message as you intended it to be understood.

(From Powerpoint)
Sign - Signifier - Object
clouds - rain likely - Actual Rain
"Fire!"  - the sight and sound of fire - Actual fire
caballo  - horse - an actual horse

other examples:
spray painted chair - throne - an actual gold throne

Response to space, time and students:
To start off with the students are all writing and listening. What is the course breakdown of the student group? How many are actively relating these concepts to their practice and interests?
The text is clear and easy to read.
At the 1/2 hour mark NM opens the floor for 3-4 minutes of questions and to segue into part 2. Scheduled breather, I think. Smart.
Students pause, breathe, look around when the slides change. 
One hour mark. We've dwindled to a stop. Energy levels are low. Lists of definitions and blocks of text on the slide projector. At least four students are asleep, doodling is evident and several are looking around or out the window. Still fifteen minutes to go.


Responses to teaching:
Style of engagement: traditional lecture with AV assist. Would it be appropriate or helpful for the students to actively participate in this class in some way? 75 minutes of sitting quietly--that's a long time for theatre kids.
Use of rhetorical questions: is that advisable for this content? Or could more directed questions with an implied or range of correct answers might be helpful to promote relevance. The students are unsure if they are invited to participate or respond. Some tried to express active interest by 'm-hmm'-ing in response to prompts about chair uses (tapping, punching, pretending it's a car) but no one volunteered an idea, nor did they have time to come up with something. Was this simply in the interests of time?
Students want to take themselves and their jobs seriously. When you refer to their entire career as "playing pretend" you're likely to lose them. Your explanations are right on but they took your points as infantalising.

Question:
How can we make this more obviously relevant to students such as scenic constructors, costume makers and even prop makers who often aren't the semiotic decision-makers, but are implementing other people's decisions? Does this study cause them to feel dis-empowered or marginalised contrasted with designers?

Delayed type-up: Reflections on the reading for 11 October: Critical Reflection

A habit of critical reflection is a valuable opportunity to reassess assumptions and expectations, routinely and periodically.
:The writer clearly has some baggage he's working through. He expresses massive frustration with his status quo, which appears to be a not-so-subtle attack on his own institution for making employees take on more than they can reasonably achieve, and his colleagues for taking it on and suffering through it out of a co-opted sense of obligation to learning and the students.
This is an interesting introductory reading. It includes regular reminders to keep your expectations for yourself, your students and your field reasonable. As an introduction to this class, for the author to remind us to get out of this what we can, adapt the course content and other materials/resources to your own challenges. Do not waste too much time searching for the perfect technique or solution: while a perfectly-applicable system or solution may exist, it is far more likely that you will have to invent something yourself, advised by these resources.
He reminds the reader that progressive-crunchy-granola solutions and techniques don't always work, that teaching which leaves too much room for student contribution opens itself to particular students dominating discussion and your attention (likely to the detriment of other learners/participants). Reminds me that students who rise to the top often would do so regardless of how they are taught. Likewise, disruptive, apathetic and distracted students likely will be so regardless of your enthusiasm for the subject. You're just not going to reach everyone, so keep your eye out to ensure that you've caught the majority. Make room for weaker, less pro-active and courageous students to succeed and grow if they actually want to. Don't beat yourself up over negative feedback if it is rare. (Maybe do something if it is frequent.)

16/10/2017 Peer Observation of Teaching: JH

Intro to Performing Research Unit. Joint session of all MA-level new starters. Main auditorium, 100-200 students. Lecture-style.

Key points: ask yourself why you are here. What do you want to get out of this? Academia, an MA, the Arts? What is Performing Research? What does the school expect of you and your research?

My thoughts before the class: JH has revealed some of her puppet strings that she manipulates to pique attention and maintain enthusiasm. She adopts a genuine, honest and approachable tone to set herself apart, to an extent, from the very right-on 'true believers' in the building. Does this attitude, when conveyed, encourage engagement? Does it encourage trust?

Session and Assessment/Teaching Strengths: The lighting is poor. It is difficult to see JH unless she stays very still. Are lecturers taught to use the panel interface in for the lecture hall lighting?
She's very light-touch with the rhetoric. She asks questions but actually Does want answers. Eyes are focussed. Her responses to student statements are almost universally positive, and she can turn even not-quite-to-the-point responses to relate them productively towards her learning objectives. It requires strong listening and fast analysis. She has a fantastic ability to roll with it.
The big, ugly Powerpoints: she approaches them when necessary with disappointment and dramatised dread. This commiseration with students enhances notion that this is unfortunately important. It does appear to improve the likelihood and level of student receptiveness.

Thoughts after the class:
JH expressed that she did not feel confident about her delivery, despite the fact that (I would argue) the one or two hiccups she encountered (Powerpoint issues, one or two disjointed questions from students) actually served as opportunities for the group to re-engage and reset. The presentation went well, and the students appeared to get something out of it--if nothing else they paid attention. No phones were out, no one chatted or dozed off. Her lowered confidence after the presentation surprised me, as she performed confidence and wit throughout. Her music 'trick', as AS put it, offered mixed results. While turning the music Off as a method of re-establishing order was effective, I wonder if it allowed for the masking of considerable disorder while it was active. I'm not convinced 'music time' was spent productively, or if that was really the intent.

Reflection and Development:
What are your key indicators of student attentiveness? What is your reflex when you sense you might be losing people? Do you act on, suppress, or evaluate that reflex?

Do you have access to user data/usage data with regard to film copies of your lectures and additional support resources?

How much do people actually engage with the VLE when it is not mandatory?

Can anything rattle you in the moment? Technical issues, errors and flubs (and weird responses from students) roll off of you. Your preparation and experience are evident.

Are giant, multi-strand groups always like this? Most people more-or-less in phase, paying attention, two noisy attention-seekers, and one person so off-the-mark it beggars belief? What are good ways of keeping on-track when disruptive individuals try to re-route the point? What leads to disruptive tendencies in large, impersonal settings (and a passive audience)?