We have received some excellent advice this year in our storytellers retreat, Roots and Wings. I really liked hearing from a professional actress on techniques to present ourselves more professionally in our storytelling. Kym Mellen gave a presentation on the topic of Stage presence and physicality. Kym is a professional actor and director.
I really like these presentations, and here is some advice. Kym had on performance. I didn’t have the opportunity to document all the juicy advice, but here are just a few suggestions.
– When applying for a job, when you introduce yourself. Don’t say your name in such a way that it sounds like a question.
– The more you can think in the character (consider the character’s motivations); the less the negative voice of your doubts will influence your performance.
– Have some highlights of the characters you depict that will prepare you for the story you will tell. It will help prepare you to get in the character’s mindset.
– The moment before you do a presentation has some phrases in the story in your head that will encompass the thoughts story. An example was given were Kym gave a scene of a reporter being ashamed of taking photos of tragedy. She felt inhuman because of it.
– Outside the door practice twice before you preform.
– Start on your voice with pieces that represent you as a person you’re presenting about.
– Make discoveries in your story. One way to do this is to seek ‘Oh My Gosh!’ moments. This is where you come to a sudden realization of insight of the story that you hadn’t seen before. If you create an “Aha” moment before each sentence of the story and help you find new possibilities for that sentence and better understanding of the overall story. It gives you a sense of discovery.
– For body language, you want to have your eyes pointing to the top right. This is a body language that is an indication of someone remembering something.
– Some people will break up the stories with self-observations of character.
– After each application to a job, write down how you did, what speech you gave, and what you wore. Do a self-evaluation. This type of log can help you analyze how to respond to pressure.
– Some questions that a judge may ask themselves before hiring you are:
Do I understand the basic plot points?
Do I believe you?
Do I care much more?
Would I hire you now?
There was a lot more information that’s what’s been presented here. If you ever have a chance to attend this retreat in the future, I would recommend it. At least you have a little bit of an idea of some of the information that was learned during the weekend.
