So you think a BOOT CAMP will develop your creativity?

So you think a BOOT CAMP will develop your creativity, sensitivity, sensory awareness and subtle energy presence on stage?

I happen to think that actors need the exact opposite: gentle, positive, relaxing, nurturing of your instrument; and a mind, body, spirit connection. You ARE after all, the work of art.

So, let’s say you are a musician; would you send your Steinway or Stradivarius to a boot camp for tuning? Would you want the tuner of your instrument to bang on the keys violently or to use force when repairing your delicate instrument? Of course not! You’d want them to take good care of it and be gentle, respectful, loving so they tune it to its highest potential. It’s time to do the same with your instrument-self.

Use self-love, self-appreciation, and self-esteem development techniques…Tune and clear your body and mind gently, lovingly. Use yoga, stretching, visualizations and energy relaxation exercises. Enfold your emotional range with safety and stress relief techniques. Learn the anatomy of your emotional and energy system to better manage the highs and the lows. Discover ways to recuperate your strength your energy and your power. Use proper nutrition and physical care. Choose a physical activity you enjoy. Give yourself time to play, read and rest. Reclaim your creative self, reclaim your Artist within.

In order to reclaim your highest creative spirit, your approach must be loving, caring, and appreciative. You must be indulgent and understanding. You must listen to your selves, to the voices within. You need to take the time and allow the space for your inner artist to enfold his wings. You need to listen within, and to care.

Each of you, artist, is unique, precious and fragile too. Like flowers, sunsets or rainbows, you illuminate when you perform, yet your works of art are always changing and ephemeral.

You are a living work of art. Your training must take this into consideration and treat you like one.

FMI about how to use these self-development techniques on your own, read my book A BALANCING ACT and visit http://www.starlightacting.org
or contact me; energize@starlightacting.org

Emmanuelle Chaulet is an acting coach, director of Starlight Acting Institute, adjunct faculty at the University of Southern Maine department of Theatre, Fulbright Scholar, international actress, Energy awareness counselor, ENERGIZE, RYSE III and REIKI practitioner and in Who’s Who in America since 2007. She has developed a unique acting method incorporating energy development techniques in the training: ENERGIZE, outlined in the book A BALANCING ACT (Starlight Acting Books 2008)

Getting up there-Stage Confidence and Presence

Dedicated to all of my readers in the performing arts, and anyone who needs a little boost in the area of self-confidence! Please enjoy this month’s post from guest writer, Emmanuelle Chaulet.

Emmanuelle Chaulet is an acting coach, a holistic acting practitioner, CRPL3, adjunct faculty at the University of Southern Maine, Fulbright scholar and author of A BALANCING ACT. She is the founder and director of Starlight Acting Institute, which offers individual sessions, workshops and retreats. http://www.starlightacting.org
She can be contacted at: energize@starlightacting.org
____________________________________________________
Before an audition or a performance do you think about yourself in a positive light, or do you think that you are not right for the part? Do you doubt yourself, or are you over-confident? Do you think about what THEY want, what THEY will think, what THEY will expect? (THEY, being the casting directors, the audience, the directors, the reviewers…)

Do you focus your energy on everything you need to be and become for THEM? (the look, the body language, the voice, the talk, etc.)
Or do you go up there and give it your best shot without worrying about the outcome?

I used to worry about all of this and was terrified at the immensity of the task at hand. How could I become a perfect fit for all the expectations these people had of me? How could I fulfill their ideas, dreams and anticipations? How could I fulfill the expectations of my teachers, my agents, my parents, my partners, and of myself? Then, of course with so many demands on my shoulders, I would shut down and do a mediocre job.

Others, on the opposite, will be overly confident and over do it, coming off obnoxious or cocky. But arrogance is a form of insecurity too. It is its polar opposite.

So, how do you prepare yourself to come off at ease, relaxed and simply present on stage?

The answer is simple and complex at the same time, and I used to hate it when someone would tell me, “ just be yourself!” What does it mean? I have many selves, don’t you? I am an actress after all, a chameleon… Just being myself did not mean anything to me then, until I finally understood what it meant. It means, “just be present.”

Your presence, the “Who You Are,” or “Who I Am,” is simply revealed when you completely connect with the present moment. It is the feeling that happens when you bypass the chatter in your brain, the questions, “what will they think? What do I look like now? Did this sound good?” It is about letting go of the “I am watching myself,” to simply connect with the “ I AM.” There, that is it. Simple and beautiful, and hard at the same time.

It takes practice and self-control to connect with our “I AM” and quiet the chatter brain. It takes mindfulness, contemplation, stillness, patience and great compassion for ourselves. It takes self-care and self-love. It takes a connection with our source of inspiration and energy. It takes humility and surrender to a force greater than us. It takes a regular exploration of our Highest Creative Self and a let go of our smaller Ego self. It takes practice.

But it is your true way to shine on stage.

It is what will help you shine through your true presence, your true charisma, your true soul. It is what stars are made of.

So next time you “go up there,” try to simply “be there”…

Emmanuelle Chaulet

Artist, Can You Love Thyself?

I am thrilled to introduce you all to my first guest writer, Emmanuelle Chaulet, who will begin contributing to my blog on a monthly basis with topics that are sure invigorate the spirit of all of my readers, and in particular those in the performing arts industry.

Emmanuelle Chaulet is an acting coach, theatre director, certified Energy Awareness counselor RPIII and adjunct faculty at the University of Southern Maine Department of Theatre. She is the author of: A BALANCING ACT THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENERGIZE A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO ACTING which teaches actors to recover their highest creative self, the essence of their character and true emotional balance. She can be reached at www.emmanuellechaulet.com and on her blog at http://balanceyouract.blogspot.com

_______________________________________________

Artist, Can You Love Thyself?

Self-Love is one of the hardest challenges for artists. Most artists doubt their utmost selves and require constant approval from others. It is because artists fight rejection on a regular basis: editors who refuse to publish your writing, galleries who don’t think your work fits with their style, casting directors who find you too tall or too blond, and music directors who do not like your voice or your dancing…

Keeping a steady self-esteem is extremely difficult in this tempest of contradicting opinions about your own self. Yet, it is the most important aspect of your development as an artist and a person. Without self-love one cannot shine. Our own charisma –and health– are fed by our inner light and self-love.

One must differentiate self-love from egocentricity. The voice of the Ego says it wants to be better than others and take center-stage by eclipsing the rest of the cast. Too often artists who lack self-love will develop a great Ego to compensate their feelings of self-doubt.

Self-Love is about bringing your own higher presence in the light. It is connecting with your “I AM” presence, your Higher Self. It means connecting with the vibration of the highest core of your soul being. You are beautiful and you are light. You are made of the same sparkle as diamonds and flowers, rivers, and mountains. Loving yourself is about saying: “I am part of this world and therefore I am created to be a vessel of love, compassion and grace. I am a sparkle of precious energy that can and will transform the world. I am beautiful and my beauty is coming from my inner light. I am precious and I have a mission to accomplish.”

Self-Love means taking the time to go inward and connect with the sense of uniqueness of our core. We are part of a greater whole and yet are profoundly unique.

Our uniqueness is our beauty. In order to find this beauty when deeply entrenched with self-deprecation thoughts, you must start with small baby-steps. Simple things like taking a walk and appreciating to be alive, taking a hot bath and enjoying taking care of your body, finding moments to go on a date with your own self and do something you love, or embracing solitude. One of my friend once said: “I love my own company!” Finding the sense of loving being with your own thoughts is a first step to Self-Love.

And of course, Self-Love stems from appreciating and caring for your earthly vehicle, your body; feeding your body with good nutritious foods, sleeping and resting enough, caring for your self by using products that smell and feel good and are good for your skin and hair, and of course exercising to keep in shape by doing something you love: walking, running, bicycling, swimming, playing soccer or dancing Zumba.

Think about Self-Love as you would care for a child, a pet or a precious instrument. If you had a Stradivarius would you let it go out of tune? Would you leave your dog without food and fresh drink? Would you regularly deprive your child of sleep?

Like the Little Prince, you are responsible for your own rose: your inner self. And like him, you must protect it from cold, wind, and predators. So take care!