It’s been nearly a year since I had my acting school idea.
In that time I've had breakthroughs. I have also found it hard to juggle the concept with meeting life’s demands, which have included work, flat-hunting and other day-to-day responsibilities.
It would have been wonderful to have a week, maybe even a month, to just sit and work it all out. That never happened.
One positive is that I've been able to use bit-by-bit elements of the work to create templates from scratch. Now all my students have in their acting tool kit a standard meditation that connects them to their inner creative voice.
That also grounds them and opens them up to energies and inspiration. In the last few classes I instructed each student to take turns leading the others in such a meditation and they have really grasped the fundamentals, even adding personal touches, which is heartening.
The thought of going it alone terrifies me because I'm learning on the job too
They have all worked with Rachelle, the sound healer. Some see her for one-to-one sessions to clear vocal blocks. The tool kit contains toning of the chakras as a warm-up.
This has taken the place of Sandford Meisner’s 'Repetition Exercise', which has been used in schools and theatres by actors and teachers for decades across the world. One small group of students in Kentish Town has taken the leap to trying another way, and dare I say, it works better than any verbal exercise in connecting one actor to another.
We have used guided meditations to connect with the inner world and life of the character, taking the place of Strasberg’s object exercises and private solitude improvisations. Now this work happens in the mind and bodies of the actor through visualisation and active imagination – a phrase used extensively by Jung.
Here in this space of the mind and spirit the actor is able to connect with the essence of the character and test scenarios. They are not restricted by time and space as they would be in a rehearsal room.
The small group of students I have worked with for over six months now have a tool kit unlike any other drama students in the UK (that I know of). Combining the acting technique basics with forms of healing and meditative practices, it's a unique and exciting development.
The next phase has always been to take these workshops to schools, theatres and also hold taster sessions. I have been trying to put together a programme. I knew I couldn't do this until I had trialled it with willing acting students.
It took some time to do this because I needed to take the students through it step by step. I had to open their consciousness and creativity to another way of working, which took as long as it took.
Finally, we achieved this about a month ago. This month I have been planning to start the workshop template and look at which establishments to pitch to first.
I met with my sound healer Rachelle last week – and she is seven months' pregnant! Shows how long we have not seen each other for.
So this now sets me back; what to do? How to make these workshops happen? Her work is crucial and over the last year we have built up a very special relationship.
I have techniques I can use with students – however, the inclusion of a sound healing session to relax and focus the workshops seemed so perfect, I feel lost on the next steps to take.
Do I go it alone? That utterly terrifies me as I feel I am learning on the job too.
I also seem to be getting an email a week about coaching in Reiki. So somehow I am being asked to look into the teaching aspect of my work, yet I am resisting this.
I am not sure why – other than a fear of getting it wrong. I know of course that it’s through mistakes that we learn what to do and what not to do. This week I shall be looking at space hire for teaching and assessing whether I need to do this alone or if I can find a Rachelle replacement who shares my passion for this idea.
I can only take it step by step and allow the plan for this unknown prospect to unfold bit by bit. No one seems to tell you that starting a new venture requires a lot of patience, rethinking and steps into the unknown.
It would help to have someone to bounce ideas off. Perhaps I need to find a business partner too?
