“Thanks for putting on the excellent seminar on public speaking and script reading today. I found it very useful.” Chris Wardman
Saturday 18th June 2011: I was happy to be part of this year’s Critical Incident on the theme of Connection. Around a hundred and fifty people attended over the thirteen-hour event at the Phoenix Gallery and Caffe Moksha in Brighton, merging business and creative worlds in debates, workshops and dramatic performances.
I presented a workshop “Reading Aloud to an Audience from the Script” for business people, actors, writers and poets, parents and teachers – anyone who needs to read in public for business, performance or pleasure. We explored the concept of nerves, looked at how breathing, relaxation and body language can support the voice, and how to ensure the most information goes from the reader to the listener in the most interesting and engaging ways.
The whole event was a great success, and I’m looking forward to next year’s.
Photographs by Paul Levy
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Free Workshop Saturday 18th June 2011 11am – 1pm: “Reading Aloud to an Audience From the Script”
Philippa will present this free workshop at the Phoenix Gallery Brighton as part of the all-day Critical Incident event, which this year has the theme of Connection.
A workshop for business people and anyone else who is about to make a speech, for actors auditioning or performing script-in-hand, for writers reading from their work to an audience and for parents and teachers reading to children.
The workshop will tackle how to deal with performance nerves, how to prepare yourself and the text for a reading – and how to capture and keep your audience’s attention.
Whether you’re an actor auditioning with the script in hand, a poet or writer reading from your own work in public or a business person reading speeches or briefings at conferences or meetings, we have only a few minutes to make an impact with what we can do, how we interpret the written word and how we come across to the listener.
Whatever our message or motive, we must connect one mind to another – or the message will be lost. So often a reader loses that opportunity to connect by being un-confident, un-prepared and un-creative in their reading.
We need simple, realistic and practical techniques designed to help us prepare ourselves and the script, grab and keep the audience’s attention and give us the best possible chance to succeed at auditions and performances, conferences, meetings and pitching sessions, and public readings of our work.
The workshop will discuss and explore:
Dealing with nerves – discussing why do we get nervous, what effects do nerves have on us and how might we use those nerves and transform them into the energy needed to power any performance?
Reading aloud successfully – discussing and sharing simple breathing, relaxation and script analysis techniques for a professional finish.
‘It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it?’ – discussing how we can use eyes, voice and body language creatively to light up the script and engage and connect with the audience.
Participants are invited and encouraged to bring their own writing, speech or any piece they would like to work on in a supportive and creative atmosphere.