DRAMA AND LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE
When an actor walks on stage they are poised and calm, deliver their lines clearly and with purpose while keeping their audience engaged. How do they do it? The tools that an actor learns, to be able perform a role, communicate feeling and reach an audience, can all be used in the workplace. For example, when:
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delivering a presentation
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keeping an audience attentive
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getting a message across clearly
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motivating others to get involved
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leading effectively and confidently
Many people are nervous about leading a meeting or standing up and talking in front of a large group of people. The nerves shadow the important material that needs to be shared or the messages that need to be heard. The focus should be on the work and reaching the audience as effectively as possible. This Institute will teach participants how to leave the nerves behind so they can express themselves, their work and their ideas with clarity, conviction and passion.
What will the workshop entail?
This two-day Institute will take participants through practical exercises where they learn at first-hand the process an actor would go through to learn about themselves and develop skills such as:
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Confidence
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Body language
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Script-scoring (textual meaning)
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Conviction
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Self-expression
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Articulation
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Focus and eye contact
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Awareness of others
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Risk-taking
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Clarifying objectives
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Communicate mood
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Audience engagement
The participants will be guided through a range of Drama and Theatre tools and techniques, sometimes working alone and sometimes as part of an ensemble. Participants will then set specific goals and objectives for personal growth and apply these tools to their work.
How will the participants learn about Drama as a teaching approach?
During the practical process of learning, participants will learn first-hand acting pedagogy, in terms of the use of body, voice, face, space and objects. As the group works alone and as an ensemble, the Institute leader will implement many ideas including those from a range of theatre theorists and theatre companies, referencing source material that may be useful in the participants’ curricula planning.
Participants will learn how to apply acting skills to a range of areas (this can be tailored to the participants’ needs), such as:
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Analyzing text and explore effective and engaging ways of delivery
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Developing confidence and control in posture and body language
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Using space, objects and furniture with awareness
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Using acting techniques to communicate mood and meaning
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Developing awareness of others to develop empathy
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Thinking on your feet and improvising
Participants will work with the Institute leader to develop, and apply tools that are relevant to each individual, with opportunities for personal reflection and feedback from an audience.
Why is this Institute important?
Every day we see actors on television, in films and on stage. They make it look easy, they love what they do, and they crave for more, so why can we not feel like this every day in the workplace? The actors have belief in who they are, know what they want to communicate and get their message across to their audience. All of this is done with joy and passion. These actors have all been on a journey to be able to do this, and anyone can go on a similar journey, which will enable them to feel confident when sharing their ideas, speaking to a large group or making a presentation. Using these acting tools means that you can speak with confidence, knowing that the message shared in the message heard.
Session Leader
Fenella Kelly B.Ed. (Hons) MA (Distinction)
Fenella is an experienced Drama teacher, teacher trainer and student workshop leader. She graduated with a combined degree in Drama and Education from Cambridge University, and initially trained as a middle school teacher. While she was in Cambridge she was part of New Moves contemporary dance company and her first job after graduation was at her old college teaching undergraduates TIE (Theatre in Education). Wanting to see the world, she then trained as a TESOL teacher (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and headed off to Crete to co-run a language school. In Istanbul she taught English and set up Drama in education programmes in many schools while simultaneously co-running a theatre company that produced large shows and toured with ELT (English Language Teaching) plays. For this company (Speech Bubbles) she worked as a choreographer, dancer, actress and director. While in Istanbul she also taught and performed Latin American dances (salsa, merengue and tango) to adults.
From Istanbul she headed to Sao Paulo, Brazil to be the Head of Performing Arts in an International School (Graded: The American School of Sao Paulo) and teach Theatre and Dance to high school students. While in Brazil she was part of a physical theatre company called Oficina dos Menestreis and a dancer in Caleidos Laban contemporary dance company. From there she flew to India for her first Kathakali lesson, back in 2004. She has been studying, teaching and performing Kathakali ever since.
After 4 years working as Head of Theatre and MS/HS Drama teacher at Cairo American College (and of course learning to belly dance while she was there), she went to England to do an MA in Drama and Theatre in Education. After 6 months working at Theatre Director in Portugal at St Julian’s School, she moved to the American School of Bombay (ASB) where she was HS Drama teacher and Head of Theatre for 4 years. While in Mumbai, she worked with Sumeet Nagdev’s contemporary dance company as a dancer, workshop leader and artistic mentor. She also directed and choreographed many productions that were performed at NCPA, St. Andrew’s theatre and at ASB.
Most recently she was a teacher and head of Theatre at Hong Kong Academy, Hong Kong. Now Fenella is a freelance artist, teacher trainer, examiner, yoga teacher and theatre director based in the UK.
Cancellation Policy: All registrations are final and non-refundable. Registration is, however, transferrable. If you cannot make it to the event, please find a colleague to attend in your place.