Since we first gathered around fires for warmth, there has been stories. It is truly one of the oldest way humans have connected with each other. Weather you are an artist with a story to tell, or just want to have a greater understanding of the art of storytelling, this 8 sessions course is for you. together we will:
All of my sessions will be practical, embodied and on your feet. you'll leave each one with new skills to wow you kids, colleagues or clients.
Hi I'm Owen, an actor with nearly two decades experience in story telling, hosting and devised theatre. From a young age I've immersed my self in stories, and they have crafted me as I learned to craft them. Taking what I learned from one of Britain's top acting schools (East 15) I will teach you techniques and best practices in both story and vocal craft to help hone your skills, weather it's to read to your kids at night, captivate your friends or colleagues, or hold an audience spell bound.
Together we will explore the nature of story telling, understand the skills and techniques you need to be truly captivating and build you up with more confidence in your self and your voice along the way. Everyone has a story to tell and I'd love for a chance to be part of yours.
I have created this programme with two main pillars supporting it. The first is the mastering of the biomechanics of the voice. Your voice is your instrument, and the whole system must be understood and properly tuned to be a great story teller. The second pillar is the art of story telling. not only how do you tell a story, but how do you craft a narrative. these are practical sessions so you will be in your body and on your feet for most of it with exercises guided by me. Each week we will focus on a different aspect of storytelling and by the end of the course you will be able to hold the spotlight like the best of them!
5 mins check in
5-20 mins: floor work, learn to drop the breath and breath diagrammatically.
20-30 mins: learn to connect the breath to the voice
30-45 mins: bring these concepts to your feet, try and connect the breath to the text
45-50: debrief and check out
5 min check in (this is a space you can change the focus on the session)
5-10 min revisit floor work, scanning the body to release tension. Dropping the breath into the diaphragm.
10-15 mins: exercises to connect breath and make sure the air flows freely
15-30: warming up the Jaw, lips and tongue, exercises to make sure these are “awake” and ready to articulate
30-45: vocal warm ups, placing the voice in different parts of your body, working the different phonemes so there are no sounds you are tripping over that day.
45-50: debrief on what we covered
5 mins: check in
5-10 as we are working with breath, we will do 5 minutes floor work dropping the breath, and bringing that sense of dropped breath to its feet.
10-15: you will speak for 5 minutes, I will give you the space and we will see where feels like your natural pace.
15-30: we will really focus on the breath combined with the text. Choose we will repeat short phrases and change where we take the breath, what intentional breath looks like and how it effects the inflection and intent of a phrase or short passage.
30-45: exercise: ride the roller coaster. You will once again start your text, and i will conduct you with my hand to give you pace, we will actively speed you up and slow you down, so you can be present with how to shift tempo, and feel how that mechanically feels within your body.
45-50: review of our sessions, we can debrief.
5 mins - check in
5-15 mins - lets talk about presence, when we imagine presence what are those characteristics.
15-25 mins - working on how you enter the space, hold the space, make eye contact. Great the room and welcome them in. we will work on opening up the body language, scanning your self in the moment and notice if you are open, or hiding.
25-35 - Grounding your feet and your energy. We will look at what text delivery looks like when we are still, we move when we choose to move, what does that feel like.
35-45 min: we will go over your text and try and embody these techniques, I’ll stop you if I see you struggle and we will gently work on incorporating them.
45-50 min: check out and debrief.
5 mins: check in, this is your time to change anything you want in our sessions
5-10: floor with letting the breath drop
10-15: placing the voice so your vocal range is warmed up.
15-20: introduction to the concept of Laban and how texture can be implemented to change delivery, for example imagining your words as punching the audience, or flicking the audience, what does it feel like to ring a sentence out like your squeezing water from a sponge?
20-30 - you reading text focusing on the concepts of vocal texture
30-35 - musicality, where and why do we change pitch, what effect does it have on the ear,
35-45 - we will revisit your text and really focus on intentionally placing the pitch and see what that feels like, how often can we modulate and still feel natural?
45-50 - debrief
5 mins check in
5-30 mins - really reflect on vulnerability in performance, why is it important to the story teller, what do YOU want out of your stories and how YOU want the audience to feel at any given point. We can talk about how to keep you feeling safe while also being authentically raw with the audience.
30-45 mins - Explore what we have spoken about and try and find a basic frame work for your story.
45-50 mins 0 checkout and debrief - I'll also give you the homework - write a 5 min story to bring to next session.
5 min check in
5 min - 35 min: we will look at your story and talk about how its works structurally, we will consider how it flows in the emotional landscape, and where maybe we need to make some edits. we will also talk about story telling techniques we can sprinkle in.
35-45 min: we will edit your story together, and make a list of anything you want to take away and work on.
45-50 min: debrief and check out.
5 min check in.
5-15 mins: warm up and performance prep
15-20 you perform your story!
20-25: I will give you some constructive feed back.
25-40: we will work together on any parts of the performance you are struggling with
40-45: final performance.
45-50 mins: check out. full debrief of the course and how you feel.
50 minute coaching sessions - one-to-one over zoom. Practical exercises and techniques direct from the top drama schools.
None of this is necessarily straight forward or easy, but together we can make this fun, as well as transformative!
So book in for a free intro call, let's talk about how the art of story telling can help you connect with your friends, family and colleagues, and make you feel more comfortable stepping into the spotlight.
Anyone can get allot out of this course, not just professional actors or story tellers.
Want to be better at telling bed time stories to your kids?
or come across more confident at the office Christmas party?
maybe you just want to have a deeper understanding of what it takes to tell a good story, this course is for you!
Hands on, Each session you will be either walking through practical warm up exercises with me, or speaking text and getting feedback. It'll be a safe space with your growth at the centre, but you wont be a passive passenger, you'll be in the driving seat.
On a practical level you'll leave with
How to speak to a group or crowed and it still feel like you are communicating intimately,
But beyond that you will get a greater sense of the nature of confidence, and how the ability to hold a rooms attention has always lived inside of you.
Coaching sessions are collaborative, focussed (on most occasions!) and designed so you walk away with increased clarity and learning after every session. Sessions usually take place via Zoom. Get ready to move, to learn through participation. This is your growth, with you in the driving seat.
£500 (8 50 min sessions)
Fees include:
