Esteem Power

Exercise to stand tall

admin — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 12:21:49 +0000

Base – Stand with your feet apart and directly under your hips. Tuck your bottom in to ensure that your hips are directly under your shoulders and in line with your feet. To enable you to straighten your spine pull your head up, as if a thread is attached to the top of it directly in line with the spine.

Imagine that your spine is two feet longer and pull it up. Your neck should feel elongated but your chin and nose should not be sticking in the air but facing directly forward. Now that you know your body is straight, close your eyes and take your attention to within your body.

Exercise to calm yourself

admin — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:23:07 +0000

You can stand or sit. The important thing is that your shoulders are over your hips and that your feet are apart in line with your hips and planted firmly on the ground as in the above exercise.

Take a deep breath in to a slow count of four being aware of the sideways expansion of your ribs and the outward push of your belly. Hold the breath for a slow count of four and breathe out for a slow count of six, thus allowing toxins to leave the body. Hold the breath for a count of two and repeat at least five times. Be aware, however, that you may experience tingling in your fingertips and a little dizziness as it may have been some time since your body experienced a healthy dose of oxygen.

Combine the two for a feeling of wellbeing.

With gracefulness, humility and humour, Caroline supported me to recognise myself, root myself within my body and tackle anxiety from the inside out.

admin — Fri, 16 May 2008 10:16:48 +0000

Deciding to join the ‘Acting Up’ class was an act of rebellion against my own inner sanctuary I believe. I was studying English Literature and was creative writing on most days, exploring my inner voice- learning about me. My voice was developing with zeal on paper but when times came to voice poetry off the page my feelings directed uncertainty and panic…I was petrified. ‘Acting Up’, for me, was an act of self will, I was in conflict; fight or flight; trying to stay upright in the grip of creative exploration. To act confident, like nothing could scare me; that was my initial thinking about the class. I can be anyone. I can be no-one. I joined to play false, after all- this was an acting class.
Within the hour of our first session, crying and overcome, I exposed turmoil and soaked Caroline with tears. Caroline’s class was not a place to sustain fallacy or to block emotion. For Caroline- acting was emotion. I guess like poetry, we can adopt other voices, create imaginative dialogue, play with words and worlds …but for those words and worlds to move us, to inspire, the creative self must be in tune with this process. I realised, through Caroline, I couldn’t pretend because I never really wanted too. I needed to feel comfort within me. Caroline recognised this. Caroline continually challenged me to face my fear. Caroline did not support adopting my initial flight or fight response; she supported me to overcome the difficulties that created such a response in the first place…

“face the fear and do it anyway”

“use your breath”

“stay rooted”

“For goodness sake, you are not Maggie Smith”

With gracefulness, humility and humour, Caroline supported me to recognise myself, root myself within my body and tackle anxiety from the inside out. Caroline did not simply believe in me, she helped me find a route back to me so I could do this for myself. Caroline has a selfless belief in the human spirit and so the ending to this story is a real one, one that matters enormously. Standing with over two hundred people in a chapel, I held on to the lectern and read a poem, alone and aloud. With this poem I gave an extraordinary gift back to an extraordinary person…myself.

Exam Stress

admin — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:54:12 +0000

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

The increase in self-esteem is felt in situations outside of the theatre, such as public speaking and being more assertive

admin — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:07:32 +0000

Caroline’s Acting Class has given me the confidence to audition for, and get, roles that have extended my acting from pantomime to plays and musicals. Others in the class have moved on, from performing in small groups, to acting on the stage in front of 200 people. The increase in self-esteem is felt in situations outside of the theatre, such as public speaking and being more assertive. Caroline is experienced at enabling everyone to make progress in her class in a structured and very enjoyable way.

Ms P (Teacher)

I first joined the Acting Up classes because I wanted improve my self confidence and clarity of speech.

admin — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:06:22 +0000

Being somebody who was a bit shy and tended to mumble a lot, I first joined the Acting Up classes because I wanted improve my self confidence and clarity of speech.

The classes certainly helped with both of the above and a lot more; as it happened, an opportunity came up for class members to audition for a production. Some of us did and as a result went on to appear on stage in front of over 100 people – certainly something I would not have dreamed of being able to do before doing the classes! It was a fantastic experience which again the Acting Up classes helped guide me through.

The great thing about the class is you can go to what ever level you are happy with; you can use them to improve your confidence in general or when speaking to large groups, or take it further into acting if you want to.

Joseph Durrant

The group is small and its amazing to see that you are not alone and several other people are there for similar reasons.

admin — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:04:41 +0000

I went to Caroline’s class feeling extremely nervous, to the point I was not even sure I would go. Its the first time I have ever done anything like this, the reason I decided to try the class was to help with my confidence. Anything else that comes from it is a bonus. Caroline put me at ease straight away and helped me with my breathing which helped me to relax. The group is small and its amazing to see that you are not alone and several other people are there for similar reasons. The class was fun and exciting I came away from it feeling excited and on high, I spoke to several friends after who could tell how different I was from that one class. Roll on second class.

Natasha Barnes

This style of teaching works well, for beginners or experienced actors!

admin — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:56:30 +0000

I think Caroline Young runs a great little class, and I’ve returned to it over several terms. The structure is ideal: we each work on a monologue throughout the term, and Caroline always gives useful and insightful criticism: and enough of it to be sure you have something to work on for the next week! This style of teaching works well, for beginners or experienced actors, and Caroline never fails to ensure that I’m working on something that stretches me. It is thrilling to watch the individual performances improve, sometimes immeasurably, as the weeks go by. I often learn as much from the other students’ performances as I do from my own.

Andy Jones

Lawyer and Shakespeare Buff