One of the most successful exercises from the AS4BP syllabus
“This one’s for you mate” is one of the most successful ideas i’ve ever taught in performance…
I’ve done courses and given speeches on this skill, and it’s gone across so well that people were using the idea to make content and publishing it online the very next day…thinking of people they knew, even absent friends…this one’s for you mate.
EQUIPMENT
You’ll need a camera for this…it works fine without but it would be great if you could record and review yourself speaking this line in the different ways directed.
EXERCISE
This time you will already be stood on your mark…but start with your head down. Lift it up, find the lens and deliver the line…
This one’s for you mate
If you’re not working with a camera or SmartPhone, imagine someone very specific in the audience.
Let’s think about who that person is…
WHO IS THE AUDIENCE?
Please, please, please don’t be put off by my quoting a famous acting teacher at this point of the course. Stanford Meisner is part of the American Method school, which is strongly linked to Stanislavski’s System…but Meisner looked at things a little differently.
This combination of teaching theories helps us with this exercise in the following ways:
- The audience wants to see us succeed
- We are connecting with the audience
- We see the audience as a friend and we’re serving them up something delicious that we’ve prepared with thought
The old saying that goes…
Imagine the audience naked, that will help you with your nerves
…really doesn’t work for me at all.
Why would you think the audience is somehow less than you, lower status than you?
Why would you waste your energy and imagination on thinking about something as distracting as a bunch of people sat around in the nude?
Isn’t there a better way than this to deal with my nerves?
When i’m coaching people in person I always ask the question
Who is the audience?
You can ask yourself that now. Think of a speech you gave, or are going to deliver in the future. Think about communicating to a small group of potential customers. Imagine you’re making a 1 minute video for digital broadcast.
Who is your audience?
When my coachees respond by saying:
The company is the audience The group is the audience Anyone watching is the audience Everyone is the audience
I keep saying, “no” until in frustration they say “look what exactly are you driving at?”
And I share this story with them.
When I was seventeen years old I was playing the lead in a world premiere at the Edinburgh Festival.
I had been performing on stage for years by that time, even getting professional gigs on stage, radio and TV.
I felt like I was pretty comfortable in my own skin, confident in my ability as a performer.
And I loved performing. No matter how big the audience, or how much pressure was involved. It was such a buzz.
Then came the day that we had to do some TV Promotion in the run up to the Premier…and I was called down to stage and it looked completely different to normal.
There were TV cameras and lights set up…now i’d done television by this time but…this felt different.
I’m not sure if I was showing my nerves, but the guy who had written the show…a very experienced writer and performer…said to me:
Remember, you’re not speaking to an audience of millions. You’re speaking to an audience of one. One person. At home, on their sofa. They may have people sat next to them. They may not. But if they do, they want to turn to that person and say… …it’s good this, isn’t it?
And that was the moment I fully understood the principle of the Audience of One.
And once I got that in to my head, I got more skilful in my performance in all media…and that lesson has stayed with me always.
And it’s best expressed in this exercise.
- Look at the camera
- Imagine a friend, someone you know well, behind the lens
- Think about creating such a good connection that they respond positively - not likes, or shares or even applause…but reciprocating your warmth and generosity
- Say the line…”this one’s for you mate”
REVIEW
If you’ve recorded your exercise, then review that tape and notice where you really feel as an audience, what you were trying to put across as a performer.
Don’t judge. Simply think about how you can adapt your sense of What, Why and How to create the vibe you really want to.
EXTRA CREDITS - TRY THE OPPOSITE
I’m going to ask you to build on the reflection you’ve made so far and amplify the Force Fidget Freeze response.
When I ask you to do the next exercises, it’s not so that you’ll end up performing like this…it’s to explore different ways, sometimes less than ideal, in order to find a natural state of delivery.
So let’s start with…
FORCE
“yeah, this is for you mate”
FIND THE CONTENT WITH EVERYONE LOOKING INTO THE CAMERA
/Volumes/ItWorks/AS4BP Deluxe/Pathways/Force Fidget Freeze
FIDGET
Overdo the embarrassment
FREEZE
On the line
Finally…forget about the direction and different ways and…simply say it…
This one’s for you mate
During one of our courses, Matt Bardock said:
Take a moment before you deliver. Gary Oldman says
Don’t show yourself to the audience, let them see you
Matt continued:
Don’t feel like you’ve got perform it for the next person. Think it. Feel it…and then, when you’re ready, say it
We went on in the class to communicate something passionate - “i’ve got to share this now…” - we kept asking the group, how long can you hold the moment before you speak, because it’s what happens in the hold, that can help you keep moving towards a natural flow in your delivery.
Oh yes - we went round the room with this and one delegate bought the house down with it…oh yes…and everybody burst out laughing. In teaching this, we are always reminded of Noel Fielding, when I saw him live with the Mighty Boosh…he twinkles and it’s delicious. This is definitely something to develop in your work.
Welcome Everybody…Believe Me…I’ve got to share this now…because this one’s for you mate