I just read Anna Deavere Smith's little snippet on "Urgency," and I loved that little thought. And relating this to class today, I figured, what gives you a sense of urgency onstage like being called on to tell a story when you didn't know you were going to have to?
But seriously, I love this urgency thought, and I think it ties into a bit of what we were talking about today near the end, with giving outward, with shaping gestures and releasing them out toward the audience. I think what makes for a sense of urgency is the idea of "give." The, "I have something to give you, and this is important to me, and I think it may be a gift to you too, and I think it's possible that you need this, that the world needs this right now." I think if we're feeling that, we'll automatically fight the "wind tunnel."
Thanks for sharing this post, Chelise! I think it fits in really well with what David was telling us in class earlier about sharing the story with the listener and not holding back the story from the listener. I didn't make that connection before reading your blog post, even though I also read the "urgency" snippet a few days ago and enjoyed it. Interesting post!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you both. Our small group really felt urgency today as we weren't totally prepared to tell our program but challenged ourselves to do it anyway. I actually liked what we found in that moment of urgency. There was something there worth working on and refining, and we discovered it by pushing through without waiting.
ReplyDeleteYes yes and yes. Megan also spoke of this in her reference to intention: this is for you. That is a key strategy for dealing with stage nerves. If you are onstage to give something to your listener, your focus goes away from self-consciousness towards the other.
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