All language subtitles for MasterClass LeVar Burton Teaches the Power of Storytelling - 08 Performative Storytelling

[MUSIC PLAYING]

The thing to remember about
speaking in public is that,

for most of us, it really is
a nerve-racking experience.

There is a phrase that I
love using-- fear is simply

suppressed excitement.

We all have nervousness.

I'm nervous every time
I speak in public.

I'm going to say that again.

I've been doing
this for 45 years.

Every time I open my mouth
in public, I'm nervous.

But here's the thing--

I have developed
the ability to not

allow my nervousness my fear
to paralyze me into non-action.

Okay?

So I actually use the
fear as information.

I know, if I'm nervous,
that I'm engaged.

What I'm about to do
is important to me.

I think the day that I stop
being nervous before I speak,

I will recognize that
there's something wrong.

I'm disconnected in some way.

So it's all just energy.

The energy of fear can be
transformed by recognition

into the energy of
suppressed excitement,

and suppressed excitement
is a lot easier

to deal with intellectually
than our fear.

So the framing of how you are
being impacted by your energy

is really key-- how you allow
the mind to interpret it.

It's good to remember,
when performing

or public speaking, that--

should you ever
feel like you are

in a place where you are
overwhelmed by your fear,

overwhelmed by your nervousness?

Go back to the breath, really.

Just go back to the breath.

Conscious breathing
is the quickest way

I know of to bring
center back to yourself.

To bring yourself
back to center,

just simply take a
couple of deep breaths.

Oxygenate your lungs.

And if it helps to make a sound,
that also releases tension.

[VOCALIZED EXHALE]

It is hard to be tense when you
are making a sound like that.

Children make sounds
like this all the time.

They are free in
their expression.

Pretend you're a
child for a second.

Forget about the judgment.

Forget about the
tendency to self-judge.

Just let it out.

It's all okay.

So allow it to just be
okay, and move through it.

Move through it.

Just move through it.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

So performance for most of
us is very anxiety-producing,

and the tendency when we're
in anxiety is to tense up.

So it's really
important to make sure

that you can be as relaxed
as possible in your body.

I like to start with a
couple of deep breaths.

So we'll inhale, and exhale.

Inhale, and exhale--
through your nose--

in through your nose, and
out through your mouth.

Inhale, and exhale-- great.

So now we're just
going to loosen up

the face, and the
neck, and the jaw area.

So just gently
stretch to one side

ear towards your shoulder--
not forcing anything,

just letting it fall back
to center to the other side,

very gently, here to your
shoulder, and back to center.

Let's move the head forward.

And dropping the forehead,
back to center, and back--

again, not forcing--
just allowing

gravity to do its thing.

And back-- excellent.

Now, let's massage the
throat a little, and the jaw.

A lot of us hold
tension in our jaws,

so let's really give it
a little massage action.

If you sense any
tension, rub it out--

good.

Now, let's get the
mouth wide open.

You can make a
sound, if you like.

Move the tongue
in and out there.

When I was in drama
school, I learned

a ton of these exercises.

Vocalize-- fiffy,
fluffy, fiffy, fluffy--

concentrating on the
consonants-- fiffy, fluffy--

the lips, the teeth,
the tip of the tongue--

the lips, the teeth,
the tip of the tongue.

These are all exercises
designed to loosen up and get

you ready to perform.

All right?

If you want to do a
little stretching--

always good.

Yes-- just to make sure
that you have access,

that you are in touch,
you are in communication

with your instrument.

Ready?

Now we're ready to perform.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Whole point of the body
being your instrument

is it is your delivery
system for story.

And the more access that
you have to your body,

the the better you are
able to use that delivery

system in your favor.

As a performer, there
are a few elements

that are generally in common
in most aspects of performance

arts.

Sometimes there's a text.

Sometimes there's not, but
generally, there's a text.

There's the space
that you occupy.

That's pretty much a constant.

And then there's
as the performer,

whether you're alone or acting
or performing with others.

So as your body is the tool
that you use to communicate--

your voice, your gestures, your
attitude and body posture--

all of these things are ways to
communicate what you are trying

to get across to the audience.

And so chief among the tools
that a performer needs and uses

is their own body.

And so it's really important
to have access, to be loose,

to have communication
with your body

so that it is a facile
part, not an awkward part,

of your performance.

I think the key to approaching
movement in storytelling

is to recognize that
everything's good,

because if you have
a natural inclination

to make a movement to
sort of a choreography

that you invent yourself in
the moment, it's all good.

If you're somebody who uses your
hands, like I am, have at it.

If you don't express
yourself that way so much,

it's still important
to be relaxed.

Using your body to
create a character

can be as simple or as complex
as the situation requires.

I remember, when I was
at USC, I auditioned

for a play that was really
being performed by the master

class, the seniors.

And I was I was a
freshman, I think.

And I played a role that had
no lines, and he was a waiter.

And I remember
thinking, so how can I

infuse this
character who doesn't

speak with a back
story, with a life that

would give this character
depth, for me, in my mind,

and that would
give me the ability

to communicate his the fullness,
the richness of his life

the few times that I walked
on stage to deliver a tray?

So I decided that
this guy had a limp,

and so the technique was
simply straightening--

stiffening my right leg and
moving just as one would

if there was something
wrong with that leg.

So in that just simple
adjustment to my body,

I was able to communicate
to the audience,

this man had a history.

And they didn't even to know
how his leg got injured, or why,

but they were able to
sense that this man--

there's a life that began
before he came on stage

and there's a life
that he will inevitably

experience when he leaves.

That's how powerful
the body can be

in terms of our storytelling.

You've heard of a "Hunchback
of Notre Dame," right?

Nobody would dare play the
Hunchback of Notre Dame

with a straight spine.

It's just not okay.

So just know that the body can
be a tremendously powerful ally

in your storytelling.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

One of the things
that I want you

to remember about storytelling
is that the human being--

our bodies, our senses--

we are predisposed
to storytelling.

So a thing like your
rhythm, your timing,

in terms of your delivery--

think of it as music.

If you think of your delivery
in terms of a song or music,

it's easier to understand how
the ebbs and flows, the highs

and lows, the way you use
your voice in connection

with your body can help
communicate your text,

help communicate your story.

We are all predisposed
to really enjoying music,

and the human voice is a
really musical instrument.

Even when speaking just in
our normal speaking voice,

there is a rhythm to it.

If you listen closely,
there's music there.

So tone, intonation, rhythm,
emphasis, and silence

are all tools that we can use
to enhance our communication.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

I use pauses a lot
when I'm speaking,

or reading, or performing,
because for me, a pause causes

the audience to
really pay attention.

And I'll use pauses in the
most unusual and unlikely ways.

I have a habit of pausing on
or after the word and a lot.

And-- there you have it.

That break in the rhythm--

the audience would be
expecting, after and--

a word like and--

the audience would
normally expect

for whatever comes after
and to come right away,

but I like punctuating
and with a pause,

because I know that that
pause is causing the audience

member to--

where's the rest?

Where's the rest is what
you have to deliver.

So keeping the
audience on its toes,

keeping them
engaged with methods

like that-- there is a
definite tension that

comes in the pause, and the
release is the continuation.

Remember the pause.

More happens in the silence than
you really think is going on,

because in the silence, you're
really inviting the audience

to fill in the blank, you see.

So don't be afraid of the pause.

Don't be afraid to use the
silence to your benefit.