"Doing is everything": Participating in a Dramatic Resources Open Course
By Jaye Kearney, Client Account Manager at Dramatic Resources
Photo credit: JÉSHOOTS @ Pexels
As it turns out, organising the event isn’t actually the hard part. Taking part in it is far more daunting!
I only realised this in the days leading up to the Open Course I had spent almost two months orchestrating, when the nerves finally began setting in. As a newer member of the DR HQ team, I had been offered many opportunities to see the trainers in action. I’ve seen ‘the work’ work with my own eyes. Despite being endlessly impressed by the sessions (and by the participants throwing themselves into the challenge), I still always found myself thinking: “If I were in the room as a participant, what on Earth would I do?”
I had the opportunity to confront that question in January when I took part in a Dramatic Resources Open Course. I tried to prepare how I would act, what I would say, and how I would handle my nerves as I made my way to the beautiful venue that morning (even though I knew I would soon be told to leave all my preconceived notions at the door). I have to admit, seeing the other four participants put me at ease. They were introducing themselves over croissants, coffee and small talk, and milling about nervously. I realised that we were not out at sea alone – we were all floating in the same rickety boat together! The real relief came in the form of our trainers for the day: Geoff and Mona. Being able to trust your facilitators in a nerve-wracking environment really makes all the difference. From the moment they greeted us, we felt in safe hands.
We cycled through many fun, lively activities over the course of the day, but the common thread soon became apparent – when, in your life and in your work, do you feel in the spotlight? When do you experience the most pressure, and feel the least able to perform? What are the unconscious things you do when you aren’t sure of yourself, and how do they present physically? Geoff and Mona encouraged us to become intentional with these choices, even when life demands that we act quickly.
I couldn’t help but reflect on the times in my personal and professional life when pressure gets the best of me. For instance, if a client asks me a question I don’t have the answer to... my nerves manifest by taking me out of the moment. My thoughts scatter, I stumble over my words, and I tend to try and rush the moment away. Standing alongside my fellow participants at the Open Course, I realised that we all have more agency than we think. Together, we began wrapping our heads around these concepts and getting comfortable with the notion of rehearsal. Trial and error: trying something, failing, hearing the suggestions of your peers and trying again. It was so wonderful to watch these people truly open up and get vulnerable together in that room.
In fact, I found that I wasn’t only improving via the feedback and coaching I received, but by watching my peers, too. Something as simple (and as scary) as public speaking – as being vulnerable and yourself before an audience – now felt possible. I understood that by breaking down the components of what makes up our physical presence and of what ‘sticks the landing’ in the messages we deliver, you can begin to rehearse the factors which really make a difference. From the beginning of the day to the end, I felt I had accumulated years’ worth of confidence within a matter of hours.
For our closing exercise, Geoff and Mona asked us to pick a quote that resonated with us from a range of DR postcards. I picked the quote from Nobel Prize-winning novelist, Doris Lessing: “That is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you’ve understood your whole life, but in a new way.” Though I had read it before, I felt its golden truth after all I had learned over the course of the day. The trainers asked us to write a small summary on the back of the postcard – something we could take away as a brief mantra to remind ourselves of when we are next In the Spotlight and need to recall what we learned. Here is what I wrote:
Ground yourself.
Breathe.
Believe in your message.
Dramatic Resources is hosting another Open Course in Central London on Thursday 22 May 2025. To find out more, or register your interest, follow this link. We hope to see you there!