In this blog post, Liane explains how our students are able to perform at their best when they reframe the word ‘exam’.
When I was a young actor taking my first auditions, I’d go into the audition room with an air of desperation. I’d been up all night the previous evening, laboriously poring over my script and I had my piece rehearsed meticulously!
Upon entering the audition room to face the casting panel, I’d perform my piece with the sole purpose of getting the part. At all costs. After all, my rent depended on it.
It took me a while before I realised that the very thing I desired, I ended up pushing away.
In my next audition, I tried something completely different. I prepared my audition pieces so that I was confident with my material, no more no less, and I went to bed early. When I entered the audition room this time, I thought, I don’t need this part. I’m just going to enjoy sharing my work today and let’s see what happens.
Then something amazing happened. I started to book work!
The Folly of the Pursuit of Perfectionism
I realised that pursuing perfectionism was pushing the very thing I wanted away. However, when I allowed my performance to breathe, and left areas in my performance preparation where I could be ‘in the moment’, it led to a spontaneous performance where I was having fun, and my audience seemed to enjoy it too.
We see this same discovery with many of our students taking their LAMDA exams. The word ‘exam’ has such serious connotations. It also implies that there will a ‘right’ way to do things and a ‘wrong’ way.
However, as anyone who has ever watched a masterful actor or public speaker knows, there is no definitive checklist which makes someone compelling to watch and hear and everyone expresses themselves differently.
Society tells us that if we work hard we will expect results. Whilst we should always ensure that we work hard in the preparation of our LAMDA exams, if we go into our exam and demonstrate how hard we’ve worked in our performance, it will lead to a presentation which is lacking in spontaneity.
LAMDA is not Maths
Unlike a maths test which usually will ask students for one definitive answer, a LAMDA exam is just one person’s subjective opinion of a student’s performance on the day. A performance is not (and shouldn’t be) fixed. The performance our student gives in a rehearsal in a lesson will be completely different to the one our student gives to their parents in their living room, or the one they give in their exam. If you think about it, this is actually quite freeing. As your performance will always be different every time you perform your pieces or your speeches, you’re free to rediscover it differently every time you share it with an audience.
We encourage all of our students not to make the same mistake I made as a young actor. Never be desperate for the Distinction as you will end up pushing the very thing you desire away. We’re proud to report that this approach has seen our students achieving outstanding results with 85% of our students passing their exams with Distinction.
We invite our students to be bold and surprise themselves every time they perform their pieces or speeches. LAMDA’s exams aren’t exams. There’s no right or wrong, they’re just opportunities to share.
Would you like your child to gain important lifelong skills through studying LAMDA? Get in touch or call +44 (0)20 8064 0549.
