Chernihiv media professionals took an acting workshop oranised by the Institute of Mass Informaton’s Mediabaza Chernihiv. The workshop featured exercises that help one feel natural in front of the camera.
The workshop was given by by Oksana Lenchevska, an actress at the Taras Shevchenko Academic Music and Drama Theater of Chernihiv Oblast.
She stressed that all acting is about working with a partner, not by yourself. In journalism, the partner is the viewer or listener. You should add an action to every word to spark the audience’s interest: it enhances the connection.
“The action helps you relax: you stop wondering how your voice sounds or how you look, worries and stiltedness vanishes. The action is what makes you feel natural on camera, as you are focusing on the partner,”, Oksana Lenchevska said.
Oksana Lenchevska, actress at the Taras Shevchenko Academic Music and Drama Theater of Chernihiv Oblast; photo by Svitlana Bilous
Oksana Lenchevska proposed several exercises that helped the attendees expand their comfort zone, relax, stop overthinking, and be “here and now.”
“Acting is about living in the moment. It’s a new experience that will definitely help you discover something about yourself. But if you have to say a memorised line, it’s very important that you have the answers to three questions: what are you saying? To whom? Why?” she added.
A part of the workshop focused on overcoming fear and insecurity.
“When you have results in mind, this matters more than insecurity. These exercises help us get to know those aspects within ourselves that we had been unaware of and therefore afraid of. And the cure for fear is a mistake: when you realise that you can make mistakes and that it is not scary, you unlock a powerful resource within yourself,” Oksana Lenchevska stressed.
Acting workshop participants doing an excercise, photo by Svitlana Bilous
At the end of the workshop, the participants said that acting helped journalists control their voice, body, and emotions better, which is crucial when speaking in public, taking interviews, and working on camera. It also builds confidence, makes you more attentive to the person you are talking to, and enables you to convey your messages clearly and convincingly.
“The acting workshop for media professionals was a spark of joy. We worked on letting go of tensions and stiltedness. There were also exercises for working with your body. Such workshops are like a breath of fresh air. Thank you, Mediabaza Chernihiv, for always keeping your finger on the pulse and caring for journalists,” said Kateryna Ahiyenko, BOOM! editor, Chernihiv Media Group interviewer.
Acting workshop participants doing an excercise, photo by Svitlana Bilous
The Mediabazas are a network of regional hubs created by the Institute of Mass Information in the autumn of 2022 to support the work of independent journalists amid Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine. The Mediabazas offer body armour and classes free of charge; a working space supplied with electricity and Internet connection, etc.
by Svitlana Bilous, Mediabaza Chernihiv communications manager
