Richard Cornally, Artistic Director Sydney Drama School.
'I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop. It was a thrilling and expanding experience. I love the core philosophy of the approach and the freedom and honesty it engenders. I found the pace and the variety of the workshop to be perfectly pitched. The exercises were both challenging and enjoyable in great balance. I learnt a fun and freeing physical and vocal warm-up technique and one of the most powerful character exploration tools I've ever come across. I can't emphasise enough how valuable I find a process that integrates body and emotion for the actor at the same time as moving the actor organically away from headiness and control.' Rose Maher, actress Sydney. 'I had a wonderful experience. Right from the start I felt welcomed, comfortable and engaged. I put this down to your open presence Roel. You engaged with each of us as individuals and treated us with the respect of a fellow artist. You were present to everyone in the room, and met each person at their individual needs. I learned about acting and performing from instinct. I reconnected with a great sense of play that I need and crave in work, but often times find myself closed to this instinct. I learned to reconnect with my body. I re-discovered that it is through my body that I can create character and find truthful expression rather than insincere re-created ideas (from the mind) about character.' Charlotte Conner, Actress Sydney It was absolutely amazing and has made me realize just how free our bodies need to be when we perform. I loved the part you mentioned about actors physically changing in order to feel that they are ready to act, but our natural being is the most compelling to watch. You enabled us to try and feel safe to fail, and above all , have stacks of fun. Tim Moran Actor Sydney 'Up until now I have learnt to trust myself more and get out of my head. During the first lesson I found myself holding back and overthinking what I was doing whereas now I am more relaxed into allowing myself listen to my body which traditionally I have found hard to do. The stand out for me so far has been the concept of VITA (life energies) being the basis of play and how exaggerating the spectrum from completely over the top to minimal allows you to work and manipulate a character to find a true life. Also the concept of private vs present - I have always been told acting is having a private moment in a public space and the workshop has provided me with the tools to distinguish between the two. The workshop is both a group and individual experience. There are opportunities to work with partners and to explore individually also. It is as much about movement for me as it is about internally making your instrument available and ready for play. You have to throw yourself all in to reap the benefits - don’t hold back.' Elly Goodman: Actress, teacher Sydney. 'In the babelworkshop, Roel practices what he preaches. His communication is open, expressive, free, engaging and clear and he inspires you to be the same. He is very encouraging in his approach and creates an atmosphere of no judgement and play, this means that you push through boundaries and really explore the work. The work itself is inspiring and challenging. The theory is put into practice right away with amazing results. I found that my perception of movement and connection of voice was continually changing through practice and watching others work, creating dynamic energy in the body and voice I discovered what my physical and vocal habits are and how much more expressive I can be through his exercises. I'd love to work further with Roel to continue to grow and to challenge my habits.' |
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Ainsly Clouston: Actress Sydney.
'Personally, it opened me up to be free and fearless in the work. It allowed me to get passed the conventional expectations from society and find a complete space of freedom that I want throughout all of my work. We never know what we are capable when fear is taken out of the picture but I was lucky enough to have a taste!!! You are a fantastic teacher, one that engages his students constantly and meets them on their level to lift them to a higher place! It is what you are meant to be doing!!!! An absolute inspiration and liberation in the craft!!!!' Nicola Frew: Actress Sydney 'Your commitment to each exercise allowed everyone to do things I'm sure they never thought they could. I can't believe how quickly you got us challenging ourselves.' Alex Cubis, Actor Sydney 'The course has helped me understand how every moment in a scene (especially those that our instincts might tell us to rush past) can be explored and made more impactful with physicality and a stronger mind-body connection. I've really enjoyed the Babel workshop - not knowing anything about the theory, I was apprehensive at first about what was expected of each participant, but going in sight unseen has meant that each session has been incredibly rewarding. It's a great way to assess your self-consciousness as an actor and figure out the physical and mental restraints that can sometimes prevent us from having fun with a performance. Roel's a very skilled, engaging and sympathetic teacher, and creates a really supportive environment in which anyone - actor or non-actor - can learn.' Melanie Eden, Actress Sydney 'I uncovered an unconscious tendency to apply unnecessary effort and be critical of myself. Since bringing these things in to my awareness with love and accepting, I've experienced moments of complete ease fascination and excitement in the work. The workshop helped me find confidence in my abilities and self. I walk away every session feeling I have grown as a performer but also as a human being. Roel creates a beautifully supportive atmosphere filled with challenging material.' Daniel George, Actor Sydney 'I've been trying to find a way to put the experience of this class into words - and its difficult! I entered this class with no expectations; just trying to be open to new experiences. Initially, I had trouble understanding the purpose of what we were doing but as you go on, week by week, you start to discover yourself and open up. Its amazing how much you find that you are holding back in performance. Roel encourages you to learn and interpret in your own way, not by some predefined technique that you try and mould yourself to. Its as much self discovery as it is acting. Its so easy to get stuck in your head so I may even come back to Roel for another round! I hope you're not booked out by then Roel!' Tiziana Benguerbi Acting school Rotterdam, Netherlands.
'Roel teaches with a positive, high energy." “Number one focus for him is, that it is you that is learning.' Fiona Moody dancer, actress Sydney. 'It was great also to get your guidance - as it was very intuitive and non-judgemental' Thijs Miedema Acting school Rotterdam Netherlands. 'Roel is a soundboard, an inspiration and a teacher." "A passionate teacher. He brings humor and is able to raise students to a higher level by guiding them to take responsibility for their own development as actors.' Natalie Rees Actress Sydney. 'I was surprised how resistant my body had become without me even knowing it - doing the exercises really opened me up!' |