Behind the lights

For as long as I can remember, I've been fascinated by the power of storytelling. At school, ( a long time ago), I was drawn towards theatre and music, both of which were the perfect platforms to hone my creative curiosities. Whilst each of these art forms have played a starring role in my life at various points, it was the theatre that had the strongest pull for me.

I was selected for and accepted a place at one of the worlds most renowned drama schools in London. In 1998 my life as a professional actor had begun its course.  During my training and in the early days as a jobbing actor, I studied the characters in the plays I was in and explored extensively how their narrative could be brought to life for an audience to experience. But for me something was missing. These characters were fictional. Yes they were often based on real people, but fictional none the less.  I studied other people's actions, interpreted what they said in the text and made assumptions about their intentions in order to 'play' the part. 

I was telling other people's stories and it didn't feel right. Why? Well, because the fact was, I hadn't spent anytime understanding who I was and what my story was. I didn't really know who I was. So I started asking the same questions of myself that I'd been asking of the characters I'd studied, for example:

What do I want in life?

Who am I really?

What characters am I playing?

What am I afraid of?

What would I be prepared to do to get what I want?

What stories am I telling?

How are they serving/limiting me?

What's my intention/purpose (super-objective)?

 

I realised very quickly that my life was filled with stories. Very few of those stories were mine and most of them were limiting my potential. I decided that in order to create the life I wanted, I needed first to understand who I was and I could start that by applying many of the techniques I'd learnt in my acting training to my real life. 

Fast forward several years, I'm now a qualified coach. I know myself deeply. I know what drives me, what energises me and what makes me happy and content. I know my values, my strengths, my passions and I make time to do the things I love. I choose my life, what thoughts I focus on and how I interpret the events that the universe sends my way.

My gift now as a coach is to support others to understand the characters they've lost themselves in and the stories they've told that do not serve their growth. I help them define who they could be without those limitations.