Ysabel Clare
Ysabel is a teacher of acting, voice, personal presentation, self-management and communication skills. She has taught at Brunel, E15, The Actor’s Centre and Goldsmith’s as well as privately. She has been teaching at Goldsmith’s for 7 years, teaching on both the Performance Theory and Practice and Process and Performance modules of the undergraduate degree, as well as on the MA Performance Praxis and on the MA in TV Journalism for the Department of Media and Communications. Fields of acting practice taught include Stanislavsky’s System, Method of Physical Actions, Strasberg, Meisner, Chekhov, the Viewpoints, Improvisation, and Presence of Mind.
She graduated first class from Central before taking the Kings/RADA MA in Text and Performance with distinction, and then embarking on her PhD at Goldsmith’s. Her PhD, nearing completion, is a close study of Stanislavsky’s acting exercises. She has developed an analytical approach developed from the theory of logical types in order to reveal the unconscious structures inherent in Stanislavsky’s System.
15 years of training in ballet and ‘speech and drama’ was followed in adult life by an avid interest in both the theory and practice of body/mind approaches and methodologies, including tai chi, chi gung, yoga, Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais, African drumming, various breathing and relaxation techniques, and an intense and life changing course of deep trance identification and cultural modelling in Bali incorporating dance, gamelan (in which she played drums) and anthropology.
Ysabel has worked in a variety of fields with the common theme of performance. In particular she has been – and continues to be - a therapist, using NLP, hypnosis and EFT to assist individuals and groups; a voice coach, both for personal and professional development; a teacher of personal presentation and communication skills specialising in neuro linguistics and accelerated learning techniques; a study skills coach teaching Accelerated Learning, Mind Mapping and self-devised learning strategies evolving from the underlying principles of NLP and the work of Gregory Bateson; and an actor, in repertory and on the London fringe. She is an extreme systemiser with a personal interest in variations of normalised sensory perspective such as dyslexia and Asperger’s syndrome.
As a voice and communication consultant Ysabel recently worked with emerging conceptual artist Dash MacDonald on his World Leadership Project. This involved devising and leading a three-day workshop for 8-9 year-olds, teaching presentation, communication, voice and speechwriting, using as a stimulus iconic props designed by the artist, and filmed to be shown at the RCA summer exhibition.
Interests in the field of actor training and research include: systemising the unconscious structures of practice; the delights of paradox and how to generate – and enjoy - it; states of mind and attention training including the purpose and function of warm-ups and preparatory exercises; voice, breath and inspiration in the broadest sense; abstract skills for life and employability such as communication, organisation, attention management and self-awareness. Ysabel continues to pursue her own personal and professional development through practice, living and learning, most recently Fitzmaurice voicework.