Public speaking instills fear in many people, but award-winning actor and humanitarian Jose Yenque offered a solution to students Monday to dispel this fear.
Yenque hosted an introductory acting workshop with approximately 85 Cal State Long Beach students at the Beach Auditorium Monday. He taught the students, who were enrolled in Spanish language courses, techniques from Stanislavski’s method, which requires actors to use their emotional memories.
Known for his roles in films such as “Traffic” and “Wednesday Afternoon,” which won an Academy Award in 2005, Yenque encouraged those in attendance to control their breathing, make sounds and focus on details to subdue their fears onstage.
To demonstrate his technique, Yenque asked 10 students to pick a private moment from their daily life, such as brushing their teeth or shaving, and act it out using gestures and sounds.
He asked participants to focus on every minute detail of the task, which he said would make their mind too busy to feel the anxiety of performing in front of a group.
“I was nervous at first, but the techniques helped me relax,” said senior Spanish major Giovanni Campos, who participated in one of Yenque’s “private moment” demonstrations.
“Right before my turn came up, my heart started racing,” he said. “I imagined the fourth wall, pretended [the audience wasn’t] there, and just did what I normally do. I think it was a good experience.”
Yenque said he hosts acting workshops because he thinks it is important to give back to public universities.
“I want to be an example to other artists and other professionals to come in and offer their workshops to state universities that may not have as much funding as a private university,” he said. “The students from state universities are full of possibilities, and you never know who is going to come out of them.”
Bonnie Gasior, the Spanish professor who brought Yenque back to campus for a third time to speak to her students, said he offers a unique learning experience.
“I think each one probably walked away with something uniquely different,” she said. “For those on the stage, it allowed them to overcome insecurities and fears, and I hope they all learned something about themselves, which allowed them to recognize that at the end of the day, whether students, actors or professors, we’re all human.”
Yenque will host an acting workshop on campus this summer, with all proceeds benefiting Arts For A Better Tomorrow, a youth outreach program he founded that aims to provide at-risk teens in the U.S. and Mexico the opportunity to advance in their education through their love of the arts.
“I’m coming back in the summer because I knew that I wasn’t really going to have enough time to really get into it today,” he said. “Two hours is not enough.”
Yenque, who describes his workshop as “intensive,” believes it is necessary for students who attend to really submerge themselves in the material.
“It’s the only way to really get something out of it,” he said.
The cost of the workshop is $275 per student. Those interested in attending can send questions to [email protected].