EmpoderArte. A conversation with Ricardo Reynaud

Ricardo Reynaud is a Mexican actor, based in Mexico City. For the ast 15 years, he's been active in film, theatre, televison and advertising, gaining experience through artistic perfomance and participation in various workshops with local an international artists visiting CDMX. Apart from acting, he has also studied communications, meditation, reiki, therapy & Eastern philosophy at the Oneness University near Madras in India, which he visited three times, eventually coming back as a Trainer Coach. I met with Ricardo in order to talk about his newest project: EmpoderArte.

Ricardo Reynaud. Source: Twitter

Paulina: You live and work in Mexico City. Is this where you are originally from?

Ricardo: Yes. I have lived in Mexico City all my life. 

P: Would you consider moving to any other place, in Mexico or abroad?

R: Yes. I am now thinking that it would be interesting to move for a while to Spain or somewhere in South America, maybe Argentina. I cannot see myself living long-term in any other part of Mexico, however I would be happy to go on short assignments to other states. In this country, my place is principally Mexico City, this city inspires me. 

P: How did you get into acting? What pushed you towards this path?

R: It all started with a play I was part of in high school. I understood then and there that this was the thing I wanted to do in my life. At first I wasn't sure what to do about it, it was a scary concept for me to become an actor. I went to the University first and got a degree in Communications, but I knew all along that what I really wanted to do was act. 

P: What do you like the most about acting?

R: It teaches you how to listen. As human beings, we carry a lot of things inside of us - feelings, ideas, dreams, fears, anger, etc. Listening is the most important thing in acting - if you cannot listen, you cannot act. If you are not able to listen, you are closed inside of yourself and you are unable to communicate, to make any contact with another person, because in order to create a connection with someone, you must know how to listen. The main reason why I love acting is that I love listening. In the past, I used to be locked inside of myself. I felt oppressed and intimidated by religion, society ... In this way acting has been a great gift for me - art came into my life to give me the possibility to open up - first of all to learn how to listen. 

P: Tell me about your project, EmpoderArte. 

R: "EmpoderArte" is a play in words, which can be roughly translated as "empowerment through art" (from the Spanish words "poder" - "power" and "arte" - "art"). My main goal is to use my experience and knowledge to guide people on a path of personal growth and to provide them with tools to better communicate their needs, emotions, feelings, as well as to help them to learn how to actively listen - both to others and to themselves. My principal goal - as an artist, as well as a teacher - is to provide people with the tools they need to learn how to communicate. The first tool for that is learning how to listen. 

As I said before, listening is the most important thing in acting. Why? Imagine we are on stage, acting out a scene together. If I don't listen to you, if I remain locked inside of myself, I am going to lose you, to lose that connection with you, as my partner. In order to maintain a dialogue, an interaction, I must be alert to you - to your words, your body language, to whatever you are trying to communicate to me. Most of my students are not actors but the things I am taching them, which are useful on stage, are equally useful in everyday life situations - each time they enter into a relation with other people.  

Another importat tool is breathing. If you practice yoga, you understand that breathing is very complex, it is not simple at all. It helps us to relax. In yoga, it is all quite straighforward: as you move with the breath, you gradually relax. It is all about the mind - if you still your mind, you enter into a state where you can begin to listen to other people, but also to your own needs - you can start to realize your actual needs, but also what you don't need. For this to happen, we need to be relaxed. 

Another thing, which is very important in acting, that I teach my students, is to make contact with your principal center of energy. This concept is very well-known and has been well-researched in the East. It is present in yoga, in martial arts, tai-chi, qigong ... But also in the Eastern performing arts (i.e. in theatre) - the center of your energy, which is called "hara" or "chi". Once you are aware of the existence of this center and where it is located in your body, you have discovered a treasure: you become aware of the center of your instinct but also of your connection with the Earth, the sensation of being grounded (this is what is also called the root chakra in yoga). Logical thinking is very important, but it is secondary, the instinct comes first. This is true for acting but also for living your normal, everyday life. In the West, we are only beginning to learn about these things, which in the East have been known for centuries.   

I work a lot with this center. The way to develop this kind of awareness is by using your voice. The voice is another important tool for acting. It is the most important tool of the body. The way I can touch the deepest is with my voice, more than through physical contact. Think of singers, of the way we react to their voices - music is the queen of the arts. The reason why singers can move us so very deeply is because the human body has this characteristic that our voice is our essence.

Interesting studies have been conducted about the voice. For example, I am really inerested in the the work of Alfred Wolsohnafter, who invented a particular voice technique therapy (initially, he used it to cure himself from shell shock after working as a stretcher bearer during the First World War, later helping many other people over a period of twenty years) and Roy Hart, his student, who founded the Roy Hart Theatre in the 1970s in France.  As an actor, I work with these kind of techniques, using my voice in many ways. 

Consciousness (and self-conscioussness) is another important thing; the perception of oneself, how we undertand ourselves, observing what is going on with us at that particular moment - frustration, anger, etc. Like in yoga, we can expand our consciousness precisely through getting in touch with it. I encourage my students to observe themselves, to pay attention to what is occuring inside of them during an exercise we are doing in the workshop. I want them to learn to realize things like "I feel angry" or "I feel frustrated". 

P: This reminds me of the Ayurvedic morning rituals, which start by looking into a mirror in order to check on your current state, to see where you are in that particular moment. 

R: This is another way of using that consciousness to keep your mind in a state of peace, control, relaxation, focus, so you can communicate, make that connection with the Other as well as with the present moment. In all acting work, all the teachers - in every style - stress the importance of the Other. This is another reason why I love acting. When you are acting, the presence of that Other is very very important. If you focus on yourself, you get lost. Imagine again that we are acting out a scene together. If i am acting with another person, and i focus on myself only, i loose the connection with my partner.

How do we create a hospitable space for that Other within ourselves, a nest where the other person can feel comfortable? We must be a like a guesthouse, where we stay open, in a loving way, with a loving touch, but all this has to be in accordance with our instict. My instinct is the part of me which is fierce, courageous, I can defend my terrtory, if have to. I can be loving to a certain point, but if I stop feeling comfortable, I can fight like a lion. 

In this way, acting is kind of like a dance of two tigers: like a courting dance, like a territorial dance, -there are two personalities meeting and sometimes clashing. This is an area where we can express ourselves in many different ways, as we explore our possibilities, our bundaries: where we want to go and the limits of our comfort zones. This is the essene of life - it has many faces. Often people have needs they don't know how to espress. I help them to exploe those areas, I help them to grow and to become mature adults. At the same time, there are also some people who, on the contrary, need to relax and reconnect with their inner child - you have to keep that child inside of you, life is funny and life is also fun. This is another important part of acting, you have to be an adult and at the same time a child - it's a paradox all the time.

There is a movie that I really like, called the "Peaceful Warrior". In it, the teacher says to the student: There are three things important in life. The first one of them is paradox - don't try to understand, it is a part of life not to understand. The second is to have a sense of humor, especially to be able to laugh at yourself. Lastly, remember that it is the journey itself, which counts, not just the end goal.

These points are very important in acting too. That paradox has to do with the energy center (hara), because the sensations it generates are not logical, there are notions inside of us which we cannot control and if we tried, we would be lost. This is crucial to remember when you are acting - don't search for logic or you will be trapped. Instead, you must break free, you must move in an instinctive way - the instinct will take you much further than logic.

P: Who are your students?

R: The workshops are open to all kinds of people, of all ages and backgrouds. I have eight students at the moment, only two of them are professional actors and the other six work very different jobs, unrelated to the arts.

P: Tell me about the structure of the program. How long is it?

R: The workshop consists of two-hour sessions spread over six consecutive Saturdays. From one session to another, the participants get asignments to prepare, such as to write a short text or to watch a particular movie that we later discuss together. There are no speciffic requirenments to apply. I accept the participants in an instinctive way, I speak with them over the phone before the start of the workshop and I feel them out. 

This is the first time for me to give a course in this formula - with a complete program. I have given classes in the past, in schools (acting schools principally), but this is the first time for me to incorporate all the different fields of my experience and knowledge together in one structure. At the end of the sixth week each student is going to present a text they wrote themselves, using an object of their own choosing. It's like a small performance. What I want them to show me through this, is what the workshop meant to them. This is difficult for me - I am now discovering how difficult it is for me to transmit so many things in only six weeks. Its a great challenge for me.

Right now I am really excited, because we are starting a new phase of the project: We are going to take the workshop to companies - to give it a twist and teach that knowldge about communication inside companies. We are planning the first course of this particular profile in February. It's all about teaching people how to use their ideas, their creativity in a productive way. The key concept I am working around here is that of a compromise with reality. I am asking some basic questions, such as "Why are we in this life?" "What are we doing here?" "What is your comromise with you, with others, with reality?" We are living in a very complex world, multilayered, with climate change, many horrible things occuring, human-induced errors and natural disasters... We must try to find our mission, our responsibility, as human beings in this life, to find a midle way. 


The other day I read a speech written by Jose Mujica, the ex-president of Uruguay, a great man. He says that in life you have two choices: you can suffer, quietly bearing a life that is imposed on you or you can take life in your own hands and recreate it anyway you want. You have the possibility to choose your own way and to make a deliberate effort to sustain that way of living. This is extremely powerful, because it is called freedom. It may mean different things for different people - for some people it can be playing the piano, for others fighting for the freedom of others. What is important is not what you choose to do, but that you look in the mirror and see where you are for yourself. 

Jose Mujica; Google images

P: When is the next course? How can people sign up?

R: The next course is going to start on January 13th and run through February 17th in studio Paloma Arredondo. The cost is 1700 MXN per person (if you sign up before January 6th, it will be 1400 MXN and if you sign up with a friend, you each pay 1200 MXN). 

See below for more information about the course and how to sign up (in Spanish). 

Hola!! 

Deseo de corazón  todo vaya increíble!! Te comparto "EmpoderArte 2018" el taller que voy a impartir para empezar el año. Me encantaría compartir contigo este gran proceso o que me ayudes a compartirlo con la gente que sabes que le interesa. 

Gracias infinitas!! La hemos pasado en grande en el taller, con grandes resultados, ya estamos deseosos de dar el siguiente para toda la gente que me ha preguntado, gracias por todo su apoyo y sus comentarios. Abrazo enorme, que pases unas felices fiestas y mucha luz!! 

Ricardo Reynaud 

Te invito a EmpoderArte

Taller en el que jugaremos con las herramientas de la actuación moderna para conseguir resultados eficaces en tu vida, reintegrarse a partir de tu cuerpo, tu voz y el otro para crecer en confianza, gozo y vitalidad. 

Beneficios:

Mejorar en mis relaciones a partir de la escucha.

Mejorar mi comunicación a partir de la voz que toca al otro. 

Sensación de confianza para avanzar en mis propósitos.

Desarrollar la imaginación a partir del contacto con mi cuerpo y mi voz. 

Impartido por Ricardo Reynaud, que cuenta con 15 años dedicado al Teatro, Cine, TV y Radio 

y 10 años explorando el desarrollo personal.

PROGRAMA:

6 sesiones, una por semana.

Sábados de 10:00 am a 12:00 pm

Del 13 de enero al 17 de febrero. 

Costo: $1,700

Pagos antes del 6 de enero: $1,400

Si traes a otra persona las dos pagan $1,200

INFORMES:

‪55 1849 9838 y 55 3731 8759‬

ricardoreynaud22@gmail.com

UBICACIÓN: 

Colonia San Pedro de los Pinos, 

cerca el metro San Pedro de los Pinos 

y el metrobús Polyforum

Nos encantaría contar con su presencia.

Les agradeceremos mucho compartan este texto y el poster!!

GRACIAS!!

Ricardo Reynaud

The currently ongoing EmpoderArte workshop. Fot. Ricardo Reynaud

The currently ongoing EmpoderArte workshop. Fot. Ricardo Reynaud

The currently ongoing EmpoderArte workshop. Fot. Ricardo Reynaud

To contact Ricardo directly, check the following:

Facebook: Actor Mexicano Ricardo Reynaud

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtlRiJZ50CE

E-mail: ricardoreynaud22@gmail.com

Instagram: reynaud22

Here is a fragment of the speech by Jose Mujica (in Spanish):

 "La vida se puede sufrir, se puede soportar porque te la imponen,
o la vida se puede recrear, porque tú deliberadamente tomas un rumbo,
y te esfuerzas por sostener ese rumbo,
y eso es muy trascendente,
porque eso se llama libertad.
Que para unos puede ser un piano,
y para algunos la lucha por la suerte de los demás.
Hay otras cosas además de la juventud,
la irreverencia de mirarse en el espejo,
y comprometerse con la realidad."
José Mujica.

José Alberto "Pepe" Mujica Cordano (Spanish pronunciation: [xoˈse muˈxika]; born 20 May 1935) is a Uruguayan politician who was the 40th President of Uruguay between 2010 and 2015. A former guerrilla with the Tupamaros, he was imprisoned for 13 years during the military dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s. A member of the Broad Front coalition of left-wing parties, Mujica was Minister of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries from 2005 to 2008 and a Senator afterwards. As the candidate of the Broad Front, he won the 2009 presidential election and took office as President on 1 March 2010.

He has been described as "the world's 'humblest' president" due to his austere lifestyle and his donation of around 90 percent of his $12,000 monthly salary to charities that benefit poor people and small entrepreneurs. (Wikipedia)

You can read more about Roy Hart and the extended vocal technique developed and taught by the German singing teacher Alfred Wolfsohn at the Alfred Wolfsohn Voice Research Center on Wikipedia. See also Centre Artistique International Roy Hart.

The Oneness University is a spiritual school located in the South of India, founded by Sri Bhagavan.


Please comment - I am curious of your feedback! And if you like my blog, go ahead and give me a follow!