🧑🏾‍🎤Intro to Acting Unit 4 – Voice and Speech for the Stage

What's the Big Deal?

• Voice and speech are essential tools for actors to effectively communicate their character's thoughts, feelings, and intentions to the audience
• Proper vocal technique allows actors to be heard and understood clearly throughout the performance space
• Well-developed vocal skills enable actors to convey a wide range of emotions and create distinct, believable characters
• Vocal training helps prevent strain, fatigue, and injury to the voice, ensuring longevity in an actor's career
• Mastering voice and speech techniques gives actors greater confidence and versatility in their performances
  • Confidence stems from knowing they can effectively deliver their lines and connect with the audience
  • Versatility enables actors to take on a diverse range of roles and adapt to different performance styles

Key Concepts

• Breath support: The foundation of vocal production, involving the efficient use of the diaphragm and intercostal muscles to control the flow of air
• Resonance: The amplification and enrichment of sound through the use of the body's natural resonators (chest, throat, mouth, and nasal cavities)
• Articulation: The clear and precise production of speech sounds using the articulators (lips, tongue, teeth, and palate)
• Diction: The choice and delivery of words, focusing on clarity, accuracy, and appropriateness for the character and context
• Projection: The ability to send the voice out to the audience without straining, while maintaining a clear and audible sound
• Vocal variety: The use of pitch, volume, rate, and tone to create interest, convey meaning, and express emotions
• Vocal health: The practice of maintaining a healthy voice through proper hydration, rest, and avoiding harmful habits (smoking, shouting, or overuse)

Vocal Warm-ups

• Lip trills: Gently vibrating the lips together while exhaling, promoting relaxation and breath control
• Tongue twisters: Repeating challenging phrases that focus on specific speech sounds, improving articulation and diction (e.g., "She sells seashells by the seashore")
• Humming: Gently humming on different pitches, helping to activate resonance and release tension
• Sirens: Gliding the voice smoothly from low to high pitch and back down, expanding vocal range and flexibility
• Yawn-sighs: Combining a yawn with a sigh, releasing tension in the jaw and throat while encouraging deep breathing
• Facial stretches: Gently massaging and stretching the facial muscles, promoting relaxation and flexibility for clear articulation
  • Examples include lion's face (opening the mouth wide and sticking out the tongue) and fish face (pursing the lips and sucking in the cheeks)

Breathing Techniques

• Diaphragmatic breathing: Engaging the diaphragm to control the inhalation and exhalation of air, providing a steady and efficient airflow for speech
  • Place one hand on the chest and the other on the belly to feel the movement of the diaphragm
• Intercostal breathing: Utilizing the muscles between the ribs to expand the ribcage laterally, increasing breath capacity and control
• Breath support: Maintaining a consistent and controlled release of air while speaking, preventing the voice from becoming weak or breathy
• Breathing exercises: Practicing deep breathing techniques to improve breath control and capacity (e.g., counting on one breath, sustaining vowel sounds)
• Panting: Rapid, shallow breathing to engage the diaphragm and intercostal muscles, promoting quick breath recovery during physically demanding scenes
• Breath phrasing: Coordinating breath with the natural phrasing of the text, ensuring a smooth delivery and avoiding awkward pauses or running out of air

Articulation and Diction

• Consonants: Focusing on the clear and precise production of consonant sounds, which provide the framework for words and convey meaning
  • Practice exercises that target specific consonant sounds (e.g., "p" sound: "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers")
• Vowels: Paying attention to the shape and placement of the mouth when producing vowel sounds, which carry the emotional content of speech
  • Practice exercises that explore different vowel sounds (e.g., "a" sound: "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain")
• Linking: Connecting words smoothly in a phrase or sentence, maintaining a natural flow of speech and avoiding choppy delivery
• Stress and emphasis: Placing appropriate stress on certain words or syllables to convey meaning, emotion, and character intentions
• Dialect and accent work: Studying and practicing the specific speech patterns, sounds, and intonations of different regions, cultures, or time periods to create authentic character voices
• Tongue placement: Being aware of the position and movement of the tongue in relation to the teeth, palate, and lips to produce clear and precise speech sounds

Projection and Volume

• Breath support: Using diaphragmatic breathing to provide a steady and strong airflow, enabling the voice to carry without strain
• Resonance: Amplifying the voice by engaging the body's natural resonators, creating a fuller and more powerful sound
  • Chest resonance: A deeper, more powerful sound originating from the chest cavity
  • Head resonance: A higher, more ringing sound that resonates in the nasal and oral cavities
• Volume control: Adjusting the loudness or softness of the voice to suit the character, emotion, and performance space
  • Practice exercises that explore different volume levels (e.g., whispering, speaking at a conversational level, projecting to the back of the room)
• Vocal placement: Directing the voice towards a specific point in the performance space to ensure even distribution and audibility
• Vocal health: Maintaining proper hydration, rest, and vocal technique to prevent strain or damage when projecting the voice
• Acoustic awareness: Understanding how the voice interacts with the performance space and adapting projection and volume accordingly

Vocal Variety and Expression

• Pitch: Varying the highness or lowness of the voice to convey emotion, character, or meaning
  • Practice exercises that explore different pitch ranges (e.g., speaking in a high, squeaky voice or a low, gruff voice)
• Inflection: Changing the pitch or tone of the voice within a word, phrase, or sentence to convey meaning or emotion
• Rate: Adjusting the speed at which words are spoken to suit the character, emotion, or situation
  • Examples include speaking quickly to convey excitement or urgency, or speaking slowly to convey thoughtfulness or sadness
• Pause: Using moments of silence strategically to create emphasis, anticipation, or emotional impact
• Tone: Conveying attitude or emotion through the quality of the voice (e.g., warm, sarcastic, angry, or joyful)
• Vocal dynamics: Combining changes in pitch, volume, rate, and tone to create a more expressive and engaging performance
  • Practice exercises that explore different vocal dynamics (e.g., speaking a line of text in multiple ways to convey different emotions or intentions)

Putting It All Together

• Text analysis: Studying the script to understand the character's thoughts, feelings, and intentions, and how they influence vocal choices
• Rehearsal: Practicing vocal techniques and choices in the context of the script, scene, or monologue
  • Experimenting with different vocal options to find the most effective and authentic choices for the character
• Listening and responding: Being attuned to the vocal choices of scene partners and adapting one's own voice accordingly to create a dynamic and engaging interaction
• Consistency: Maintaining vocal choices throughout the performance, ensuring that the character's voice remains authentic and believable
• Vocal flexibility: Being open to adjusting vocal choices based on director feedback, audience response, or personal growth and exploration
• Integration with physical acting: Combining vocal techniques with physical movement, gestures, and facial expressions to create a fully embodied and expressive performance
  • Practice exercises that explore the connection between voice and body (e.g., speaking a line of text while performing a specific physical action)
• Performance: Applying vocal techniques and choices in front of an audience, communicating the character's journey effectively and engaging the audience emotionally