Theatre arts/fundamentals I Voice & Diction Theatre arts/fundamentals I

Objectives To develop a more effective speaking voice through relaxation, proper breathing, and good posture. To learn habits of good diction in order to develop distinctive, effective voices. To use tone, pitch, volume, and tempo effectively in interpreting character, mood, and meaning.

Relaxation Proper sounds are made through vowel sounds. Vowel sounds are made through a relaxed and open throat, jaw and lips. A tense or tight throat will cause hoarseness when trying to project one’s voice in practice or performance. Warm Ups… Warm Up Exercises Stretch your whole body as an animal does after a nap. Feel the big muscles of your back, lets, and arms ease first. Imagine that a warm, relaxing shower is falling over your head. Imagine it passing over your forehead and wiping out the frown lines. Imagine it releasing the tension of the little muscles around your eyes, nose, mouth, and especially your cheeks. Roll your head first to the left, then to the right, keeping the neck muscles relaxed. Imagine the shower pouring over your whole body, relaxing your arms and fingertips, your chest, lungs, diaphragm, and even your toes. You should be yawning by this time, and that is one of the best voice exercises. Relaxed Jaw – let your head fall forward onto your chest. Lift it up and back, letting your jaw remain loose. Drop it again and slowly roll your head over your right shoulder, back, over your left shoulder and forward. Open Throat – Yawn freely, getting the feeling of an open, relaxed throat. Best exercise for breathing because it comes from a relaxed body. Most of the time when people yawn, they breathe in air from the abdomen, not from the chest, exactly where the actor’s breath must come from. When actors feel nervous, their breathing becomes shorter and shallower. Therefore, actors must train themselves to take deep breaths. Flexible Lips 1 – Say oo-o-a-ah, opening your lips from a small circle to a large one. Then reverse, saying ah-a-o-oo. Keep the tongue flat with the tip at the lower teeth. Keep your throat open and your jaw relaxed. Flexible Lips 2 – Say “me-mo-me-mo-me-mo-me-mo.” Flexible Tongue 1 – Say rapidly: “fud-dud-dud-dud-dah-fud-dud-dud-dud-dah-fud-dud-dud-dud-dah-fril.” Trill the r in fril. Flexible Tongue 2 – Babble like a baby, saying “da-da-da-da-la-la-la-la” moving only the tip of the tongue.

Breath Control What is the difference between regular breathing and breathing for speech/performance? Regular breathing The inhalation and exhalation periods are of equal length. Breathing for speech/performance Requires a very brief inhalation period and a slow, controlled exhalation period. In breathing for speech, one inhales through the mouth allowing for more rapid intake of air than inhaling through the nose. Controlled breathing does not necessarily mean deep breathing. Example of Controlled breathing: Little Red Riding Hood from Into the Woods or singers

Breathe from the diaphragm What does that mean? Breathing from the diaphragm allows the chest cavity to stay relatively still, while the lower ribs rise and fall slightly. Requires less chest breathing Allows one to breathe more deeply Provides control needed to project long passages without running out of breath.

characteristics of the Voice Tone (Quality) Pitch Volume Tempo (Rate)

Tone/Quality Tone is the individual sound of the voice Depends on the shape and size of one’s vocal mechanism, which cannot be changed. One CAN learn to make the most of what they have by keeping the throat open and controlling one’s breath. If the voice sounds harsh or raspy, it usually is the result of a closed throat. If the voice sounds breathy, more air is being used than is needed. Voice quality may also be affected by emotion Tone is the vocal element used to create different emotional colors when speaking or singing. Try these techniques to experiment with tone: Tone Exercise Say each of these words – oh, yes, well, really, possibly – to convey each of these emotions or states of being: Happiness, Pride, Fatigue, Fright, Anger, Suspicion, Innocence, Pleading, Sorrow Reproduce the tone color of these words by making your voice sound like the word’s meaning: Bang, Crackle, Swish, Grunt, Tinkle, Roar, Coo, Thin, Wheeze, Bubble, Buzzy, Splash, Clang, Gurgle

Pitch Relative highness or lowness of the voice at any given time Pitch is determined by the rapidity with which the vocal folds vibrate Pitch gives meaning to speech. Excited, interested, enthusiastic = higher pitch on important words to emphasize them and lower pitch on unimportant words to subordinate them Variety in pitch is called INFLECTION Without variety in pitch, speakers are unable to hold the attention of their audiences. As an actor, you must learn to control the number, length, and direction of your pitch changes.

Volume The relative strength, force, or intensity with which sound is made Depends upon the pressure with which the air from the lungs strikes the vocal folds. Explosive and Expulsive Explosive – sudden sharp breath pressure – commands, shouts, loud laughter, screams Expulsive – pressure held steady, breath released gradually – used for reading long passages without loss of breath and in building to a dramatic climax Volume is used in combination with other voice characteristics to express various feelings

Volume cont. When onstage, one must use more energy to convey impressions of all kinds than is necessary offstage. Think about where the voice is to go and keep the throat relaxed Greater force to emphasize Think about where your voice is to go and keep your throat relaxed EXERCISE 1: Say the sentence “I am going home” as though you were saying it to the following people: A friend sitting next to you A person ten feet away Someone across the room Someone in the back row of an auditorium EXERCISE 2: Greater force to emphasize “I love you.” “I didn’t say that to her.” “You don’t think I ate the cake, do you?” “Nothing is too good for you.” “You gave the money to him.”

Tempo/Rate Use the punctuation in speech for help in determining pauses. Logical and dramatic pauses demand thought and feeling on the actor’s part or they will not have the audience thinking and feeling with them. The speed at which words are spoken is called TEMPO Steadily increasing speed creates a feeling of tension and excitement Slow, deliberate delivery impresses the listener with its significance. Show/explain the Pause Chart “on the stage a half-second pause is significant; a full-second pause is emphatic; a two-second pause is dramatic; and, a three-second pause is usually catastrophic!”

Diction/Articulation Diction refers to the selection and pronunciation of words Proper breathing technique, great tone, and perfect pitch will make no difference at all if you have poor diction Poor articulation is generally the result of carelessness and sluggish speech On stage, every word counts, unlike in everyday speech If your speech is to be an asset in your daily usage, you must use clear, correct, pleasing speech that carries well. Practice reading aloud daily Record and analyze your speech and the speech of others

Avoid these common habits of sloppy speech: “Didn’t you?”, “Wouldn’t you?” and “Did you?” should be separated to avoid saying “Didncha?”, “Wouldnja?”, and “Didja?” Mumbling, muttering, or dropping words at the end of sentences and letters at the end of words Using the vocal apparatus, especially the tongue, in a lazy manner, resulting from indistinctness Being too meticulous, artificial, or theatrical Voice and Diction in Acting It is an actor’s responsibility to avoid spoiling lines by blurring pronunciation, muffling enunciation or speaking with a nervous rhythm

Tongue Twisters Rubber baby buggy bumpers To make the bitter batter better, Betty bought better butter, beating the better butter into the batter to make the batter better. The dedicated doctor diagnosed the dreaded disease as December dithers. Fickle fortune framed a fine finale for a fancy finish. Could creeping cats keep crafty claws clear of kitchen curtains? Many mortals miss mighty moments more from meager minds than major mistakes. Round and round the ragged rock the rugged rascal ran.

The Chaos Written by Gerard Nolst Trenité A classic English poem containing about 800 of the worst irregularities in English spelling and pronunciation.