“Stage Business” and “Voice”

Stage Business! What is it? Stage business is a physical activity, or what your character is doing during the scene while talking or listening. You can do something physical which is something that you can control.

Example: “Legally Blonde” film clip h2s h2s Respond to this questions: What actions help actress Reese Witherspoon convey her personality?

Cont’d To “act” means “to do” or to perform an action. In these terms, acting is what happens in each moment of the scene. Stage business is usually an activity or task that involves use of real objects or props that are “realistic,” and the action is often performed while one character is having dialogue with another character.

Cont’d Your stage business should define and enhance your character and be relevant and appropriate to your character.

Environment, Location, Weather, or Time of Day In addition to showing an aspect of character, you might also show background conditions such as weather or time of day. Show hot sticky weather by wiping away sweat or cold by bundling up with a blanket or scarf.

Cont’d Or, show what the environment is like. You may be swatting flies or bugs or indicating the time of day.

THE VOICE

Diaphragm The body partition of muscle and connective tissue located in the lower part of the chest cavity, that is the center of breathing control or power supply (directly underneath the lungs).

Lungs The two spongy air sacs, which in themselves have no power to expand or contract, to take in or expel air.

Trachea (the windpipe) The windpipe by which air travels to and from the lungs.

Esophagus The muscular tube that leads from the pharynx into the stomach Larynx The “voice box” is a cartilage formation (soft bone and muscle) in front of the neck. Inside the larynx are the vocal cords or folds or bands. These are muscle fibers that vibrate, sending out sound waves.

Thyroid The largest cartilage of the larynx. The thyroid covers the larynx.

Resonating Chambers The three resonating chambers are the: – “pharynx” (located just above and behind the larynx) – the mouth (the hard palate at the top acts as a sounding board) – the nasal cavities, which include the sinus cavities.

4 Ways to Change Sound and Tone The four ways to change sound and tone are: – Quality – Pitch – Volume – Pace

Quality Quality is the sound or tone of the individual voice, which is determined by the size and shape of the “resonating chambers.” This constitutes for each individual’s unique voice.

Example : Robin Williams (Mrs. Doubtfire) Y

Pitch Pitch is relative highness or lowness of the sound. There are two ways to change pitch. – Step Method: Going from one pitch level to another without intermediate pitch levels. – Inflection or Slide method: Changing pitch levels by going higher or lower in the midst of a word (this is usually done as a singing technique).

WHATTTT??? Don‘t worry, I’ll explain!

Rate, Pace, Tempo or Rhythm: “Pick it Up!” In acting, as in life, everyone—each person or character—has his or her own basic rhythm, tempo or pace of speech in terms of the way she or he moves and/or speaks. So, too, each character within the play might have a different tempo or rhythm.

Cont’d Different types of plays also have different tempos. – Farces and most comedies move more rapidly, and the characters usually move and speak more rapidly (comedic timing).

Example : The Pink Panther Do

What is the tempo of this scene?

Cont’d By the same token, note the pace of soap operas (sentimental dramas on TV) and the slow, controlled movement, the slow delivery of lines and long pause between lines. Why not?

Example Forrest Gump cc

Cont’d Some directors, who become anxious over listening to actors play at the naturally slower pace of a drama or sentimental play and are eager to keep an audience interested say “PICK IT UP to try to make scenes more exciting.

Volume Volume is the relative strength, force or intensity of the sound. Volume depends on the violence with which the air from the lungs strikes the vocal band or folds. This force is of two types:

1. Explosive A sudden sharp pressure is emitted. Used in shouts, commands, loud laughter and screams.

2. Expulsive The breath is released gradually and steadily in order to prolong a sound or sentence or groups of sentences almost indefinitely. – Singers learn to sustain notes for long periods of time.