Last night, I participated to a Voice Training Workshop designed for AUSIT Interpreters. It was conducted by a Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble actor, who lectures Drama and Linguistics at the University of Queensland.
As we walked in, we were immediately made to walk around in a spacious, and dimly lit room, moving our body, and reclaiming body expressions. I remember doing this kind of exercises when I was in primary school in France as a warm-up for drama classes: it was called expression corporelle .... we had not even said Hello to each other yet !
The instructor asked us to stop in front of a person at random, and look at this person, - it is called (he told us later) 'vulnerability exposure'
As I entered the room last, I found myself facing the instructor. All I had to do was to say my name, then he would say his name, then, I would have to repeat his name, and he would repeat mine.
Well... that was S T R A N G E
The point of this was to make us think about what it was like 'not being able to speak' versus the relief of 'being able to utter what was rumbling inside, out in the open'. Your voice is a tension reliever. Also, it was a way to engage with 'an audience', 'see, really SEE your audience',
SPEAK TO PEOPLE.
He explained to us that traditionally, in theatres, actors would SPEAK TO THEMSELVES, reciting long tirades, but nowadays, an actor is expected to make his audience BELIEVE HIM. This means that the actor has to engage in a genuine relationship which starts in his guts. He explained the connection between guts and voice is never very clear when you utter your very first sound: that is when you make a noise because you are hungry as a new born. So the modern actor's voice starts in his guts and goes all the way to the 887th person in the back of the theatre. He has to ENGAGE with his audience.
In order to do that, you need NOT ONLY look at strangers in the eyes (to think about what you are trying to do - engage) but really, you need to be able to PROJECT your voice... and this is more easily said then done.
He first described the anatomy behind. Then, we did a lot of voice exercises, based on two lines of nursery rimes we knew. Since we all were translators, you could be very personal or creative: the nursery rimes were thrown out in the open in all languages :(
The purpose was to explore the range of sounds your voice can make, and how you can control the outcome through exercises, not unlike an athlete's training. His voices repertoire was very impressive, but he explained that was after 15 years of training.
Basically, in order to project your voice fully, unleash the full power and range of your speaking voice and acquire a deep understanding of how it works, you need to:
1) relax your body and find natural breath - tension travels in the voice and constraints its range. If you put a tin can with objects inside on your belly lying down, and speak when you are tense, the box will make rattling sounds. After a few warm up exercises to relax your body, like touching your toes with your hands, and lenghten your spine through breathing exercises at the same time, come back in the laying position and you will notice that when you speak the tin can DOES NOT make a rattling sound anymore. Instead, it goes in a regular motion: your sounds are healthy, and you will last longer uttering them. He also gave us tips on how to relax jaws, tongue, and enable soft palate.
2) beware of sound vibration. If you detached your larynx from your body, your sounds would not resonate. I knew that the palate in my mouth was my 'chamber orchestra' but there is more to it: your whole body is a chamber orchestra! Sound uses cavities in your sinuses, your skull, travels through your neck, skeleton and he made us fell the sound vibration on our back and everywhere as we spoke. Ultimate test is: can your toe vibrate? ... he said it was possible.
The game is to be able to gather and release vibrations.
3) learn how to use channel resonators: chest, mouth, teeth
4) work out articulation, keeping it connected to sigh: you articulate for SOMEONE. We had to do tongue twisters in English, that was hilarious. I had more difficulties remembering them than articulating them ... not quite what was expected.
5) be genuine, create genuine noises, don't force your voice to be what it it not - it will be better received by your audience, you will reach out better. Just unleash what holds it up, and explore.
Finally, the instructor asked if someone felt they had serious problems articulating in some occasions. An older man disclosed himself. The instructor asked him to say a line (nursery rime), then he asked him to push the tip of his tongue against his lower teeth in semi circle (like an arch) and try to say the same line over and over again and it was hilarious, including for the man himself who was fully relaxed by now. Then he said 'stop': say it aloud again like at the beginning without your tongue arched.... and it came out very clearly, but REALLY clearly. The instructor explained that the tongue exercise forced the BRAIN to make a bigger effort, and therefore, when the impediment to speech (arched tongue) was not longer there, the sound was conveyed WITH THE EXTRA EFFORT.
If you lose you voice, don't try to force a hush, it will damage it all the more as it is a taxing exercise on the voice. Just rest it totally for 24 hours, carry a note pad, warm your voice up gently later, and start with gentle humming noises before speaking normally again. In case of inflammation, use fresh pineapple as it carries bromelain (anti-inflammatory).
This has definitely made me gain a deeper understanding of my voice, so much to explore ... that is not far away at all!
