Wednesday
8th March
Today we were focusing on looking at the different
techniques, exercises and activities we can carry out to warm up our bodies
ready for voice production.
Firstly we looked at warming the muscles up. We started
by standing on one foot, circling our foot from the ankle, then from the knee
and then from the hip. Then, repeat on the other leg. We also patted our muscles
gently so that the blood could flow to them faster. We started at the feet and gently
patted up the legs, to the stomach and up to the shoulders. We then went down
each arm and lastly finished by patting the face. This should then create a
tingly feeling around the body because the blood is now flowing faster to these
parts of the body.
Next we carried out some stretches. The first one that we
did was a side stretch. This is when we lean to one side and bring the arm up
above the head. We then carried out another stretch where we leaned forward to
create a table top with our backs. To make the stretch harder, we placed our
arms out in front of us so that they are parallel to the ground.
We then moved onto the intercostal diaphragmatic
breathing exercise. This is when we breathe in for 4 counts, hold for 6 and breathe
out for 12. If I was running a warmup with a group who have never done this
exercise before, I would only get them to breathe out for 8 counts because it
is easier.
The last part of the warmup is to carry out diction and
travelling exercises. We ran through the diction exercises which we normally
carry like such as ‘pah, tah, kah’ and a few tongue twisters. Once we have had
good practice of these exercises, we can then start to apply these to our
performance material.
Wednesday
15th March
To start off the lesson we had a warmup which was led by
Mikey. Firstly we had a full body shake just to get the muscles a bit warm and
loose. We then went on to do the intercostal diaphragmatic breathing exercise.
For this we breathed in for 4, held for 6 and breathed out for 12. This was
then followed by the extension of this exercise which is the abdominal press. This
is when we breathe in for 4 counts but these are individual breaths instead of
one long breath. We then hold for 6 and then breathe out for 12 where for 8 of
these counts we breathe out for 8 separate breaths and then for the last 4
counts we breathe out in one longer breath. The final exercise which we carried
out was the tongue twisters and diction exercises. We firstly started with ‘pah,
tah, kah’ carrying on with ‘mah, nah, lah’ and ‘thah, vah, zah’. We then went
onto some tongue twisters.
For the rest of the lesson I concentrated on learning and
practicing my duologue. I will be performing this duologue at the end of the
year with Angel. This duologue is called ‘Split down the middle’ and was
written by David Campton. I am already familiar with this duologue as I have
had the script for quite a while. I have now started to add some more
expression to my lines as I do not have to concentrate on reading the script.
At the start of the duologue, my line is ‘HOOT, HOOT, HOOT’. For this, I lean
over the boat, put my hand to my mouth and sound desperate when I am calling
for help.
My target for the next lecture is to earn some more of
the lines of the duologue and to start to add more expression into my lines.
Tuesday 31st January
Today we went to Brecon in Wales to visit Theatr Brycheiniog. We were going to Brecon to visit the theatre and to perform some pieces that we had prepared to perform in front of a professional practitioner. This enabled me to gain a new skill as I have not performed in front of a professional practitioner before.
When we arrived at the theatre, we were greeted by the theatre development manager Martin Green who we were going to be working with all day. He gave us a talk about the theatre, what his job role is and what we would be doing throughout the day. Once we had finished the talk, we went for a tour around the theatre. I found this quite interesting as I have performed in theatres before and tours of a few too. After the tour we headed into the performance studio where we would be performing our poems and monologues. Before performing my poem I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be. I managed to stay calm and remember all of the corrections and feedback that I had been given about my poem throughout the past few performing arts sessions. Here is a link to the video of me performing my poem:
After my poem, I was given some feedback from Martin which is also shown in the video. I felt like I performed the poem well because of the feedback that I was given from Martin. The main thing that I was focusing on whilst performing was the pace and when I was given feedback, Martin said that I did this very well.
Here is a link to the group having a discussion with Martin after we had all performed our monologues and poems:
In the video he gives us some useful tips as an actor who is going in for any audition.
Voice
production
Through understanding the process of voice production techniques,
I am able to connect with the exercises that are involved in learning these
techniques. The process of voice production is actually quite simple and goes
as follows:
When humans breathe normally, they do something called
clavicular breathing (shallow breathing). Intercostal diaphragmatic breathing
is a different way of breathing which you can learn by carry out regular
practice.
Intercostal diaphragmatic breathing exercise – when we
inhale normally, the lungs fill with air and the ribs don’t expand. However,
when we carry out the intercostal diaphragmatic breathing exercise, the lungs
are filled deeper with air and the ribs expand. We call this rib swinging. The
diaphragm, which causes us to breathe, pulls down as we inhale and then pushes
up as we exhale. The diaphragm can be likened to a mushroom as it has a domed
top and a stalk underneath. Essentially the diaphragm contracts and releases
with inhalation and exhalation.
As the air passes up from the lungs through trachea, it
enters the larynx (voice box or vocal folds/cords) where the timbre i.e. tone of
the voice is shaped. When the vocal cords are loose, it creates a low sound and
when the vocal cords are tight, this produces a high sound. It then passes into
the mouth where the sound is shaped. The sound is shaped in the mouth by the
articulators which are the tongue, teeth, lips, hard and soft palate. The sound
is shaped by one of the articulators which stops the sound. For example, when
we produce a ‘t’ sound, the tongue and the hard palate are used because the
tongue touches the hard palate to make the sound by stopping it. Resonators are
also important during voice production. These make sure that the sound is being
carried. Examples of resonators are the cheek bones, nasal cavity, forehead and
chest.
Wednesday 5th April
Today I led a voice warmup for a group of students in the
learning and leisure performing arts group. The warmup that I carried out with
the students consisted of a general body warmup, breathing exercises and then
some tongue twisters. Here is a link to a video of me leading the warmup for
the other students:
Overall I think that the warmup went well because the
students said that they all felt warm after the warmup. Also, I remembered to
warmup all of the different parts of the body. The feedback that I got from the
students was that they enjoyed it because there were exercises in this warmup
that they had never done before and it was nice to try something different.
