Miss Pronunciation XVII

Miss Pronunciation on Tenderness.....

Nothing like being treated tenderly, but if someone is keeping you on ‘tenderhooks’ they’ve got the wrong end of the stick.

The word is 'tenterhooks' (with a 't') and they are frames for stretching fabric out to stop it from shrinking or creasing while it dries. The meaning, of course, is to be left in a state of agitation while waiting for something uncertain.

To brighten your day - here is a great treatment of tenderness, by Electric Mayhem with the ever magnificent front man, Dr. Teeth.

Muscle Memory Part 1

Last week I wept for an actor I know very well. I wept for her as she performed. I wept because a year previously she had had technique, power and connection. I wept because she had lost it. I wept because we had worked so hard together.

Let’s face it: a lot of voice work is about repetition.

Voice training..... we’re trying to unlock muscle memory, to increase muscularity, to encourage muscles to engage automatically to serve impulse, instead of cerebral will.

This takes time, patience and repetition.

How often do you hear me say “Nothing in voice ever happened fast”?

I’ve been shocked lately by the amount of actors I’ve had through my studio who have lost their technique because they don’t have me on their back for a weekly class....even after giving them an easier and less time consuming way to do things (see Beating Voice Guilt).

Laziness is laziness folks, let’s call it what it is.

Equally shocking are the amount of actors coming through who have had so long to prepare auditions and dare to assume that one voice lesson will provide their magic pill. I can give you some useful advice - you might retain 50% of this in your audition. You won’t be any better at your craft in the long term.

This vocation is labelled a ‘discipline’ for a reason.

You can sense something is wrong: the voice is not responding to situations as it used to.

You wouldn’t walk into a gym after a six month break and expect to leg-press your best ever weight. Voice is no different.

If you’re living under the pressures of everyday life, you can in fact, expect an unchecked voice to regress.

You can have oodles of talent and all the cerebral knowledge in the world, but unless the voice and movement technique is part of your fibre, it will let you down, it will not respond to impulse and it will strangle the truth that might otherwise flourish.

A knowledge of this work is simply not enough. I’ve given you the tools you need.

Please don’t make me weep.

(To be Continued.....)

Miss Pronunciation XVI

Miss Pronunciation Prefers Salads Un-tossed

With so much Margaret Fulton love floating in the air, you may have noticed Miss Pronunciation has a little fixation on food.....

But keeping it healthy, today we're talking salads.

Summer's coming up, and there's nothing nicer that a fresh Niçoise salad ......... there's also nothing nicer than hearing it pronounced correctly: nɪː swɑːz (nee-swaahz).

It can be difficult to adopt words of French origin into an English sentence without sounding a little bit like a tosser..... so go easy on the accent.

Oh, and to avoid toss-dom: book tickets to Margaret Fulton: Queen of the Dessert, or miss out on some really amazing voice work, as well as a look at one amazing trail-blazing woman.

Ripe Nuts......

“Words of no beauty, interest, or significance themselves, it will be conceded, but now so plumped out with meaning that they fell like ripe nuts from a tree.......”  from Orlando by Virginia Woolf

Why are we shy when it comes to owning our language in this country?

Sure, we make shapes that are flatter in the tongue, more strained at the lips, dropped of soft palate......

But why be ashamed? .....even after training to open our sound up for maximum resonance and volume, are we afraid of investing in our language in a more visceral manner?

I’ll explain: I’ve attended several plays lately in which the actors take on multiple accents. They switch from a standard clear Australian to a light Received Pronunciation (that’s an open English sound in which the vowels very individually shaped).

During the Australian parts, how can I put it? I was bored. Bored out of my wits. And frustrated.

“What are these actors not using their language? Why are they not connecting with breath? Opening their mouths? Letting me into this amazing text?”.

They then changed to RP.

Surprise!

All of a sudden jaws flew open, pitches became flexible, resonances were present, breath was connected.

How incredibly frustrating.

Do we have so little faith in the sounds of our own accent that we have to take on another to really let the voice fly?

No. No. NO!

Take the language. Own the language. It may be called “English” but it is not the possession of that nationality.

Don’t shy away from your sounds. Connect with the richness and, indeed, take advantage of our lovely flat tongued sound for optimum resonance.

Shakespeare was never originally performed in RP - RP never existed at that point. It was performed in the local dialects of the time (you can find some great information here) and those actors had to REALLY OWN it to compete in their own theatre space with the rabble below.

Stop apologising for your sounds, folks. Open your mouths in the way you’ve all been trained to and let those Aussie vowels pour forth......

Miss Pronunciation XV

Not only has the accepted pronunciation of this word changed over the years, so too has the usage.

We're talking AMATEUR.

It should be pronounced as follows in the most correct form: am-e-te; or (easier to get onto the page in phonetics) æmətə.

Although this is the most correct pronunciation, it certainly would not be incorrect to pronounce it as amat-yure (æmətjə) or if you have a particularly lazy articulators, ama-chure (æmətʃə).

I've often heard the word used as some kind of insult - especially in this industry - however, always remember that the true meaning is that of someone who engages in a pursuit on an unpaid basis and even for the enjoyment and love of said pursuit.

That's pretty much all of us from time to time, no?

Miss Pronunciation XIV

Miss Pronunciation Bakes Up A Storm

 Things are hotting up in the kitchen for the opening of Margaret Fulton: Queen of the Dessert and Miss Pronunciation is sticking to the theme.

Her lovely friend and favourite artist, Ms. Lamb - of American-Australian heritage, has queried the following:

Scone - does it rhyme with Joan or John?
 

Both are deemed acceptable; however (yes, there is always an however), were I to be quite precise, in a 1998 poll 65% of British English speakers preferred the John version, with the rest preferring Joan.

Take your pick, Ms. Lamb! Just remember to follow Margaret Fulton’s advice “For soft scones, wrap in a tea towel as soon as they come from oven. For crusty scones, do not wrap, cool slightly on a wire rack”.

Don't miss out on tickets for this stunning show opening soon at Theatre Works. Book Here.

Miss Pronunciation XIII

With Compliments from Miss P.

 

This pronunciation quite often crosses my threshold.

It’s one of those tricky American English v. British English pronunciations. A simply four letter word:

WITH

Gen. American prefers wɪθ (unsounded at the end) whilst British English favours carrying the vibe all the way through the word.

For mine, unless you’re playing an American, stick to the vibration (wɪð) especially if you’re just starting to experiment with your voice, as this will assist in maintaining your underpinning resonance.

Exploration and Curiosity

Theatre is a constant exploration - it is not a blueprint. The idea that something can be ‘blocked’ becomes increasingly repulsive to me when I see the way in which actors are hindered by this. It is the thing that turns me off many of the big productions (eg. ‘blueprint musicals’) that are identical in all aspects, regardless of continent or culture. It is turning us into stupid creatures that  long for the spectacular and are always longing for a grander set, more spectacular costumes, rather than an examination of the human condition.
  
As an audience member I pay for that exploration, I demand exploration.
 
Exploration of the space, the voice, the body within the context of the text - and that exploration can only come from a sense and discipline of curiosity.
 
Here’s the rub: curiosity cannot be turned on and off at will. It is not something that one can simply turn up a notch at show time. It must be present with us in all aspects of training, rehearsal and - as artists - life.
It is as important to train actors to be curious in every aspect of life as it is to train them in technique. I’d go as far to say that a major part of technique IS curiosity.
 
 The beauty of encouraging and training actors to be curious is that it then perpetuates that all important exploration. It will pervade every movement, every word and breath - because here it sits naturally and at home.

4 Ways to Encourage your Curiosity:
1. During your voice and body routine, try to notice something new/different in every exercise you do.
2. When you hear a word that is unfamiliar to you, look it up and start using it!
3. Question all that you a being taught - don’t take a particular point of view for granted - explore the possibilities for yourself. Don’t think you HAVE TO reach a conclusion.
4. Vocally explore your body and space minus a sense - for example, with a blindfold on or earplugs in. Find a different sensory perspective.

Miss Pronunciation XII

Miss Pronunciation is Tickled Pink!

Here’s one: short and sweet - ticklish.....examine it carefully.....

I know: There’s no sound between the ‘k’ and the ‘l’!

What would lead us to pop one in? Hmmmm? Now, Miss P, is never one to put the spelling before the pronunciation, but here is a clear case of an extra vowel (a schwa) being popped in for jollies.

So instead of being ‘tick-e-lish’,  you’re simply ‘tick-lish’.

Summer Early Bird Rates (available until November 25):

Private Voice Series

Accents and Dialects

Shakespeare Series 

(in Conjunction with Present Tense)

A Language Invasion - Or Is It?

I’ve been pondering this subject for quite some time and last night during a post rehearsal discussion, things really came to a head as I discussed pronunciation with the director:

ME: This is an Australian musical. We say half (h-AH-f) not haff. It really should be sung that way.

DIRECTOR: No, we sing ‘haff’. Look at so many of the the great Australian singers - they all head that way.

Now, like it or lump it, this is generally true (with the exception of Mr. Warlow and various others who will sing what is thoroughly ‘accent appropriate’ at all times).

....But how far into our lives and how quickly do we accept a changing pronunciation? What has to be the proportion of people using it before it becomes the accepted standard? One of the beauties of the English tongue is its ability to adapt and move with the times....but how fast should it move along? Or are we working during a time of ultra-hasty language transition due to globalisation?

I’m certainly not suggesting we set up a language authority akin to the L'Académie française where all language must be officially approved. At the same time, I’m receiving a groundswell of young actors walking into my studio throwing around their NOOZ (news) and WORI (worry) left, right and centre.

Do I simply throw my hands up in the air, defeated and admit that ‘yes, this is fine - I accept this shift in the language’ OR do I ‘correct’ them?

Is this ignorance, a generational dialect or a significant shift in our language?

At the moment I’m working on a case by case basis, depending on the context. I’ll inform the individual of the alternative pronunciation, and let them do the choosing in their day-to-day speech. All very P.C., I know. One must summon a great deal of self control to push the pronunciation police to the rear of my mind and stop them from screaming  “It’s N-Y-OOZ, not NOOZ”.

I hear constant critisism of the “Americanisation” of English, but you’ll hear the different pronunciations I’ve set out here in half a dozen British dialects....which begs the question: is what I’m addressing a new pop-culture accent? One that is accepted by many, understood and growing rapidly in use? Or is it a sign of a cultural cringe toward our own Australian accent and a yearning for a greater acceptance in the global marketplace?

In the case at hand, we were discussing pronunciation during singing so there are other factors to take into account: Do we want the twang of ‘æ’ (as in ‘apple’) or the open resonance of ‘aː’ (as in balm); Are we going stylistically Broadway?; Are we being consistent with the spoken text?

Whatever it is, if we understand it, if we have flexibility to use the alternative where appropriate  and the intention behind it is clear, does it really matter?

Surely as a Theatre Voice Coach it is not up to me to police or become guardian of the language, but to make sure it is reflected correctly within the context it is being used.

In 30 years time will I be telling actors “It’s NOOZ, not N-Y-OOZ”?

Vocal Cringe

I’m working with a truly magnificent actor at the moment. She’s making steady progress and all of the elements are coming together. Like most of my private students, she records our sessions to use later as a reference. I say:

- Hey, when you are listening back to that, I want you to specifically hear the difference in resonance between that first try and the second one.

I then see it. It’s the cringe - that shrinking down of the neck like a turtle withdrawing into a shell, that grimace, that tightening of the throat. I say:

- Don’t do that! I want you to listen purely for comparison of what those two different shapes achieve.

But it’s too late. The simple mention of listening back to her voice made her want to run from the room, screaming!

What is that?

VOICE LOVE VS. CRINGE

The first question I ask a new student is this:

- What do you love about your voice?

....followed by......

- What would you like to change about your voice?

Every time, I have to prod and poke to get an answer on the first question......while the answers to the second are usually numerous and (9/10 times) ridiculous things they have been told by past directors/acting coaches.

Why do we willingly hate the sound of our own voices?

Our voices reflect who we truly are - they’re like a passport covered in stamps of where we have been, both geographically and emotionally. This makes us vulnerable, it makes us compare them to other voices, it makes us undermine the confidence in the thing that is arguably the most expressive outlet we have.

And when this thing is criticised, we really take it to heart....we start to believe it. My voice is too high, my voice is squeaky, my accent is too strong.....the list could go on and on and on.......

STEPPING BACK FROM THE PRECIPICE OF VOCAL CRINGE:

It’s so important to give your voice some love, and here are some ways you might be able to change your view on the thing that is most reflective of you:

1. Sit down and write a list of 5 things you LOVE about your voice. NOW.

2. If you’re having voice doubts or a director/lecturer is giving you vague voice instruction, book a session with a voice professional - they’ll be able to put it into terms you understand and can act upon.

3. Examine your goals - beware of going for the 'voice beautiful' and steer towards the voice healthy, sustainable, open and flexible.

4. Your accent is part of who you are - don’t force another accent (this used to often be done at drama schools), head for a more open and flexible version of you, and a greater understanding of how your own accent is configured.

5. Find a POSITIVE voice mantra (it might be one of your points from the initial list) and write it down, repeat it, use it when facing someone critical.

6. Warm up your voice & support system daily and give it a fighting chance to be the very best it can be.

7. Examine other performers that have amazingly unique voices that have become their brand: Sean Connery, Bernadette Peters, Joan Rivers, Jane Horrocks, Michael Jackson, Bryan Brown, Fran Drescher, Alan Rickman......

If you have a story of voice love/cringe or can suggest an actor with a unique voice, add to comments......

Trust

The Mirror Cracked from Side to Side!

I meet many voices in my line of work. Tired ones, timid ones, exuberant ones. Voices that inflect upwards, pitch downwards and drive through. Every voice makes me so incredibly excited at the prospect of new possibilities, new explorations and new revelations.

Sometimes a voice makes me incredibly sad. It’s never the quality of the voice that does this - we all come to this work at different levels. 

This sadness comes from witnessing a speaker’s relationship with his voice.

The voice is a great revealer.

It is the first thing to indicate sickness, tension, excitement, background, confidence....the list could go on.......

It is also one of the first things we lose faith in.

How many times have I heard “I hate the sound of my voice”?

How many times have I heard “(Insert lecturer’s/director’s name here) says my voice should be more like (insert famous actor’s name here)”?

And where does this start?......:

How many times have I heard a mother say to a child

- Just sit there and be quiet. Shoosh!!?

I want to shout

-Lady! You’re undermining that child’s ability to connect with his voice

She'd think I was mad. I probably am.

Instead I turn to my daughter (Miss Pronunciation) and loudly request her to order her babycino in her best Dory-speaking-whale voice, sing with me as we walk down the supermarket aisle, or do Sarah Wilmot’s famous Snitchy Ladies voice exercise. I’m not having any of that silly quiet business. If I wanted quiet I wouldn’t have had a child.

That shooshy mother comes in a variety of forms causing us to doubt our voices: the poorly designed costumes that are so tight that the body loses trust in how we breathe; voices that are under-trained and overused so one cannot trust the little power they did have; actors that are so unused to being allowed to experiment with their voicesunder poor direction that they lose trust in their ability to vocally play......

Now I’m not one to oft quote pop-culture but Lady Gaga once said “Trust is like a mirror, you can fix it if it's broken, but you can still see the crack in that mother fucker's reflection.”

Lady Gaga - you might be on crazy gal, but you’re right: that crack takes an awful lot of sealing/healing. Laying yourself bare to the truth in front of an audience is an awfully difficult thing to do if there is a fracture in your vocal trust.

Miss Pronunciation XI

Please don't hate me for this one.

It’s a pronunciation that simply polarises people.

LIBRARY.

The absolute correct pronunciation is ˈlai-brər-ɪ - that’s right - 3 syllables.

It is awkward to pronounce the two r sounds on either side of the ə in the second syllable which is unstressed and this makes us tend to drop the syllable completely, cutting straight to the third. Doing this IS NOT INCORRECT - it is what we call a reduced pronunciation.

Another thing that is confusing is that in Standard American English, the second syllable is stressed instead of the first (li-BRAR-i  - say it out loud and you’ll hear the difference) and this also tends to change the vowel sound from a schwa (ə) to ɛ or e.

So it’s all really a matter of stress and precision. Either pronunciation is fine for everyday use: as always, be sensitive to the text if you stumble across it and decide which version might be appropriate.

Beating Voice Guilt

 'The worst guilt is to accept an unearned guilt' - Ayn Rand

 

Some might see performance as a kind of religion. We have the discipline, the theatre of it all, the regalia, the customs and, of course, the gods.

One thing we should not have is the guilt.

Over the years I have discovered you folk like to beat yourself up over the things that do happen, don’t happen, won’t happen, are going to happen, might happen, have no chance of happening and happen when you least expect.

Seattle's Bubble Gum Wall

Worrying and creating guilt within yourself for not addressing voice time is about as 'effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum' (if you listen to Baz)....and in my opinion, simply not worth it.

Let’s face it: feeling guilty is only going to create a sense of repulsion to the task at hand. We’re going to procrastinate....and whilst the house may get tidy and the emails answered, our voice technique is not going to improve. Sometimes, you may even lie to your voice coach....and trust me we can tell........

I’m not using busy-ness as an excuse, but lets examine some of the ways in which we might alleviate the guilt by allowing voice time into our everyday activities and lessening the burden of 'practice time'**:

1. Set your phone alarm 5 times a day and when it goes off check your jaw is not locked, do a spinal roll, lift your soft palate......hell, anything that you’re challenged by. It will help your exercises become technique.

2. Blu-tac some exercise sheets on the outside of your glass shower screen facing in and have some time in the shower. As well as giving yourself voice space, you’ll also benefit from the steam. Great for resonance work too.

3. What can you do silently on the tram in the morning? Tongue work with the mouth closed, soft palate work, silent breath work..........and in the car, you don't even have to worry about noise.....

4. Read the morning paper out loud at the breakfast table. As well as creating conversation, you can really give your voice a great start to the day by waking up your pitches, articulators and connecting to your breath.

5. Got 20 minutes - reset your body with a good dose of semi-supine....a great silent one if you’re on set or working in an office......

6. Have time to watch TV? Do some silent breath work whilst watching or get up and do one exercise in every add break. Even better - turn that thing off and give yourself some real space!

7. Do you exercise in the morning? Stretch out those inter-costals as part of your stretches.....by increasing your capacity first thing, you’ll also get more out of your exercise session.

8. Employ your voice time into your everyday speech...we cannot have a voice for inside the performance space and one for outside. Don’t try to fool yourself by employing an “acting voice” during your voice sessions! We can see straight through this.

9. If all else fails and you’re just too exhausted, look up a good voice article online by Patsy Rodenberg or at www.theatrevoice.com - at least you can get some new ideas and inspiration to drive you forward tomorrow......

There are plenty more things I could advise you to do. Use your imagination and see what you can come up with.

Most of all, if it doesn’t happen in one day, or two or three even, DON’T FEEL GUILTY! Just try one of these things tomorrow and see how easy it can be to get back on track. 

**Ultimately, a dedicated time is going to provide you with the focus your artistry requires (see my blog on Space) ...... most of these suggestions will apply to creating excellent muscular habits.

Miss Pronunciation X

Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend.......

...........and Miss Pronunciation is very fond of flashy bijoux, especially the kind that comes from a plastic egg. She much prefers that over Mummy’s boring pearls.....

So I’m focusing on the often mispronounced word ‘JEWELRY’ (U.S) or ‘JEWELLERY’ (B).

Don’t skip straight to the the L making the pronunciation ‘JOOLRY’ - it’s pure laziness and you’re not giving this wonderful, meaty word the weight it deserves.

It can be pronounced properly either of the following ways:

dʒuː ͜  əlrɪ  or (as in British English) dʒuː ͜  ələrɪ. The move from the 'OO' sound to the shwa gives you a lovely little hint of 'w' - almost feels like you're kissing the sound.......

If you want it to remain your best friend, don’t be lazy and give it the respect it deserves......

Miss Pronunciation IX

Miss Pronunciation is a Goody Two Choux **

 It was the choice between the potato salad and the.........what? The WHAT? Did you really say that?

Dare I?

The coldslaw.......

I couldn’t work out if I was choosing between a form of herpes or a side dish.

It’s coleslaw - it originally comes from the Dutch “Koolsla” or “Koolsalade” meaning cabbage salad. Taking this into account, one can see how cold might be thrown into the mix.

However, it remains that the correct pronunciation stands without a ‘d’: kɒɫsɫɔː .

**Incidentally, my good and very clever friend Elinor has a theory about the phrase "Goody Two Shoes": in French it is popular to call someone dear to you "Chou Chou" (ʃuː ʃuː)  as in "cabbage" (aaaah, my little cabbage). It's far sexier in a French accent. So someone always dear to or held in favour by another might be labelled a Goody two Choux. I like this explanation.

Quality vs. Quantity

I constantly see performers struggle in keeping up excellent personal voice practice. Think you need a good hour? Two? 

You're mistaken and it comes down to one thing:

Truffles Anyone?

My father wisely taught me this lesson when I was young: Go for quality and you’ll never be sorry.

I apply this to many areas in my life: my shoes, food, education (also, my husband would like me to make special mention of him here); but none more so than my voice work.

I’m busy, so busy thanks to my wonderful and ever growing flock of students, and so I have learned to use my time wisely.

Here are several ways you to turn your short voice sessions (either daily routine or warm-up) into quality time:

A Good Focus:
So you have 20 minutes** set aside? Spend the first 3 minutes focusing your senses and you’ll get more from the remaining 17 than you might imagine. Also, tailor this focus to the area you are particularly addressing today. (For more info on this, contact me)

Clear your Space:
I learned from the wonderful Bryce Ives that a clear space is necessary to create art. Get rid of the crap surrounding you, this includes bags, mess and general paraphernalia. If at home, light a candle or two, welcome your art by giving it some respect and space. Get rid of any white noise. And, for goodness sake, turn off your phone and computer - they will only serve to distract you.

Challenge Yourself:
It is really easy to work on all the things we are good at - and we just roll along in a world of bliss and good vibration - but you’ll never actually improve. Put in some of the hard yards. Don’t flounder - have a clear, concise and progressive plan.

Bring Enjoyment Into your Session:
Enjoy yoga? Doing Zen Zen Zo? Love your Alexander or Feldenkrais technique? Well, combine it into your voice session and reap the benefits.

Morning Papers:
For those not familiar with The Artist’s Way, you might want to look it up. Morning papers are part of this amazing program....they manage to halt that invasion of crap that interferes with one’s head at the most inappropriate times and also may help you to structure your warm ups to be more effective within your overall artistry.

Last of all......
Enjoy this time with yourself. You work hard for it and it will only make you a stronger and more flexible artist.

**I’m not putting a time estimate on your voice work. I can manage a good one in 20 minutes, but we all work at various rhythms and this can vary widely according to circumstances.

Miss Pronunciation VIII

An Olympic Disaster

McGuire & Co. - it may be that I am forced to watch the Olympics via your hideously over commercialised channel, but I shouldn’t be forced to listen to such slovenly pronunciation.

If one more of your crew describes an olympian's campaign as disas-TER-ous, I’m boycotting.

You’re adding an extra syllable - the word is disastrous (dɪzaːstrəs or dəzaːstrəs).

Quite frankly, I find it disastrous that other more worthy media outlets are having to resort to demonstrating races using LEGO figurines: http://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/olympicsnow/la-sp-on-usain-bolt-gold-100-20120807,0,1878460.story

Cute, but a disastrous outcome for an event that is supposed to be for the people.

Miss Pronunciation VII

Miss Pronunciation gets wired.....

I do realise this is the second Miss P. to deal with the art of speaking about coffee - but this is Melbourne after all.

I prefer a flat white, by the way. And, for anyone who wants to take Miss P. out - she prefers a babycino with marshmallows.

However, should you wish to go for a strong brew, you might like a percolated coffee.

And there is is: percolate (pɜ:kəleɪt).

It is not perk-YU-late, as in peculiar.

Take your coffee however you like, but there it is.

Emotion

Emotion.

Emotion.

Emotion.

Sigh.

Always.

        The same

                    Question:

           
            How do I get emotion into my voice?

Sigh.

I question you:

        Why are you targeting emotion? When you speak in everyday life are you aiming to create an emotion for yourself * ? OR are you aiming to achieve something?

That’s another kettle of fish....exactly the kettle and exactly the fish you need to be investing your time into: Intention.

Emotion. Sigh.

In life I want or need to do something (my objective).

There are an unlimited series of actions I might follow trying to achieve this (intentions/actions).

The emotion I feel is a symptom or a product of me either achieving this thing (maybe relieved), not achieving this thing (maybe disappointed) or achieving something else entirely all together (maybe surprise) **.

Why on earth are you treating your acting any differently?

Aim to achieve something - an intention that is firmly rooted in your breath. The emotion will come and it will surprise you if you have opened your body to it.

Emotion is the symptom - the destination - not the journey.


* Yes - admittedly as a teenage drama queen (it lasted well into my 20s) I did. But on the whole as a functioning human being, is this standard?

**The problem is sometimes emotion is blocked. Physically or mentally. This is the reason we train....it is to avoid these blockages occurring and undo the existing. That IS another kettle of fish.

Miss Pronunciation VI

This one comes courtesy of my wonderful colleague and friend across the ditch, Kirstie O'Sullivan.

We trained together and I quite possibly learned more about the kind of teacher - and person - I wanted to be from her, than I did through my official training.

Enough of the gushing.

I never forget when I am corrected on pronunciation - and I am always gracious when this happens - how else does one learn?

Remuneration. Read it slowly. Yes. I know it's about numbers, but the M comes BEFORE the N.

Quite often I hear this pronounced as re-NUM-eration (rɪːnjuːməreɪʃ^ən). I did myself until the divine Ms. O. pointed out the fault.

Please. Similar to the post regarding 'UTMOST' - don't manipulate the pronunciation of the word to fit the sense.

It's re-MUN-eration - rɪːmjuːnəreɪʃ^ən.

Miss Pronunciation V

Miss Pronunciation with Utmost Respect.......

It was only last week..... it stopped me in my tracks:

- I have the UP-MOST respect for him.

This happens a lot. We change the pronunciation of a word to logically make it fit the meaning.

I have the UTmost respect for this crazy language; thus I throw you this tidbit (or 'titbit' if you're going with the classic British pronunciation):

Please don't replace consonant sounds with others just to please some rational explanation you have regarding a word. This is not a rational language and one cannot attempt to make it so.

Just accept.

Miss P. will continue in this vein next week.......

Inspiration

I was looking for inspiration for my blog this week. I was busy. Really busy. And I thought:

- What was the most inspiring thing that happened to me lately?

Nothing huge, nothing sensational. And then I thought:

- Anna. Stop looking for the huge, the sensational. What were the little things that jumped on your diaphragm and just took your breath away?


Here are the things that affected my breath this week:

1. Leading students to breathe for the first time at the and seeing their faces as they discovered they could.

2. Watching a student reach the heights of exploration during performance, not knowing where her breath would take her.

3. A woman nearly backing into me in the car park.

4. My daughter running with her shoelace undone.

5. The silhouette of this beautiful city as I drove towards her down a long highway.

6. Breathtakingly brilliant dinner conversation with some pretty special theatre folk.

7. A photo of a very handsome rugby player texted to my by my friend Simon......

8. Stubbing my toe.

9. Receiving a long-awaited parcel in the mail.


10. A phone ringing during one of my classes (not mine - and whoever you are, you still owe us a packet of snakes).

11. Every word falling out of the face of a Shakespeare scholar I shared a bottle of bubbles with.

12. Rigorous argument with a colleague I respect very much.

13. Discussion of a business idea that seems too big to comprehend.

14. My phone going off in a class (there is a first time for everything).


    It is no coincidence that the word inspiration means to both to breathe in and to be stimulated to do or feel something.......

They are ultimately one and the same thing. Our breath reacts to the stimulation of everything we do and want to do (intentions folks). If you really take the time to LISTEN TO and OBSERVE your breath, you will find you are able to really live in those moments of life that you have hitherto glanced over. You'll take in colours, smells, textures that you would have taken for granted.

And it is this specificity that we must bring to our acting. Where is the breath of that character at every moment, heightened or not. And how does the rest of the body, the voice and therefore the text respond to that breath?

With the inspiration comes truth.

With the inspiration comes life.

Miss Pronunciation IV

Miss Pronunciation, etc.

Over used and wildly (and widely) mispronounced as EX-SETERA

Yes - this little Latin expression is actually two words:

Et = and
Cetera = the rest

We may have contracted it down to three letters and a punctuation mark in writing (etc.), however it remains:

ET-SETERA (ɛt sɛtərə)

noʊ ɪfs, ændz ɔː bʌts!

Miss Pronunciation III

 

Pronunciation Express

 It’s a coffee driven city, this Lady Melbourne.......

And you might wish to order a coffee.

This in no way gives you the right to ask for an EX-presso.

You might want an ES-presso (ɛsprɛsoʊ).

You might want it fast.

But it still remains an espresso.

That’s all.

Space

          

Luminescent Space by FirstLight Studios

                        ‘Words need space!’ - Bill Pepper, Voice coach and Head of Voice, NIDA 1995-2010.

 

.........He wasn’t wrong. This was the catch cry during my own voice training. It managed to invade my own vernacular in the same way I find myself sounding like my mother: I'm always surprised by it - but it always makes sense.

It wasn’t until I started working under the Artistic Director of Present Tense Theatre, Bryce Ives, several years later that I understood a wider application and gained a greater appreciation of Bill’s wise words. So here is my exploration of voice and space.


Space: a continuous area or expanse that is free, available, or unoccupied

This literally applies to the space we give in the body to our sound. An open and unrestricted vocal tract, space in the mouth so that the articulators can do their duty, space for the lungs to expand. A place that is free and available for the sound to occupy and resonate.

This also applies to the focus one must find before doing any kind of voice work. To put all else aside, exist within the walls of the physical space and dedicate the self absolutely to the task at hand. To be free and available and unoccupied to respond to the text or other stimulus.


Space: the freedom and scope to live, think, and develop in a way that suits an individual

Accepting impulses and being able to really find a free and natural voice means finding space. This is not meant in terms of wide open fields, but a more quiet and positively charged space that comes from and inner strength that we develop as artists.


Space: The environment in which we work as artists

At the drama schools I lecture at there is a tradition of first years cleaning the space in which they learn. With bucket and sponge. And elbow grease. This is not some kind of punishment, as much as some of the actors cry foul for a while. It leads to a respect for the space to which they are bringing themselves as artists. It leads to an intimacy with the space in which they know every knot of wood in the floor or slight elevation. It allows them to breathe in the smells and take in textures that they would otherwise have never explored.

Importantly, it allows them to resonate with the space through a very physical process.

And one needs clear space.......my students know better than to leave their bits and pieces lying around. One can’t resonate in a space full of mobile phones, bags and other paraphernalia. One can’t bring themselves in a free and available and unoccupied way to a space that is filled with clutter. 


Space: the near vacuum extending between the planets and stars, containing small amounts of gas and dust.

- In space, no one can hear you scream.

Yes, I’m referencing Alien.

There’s no sound in space. At least that’s what I’m told.

That's all.


Space: The distance between one point and another.

Words carry thoughts. They must hit a target. Like an arrow released. Or the thought is wasted - the words have no weight. And once they land they need time/space for absorption and reflection.


Space: an interval of time (often used to suggest that the time is short, considering what has happened or been achieved in it).

Constantly the cry goes up in my studio:

- Nothing in good voice practice ever happened fast!

Quite often I am working with a client to undo more than 20 years of accumulated habits.

If you want a quick fix for aesthetic purposes, it generally won’t make it’s way into muscle memory and you’ll lose it under pressure. Excellent vocal technique and health take time and patience and a whole lot of space...............



Any thoughts on Space? If you’d like to elaborate just comment or email me.......

Miss Pronunciation II

Miss Pronunciation vs. Miss Chəf

Mischievous - mɪstʃəvəs

Now we all know that  our language is a tricky customer, and using spelling for guidelines can be a dangerous thing. However, I hear people everywhere (including the ABC....shock horror!) pop an entire extra syllable in the middle of this naughty little adjective:

Mis-chee-VI-ous - mɪstʃiːvɪˌəs

Crazy! I was brought up on the latter - my world crumbled when I  discovered the truth of the matter..........but there you are.

Miss Pronunciation I

In honour of my 4 year old offspring, Miss Pronunciation, this is the first in a weekly series of pronunciation mishaps. If you have suggestions or queries, please send them in!

To premiere:


PRONUNCIATION - prənʌntsɪˌeɪʃ^ən

Every week without fail someone asks

- So, you teach pro-noun-ciation?

I politely smile.

- No. That's a very small part of my work......and it's pro-nun-ciation

That's right folks. ProNUNciation.  As in ladies, living in a convent, wearing habits.

Listening

 

     When I was pregnant I had ears in my belly. I laid in front of my stereo, belly button near the speaker playing the soundtrack to Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain, hoping that those growing bones would be nourished by listening to the glorious music of Yann Tiersen. 

I think it worked.

Listening is nourishment.


                 'All I want to see from an actor is the intensity and accuracy of their listening' - Alan Rickman

     As I explore voice in performance, the more I realise that being a good actor is more about actively listening than anything else. Listening and hearing. My good friend and colleague, Speech Pathologist Sarah Wilmot reminded me of a Kristen Linklater image just recently. That of the giant ear in the belly. I’d forgotten this little gem and have only just recently reintroduced into my practice.

     The concept of the ear in the belly: this is where you listen from. I’m constantly reminding my actors that this place, this pelvic bowl, this gut is where we genuinely hear things. We might verbally express grief or love as being affairs the heart, but it is in the belly that we really interact with that wrenching agony of despair or those thrilling butterflies of fresh love.

     If we put our ears, our giant ears in this place, we might just have a chance of bypassing the brain, that thing that I’m all too often asking actors to put out of the way.


                                             'Listen to many, speak to a few' - William Shakespeare

The aforementioned Sarah Wilmot exclaimed recently “Wouldn’t it be great if being well listened was held in as high esteem as being well read?”.

And it is not just voices we are listening for.

As a rule of thumb, I train my actors to listen to their space. Outside the space. The immediate space. Their bodies in the space. They have to be re-trained, as I had to. Generations of artists, so busy putting their goods out there that they forgot to listen. Imposing instead of resonating.

Listening allows us to welcome our space inside. In past our skin, in past the barriers we put up to protect ourselves. Right into our bellies. The core of oneself. With our space inside us, we are able to become the space. Resonating with instead of imposing upon. 


'If there were no poetry on any day in the world, poetry would be invented that day.  For there would be an intolerable hunger'  - Muriel Rukeyser

I take the concept of the ear in my belly into my life.  I devour rich, open, resonant voices. The symphonic orchestra is a provocative dégustation menu. I develop indigestion from the cheap fast food of television noise.

Encouraged, my gut reaction becomes stronger. It prevails over my finely trained and long instilled set of manners and habitual reactions. Listening through my belly, I can more easily ‘speak my mind’  - but it’s not my mind; it is my gut, my impulse........


I recently had another little set of ears in my belly. They were tiny, probably not even existent. I laid in front of my stereo, belly button near the speaker playing the soundtrack to Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain. I hoped that tiny soul would find nourishment in listening. Listening was the finest gift I could think of to give this tiny, helpless being before saying goodbye.

I think it worked.

Intention

                                Intention:  noun. f. volonté, désir. Avoir l’intention de. Projeter de.

    THE FIRST TIME I met my French husband’s family was daunting to say the least. I had to negotiate not only a language barrier, but an entire cultural barrier. A whole month of awkward dinners, lunches and (gulp!) petite-déjeuners.

    The first meal of the day was the most difficult. My sleeping log of a husband would wake at 10, whilst I was bright eyed and raring for a brioche by 6.30. This left me alone with his father, Hubert. He spoke no English.

    A humorous man, Hubert endeavored to tell me about the ducks outside the kitchen door. He quacked and pointed. And quacked again.

    From that moment on, our relationship consisted of a series of ‘quacks’. On the stairs as a form of ‘hello’. As ‘cheers!’ over a drink. It was our joke, our only verbal communication and the start of a wonderful relationship with mon Beau Père.

                           Intention: (usually plural) the goal with respect to a marriage proposal.

    MORE THAN SIX YEARS LATER, shift to Hungary for a wedding celebration, my four-year old daughter, Miss Pronunciation, decided she would play in French with her fellow bridesmaid. It was obvious the other children had no language in common with her and maybe she thought she’d play the part of United Nations.

    The adults at the wedding had a mixture of French, Hungarian, English, Italian, Spanish and (one scholar, Father of the groom) a smattering of Esperanto. We watched from small, linguistically distinct groups.

    The two small girls, with no verbal language in common, played and danced and shared the pride of being flower girls. Each spoke in their own tongue, gestured, joked, re-assured, laughed, constructed, role-played - developed their own version of ‘quacking’. It was joyful to watch.

                  Intention: an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions.

    LANGUAGE WITHIN ITSELF can accessorise thought, create intriguing patterns, hypnotise us, drive us forward; but it is not the words themselves that communicate the most important aspects of our relationships and our lives. It is the intention behind them. This is why so many actors who train their voices simply in terms of muscularity are the stage’s poor men. A connection is required. Intention. At all times. It is this intention that provides us with the impulse to speak, to kick the diaphragm into action.

    Working in this fashion does not lessen the physical aspect of the training - it enhances it. I have been training my actors now for two years in this method which is vastly different from what I was taught. From the very beginning. Train the body to connect with intention through every muscular movement, and you will train an actor who never fails to connect in performance.

    Dropping an intention into a released and open body and receiving a response is magic.

    This is what keeps me engaged when I watch an amazing Opera performed in Italian, subtitled in German - neither of which I understand. Performers so connected to their intention and need to communicate that their actions transcend all language barriers. I may not always know the small details, but I am absolutely fixated, connected for three hours.


    MY FRENCH is now conversational. I discuss complex issues in a very simple manner - probably a good habit to maintain. Needless to say, Hubert and I still have a good ‘quack’ every now and then for old times’ sake.

    ..........AND MISS PRONUNCIATION? As we prepared to depart the small Hungarian town for the capital the morning after the wedding, a phone call:

- Who’s that?

- Miss Pronunciation’s friend. She is crying that Miss P. is leaving.

Miss Pronunciation has made a friend for life through nothing else but playing her intentions.

Resonance

My resonating heel clicks ricochet off the walls - brittle ancient walls - as if they had ever not. But this is my first time in this far, foreign, decaying place. Resonating with the street, with the walls, delving into shuttered apartments above.

The towering stare from a woman, a bannered face, hanging from museum columns. I can feel her resonance. That gaze shakes the cobbles I click on. It is a resonance from 150 years in the past, so strong then, it could still erupt. Bring columns tumbling.

My voice, my impulse: an overwhelming desire to respond to that captured resonance.

Resonance creates resonance.

I’m ashamed. I deny my impulse. I’m a grown up - I wouldn’t want to respond to this. Not let anyone see/feel my reaction. Wouldn’t want to resonate - not in public anyway. Not like my four year old daughter who has not learned yet to habitually filter her responses (a development I - unlike many parents - am not looking forward to).

A new student asks me “Why don’t I have this resonance when I speak? I mean,  really speak.....on stage?” I must explain what really speaking is.

I walk home from the Opera House. My heel clicks bounce off an empty bin, cars, low bushes giving me a much more truthful and resonant response than the performers I have just witnessed.

Why could they not resonate as my footfalls do? Resonance relishing the space, exploring the space, echoing in the space; rather than imposing upon it.

Vocal resonance reflects the smells, the textures, the density, the tastes around me. True resonance.