1. PAIN -
why would you want to act if it hurts? Some actors, (and even some
directors), falsely believe it is just a part of the job. In fact,
union actors who have to scream in video games are supposed to be provided an
extra fee because it is anticipated that the actor will be unable to use
his/her voice the following day. The extra money is lovely, but
never risk cannibalizing your voice for one project. With proper training, you don’t have to.
2. DAMAGE –
If you’re already experiencing acute pain, put yourself on vocal rest
immediately and contact an otolaryngologist to rule out the possibility of
nodes, polyps, lesions, or other conditions which could permanently damage your
voice, lead to chronic pain, or force you to turn down work.
3. INABILITY
TO TAKE DIRECTION – Whether for creative purposes, bottom line issues,
or both, theaters often cast actors in multiple roles. If all your characters
sound exactly the same and you are inflexible in your ability to help create
the world the director is trying to populate, it may limit your casting.
4. FEAR
OF ACCENTS/DIALECTS – If I asked you to name your favorite
bad accent in a play or movie, which one would you name? For most
people, especially actors, this is easy to do. Unfortunately, that
is one reason the joy of being cast in a show requiring accents can be tempered
by stomach-churning self-doubt about convincingly portraying the role(s). In
our increasingly connected world, it is difficult to get away with
manufacturing a “general” accent. But the vast majority of
humans have teeth, lips, jaws, tongues, soft palates, and glottises, so it’s
really just a matter of playing around with these articulators, and knowing
your equipment, so to speak. One voice class can go a long way
towards conquering this kind of fear. (My favorite bad accent is the
“Scottish” one in The Highlander, by
the way. I’m giggling just thinking about it.).
5. CAN’T
BE HEARD – Drawbacks to being inaudible require little explanation,
though it bears mentioning that knowing how to be more relaxed and
resonant is the best substitute for straining to achieve more
volume. That, and knowing how to use your transverses abdominus. Do you?
6. LIMITED
EMOTIONAL RANGE – You may have heard that breath and emotion are
connected, but what does that mean? To quote Saul Kotzubei, master
teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework ™, “We can control our breathing to
reduce the impact of difficult feelings and experiences. That’s not a bad thing.
It’s an important ability we have. For performers, a problem
arises when our ability to manage our difficult experience by controlling our
breathing becomes an instant, habitual, and largely unconscious response… It is
very hard to express vocally what you cannot experience, and performers often
push the voice to compensate. In addition to causing the voice to be
disassociated from the truth of the moment, this can also cause vocal strain or
fatigue.” For more on this, go HERE.
7. COST OF MEDICAL TREATMENT – This requires
no explanation. Unless you’re sitting on
a big pile of money and have all the time in the world.
Studying voice can not only address all these concerns,
but it can be a liberating way to open up your imagination and have even more
fun acting than you ever thought possible.
It can be joyful, it can be challenging, and it can require you to
enhance how you synthesize your body, heart, and mind. It can improve life both on and off the
stage. And it just feels good.
So, which path do you prefer to choose?
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Gin Hammond will be teaching a Voice class at Freehold Theatre in Seattle this coming Winter Quarter. Stay tuned. Winter Quarter registration opens on November 17th!
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