09/11/17- Comparison of my voice at the start of the year vs now:
At the beginning of the year, I spoke with fairly decent articulation and diction, but sometimes sounded unclear as I had quite a sibilant 's' sound which sometimes obscured words or phrases. However, I now feel that I have overcome this due to developing confidence and believe that I speak very articulately. This was a particularly important vocal characteristic I wanted to improve upon in order to create vocal differences between myself and the characters I am portraying in Hope Springs. For example, for Parent 5, I needed my lines to sound punchy and confrontational and clarity of voice was instrumental in making this happen.
The pitch of my voice has always been naturally quite high; this is not something I wanted to change. However, I did want to improve my vocal range in regards to using a different pitch for various characters, for example for Parent 5, I want to aim to use a lower pitch in order to convey that this is an older character in comparison to the pupils and Island voices. So far, I feel that I have made a small amount of progress towards this goal as I have aimed to implement this vocal technique every time we have rehearsed Act 1, Scene 7. Unfortunately, I struggle to maintain the pitch I want to play this character at, due to the pace of the scene. In order to keep up with the movement material, I've had to up the pace of my dialogue which has resulted in me falling back into my natural vocal habits to allow me to successfully execute the dialogue with good projection and articulation. Therefore, I am currently unable to execute a difference in pitch between Pupil 6, Island voices and Parent 5 and this is one of my main targets for improvement in this project.
At the beginning of the year, one of my targets for vocal improvement was to take more pauses to avoid rambling, I often did this as a result of nervousness or merely just to try to get what I want to say heard. This is the one vocal technique I want to develop the most, as it affects the clarity pace and tone of what I'm saying. So far, I feel that I've focused on taking more pauses specifically in larger paragraphs such as the Island voices in Act 2, Scene 6 "Those wrists were bound with that tough nylon rope. pause The other end tied right up high. pause Those wrists looked...pause pink pause raw". These pauses are effectively and specifically emphasising detail that we cannot physically see, which is crucial to this scene, as the intention of it is to show the state in which we find the principal and the task she has been forced into undertaking.
Vocal differences between my characters in Hope Springs:
Character
|
All parents
|
Pupil 6
|
Island voice
|
Parent 5
|
Staff 1
|
Voice
|
Desperate tone, stresses random words within each sentence, higher pitch
|
Slightly cocky, alternates stressed-unstressed, increased volume at moments of passion e.g. "I want to torch it!"
|
Slightly monotonous, very clear and articulate
|
An almost condescending tone towards Parent 6, punchy- to the point, confrontational, lower pitch
|
Very controlled, patronising tone at times, snappy, authoritative
|
I aim to use these vocal profiles in order to create a differentiation, vocally, between my characters. For example, in our first All Parents line in Act 1, Scene 1, "you just can't imagine what it was like for us", I immediately try to gain the audience's empathy by emphasising 'you' and 'imagine' almost commanding them to do as I say. I think by stressing these two words, I effectively engage the audience and lead them into really believing in what we are saying. In our second line, "we just didn't know where to turn", I change my tone to sound more defeated and also look to the other parents to show that all of the parents of the pupils in Hope Springs were in a similar position. I think this change in tone effectively makes our characters appear more human as we are showing a wider range of emotions in comparison to the Pupils and Island voices who are more robotic and restricted to just anger, fear and regret.
For Pupil 6, I aim to use volume, pace and tone to convey their emotion in various scenes, for example in Act 1, Scene 3, I increase my volume significantly when saying "I want to torch it!" in order to suitably accompany this passionate, impulsive outburst. I again use these techniques in Act 2, Scene 3, when saying "This place has been waiting to go up for ages, it just needed a spark." In Act 1 Scene 9, I again increase my volume to match the energy of the Ringleader's speech as well as changing my tone to sound angrier and really focusing of the emphasis of "months" in order to clearly communicate how we all feel about our treatment on the island. In contrast, in Act 1, Scene 7 when I'm explaining my first day at Hope Springs, I speak at a normal volume but with a faster pace to effectively convey my feeling of insecurity at that moment and in Act 2, Scene 5 I say the line "perhaps we should?" at a slow pace, and questioning tone to show my wavering support for the Ringleader as we are nearing the end of the play and Pupil 6 is beginning to realise what they have done.
For the Island voices, I am aiming to maintain very clear and articulate with a neutral tone and a slow/medium pace as this character acts as the narrator and therefore I need a distinctive change in vocal to show this. In Act 1, Scene 4, I keep to a medium pace as this is necessary to make the dialogue flow, and a fast pace would cause the clarity of the narrative to be lost. However in the final line of this scene "With each approaching step the tension rises", I crescendo the volume and pace in order to build tension to effectively contrast the neutrality of the rest of the narration in this scene. In Act 2 Scene 6, when we find the Principal, I drop my pace on the line "And those hands were bound with that tough nylon rope, the other end tied right up high, those wrists looked, pink, raw." This should ensure that it is clear to the audience the state in which the Principal is in, this is then further reinforced when I take significant pauses between 'looked', 'pink' and 'raw', specifically emphasising detail that we cannot physically see, which is crucial to this scene, as the intention of it is to show the state in which we find the principal and the task she has been forced into undertaking.
For Pupil 6, I aim to use volume, pace and tone to convey their emotion in various scenes, for example in Act 1, Scene 3, I increase my volume significantly when saying "I want to torch it!" in order to suitably accompany this passionate, impulsive outburst. I again use these techniques in Act 2, Scene 3, when saying "This place has been waiting to go up for ages, it just needed a spark." In Act 1 Scene 9, I again increase my volume to match the energy of the Ringleader's speech as well as changing my tone to sound angrier and really focusing of the emphasis of "months" in order to clearly communicate how we all feel about our treatment on the island. In contrast, in Act 1, Scene 7 when I'm explaining my first day at Hope Springs, I speak at a normal volume but with a faster pace to effectively convey my feeling of insecurity at that moment and in Act 2, Scene 5 I say the line "perhaps we should?" at a slow pace, and questioning tone to show my wavering support for the Ringleader as we are nearing the end of the play and Pupil 6 is beginning to realise what they have done.
For the Island voices, I am aiming to maintain very clear and articulate with a neutral tone and a slow/medium pace as this character acts as the narrator and therefore I need a distinctive change in vocal to show this. In Act 1, Scene 4, I keep to a medium pace as this is necessary to make the dialogue flow, and a fast pace would cause the clarity of the narrative to be lost. However in the final line of this scene "With each approaching step the tension rises", I crescendo the volume and pace in order to build tension to effectively contrast the neutrality of the rest of the narration in this scene. In Act 2 Scene 6, when we find the Principal, I drop my pace on the line "And those hands were bound with that tough nylon rope, the other end tied right up high, those wrists looked, pink, raw." This should ensure that it is clear to the audience the state in which the Principal is in, this is then further reinforced when I take significant pauses between 'looked', 'pink' and 'raw', specifically emphasising detail that we cannot physically see, which is crucial to this scene, as the intention of it is to show the state in which we find the principal and the task she has been forced into undertaking.
Targets for performance:
- Creating a contrasting vocal approach for my role as a staff member.
- Thinking about how my vocal approach might vary/ develop throughout the piece for my characters.
In order to create a contrasting vocal for my role as a staff member, I will aim to speak at a lower pitch and at a slower pace, hopefully conveying that this character is older in age than the others that I am portraying. This should also show that my staff member character is of greater emotional stability and authority than the pupils. I will also use a snappier tone, for example when saying lines such as "There's every point.", "Watch it." and "Attitude!", in order to further reinforce my position of authority in this scene.
Vocal development by scene-
Act, Scene and character
|
Vocal approach
|
Act 1, Scene 1 – All Parents
|
Emphasis- on words such as "you" and "imagine" to engage the audience/provoke empathy.
Tone- desperate, as if at the end of my tether and couldn't cope with the behaviour of my child anymore.
|
Act 1, Scene 3- Pupil 6
|
Volume- significant increase in volume when saying "I want to torch it!" in order to suitably accompany my passionate, impulsive outburst.
|
Act 1, Scene 4- Island voices
|
Pace- medium pace as this is necessary to make the dialogue flow, and a fast pace would cause the clarity of the narrative to be lost.
Volume- "With each approaching step the tension rises", crescendo in volume in order to build tension to effectively contrast the neutrality of the rest of the narration in this scene.
|
Act 1, Scene 7- Parent 5
|
Pitch- lower pitch in order to convey that this is an older character in comparison to the others.
Tone- condescending towards Parent 6 to show that I believe that I know what's best for our daughter.
|
Act 1, Scene 8- Pupil 6
|
Pauses- a pause in "We all got the same...welcome" to effectively convey my feeling of insecurity at that moment
|
Act 1, Scene 9- Pupil 6
|
Tone- angry, to effectively show the effect of the months/years of torment the staff had put the pupils through.
Emphasis- on "months" to clearly convey the level of resentment and anger the pupils had built up.
Volume- increase at moments of anger e.g. "Months of it!" As if I had truly built up months' worth of anger and hatred.
|
Act 2, Scene 2- Pupil 6
|
Volume- significant increase on "it just needed a spark" to emphasise my arsonist impulses.
Pauses- between "this place has been waiting to go up for ages" and "it just needed a spark" to show how one thought developed into an example of Pupil 6's impulsive urges.
|
Act 2, Scene 3- Staff 1
|
Pitch- lower in comparison to the rest of my characters in order to show that the staff are older.
Pace- slower to again reinforce that I am a lot older and show that my staff member character is of greater emotional stability and authority than the pupils.
Tone- snappier, for example when saying lines such as "There's every point.", "Watch it." and "Attitude!", in order to further reinforce my position of authority in this scene.
|
Act 2, Scene 5- Island voices
|
Clarity- my main focus for this scene is clarity as I only have ensemble lines that can easily become unclear if mumbled or out of time. Emphasis on clarity also ensures that the audience understand that we have switched from the pupils to the Island voices/narrators.
|
Act 2, Scene 6- Island voices
|
Clarity- again the ensemble lines need to be clear as this is one of the most pivotal and narrative based moments in the play, and the Island voices provide a large amount of detail that cannot be seen.
Pauses- pauses between 'looked', 'pink' and 'raw', specifically emphasise detail that we cannot physically see, which is crucial to this scene, as the intention of it is to show the state in which we find the principal and the task she has been forced into undertaking.
|
Act 2, Scene 7- Island voices
|
Clarity- again needs to be very clear as we are explaining the outcome of all of the islands happenings and bringing the storyline to a close and tying up loose ends.
Tone- solemn, to convey the tiring effects of the pupils' treatment on the island and also to show the overarching feeling of remorse for everyone's actions.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment