I don't do characters...too scared! But....any advice?

Joe J Thomas · Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007, 00:32 (GMT) Post subject:

Hi Max,

Happy to lend an ear...

By all means, stretch! That's precisely how you'll develop new, distinct voices.

Your recording has the start of at least 3-4 different characters, and shows just a hint of how much you are capable of. You'll need to put in a bit of work to maintain both the accent and the character.

The best places I can suggest to work on characters are the Stage and Improv. Stage will give you weeks to hone a single character, warts and all. They should be fully 3-dimensional people. Once you've got one, it's in your bag of tricks and you can move on to the next.

Improv is very good at getting instant reactions. It may help you to open up a bit and discover vocal qualities you never knew you had.

There are a ton of online resources for Accents and Dialects (pm me if you're interested - it's also in other threads here). But charcter voices can contain much more than just a solid accent. They've got personality and an array of vocal attributes. Think about lisps, tongue placement, tonality, breathyness, nasal, throaty, gritted teeth, whiny, bold...

Most importantly, PLAY! As I said, Improv and Stage are great for building both your confidence and your characters. Find an improv group in your area, or hook up with a community theater. Choose a role that's just a bit outside your range at first, then keep moving.

Well, I've blathered on enough.

Huge Kudos for jumping into the pool - have a swim, we'll make sure to throw you a lifesaver if needed...

Rarely Myself,
Joe J Thomas
www.JoeActor.com

Dana Negrey · Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007, 08:16 (GMT) Post subject:

Hi Maxine,

Good on you!

If I may offer some feedback...

I echo Joe's suggestions. Live performance experience can be valuable. In the third cut, I liked what I heard with your voice dropping in pitch, becoming more reasonant, and having a neat character quality to it. I think that "character" might be fun to bring to life and evolve into a "person."

An exercise you may enjoy trying involves going way, way over the top. Not necessarily loud and wild, which is good, but really going outside of your skin: talking to yourself while making faces in the mirror can work Smile

(I'd recommend letting the family in on what you're doing, or they may call two burly guys wearing white to knock on the door to escort you to their white van waiting outside to take you to a place for a "rest"!).

When you're in the moment, there can be a point where you forget yourself. If/When that happens, see if you can make a mental note about it and try to recall how you felt. A real-life analogy is when a person finds him/herself passionately discussing a topic, saying something in the heat of the moment, then reflecting to say, "Did I really say that?" See if you can recall that feeling. If you can, see if you can call up that feeling again, and then see if you can talk/look the same way you did earlier when you felt that way. This is one of many experiential ways to relate feeling to action (acting) and eventually, to character development.

Hope this is of some value to you Smile

Cheers,
Dana