Perform relaxation, breathing and resonance exercises  (Page 5/6)

Breathing

Good breathing is a fundamental requirement for voice production.

Breath expelled from the lungs is the force used to create speech sound.

The capacity of the chest must allow a steady flow of breath to sustain phrases with ease.

A plentiful supply of breath also helps to giver a sense of confidence.

Refer to ‘Activities for the Learner’ for the breathing exercises.

Resonance

Resonance is the sound produced by a body.

Voice, speech and language are mankind’s chief intellectual and emotional tools for informing, relating, identifying, manipulating and controlling, and the learner needs the skill in their use.

Whoever you are, people must want to listen to you.

The most elementary failure during a performance is inaudibility.

The actor’s breath and voice mirror his physical state and his emotional condition.

The object is to avoid sounding nasal.

Refer to ‘Activities for the Learner’ for the breathing exercises.

Warming up

Warming up is not only being relaxed and having the body and imagination in good shape, but also having a sense of:

group awareness

co-operation

mental and physical accord

camaraderie

a lack of inhibition

Warming up exercises allow learners to react, freed from unnecessary mental and physical tensions, within a series of vigorous situations.

Refer to ‘Activities for the learner’ for the warming-up exercises.

Helpful hints:

Encourage a sense of achievement to the learners in the class.

Be passionate and enthusiastic.

Have infinite patience.

Learners need guidance: show how, and then have them find their own way of doing the activity.

Always reassure the learners that it is Pretence and Play.

Be lavish with praise, encouragement and love.

Instil a disciplinary structure in the class , as these exercises and activities can incite rowdiness. Use whistles, drums, claps, music, etc. during the class to bring the class to a ‘standstill’ for a few seconds. Have them freeze, lie down, sit, etc. until you give the instruction to proceed with the activity.

ACTIVITY 2

We will be looking at elements to bring together that are required by the learner in order to express himself most fully:

Imagination – a mind full of images and impressions, gained from his observations and interests in the world.

The ability to tell a story. This needs a retentive memory .

Understanding of emotion, his own and those of other people.

The ability to remember feelings , and have the courage to express them.

Delight in the five senses : seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and smelling: remembering the effect of those sensory experiences.

Mental freedom : the ability to improvise, to explore the unconscious, to let one thing lead to another.

A sympathetic and understanding view of other learners and the characters they are playing: a willingness to relate .

Exercise 1: Tactile Box

You will need a cardboard box with flaps.

Place as many small commonplace articles as there are members of the class inside the box.

The contents should include things like a key, a candle, a clothes peg, a pencil, etc.

There should only be one of each in the box.