Triple - Voice and the Actor - Blog 1 - 01/06/17

Today I began writing my skills audit for my voice. As an Actor, opportunities for employment will increase as I hone my skills and work on aspects of my voice which need improving. In order to improve these skills, I need to identify them. Below is my detailed Voice Audit which highlights the strengths and weaknesses of different parts of my voice:

Technique (tone; pace; pitch; pause; projection; inflection; modulation; articulation; dynamics; accent):

With my tone, I believe at times, my tone doesn't always match the way my character would say their lines. For example, if my character is attempting to be very sarcastic, I may misread this and take it quite literally. This then spoils the effect of the scene. Work is needed

I feel that my pace is always very well used, with intense, excited lines being read fast and suspenseful, well-thought lines being read slowly. No work needed

My voice is naturally quite high pitched so this means when I play a more mature role, I would need to lower my voice intentionally which is sometimes uncomfortable. Work is needed

I feel my use of pauses is very effective and always gives the right effect every scene. After my work on Harold Pinter, my use of pauses is always impactful on different types of scenes. No work needed

I feel over my time as an actor, I have developed a much better stage voice which includes my projection. Being able to project your voice effectively is an important skill for acting, especially theatre acting. From being quite quiet in an average size room to being easily heard in a hall, I believe my projection isn't an issue at all. No work needed

My inflection is usually very well used, emphasising important words in sentence to show the motives of my character. No work needed

I feel that my articulation needs a LOT of work and this is due to my lisp. Although it's not that difficult to understand what I'm saying, it's still not ideal. This is probably biggest hurdle. Work is needed

Accents aren't my strong point but I am capable of a few including Western American, Cockney/Chav and Northern England. However, having accents under your belt is good, they're essential when pursuing a career in the arts as you'd focus on a specific accent for a role, not just in general. No work needed

For my vocal routine, I want to work on these qualities of my voice starting with the most important:

• Articulation
• Pitch
• Tone