The Dramatic Text Workbook and Video

Practical Tools for Actors and Directors

David Carey, Rebecca Clark Carey

• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781350055063
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Acting & Auditioning

The Dramatic Text Workbook and Video explores the expressive potential of language and how you, as an actor, director or teacher, can develop the skills to release that potential in rehearsal and performance. Written by acclaimed voice teachers David Carey and Rebecca Clark Carey, this practical textbook shows how to bring together the power of language with voice and provides practical approaches to each aspect of verbal expression with the aid of classical and modern scenes and speeches. Chapters consider: · Sound: speech sounds and how to use them more expressively
· Image: bringing life and specificity to images when you speak
· Sense: how to focus on the most significant words and phrases in a speech or scene
· Rhythm: how rhythm is created and used in both verse and prose
· Argument: the structure or logic of language The Dramatic Text Workbook and Video, a new edition of The Verbal Arts Workbook, includes a revised introduction, updated reading lists and access to over 90 minutes of online video workshops, exploring the key techniques and tactics discussed in the book.

1

SOUND

Framework

When we speak, we use sounds to convey meaning. As soon as we feel the need to communicate, our brains unconsciously organize our thoughts into words and then programme our muscles to form the sounds needed to utter those words. The scope of what we communicate when we speak, however, is not limited to just the meaning of the words. The sounds that make up the words can themselves carry information about how the speaker feels and what her intentions are. Clipped vowels and tight consonants tell us a lot about a speaker, as do elongated vowels and dropped consonants. The individual vocal energy that goes into making speech sounds creates a musicality that affects the listener on an almost unconscious level. This is one reason why hearing a speech is so much more powerful than reading it. And this is why exploring speech sounds – getting to know the physical energy that goes into shaping them and the expressive energy that is latent in them – will enable you to convey more fully your character’s inner world of thoughts, experiences and emotions through language. In this chapter, we’re going to investigate those sounds in detail.

The speech sounds that we use in English divide into two categories: vowels and consonants. Vowels are the sounds that we make by using our vocal tracts to shape but not stop or otherwise interrupt the flow of vocal vibration that is produced by the larynx and passes out through the mouth. In writing, they are represented by the letters a, e, i, o, u (and sometimes y). Consonants, on the other hand, are made by disrupting the flow of breath in some way. It has often been said that in speech the vowels carry the emotion and the consonants carry the sense. It’s true that the open nature of vowels means that they can be particularly expressive. Especially when uttered on their own, they can express excitement, tenderness, surprise, passion, delight, anger, disappointment, disgust etc. (see the first Exploration exercise for a more in-depth investigation of this). And it’s also true that strong and precise consonants give definition to words. However, we would argue that vowel sounds that are flattened or not fully formed kill comprehension just as surely as weak consonants do. And consonants can convey feeling very powerfully – think of some popular English swear words and the energy and passion that can be expressed through the consonant sounds such as f, sh, t, d or k. All sound is expressive.

Speech sounds can become even more evocative when they appear in patterns. Repetition of sounds in various configurations, such as rhyme, can have a particular impact on the listener. They can delight and soothe or grate and unsettle. Patterns of sound get under the skin and stick in the memory – think about how nursery rhymes stay with us through our lives. This chapter will also look at how you can use the patterns of speech sounds that appear in your text to catch the ears and imaginations of your audience.

Before we get into the exercises, we want to note that not all sounds are used in every English accent. This is particularly true of vowels. For example, the AW sound that many British speakers use in words like fawn or walk is rarely, if ever, used by most Americans; they are more likely to use the AH sound (as in father) instead. The exercises we use will work in any accent, though, even if we sometimes talk about sounds that you don’t normally use. You may want to spend some time studying accents, nevertheless; it is a useful discipline because it broadens your awareness of sound possibilities. You may discover qualities in words – darkness, openness, brightness, for example – that are not evident in your own accent. It can also be instructive, when working on text, to try speaking it in the writer’s native accent. There are even scholars who have reconstructed how Shakespeare’s accent might have sounded, and theatres that experiment with performing his plays in that accent, known as Original Pronunciation (or OP for short). See the Further Reading section for books that can help you explore different accents.

We’d also like to note that there is an excellent system of symbols for representing sounds called the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), and if you are at all serious about studying accents, please see Further Reading at the end of this chapter for books that you can pick up to learn about it. We’re not going to use the IPA here because it’s not familiar enough to many people, but studying it is a great tool for refining your sense of how speech sounds work. Alternatively, Edda Sharpe and Jan Haydn Rowles have an excellent book, How to Do Accents, which is a practical introduction to the subject that is designed to be accessible to readers unfamiliar with IPA (see Further Reading). The more precise and thorough your exploration of sound, the better you will be able to put it to use in service of your creativity and expressivity.

Exploration

I. Take a nursery rhyme or another simple poem you are familiar with, such as ‘Humpty Dumpty’, and speak it out loud very slowly, exaggerating each one of the sounds. Where do you feel the energy of different sounds in your mouth? Are some more lip-focused, or back towards the throat? Is the energy itself of a different quality from sound to sound? Do some sounds tickle? Pop? Droop? Are some more narrow? Others wider? Do the vowels feel different from the consonants? Note any observations.

II. Experiment with saying the vowel sound OO in your accent (as in goose). First of all, just say it quite neutrally, without any attempt at meaning. Then, as you repeat it, play with different images or emotions which the sound suggests to you – perhaps the image of something delicious, exciting or dangerous. Keep repeating it, but see if you can discover a new image, thought or feeling with each repetition. What happens if you vary the pitch more energetically?

Bring the OO sound to a rest and make a note of any thoughts, images or emotions that came to mind. Were there any common themes? What difference (if any) did the change in pitch make?

Try the same experiment with OH, AH, EE and EYE in your accent. What feelings or images do these evoke?

III. Experiment with saying the consonant sound v. First of all, just say it quite neutrally, without any attempt at meaning. Then, as you repeat it, play with different images or emotions which the sound suggests to you – perhaps the image of something sensuous, musical or threatening. Keep repeating it, but see if you can discover a new image, thought or feeling with each repetition. What happens if you vary the pitch more energetically?

Bring the v sound to a rest and make a note of any thoughts, images or emotions that came to mind. Were there any common themes? What difference (if any) did the change in pitch make?

Try the same experiment with the sounds g, r, b and z. What feelings or images do these evoke?

IV. Open your mouth wide enough to fit your thumb between your front teeth. Try making each of the sounds from Explorations II and III again, keeping that space between your teeth. You will probably have to use the muscles of your lips and tongue more than you usually do. What effect does this have on the sounds? Try it again with your mouth closed so that your back teeth are touching. What does this do to the sounds? Try going back and forth between an open mouth and a closed mouth on each sound. How does this change the sound quality? The energy of the sound?

V. Think of an object that starts with the letter l (as at the beginning of the word letter). Now string together as many words as you can that also start with the letter l that could describe that object. (If the letter were h, you might get a huge, horrible, hateful, hairy hat.) Speak your sequence of words leaning into the l sounds – drawing them out a bit and giving them lots of energy. Note the effect that creates. Speak it again giving the l sounds as little energy as possible. Note any changes to the overall energy of the image. Now give a full but not overstated energy to the l sounds and note what that does. Repeat with m, r, t and any other sounds you’d like to play with.

Exercises

Teaching tip: The exercises in this chapter are divided into four sections: Vowels, Consonants, Sound and Meaning and Sound Patterns. Within each of these, the exercises tend to advance from basic exploration to more sophisticated application. ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle Page
• Title Page
• Dedication Page
• Contents 
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Permissions
• Introduction
• 1. Sound
• 2. Image
• 3. Sense
• 4. Rhythm
• 5. Argument
• 6. Putting It All Together
• Appendix 1: Vocal Warm-Up
• Appendix 2: Rudolf Laban
• Appendix 3: Punctuation and Parts of Speech
• Appendix 4: Curriculum Choices
• Appendix 5: Professional Histories
• Bibliography
• Links to Workbook Video
• Index
• Imprint