janzen@pipa.DEC (12/06/84)
There are books available on public speaking. There are books available on acting. There are books available on pronunciation. There are books about piano playing. There may be books on bowing. Go to lots of performances of the type you wish to do, and watch for what you like and don't like in the way people behave. In general, when I prepare for performance, I find it necessary to put my hands in my pockets just to keep from putting my finger to my nose (you know, like old Saint Nick in the poem? I"m a santa-clausy kind of guy). MOVEMENT In general, don't move without reason. Watch Laurie Anderson. She never moves without a purpose for expression. Just as Poe said that every single detail element in a short story should contribute toward the single effect that the story is making, every movement on stage should be for a reason. If you move the way people do when they talk in the office, you will look nervous. You needn't move in the smooth, schematic way Anderson does; she has a special purpose. But again, keep your hands away from your face (especially since they will put shadows on your face from the high-angled lights on stage), and stand up straight, but not rigidly. Practice a great deal, finding a way you can be straight without straining. Roll your shoulders back, don't pull them back. Don't push your glasses up your nose while on stage. Anderson wears contacts. Consider that. it is better not to put your hands in your pockets except to express reservedness. Use any movement on stage, if it expresses what you wish to express. Any movement should be broad enough, any experssion clear enough, to be seen in the front of the house (last row). If you are on camera, the breadth required of movement is determined by the distance between you and the camera, and the lens used. In general, you may be much much more subtle on camera than on stage. Learn to walk. Walk from the wings with directness, purpose, and naturalness. Practice being natural. I'm not kidding. Don't glance at the audience until you reach down center stage where you address them. Bow the way you like. Learn from watching others, especially old pros, to bow with a feeling of humility, in a relaxed way, not a stiff way. Offer bows in proportion to the audiences response. Always bow at least once, even if they are throwing fruit at you. Your first bow should be the deepest. If there is a curtain call (how will you know? - you'll know, if it doesn't decrease when you've been off stage 2 seconds go out again.) Bow once deeply to the center, and if the response merits it, more quickly to the sides. Make certain you are in center stage. don't bow from the curtain. SPEECH If you have sung in good university choirs, you have learned to accentuate consonants, especially trailing ones. Sibilants don't travel well; they are intrinsically very quiet, and although very audible from a few feet, they must be made emphatic to be heard throughout the house. Say "house." Now say "houSe". Being in a choir, or studying singing or singing books, and the international phonetic alphabet, as I did, will sensitize you to the exact sounds of speech. Also, become sensitive to tone(rising and falling) and timbre (nasality). Learn to speak in the center of your voice in pitch and timbre. It is not necessary to strain your voice to be heard. Isn't "Dear Liar" a play of Shaw's letters to an actress? I loved the tv version, when the actress says , "but I will be HEARD IN THE LARGEST HOUSES IN EUROPE!" Jane from Testament was the actress. No strain in her voice at all. You don't wish to be nasal, or too deep. Find YOUR best voice. When Seashore proposed that oscilloscopes (such as they were in his day) be used by singers to help them duplicate the sounds of recorded singers, he was very wrong. You must find your own voice, the voice that is clearest, loudest, and least straining to speak in. Everything else I don't know what you do, but that's up to you anyway. Do it the best you can. They can tell when you aren't. What is it you wish to do? Lastly, I hope you know I made all this up. You must watch others. If you had watched me, you would be violating all the above caveats. Tom Janzen DEC 111 Locke Marlboro MA Thu 6-Dec-1984 09:09 EST