CHAPTER 16

Session Six

In this session: • Breathing work • Second breathing exercise • Third breathing exercise • Next assignment

Coach: Let’s finish up the breathing exercises, then we’ll get to the use, or non-use, of subtext—chapter 6. Today, go up and read your first eight lines, breathing correctly. (Kristin, presenting Isabella from Measure for Measure, goes first.) Remember that this is a breathing exercise, not an acting exercise. (She reads the speech.)

Your voice has come down, and is very nice. However, you forgot to kick the box on almost every line. Next time? (She agrees. Next is Bridgett doing Julia, from The Two Gentlemen of Verona.)

You have good breathing and the voice is down. Again, though, you dropped the end of every line. (We listen to Alicia, working on Margaret, in Henry VI, Part 3. Her breathing is good, her voice has come down, and her speech is supported. Jerrod’s breathing is good for Othello, but he tends to paraphrase.)

Jerrod, you’re missing a lot of words, and must get that fixed. Your memorization must be totally accurate or you’ll be thrown off by a break in the rhythm. Next we listen to Emily read Viola from Twelfth Night:

Viola:        I see you what you are; you are too proud;

But, if you were the devil, you are fair.

My lord and master loves you. O, such love

Could be but recompensed though you were crowned

The nonpareil of beauty.

If I did love you in my master’s flame,

With such a suff’ring, such a deadly life,

In your denial I would find no sense;

I would not understand it.

Coach: I like that I can hear you breathing—you’re using up your air and taking deep breaths. Your voice is coming down. Does it help that you’re also a runner?

Emily: Oh, yes. I work on my Shakespeare when I’m running. I like to make the rhythms match.

Coach: Good. We have Kate, Lady Macbeth, and Prince Hal to go. (Amber’s voice is coming down for Kate, and her breathing is strong; Bride’s breathing is excellent for Lady Macbeth; and Alex is solid with Prince Hal.)

Coach: Bride, that was good handling of the five no-breath lines. (All agree.)

Bride: But I was pushing it. It’ll get easier.

Coach: Right. Now, tell me what you have come to understand when practicing this skill. Does any of this help you for your future or for the realism you perform all the time?

Amber: I’m directing a short play, so in rehearsal last night I had all three actors do the breathing exercise. The play is realism, but after breathing at all punctuation points, they really slowed down—and they started to play the ideas in each phrase. It really helped us, and the actors understand the script better now.

Coach: They’re hearing the different ideas. Now, if you have them circle their phrases and use the caesura, you’ll hear another improvement.

Amber: I’m going to do that tonight.

Coach: Even with realism, many of these skills work.

Alicia: It seems to me that breathing gets so much easier.

Coach: If you watch some fine actors on film or video, you will notice how they breathe. For example, watch Kenneth Branagh do the famous Henry V speech. The camera is close, so you can see when he breathes and how deeply he does it. All take a look at it. You’ll also hear it in Restoration comedy, Molière, Cyrano—any of the wonderful plays if they’re performed by top actors. Check them out.

Emily: I really like how correct breathing brings the voice down.

Coach: I do too. Maybe you can all really think about that and start keeping the voice down all the time. You sound so much better when you do. You’ve all had other training in that, but it slips away, doesn’t it?

They agree. Two of the actors are late, so we don’t hear these two do the breathing exercise.

Coach: Now let’s add some complexity to the exercise. I need help setting up chairs. (All help.) I believe this is a Cicely Berry exercise from the Royal Shakespeare Company—the RSC. Place two chairs about six feet apart. The actor stands behind one chair and in two steps can cross to behind the other chair. The partner stays in front and checks the script and the breathing. Then trade places. Later we’ll do this exercise with phrasing as well.

Here’s how it works: From behind the first chair, say the words up to your first breathing point. When you reach that point, start moving and exhaling whatever breath you haven’t used. As you arrive behind the other chair you should be inhaling, then speak the line as you get into position behind the second chair. Then exhale while crossing, inhale, and speak the next line. Continue through all of your lines. Establish the rhythm by speaking, exhaling/walking, inhaling, speaking, exhaling/walking, inhaling, speaking, etc. Going from chair to chair, you use the movement to rid yourself of excess air and to refill your lungs, simultaneously “inhaling” your next line as well. The movement forces you to take time to breathe and not rush into the next line, because you can’t say the next line until you get behind the other chair.

Working in pairs, the actors practice this exercise until break time, about thirty minutes. I walk about, watching and correcting as necessary. This is an excellent exercise for both breathing and phrasing. When using it as a phrasing exercise, walk from chair to chair on every phrase, whether or not you have a breathing point.

Coach: If everyone’s here, let’s begin. You’ll need scripts if you don’t know your first eight lines. (Most don’t need scripts.) By the way, this is the last session where you can carry your script. Now, everyone lie down. Lift your knees some so that your back is flat on the floor. Arms flat. (All do, including me.) Now, breathe through your mouth and feel the air go down into your lungs. It’s rather cool and kind of makes a circle and comes back up. (All try this.) From this position, practice your monologue. Do the correct breathing, and start noticing what happens to your voice. Become as relaxed as you can. Don’t work hard at it, just breathe, speak, exhale, breathe, speak, exhale—let it flow easily. (All practice this for twenty minutes or so. I make sure nobody is straining. The goal is to keep this ease when they stand up.)

Stop now. Notice how your voice support is coming from deep inside of you. Stand up and do the lines, trying to keep that sound and relaxation. (All work at this.) What do you notice?

Alex: Muscles are tighter when I stand up.

Bridgett: You get more self-conscious.

Alicia: It’s just harder.

Coach: If you can’t keep the prone feeling when you stand, go back down again and try it again. Try it until you’re comfortable.

You might start to feel like the idea originates in your soul, so to speak, and it activates the vocal cords to speak it aloud. That’s what you want your acting to do. You don’t want this language to make you overact, work too hard, get confused, stumble, or give you any other problem. You want it to come from you. Each of you try to find the place inside of you where the ideas might originate—rather than in your head.

Here’s a little exercise: I don’t know if anyone else uses this and it may not be any good. But I can hear the difference when you use it. A volunteer. (Alicia steps up.) I want you to say your first line any way you wish—just breathe correctly. Then pause, locate a place of your choice inside of you, and make the idea in the line originate from that spot. Now say the line again. We’ll listen to the difference. Go ahead and try. (She does.) We clearly hear a difference. (All agree.) You want your language to come from you, not to strain out from the vocal chords or the brain. Everyone work on this idea for awhile. It may be too vague a concept for some of you, and that’s okay. But it’s actually nothing but voice support. You can place your language ideas wherever they work best for you. (They all work on locating more inner origins of the ideas and more relaxed use of the language and the vocal mechanism, which is essentially finding deeper support for the voice.)

Now, each of you do two readings of a line—standing up or lying down—and we’ll hear your new origin for the second reading. (Each takes a turn, some lying down.) This doesn’t work for everyone, but when it does, we clearly hear it. Some of you feel you have to push it—not just allow the language to roll out on the breath. When that happens, both lines sound the same. But all of you are realizing that this language can come from you, can be yours and not some intellectual puzzle or exercise. If you can be in love with it, it will be more beautiful yet.

Work on this, and in one week be ready to do all twelve lines while applying all skills learned so far. (Fake groans.) Next time, more on phrasing and then subtext. See you then, and good work so far.