The A's and B's of Interp
I'm rather new to Interpetation events. I have a little bit of trouble with diction, and I'm looking to develop some more voices. I'm not by any means looking for a quick fix, but does anyone know of some excercises or tricks of the trade besides tounge twisters that would help?
Also any additional info to a Interp Noob would be appreciated.
I Think therefore I am
~Alex
As far as diction, yeah, tongue twisters are the way to go. I used to go over a few quietly either in the bathroom or in the hall on my way to rounds just to get my mouth warmed up. (I feel like there should be a "that's what she said" somewhere in there)
For developing voices, the main thing to remember is its okay to look stupid. Either when you're on your own or with some friends (interpy friends work best for this) just play around with voices! Try doing impressions or accents or something just to find out what your vocal range is and get some idea of what it can be shaped to be with practice. DON'T do voices that hurt - anything really gravelly and scratchy that could give you a sore throat or cause you to lose your voice is NOT worth it, so watch out for that. But just play around! Look like an idiot for a bit trying out some weird voices! You'll be surprised with what you might come up with.
Try experimenting with different facial expressions. Just look into a mirror and start to contort your face into different positions. You'll find that with each facial expression your voice changes a bit as well.
Like Cinderella said, don't be afraid to look stupid! PLay with voices and eventually you'll find some great ones to incorporate.
idk about neone else. but around the house i would get like a phrase stuck in my head.
sumthing really random like "the stapler is running through the house" (which sounds like it could be in some weird HI) and just being myself i would say it in diff voices for fun...after a while i would find voices i didnt know i had. So i would just mix up diff ways of speaking to make new voices and such.
hick voice
nasally
british accent
deep growl (death metal style)
high pitch
speak with a lot of tongue
like just freely and openly mix all that u can to make new ones. its really fun especially around ur house.
1...1...8!!?!?!
For diction, talk with a pen in your mouth! It helps a lot.
What i've alwas done is tried to mimmik people i know their voice the way they say specific words or even phrases they use. Then from their i change pitch and diction based on what i feel is nessasary then pull them out when i have to. Don't be scared to shape your mouth, on one of my voices i had to speack from the corner of my mouth to get the voice just the way i wanted it, now i've grown into it and dont shape my mouth as much. Also what ive been told is that accents are last resort, i hope this helps. Oh yeah try singing with a song using their voice. make sense?
ooh yes, that IS a good oneOriginally Posted by Topo
I had to do this soo much sophomore year...it sucks...it's awkward...but it is very very effective.ooh yes, that IS a good one
"Nobody's perfect. Well, there was this one guy, but we killed him."
I stand by the advice to never be afraid to look ridiculous. Even if you feel like a complete moron...that probably means it's working. The bigger the better, I always say (that's what she said?).
NSF ‘08 - David & Gabe’s Lab (A-Team, re-pre-sent!)
This is so utterly important.
"Strong and wrong" is a maxim of pretty much all performers; it is better to take a chance and make a fully committed choice that doesn't end up working than it is to make no choice at all. This is especially true with something like speech, where there is nowhere to hide. Be strong, be wrong, and make choices-- don't just give me 10 minutes of the same thing, or you will bore me to death.
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