In week 2 of voice, I have learned how posture is key to voice, throughout life our bodies go through different tensions and strains that can alter your posture, for example having a tense shoulder because of a bag.
As the 2nd lesson began, we did a spider diagram to identify the things that alter our voice, some of the things that came up where mental state, and how focused your were on your body, another one was the different pressures on your body.
After we did this we did the Alexander Technique. The Alexander Technique is an excercise used to prevent any uncessary levels of muscular and mental tension during everyday life. This Technique can relax the actor so they don't look tense on stage. It also effects the voice, after I did the alexander technique for a second time I felt relaxed and as if my voice was clearer and softer. Post Alexander Technique made my body feel relieved, as it felt tense pre Alexander Technique.
For the Tecnique I layed on the floor straight and un tensed with my knees up and hands to my side, I also closed my eyes as I felt it would help better on focusing on my posture and Technique. We were then given instructions by Sarah, such as being told to relax different parts of our bodies like our feet, hands, shoulders and more. In this I felt my knees swaying to the side, however this is good as it shows I'm relaxed.
I also did the Alexander Technique at home to my best ability, I felt very relaxed after and quite tired. In this excercise I focused hard on each body part to find out what was tense. Before finishing I tensed my body for 4 beats then let it go, this helped me to relieve any tense body parts, and after I had done this my body felt very free and un locked. After completing Alex technique I felt I wasn't purely focused throughout the whole of the process. This was because I kept worrying that I had forgot specific body parts. For the next time I do Alex Tech I will record myself reading from the chapter in one of Barbra Houseman's books, this will help me to solely focus on my relaxation and tension in my body.
I think this lesson was very valuable, as it showed me how my posture can affect my acting and voice and how this Technique can loosen me up before a performance. I found this Technique difficult to copy at home though as I feel their are many parts to it, yet it still helped me to relax the body.
Why not try audio recording yourself speaking the exercise aloud from the Barbra Houseman book (chapter provided on Moodle)? This will enable you to carry it out at home, focusing solely on the relaxation and breath instead of worrying about what it is you need to focus on next.
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