Finding the Voice

Breath Relaxes and Releases I once had a class with the great voice teacher Cecily Berry. We did the exercise below. After the class, she talked about how she done this exercise with prisoners in jail, with people suffering from anxiety and with older people who are dying. Once, I had a friend who was in his thirties and dying of cancer. He was a tough, New Zealander who had played rugby to a decent level. When I visited him in hospital near his final days, he was all skin and bones and weighed only 45 kgs. He could hardly communicate and his wife said he always seemed anxious. His wife left the room for a well deserved break. I told him I would stay there for a bit and we would just relax. I said, "Breathe in - relax. Hold. Breathe out - release. Now, breathe in and relax on 1-2-3. Hold 1-2. Now breathe out - release on 1-2-3-4. Again. Now, breathe in and relax on 1-2-3. Hold 1-2. Now breathe out - release on 1-2-3-4. Now slower. Now, breathe in and relax on 1-2-3-4. Hold 1-2. No

Finding the Voice The Voice Box I once was running an improvisation competition (in the style of Theatresports or Whose Line is it Anyway?) at a school in Asia. Two girls from the Primary school came into my Black Box Theatre at recess. One spoke for the other. “She wants to be in the House Improvisation competition at lunchtime.” I said that I can help them by putting their names down on the list and then they can turn up at lunch and I will put them in a team. I then asked what house the girl was in. Her friend said, “She is in Red house.” I then asked why her friend couldn’t speak. “My friend has lost her voice. Can you help her find it?” she said. “We will look around and see if we can find it,” I said. “If we don’t find it, you can still perform. You can just use your hands, body, feet and face to speak.” I looked around the room and found a small white box we used as a container for small jewelry for plays. “I think I found it,” I said. “What’s that?” her friend said. “It’s a