There are references in some Shakespeare's plays to the vocal exercising of an actor before performance and the importance of enunciation and volume. In ancient Greek times, it was the greatest orators, those with the physical gift of a beautiful voice and a strong diaphragm, that were the actors and public speakers. Vocal exercises are part of an actor’s working life. There are many types of vocal exercises, and each addresses a different part of the vocal mechanism. You can look at each component as a cog in a machine that, when put together, will aid understandable and natural so...
Latest episodes
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11 min ↗
National Theatre: Vocal Warm-Up
This short vocal warm-up led by Jeannette Nelson offers actors techniques to prepare their voice ahead of rehearsals and performances, featuring exercises on breathing, resonance,…
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6 min ↗
Text work on vowels in ‘O what a noble mind…’
Voice work on Ophelia’s speech.
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10 min ↗
Text work on consonants in ‘To be, or not to be…’
Voice work on Hamlet’s speech.
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9 min ↗
Vocal exploration of the Olivier
A vocal exploration of the Olivier theatre
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9 min ↗
Text work on prose from Saint Joan
Embodying prose from Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan
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8 min ↗
Text work on blank verse from Much Ado About Nothing
Deconstructing the Friar’s speech in Much Ado About Nothing
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4 min ↗
Vocal warm-up: Articulation
Focusing on clear articulation
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3 min ↗
Vocal warm-up: Opening up the voice
Stretching exercises to open up the actors’ voice
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3 min ↗
Vocal warm-up: Resonance
Warm-up exercises to work on the voice’s resonance
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7 min ↗
Vocal warm-up: Breathing
Starting the vocal warm-up with breathing exercises
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3 min ↗
Vocal exploration of the Lyttelton
A vocal exploration of the Lyttelton theatre
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6 min ↗
Vocal exploration of the Cottesloe
A vocal exploration of the Cottesloe theatre