Voice for the Female Stage Manager
As a stage manager, I am constantly having to speak to large groups of people- whether it be in rehearsal, in production meetings or during a tech week. When I was a freshman, I came into James Madison University, timid in conversation and determined to become a theatre major. After re-interviewing for the program, I got in and got involved in as many shows as I could get my hands on.
Through frequent conversations with my director post-rehearsals on Dogfight, I still needed to be more confident as a a stage manager. While improvement was made from the first production I had stage managed, I still had a long ways to go in terms of confidence.
While I realize a lot of confidence comes from experience and time, I was strongly encouraged to take a Voice for the Stage course. While I was extremely apprehensive, I took the course and came to find myself thoroughly enjoying myself. The classroom was full of people who loved and supported each other and I cannot thank them enough for their support and friendship in one of the most challenging courses in my college career. I learned so much about my voice as an instrument and it truly helped me develop confidence in the rehearsal space.
The class changed me so much, that it has inspired my senior seminar (aka thesis) project. I have decided to further explore the voice as an instrument and how I can use the information to further find agency (or confidence) in my own voice. I will be partaking in a two week (fifteen days) exploration of three different vocal techniques. The first five days will be spent re-exploring the work of Kristin Linklater. The next five days will be spent on the work of Cicely Berry. The final five days will be spent on the work of Edith Skinner. Each set of five days will be spent exploring the different exercises of the technique as well as different vocal challenges I believe will help me develop professionally. I will be sharing blog posts, photos, and videos daily to share my experience. The basic outline of the first week is:
Monday 3/3- Friday 3/7: Linklater
Monday: Physical Awareness and Breath
Tuesday: Touch of Sound
Wednesday: Collecting and Freeing Vibration; Soft Palette
Thursday: Jaw and Tongue
Friday: Resonators; Range and Articulation
5 day Challenges:
-Apologize less- transition from "I am sorry I am late" to "Thank you for waiting for me"
-Start decreasing caffeine intake
I hope to gain a lot from this project. While I have a vocal warmup from last semester, I am looking to create the best daily warmup possible to use prior to rehearsals. I hope by gaining knowledge on my voice as an instrument I will be able to further find agency in my own voice. I look forward to sharing this journey with you all and I hope you learn something along the way as well!
Chelsea Janke
