Acting Aerobics: Imagine Your Voice

A great place to start working on your voice, is simply by allowing yourself to imagine it!

The following exercise is taken from Kristin Linklater’s book, Freeing the Natural Voice.

Time: 5mins-unlimited

What: blank paper, colouring pens/pencils/crayons

1. Draw a picture called “My Voice As It Is Now” (first close your eyes and imagine your voice in your minds eye. There is no road map for this exercise. It may be abstract or organic, angular or fluid, mono-chromatic or colourful. Draw what you see and how you feel).

2. Now draw another picture called “My Voice As I Would Like it to Be.”

3. Draw a black outline of a gingerbread person (head, torso, arms, legs). Next, inside the body begin to colour impressionistically or figuratively whatever you see as problems that prevent your voice from being the voice that you would like it to be.

This exercise can take as little time, or as long as you need. If done thoughtfully it might reveal things that are highly personal to you, so don’t worry, you don’t need to share it with any one if you don't want to. Like any road map, or game plan, it is important to know where you are starting from, in order to get where you need to go. This quick acting aerobics is not only a great place for you to start working and thinking about your voice, it should also inspire you to keep growing as an artist, by allowing you the time to envision your voice in all of its glory.