Take Action #11 - Can You Shake Up Your Rhythms?
Our last blog exercise hopefully got you going, stepping out of your natural voice. Now, use the following exercise, which we like to call “The Phrasinator,” to shake up your own rhythms. Read each phrase on the left with the emotional intention on the right.
Exercise: The Phrasinator
- Over here.........................................Uncomfortable
- I need that........................................ Scared
- Let go...............................................Frightened
- What are you talking about..................Awe
- Don’t do that......................................Sleepy
- I don’t think that’s a good idea..............Happy
- Give me the new one..........................Overjoyed
- No....................................................Annoyed
- Try it again........................................Uncomfortable
- Listen to me......................................Angry
- Alright..............................................Secretive
- Stop right there..................................Frustrated
- Wow that’s huge................................Excited
Was the word on the right not always the word you might have naturally associated with the phrase on the left? Did you discover some fun things simply by shaking things up a bit in this way?
Now, let’s take it one step further, and crank up the phrasinator. Try reading the first phrase with each of the thirteen words in the right-hand column, one at a time. Then move to the second phrase and do the same thing. Then the third, and so on, until you’ve gone through all the phrases and all the descriptive words. Do you begin to feel your old boundaries melting away as you expand your vocal tool box? Are you beginning to see the potential in this exercise for setting your audition apart from how another actor might automatically read a line?
If you want to continue playing with these phrases, take it one step further by adding punctuation (? . ! …) and see how that might change the way you say the lines as well.