Why voice matters in drama

The voice is one of the actor’s most powerful tools, as part and parcel of their characterisation and how the text is interpreted for the audience. Think about situations in which you’re solely reliant on the voice. Clearly body language will add to the effect of what you say but in situations where there is no physical presence – phone conversations or a radio play – the listener is solely dependent on what they hear.

Think about how the actor uses the voice to convey the character’s age, status and mood. Voice can also be used in a more abstract way to create soundscape and atmosphere as well as conveying thoughts, emotions, feelings and ideas.

When writing about the voice, you might be describing a performance you gave and what you tried to achieve and why you used your voice in the way you did. You could be asked to describe the work of an actor in a performance you watched. This might be for feedback in a workshop or the classroom or it might be for a theatrical review.

Can you think of an actor who uses his or her voice particularly effectively? Think about why their voices are so memorable. Remember that projection is essential in a large theatre in front of an audience whilst voice work has to be subtler and quieter on screen. So if the actor is inaudible in a large theatre, this is a big problem.

Vocal elements

Many actors begin their interpretation of a character by finding a suitable voice. There are a number of different vocal elements you should consider:

• Pitch – speaking in a high, low or natural voice.
• Pace – the speed at which someone speaks, eg the speed of response in an argument.
• Pause – a dramatic pause at a crucial moment could merit a comment.
• Tone – this suggests your mood and your intention towards the listener, eg happy or sad.
• Volume – you might be commenting on audibility but you’re more likely to be discussing the effect of a loud, powerful voice or a quiet, nervous or sad voice.
• Accent – you may be talking about how someone has achieved a convincing accent or how the choice of accent enhanced their characterisation.
• Emphasis – the pressure on individual words that makes them stand out. Emphasis or stress for a particular effect is significant and can change the meaning of a sentence as well as the feeling behind it.
• Intonation – the rise and fall of the voice. There’s a clear movement up at the end of a sentence when we ask questions for example. Intonation also helps us to say what we mean.

Intonation exercise

Read the following.

Hello, how are you? I heard you’d been ill but I see you’re better now. I’m glad. When are you going to be back at work?

The first time you read it emphasise the words that are outlined in bold only. You should find the words in bold are very concerned and sympathetic.

Now say the same line again but this time say the words that are in bold sarcastically. It will sound as if you doubt whether the listener really has been ill. There are many ways to say a speech of this length but this exercise should highlight the differences you can make. Write up a description of how you used vocal skills to express the different meanings in this exercise.