Voice 4: Stretching to Extremes
At this point, you have laid important foundational work on your voice. Breath and thought are in conjunction, and patterns of tension and constriction have been identified and gradually resolved. But even when the vocal instrument is freed from unnecessary tension, if the actor is trapped by habitual speech patterns, the characters you play will always be similarly trapped. This is why so many untrained actors simply do the same thing with every role they take on. Each character should be a fully realized human being, and should not be brought down to your pedestrian and limiting behavioral patterns. Common speech habits include dropping energy at the end of a line, speaking in monotone, and rushing over words. Sloppy or jumbled speech is one of the surest ways to kill any actor’s career, no matter how talented.
Fine Tuning the Nuances
In Voice 4, we are now ready to turn our attention to classical, heightened text. The work of Shakespeare provides the perfect vehicle to stretch the expressive instrument to extremes, and disrupt the casual dynamics of your everyday speech patterns. Students in Voice 4 will develop the vocal dexterity to identify and inhabit rhetorical devices in Shakespeare’s verse. In conjunction with important work happening in acting class, you will use your craft to begin achieving greater dimension with the spoken word. These acquired skills facilitate cold readings of classical and contemporary texts by encouraging bold choices, clarity of thought, and emotional immediacy. The fine-tuned ability to identify shifts in thought and interpret linguistic nuance is applicable to any script or piece of text.
Bringing Life and Vitality
Shakespeare’s verse provides a playground of language and emotion. It is rich in metaphor, analogy, simile, alliteration, and antithesis. In order for you to rise to the occasion of this beautiful writing, we will challenge you to use your craft to tap into the depths of human experience. The vocal release which we began in Voice 1 and Voice 2 continues to deepen in Voice 4, broadening your access to the raw material within you, in order to infuse language with life and vitality.
Adding Range and Dimension
Many actors have the false assumption that working on Shakespeare, and classical text are only for people that are interested in classical theater. In truth, challenging yourself to work on classical, elevated language will greatly deepen your understanding of metaphor, simile, alliteration, antithesis, and the dexterity that can be found when you understand how to use nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs with imagination and clarity. The actors who work at the highest level have spent years working with language. It’s a skill that will add to the range and dimension of the behavior you create.
Voice 4 is a 12-week course with 24 classes.
Voice 1, Voice 2, and Voice 3 are prerequisites for Voice 4
Learn more about the professional acting programs at the studio.
MIDORI NAKAMURA
As an actor, Midori has worked in film, TV, on Broadway and Off-Broadway. Midori was made a Designated Linklater Teacher in 2019. In addition to the Maggie Flanigan Studio, she teaches voice for the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University, The Linklater Center in New York, and NYU Tisch at The Lee Strasberg Theater & Film Institute.
Midori also coaches private clients in both acting and voice.
STUDENT TESTIMONIALS
“I left every class brimming with new discoveries. The opportunity to work with Greek text in Level IV was the perfect culmination of our training – incorporating heightened material, huge emotional range and complete physical embodiment of a character.”
Jill Durso
“I think everyone needs voice training. Voice 4 solidifies your breathe and vocal work. This program wouldn’t be complete without this class.”
