Members of ITV WEST Television Workshop use physical exercises
to warm up before their Christmas production of BUGSY MALONE (2005)
Warm Ups
As actors, our job is to create compelling characters in interesting relationships. In order to achieve this, we must understand our character and the "reality" in which our character lives. But that's only the beginning! Each character in a script has physical energy that underscores the words and the vocal and physical performance. We must also find that energy within ourselves and release it through our body during performance. The starting point for all physical performance is a relaxed mind and body. Once the body and mind are settled, the appropriate tension and energy for a performance can be brought in to create the reality of the character. Just as a carpenter has a hammer and saw, the actor has their tools - their mind, body and voice. It is of VITAL importance that actors undertake proper mental, physical and vocal warm ups. If the tools fail the actor, usually that means the actor is out of work! Begin any theatre session with at least twenty minutes of warm ups, thirty is recommended.
Here are some warm-up exercises to help you! You need to warm up because acting can be an intense physical, vocal; and mental workout.
REMEMBER: Don't exercise too much at first if you're not used to it!
Exercise gently and gradually at first. So, if you've never done sit-ups before, for example, don't do 100 sit-ups on day one! Do one today. Then two tomorrow. Three the next day. Seven by the end of the week and, by day 100 - you'll be doing 100 sit-ups!
Eat Healthy - stay healthy!
Drink More Water Than You Want To and less caffeine.
Quit or don't start smoking! It'll ruin your voice control and breathing!
Warm Yourself Up - but be careful with these stretches! Move smoothly, don't bounce, and if it hurts, STOP! Don't try to make up for a year of inactivity in a few weekends of fitness!
Exercise Your Face - Stretch out your facial muscles. Yawn as widely as you can. Scrunch your face tightly. Expand to the biggest surprise yawn you can. Scrunch. Expand.
Exercise Your Neck - Roll your neck from side to side. Roll your chin down to your chest. Lift your chin straight up into the air. Turn your head to look over either shoulder. Roll your head in a gentle circle.
Exercise Your Spine - Starting at your head and tipping each vertebra as independently as possible, nod your chin to your chest and then roll forwards down the spine, arms loose, until you reach the hips and drop into a toe touch. Hang for a moment and then reverse the motion, pulling each vertebra back into place as if they were threaded like beads on a string.
Exercise Your Arms - Do Windmills!
Exercise Your Wrists - with forward and back bends.
Exercise Your Ankles - with Ankle Alphabets - wherein you point your toe and "write" out each letter of the alphabet in the air with your big toe. This will make you rotate your ankle in all directions. Do once on each foot, and gradually build up to doing more.
Exercise Your Shins - with Toe Lifts - wherein you rest your heel on the ground. With your heel still on the floor, lift your toes up towards your shin. If you have weak ankles, you may not be able to lift the ball of your foot very much off the floor. Lift as high as you can, 10 times. Repeat with the other foot. This exercise also helps prevent shin splints.
Exercise Your Hips - Wiggle to and fro!
Exercise Your Feet - Point your toe as sharply as you can, rest your big toe lightly on the floor. You heel should not touch the floor. _Gently_ rock your heel from the left to right, extending as far as possible with your toe still pointed forward. Rock back from right to left, again extending as far as possible. This is a *very slow*, gentle movement. Don't bounce, and don't force it. Do 5 on each foot.
Exercise Your Ankles - with Lifts, wherein you stand normally, toes pointed slightly out. Slowly lift up to the balls of your feet, then - slowly -lower back down. This works both the calf muscles and the muscles immediately around the ankle. Try it 10 times to start. If your balance is good, do this exercise one-footed.
MORE PHYSICAL WARM UPS
1. Head rolls: Stand upright, feet shoulder width apart and gently roll the head in a circle. DO NOT collapse the neck in the back; keep the head in a controlled circle. Roll left to right five times - then reverse the direction.
2. Shoulder and arm circles: Stand upright, feet shoulder width apart and roll the shoulders in a circle, back to front for five times and then reverse front to back. Then bring the arms parallel to the floor and swing in circles. Begin with small circles and gradually increase the circumference until the arms have made a complete circle.
3. Arm Flex: Stand upright, feet shoulder width apart and extend the arms parallel to the ground. Turn the hands upwards so the fingers point toward the ceiling and the hands form a ninety-degree angle to the wrist. Flex the fingers toward the body so there is obvious tension and hold the arms perfectly parallel for two to three minutes. DO NOT STOP BREATHING! After the time limit is up, drop the arms and shake out the arms and shoulders.
4. Do general stretching for the legs - exercising your thighs, hamstrings, ankles etc.
5. Face: "Squish" the face together, like a sour face, and hold. Then "open" the face, open the eyes and mouth as wide as they can go. Repeat three or four times. Next, place the tongue tip on the inside of one cheek and make thirty to fifty circles with the tongue. Move to the other side and repeat, then lastly, circle the tongue around the front of the mouth.
6. "Puppet": Stand upright, feet shoulder width apart and imagine that a string has been drawn out of the top of your head and is pulling you up towards the ceiling. Do not rise up on the toes or anything, just keep the feeling of being pulled and supported by the string, like a puppet. Then, the string is cut. Drop forward at the waist and let your arms and head dangle loosely. Shake the shoulders and head gently to relax and hang there for a minute or so. Then, very slowly, rise back up - one back vertebra at a time - so that the head is the last part of the body to straighten up.
7. The Yawn-Sigh: A great exercise for relaxing the throat, jaw, face and body. Open your mouth wide and take a deep breath as you yawn. Stretch the muscles of your mouth and face when you inhale. You can also tighten your shoulders and arms. When releasing the yawn, let the air out slowly as you vocalize a low-pitch sigh. Release any tension in your face, shoulders, and arms as you exhale. Take your time with this, and you'll probably find yourself yawn-sighing three or four times.
8. The Face Stretch: This exercise will loosen up your face to allow for better facial expression during your performance. Start by opening your mouth as far as possible, stretching your lips, cheeks and jaw. Next, clench your teeth tightly and scrunch up your face, cheeks, lips, eyes and forehead as tightly as possible. You can also include your neck, shoulders, arms, hands, and as much of your body as you like. Hold this for a count of ten - then quickly and completely release the tension in your body. Doing this a few times will create a very relaxed feeling of mind and body.
9. The Tongue Stretch: You might want to do this one in private, or make sure no one is watching you! If your script is full of tricky words, tongue twisters or complex phrases, they will be easier to articulate if your tongue is relaxed. For this exercise, all you need to do is stick out your tongue and try to touch the bottom of your chin. Then stretch your tongue up to touch the tip of your nose. You get bonus points if you can actually do it!
10. The Neck Stretch (or Head Roll): This is an excellent warm-up for relaxing your neck. Begin by sitting straight in a chair. Pretend a string is attached to the top of your head, and allow it to lift your head away from your shoulders. With your head now slightly raised, slowly tip forward as though looking at your shoes. Keep your body straight, but allow yourself to feel the stretch along your spine, upper back, shoulders, and neck. Now slowly rotate your head to the left, allowing the right side of your neck to stretch. Continue rotating your head to the back and then to the right. If you feel any pain at any time, stop immediately - you may have an injury that needs to be checked by your doctor.
11. The Shake-out: This one will help relax your entire body and release inhibitions. You've probably seen dancers shake their arms wildly at their sides just before beginning a dance routine. The wild shaking gets their muscles warmed up and blood flowing. Stand quietly with arms at your sides. Begin by rapidly shaking your hands, and allow the shaking to gradually move up your arms to your shoulders. After only a few seconds, you'll begin to feel invigorated. You can involve as much of your body in the physical shaking as you like. The purpose here is to release any tension in the body, relax the muscles, and gets blood flowing.
12. Relaxation Exercise: Lie on the floor on your back with all your limbs extended comfortably. Imagine an environment which gives you a particularly good sense of peace, tranquillity, security and relaxation. Imagine you are lying in that environment and give yourself up to it, become a part of it, let all your muscles relax and melt into the environment. Now find a single word, phrase, or thought that captures the essence of this place which can be used as a "mantra" to trigger this sense of peace and relaxation, merely by repeating it to yourself. Once you have established yourself in this environment, gradually focus your mind inward while maintaining this peaceful state. Starting with your left big toe, mentally focus on each specific part of your body and concentrate on relaxing it as fully as possible. (You may need to momentarily tense each area in order to more fully relax it when the tension is released.) Once the area is as relaxed as you think possible, relax it even more. You will find that there are many different levels of relaxation. Try and establish an even greater one each time you do this exercise. Alternate from side to side, isolating as small an area as possible, working your way up your body from the bottom of your feet to the top of your head. Try and maintain a totally relaxed state in each area you leave while you continue to another. Once you have reached the top of your head, scan your body for any tension that may have returned while you were focusing on other areas of your body. When you have relaxed as much as possible, mentally return to your special environment and try to begin to associate this physical sensation of total relaxation with that mental image. Repeat your key word, phrase or thought to yourself so that you begin to associate the physical and mental state you are now in with your "mantra." Eventually you want to train yourself so that simply repeating your "mantra" will help you reach a more relaxed state.
13. Breath Manipulation: Once again, scan your body for any unwanted tension. Having released any that you may have found, now focus on your natural breathing pattern. Do not try to control it in any way. Simply observe it. Establish for yourself the duration of your inhalation, exhalation, and the amount of time your body pauses before initiating the next sequence (non-breathing time). Once you have established your natural breathing pattern, gradually begin to manipulate it, while maintaining a relaxed state. Begin to increase the inhalation time, while maintaining the same exhalation time and non-breathing time. Return to your natural breathing pattern, scanning for and removing any unwanted tension that may have developed during this manipulation of the breath. Once having re-established an optimum state of relaxation, again manipulate the breath, this time decreasing the amount of inhalation time, while maintaining your natural duration of exhalation and non-breathing time. Again return to your natural breathing pattern, scanning for any unwanted tension and removing it. Repeat the process, this time manipulating the exhalation time, first increasing it, then decreasing it, all the while maintaining your natural duration of inhalation and non-breathing time. Always return to your natural breathing pattern between manipulations and scan for and remove any unwanted tension that the manipulation may have created. Next, combine manipulations, increasing one while decreasing the other, reversing the combination, increasing both, decreasing both, etc. Always return to your natural breathing pattern and scan for and remove any unwanted tension between EACH new manipulation. Finally, return to your natural breathing pattern and scan your body one last time for any unwanted tension that may have developed. Mentally return to your special environment and begin repeating your "mantra" to yourself once again, trying to tie all mental and physical sensations together to establish as relaxed and peaceful a state as possible. Once established, very slowly and gently sit up, then stand, trying not to disturb this state of relaxation. Once standing, repeat the entire procedure in a standing position. Note the differences in sensations between the two positions. Gradually try and increase the speed with which you do the entire exercise, making sure not to skip any steps along the way. Eventually it will become easier for the body to respond to the mental imaging. Use this exercise to allow yourself to discover the potential of relaxation to generate energy. As unnecessary tension is released, this trapped energy enters the body, creating a state of aliveness, awareness, and potential mobility. Above all, enjoy this exercise, both mentally and physically.
14. Skeletal Exercise: Stand with your feet about shoulder's width apart. Make sure your weight is evenly distributed between both your feet and balanced equally between your toes and your heels. In your mind's eye, picture the bones of your left foot. The more detailed the image, the better. Slowly move your mind up your left leg, first focusing on the ankle joint, then the shin bone and leg bones, the knee joint, the thigh bones to the hip joint and on to the pelvic girdle. Once you have reached the girdle area, shift your focus to the right foot and again slowly move mentally upward, one area at a time until you are once again focused on the pelvic girdle. From there, imagine your spine, picturing how it grows out of the pelvic girdle. Slowly move, one vertebra at a time, from the small of your back, up to between your shoulder blades, with the rib cage floating around it, to the shoulder girdle resting on top. Feel your arms hanging from the shoulder sockets. Now imagine your left upper arm bones, then slowly down to the elbow joint, the forearm bones, the wrist joint, the bones of the hand, and finally, the finger bones. Having pictured them, shift your focus to the right shoulder socket and again trace down the arm, focusing on each specific area as you move. Once you have pictured both arms, return your focus to the point where the spine connects with the shoulder girdle and continue to mentally move upward, following each neck vertebra to the base of the skull. Next explore the bones of the skull, paying particular attention to the jaw joints. Now imagine the skull floating like a balloon off the top of the spine. Feel the lift created in the spine and the rest of the body as your head floats above it, drawing it upward. Next focus your attention on your elbow joints. Picture a balloon on a string tied to each of them and let them begin to float gently up toward the ceiling. This should involve the upper arms only, - no shoulder, forearm, hand, or neck muscles should help. Now mentally attach balloons to your wrists and gradually allow the wrists to begin to float upward as well. Finally, attach balloons to each finger tip, then allow your finger tips to gently float toward the ceiling. Once they are extended as high as they can go without undue tension, feel as if little balloons are attached to each of your finger balloons and are floating them even higher, gently stretching your entire torso upward. Gradually begin to release the air from your finger balloons, allowing your finger tips to begin to float downward. Only your finger tips should be involved. Everything else should still be floating toward the ceiling. Examine the contrasting sensations between your fingers and the rest of your body. Now release your wrist balloons and allow your wrists to gradually begin to float downward. Again, nothing else should be involved. Examine these sensations as well. Now release your elbow balloons and allow your elbows to begin to float downward, while your head continues to float, still suspending your spine in an upward stretch.
15. Rag Doll: Next, beginning with the top of your head, gently release the spine, one vertebra at a time. Feel your head and neck hang from your torso. Feel your shoulders, the rib cage, the pelvic girdle, etc. release as you roll down the spine, one vertebra at a time. Let your knees relax so the weight remains centered over the middle of your feet. Make sure your weight does not rock back onto your heels or forward onto your toes. Do not allow your knees to lock. Once you have released the whole spine, imagine your torso hanging from your tailbone. Breathe easily, relaxing all your torso muscles, shoulder muscles, neck muscles, head and arms, etc. Let each breath relax you even further. Now focus on your tailbone and begin to build up the spine again, vertebra by vertebra. Do not use stomach muscles to build yourself back up, but the floating imagery. Allow your stomach muscles to hang loose. Breathe. Gradually straighten your knees as the balance once again shifts. When you reach the rib cage, try to build it up one rib at a time until the torso is erect with the head once again floating above the spine, gently lifting the whole skeleton. When the skeleton is again completely upright, scan the body for any unwanted tension. The muscles of the body should no longer feel they must support the body. The skeleton is now holding it up, freeing the muscles to do their real job. You have actively transferred the energy needed to remain upright from the large, external muscles of the body to an internal image of the skeleton supporting it. It is as though the spine is a stream of upward-moving energy, fuelled by the mind. Be aware of the shape of your body, the shape it cuts in the air, the feeling of the air and of light touching your skin.
16. Inner Muscles: Now close your eyes and focus inward, becoming very aware of the inside of your body. Standing easily, with a sense of the spine lifting upward, begin relaxing the inner muscles of your body, moving from the top of your skull down the inside of the mask of the face, through your throat, to your chest. Now focus on the inevitable movement caused by your breathing as you imagine your stomach, down through the intestines and lower stomach, into the groin area. Release any tension you find as you mentally move down your body. It is no longer needed because the skeleton now supports the body. As you relax the muscles around it, keep the spine floating upward so you do not collapse. Allow the whole of the inside of your torso to be involved with the movement of your breath. Focus on the reaction of these inside muscles to the involuntary movements of your breathing apparatus. Once again, focus on your natural breathing pattern and scan for any unwanted tension.
17. Diaphragm Exercise: Having reached a relaxed state and established your natural breathing pattern through the use of the relaxation exercise, now focus on your breathing. With your throat, facial muscles, and jaw completely relaxed, allow the air to fall in as you inhale and immediately turn around and fall out as you exhale. It should be one continuous motion, never stopping the flow of air once the breath has been initiated. Think of it as flowing in a circular motion. To make sure everything is as relaxed as possible during the breathing cycle, listen to the sound of the cycle. If you can hear either the inhalation (a gasp) or the exhalation (a sigh,) it is an indication that something, most likely your throat, is not totally relaxed and is impeding the flow of air. Try and keep everything as relaxed as possible. This not only allows you to intake the most amount of air possible in the least amount of time, but also frees the vocal instrument, articulators, resonators, etc. to operate properly without being hindered by unwanted tension. The less unwanted tension in your body, the less extra work it will have to do in order to operate correctly. After allowing the air to fall in as it does in your natural breathing pattern, mentally imagine the air bouncing back out on a quick 'ha,' rather than slowly escaping as it does during exhalation in your natural breathing pattern. After you have mentally imagined this action several times, now physically allow this action to take place. After the quick burst of energy, allow the rest of the breath cycle to continue as it normally does in your natural breath pattern. Make sure your jaw, facial muscles, throat, etc. all remain completely relaxed. Only your diaphragm should tense momentarily to bounce the sound out. Continue to produce a single 'ha' with each new breath, initiating the sound just as the breath turns to exit your lungs. Check to make sure no excess tension has been created by this slight manipulation of the breath. If any exists, remove it. Now extend the exercise, creating two 'ha's per breath, then three, four, five. Make sure that any existing tension is released, both between 'ha's during the breath, and at the end of each breath. Each new breath should be as relaxed as if you had just completed the relaxation exercise and were focused on your natural breathing pattern, not manipulating it in any way. In order to help build up this feeling, always return to your natural breathing pattern for a few breaths before extending the group of 'ha's one further. After having extended the group of 'ha's to five, return to your natural breathing pattern and scan your body for any tension that may have built up. Now, while maintaining your natural breathing pattern, mentally imagine the breath falling in and bouncing out on two 'ha's, the second of which is sustained (ha haaa.) Repeat the same procedure you used with the previous bounced 'ha's, extending it to three, four, five 'ha's, always sustaining the final 'ha.' Be sure and check for tension, both in between 'ha's during the breath and at the end of each breath. Always return to your natural breathing pattern between each extension of the group of 'ha's. Again, after working with the group of five 'ha's, return to your natural breathing pattern and scan for any tension that may have developed. Now, while maintaining you natural breathing pattern, mentally imagine the breath falling in and bouncing out on two 'ha's, the second of which is sustained. This time, however, the sustained 'ha' closes to a very gentle 'm' just before the breath is used up (ha haaam.) Allow yourself to become conscious of the different parts of the body which respond to the hum. Feel the 'tickle' sensation. Make sure as much of the facial mask is as relaxed as possible to allow for as much vibration as possible. With each new breath, try to make more of the mask vibrate. Again, extend these groups of 'ha's to three, four, five, as you did in the previous sequences, sustaining the final 'ha' and closing to a gentle 'm' just before the breath is used up. Check for tension and return to your natural breathing pattern. Once again, follow the same procedure as before, but this time, close the 'm' earlier in the breath and open back to the 'ah' just before the breath is used up (ha haaamah.) Follow the same procedure as before. For the final step of the exercise, proceed as before, this time concentrating more on the closed 'm' than on the vowel sound (ha hammmah.) After completing this sequence of the exercise, scan one last time for built up tension and remove any that you find. Return yourself to the relaxed state you originally established for yourself at the beginning of the exercise, focusing one last time on your natural breathing pattern.
18. Breathing Exercise: Stand and begin an arm stretch to the ceiling, paying particular attention to your back. Feel the back being pulled away from the spine as the elbows move forward and then upward. Picture the back being stretched first horizontally, and then on an upward moving diagonal. Yawn as your hands stretch to the ceiling. Feel your hands stretch as if yawning. Feel the back of your throat stretch. Feel your back ribs stretch with the yawn. Let the wrists go, then the elbows, arms, and head. Now very slowly roll down through the section of the spine between the shoulder blades. Be very aware of the relationship between the ribs and the spine. Feel the breathing going into your back. Now build up the spine, one vertebra at a time, keeping a mental picture of the breath and mobility of your back. Next, standing, with your fingertips, feel the bottom edge of your rib cage from the breast-bone around to the spine. Imagine there is a short, strong piece of elastic attaching your lower back to your elbows. Lift the elbows a little, straight up and out from the sides and feel the back ribs respond as the elastic pulls. Drop the elbows. Lift the elbows once again, this time taking them straight up until they are level with your shoulders. Feel your ribs pulling well up and out from the spine so the entire rib cage is stretched. Now take the elbows forward in a wide arch and stretch the back even further. Bring the elbows back, allowing the intercostal muscles to relax a bit. Relax. Scan the body for tension and release any you may have found. There is more mobility in the sides and front of the rib cage than the back because of the floating ribs. Knowing this, apply the same process to the front of the ribs, trying to stretch the intercostal muscles even more in this direction than you were able with the back ribs. This time, imagine the elastic attached to the bottom of the front of the rib cage. Float the arms up to the shoulder level, pulling the bottom of the rib cage out to the sides with particular attention to the front and floating ribs. Move the elbows back a little to stretch the front of the rib cage more. Bring elbows forward again to relax the intercostals. Stretch, then relax. Once again, float the elbows up to shoulder height. Move them forward, pulling the back of the rib cage wide open. Now keep the back of the rib cage in this position but move the elbows back, pulling the front of the rib cage open. You should now feel as if you have a rather expanded barrel chest. Wriggle the rib cage up and even wider, imaging it to be like an open umbrella. Keeping the rib cage where it is, lower your elbows and relax your shoulders. Now think of releasing the front ribs enough to allow yourself to breathe easily, but keep the spine long and do not let your back ribs collapse. Now allow the whole rib cage to collapse as if you were dropping your rib bones into your stomach. Repeat the whole sequence without the final release. Make sure the shoulders remain relaxed throughout. Do not allow your back to arch either. Keeping your knees slightly bent will help this. Then, gradually release. Practice this until you are able to exercise the intercostals without having to use the breath. Now lie on the floor on your stomach, face to the floor, forehead on your hands. Sigh deeply into your back rib cage. Breathe deeply down your spine, imagining you have lungs in your buttocks. Let the air fill from your buttocks through the small of your back to your back rib cage. Let it escape in the same order. Now roll over onto your back and imagine your body is a rectangular box. Imagine the box is elastic so each side can move in a different direction. Feel a deep sigh of relief so that the breath moves each side outward, then let the breath fall out of you, uncontrolled, allowing the sides of the box to collapse inward. Roll on your left side and sigh into the right side. Change sides and repeat the process. Roll on your back and again repeat the process. Be aware of what immobilizing a given side does to the effect of the breath on the other sides. Now gradually stand. Focus on your natural breathing pattern. Observe how this breathing pattern affects the sides of the box. Now gradually feed in increasing sighs of relief. Notice the difference in sensation in this standing position. Now try and remove all air from inside your lungs. Once you feel they are completely empty, hold your nose and close your mouth. Next try to breathe in so that your ribs expand as far as they can. Imagine the vacuum you have created, then, keeping your mouth closed, let go of your nose and let the air rush in. Return to your natural breathing pattern and scan for and remove any tension that may have built up. Repeat this 'lung vacuuming,' this time paying close attention to its effects on the six sides of the rectangle. Again, relax, scan for tension, create the floating sensation for yourself, and focus on your natural breathing pattern. Now imagine the impulse to feed four huge sighs of relief into the box. Really imagine something terrible is about to happen, then does not. Really enjoy the relief offered with each sigh. Do not rush them, but do not pause between them either. Now feed the impulse for six repeated sighs of relief, but this time they are slightly smaller and faster. Make sure they are just as pleasurable. Feel the relief pour out with each one. Alternate between the four huge sighs of relief and the six smaller sighs. Relax and scan for and remove any tension this may have caused. Now, once again, move from four huge sighs to six smaller ones, then continue to make each sigh smaller and quicker until you are almost panting. Once you have created this 'panting' sensation, try and induce such a fast version of it that it is just a quiver, hardly disturbing the breath at all. Relax. Alternate: quiver - release - quiver - release. Focus on where you feel that quivering sensation. Try and place sound there and when you have imagined the sound, release it. Repeat the sequence, this time: quiver - release - touch sound further inside than the breath - relax and allow breath to drop back in to refill the 'cave' with vibrations - repeat. Relax and scan for and remove any tension this may have created. Now alternate, using external muscles to create sound with this new-found internal sound source. First shout 'HEY,' pulling in your stomach muscles as hard as possible to create the sound. Make the big, outside, abdominal muscles do a strong movement inward, punching out a loud sound. Now leave the outside abdominal wall loose and send the same strong shout impulse to this newfound internal sound centre on 'HEY.' Alternate between outer muscles strength and inner mental strength several times. Eventually, you want to be able to use this internal feeling on all your vocal warm-up exercises. This is the source of energy you always want to use when trying to project. It is the diaphragmatic support you want to achieve. Experiment with changing intensity and power as you use this inner sound centre. Now imagine a huge canvas at the back of the room. Using this inner sound centre, paint a landscape. Paint a horizon line of bright blue waves. Paint a large, red ship. Paint a mast and two big white sails on the ship. Paint a round, yellow sun. Paint the rays of the sun. Paint different sizes of white, fluffy clouds. Paint little seagulls around the ship. Sign your name in the lower right-hand corner. Paint first with just breath. Then paint a matching picture, this time allowing sound to help create it. Relax and scan for tension and release it, then return to your special environment. Focus on your natural breathing pattern.
19. Jaw Awareness Exercise: With your fingers feeling the jaw muscles that are below the ear, clench your teeth at the back and bite hard, then release the tension. Feel the changes in the jaw muscles and the jaw hinge. Now yawn. Again feel the jaw muscles and the jaw hinge. This is where to focus when trying to let the jaw relax. Put the heel of your hands on the jaw hinge area on either side of your face. Pressing firmly into the cheeks, smooth the bottom jaw down away from the top jaw until the mouth hangs loosely open. Imagine your bottom jaw has no muscles of its own and depends on your hand for movement. Place the back of your hand under the bottom jaw and gently lift the jaw up until the teeth lightly touch at the back of the mouth. Do not allow any facial muscles to help with this movement. Only the hand powers the movement. Make sure the front teeth do not touch. You are pushing the jaw forward if they do. Let only your back teeth touch. Keep the lips relaxed enough that they do not touch. Remove your hand to allow the jaw to drop. Repeat this exercise several times. Observe what is happening to the jaw hinge. Without any deliberate action, the ligaments and muscles within the hinge mechanism are gently stretched by the weight of the jaw bone dragging them down. This natural stretch increases muscular control and elasticity. Were you to try and actively control this stretch, you would impede this growth. Now, with your neck long and head floating, put your thumbs under your jawbone and your fingers on top of it so that you have a firm grip on the jawbone on either side of the chin. Allow your hands to again be the only muscular control for the bottom jaw. Starting with the teeth lightly closed, without moving the bottom jaw at all, lift the top jaw up and off the bottom jaw until the mouth is open. Using only your hands as muscles, gently lift the bottom jaw up to meet the top jaw so that the teeth once again lightly touch the back. Without moving the bottom jaw, again lift the top jaw up and off the bottom jaw until the mouth is open. Once more, with the hands only, lift the bottom jaw up to meet the top. By now your head will be as far back as it can go. Make sure all the muscles involved are as relaxed as possible. Now, using only your hands, bring your bottom jaw down so that it hangs loosely, mouth open. Keeping the bottom jaw where it is, gently lower the top jaw to the bottom. Continue this pattern until the head is back to its original position, neck long and head floating. Scan for any tension that may have built up during this exercise. Now focus on lengthening the back of the neck, floating your head higher and higher. As the head floats higher, the bottom jaw is free to float lower. Take hold of the jaw with both hands and gently swing it up and down, focusing on loosening the jaw muscles inside the hinge. Make sure you only move in an up-down motion, never side to side. Use only your hands as the working muscles. Nothing in the facial mask, neck, or shoulders should be involved. Scan once again, checking for any built up tension and release it.
20. Tongue Exercise: Place the tip of the tongue down behind the bottom teeth. Focus on the middle of the tongue and gently roll it forward and out of the mouth like a wave breaking over the bottom teeth. Feel the stretch from the tip of your tongue to the root of the tongue in your throat. Allow it to relax back to the floor of your mouth, the tip still touching the bottom of the teeth. Allow only the muscles in the middle of the tongue to create the motion. Keep the tip and root of the tongue as relaxed as possible. Repeat this process several times. Make sure that the jaw remains relaxed, dropping down and back, never forward. Focus on lifting the top jaw to create more space in which the tongue can move. Make sure the upper lip and teeth lift away from the tongue and that the throat is left completely open and relaxed. Breath through your mouth to make sure the throat is open and relaxed. No resistance should be heard when you breathe. If your hear some, relax your throat fully. Once this position is achieved, only the tongue should move as you repeat the exercise. Smiling slightly will also help lift the upper jaw and allow the tongue more freedom of movement. Now that you have stretched the tongue, begin to loosen it. Let it lie relaxed in the floor of your mouth with the tip still lightly touching the back of the bottom teeth. Gently move the middle of the tongue forward and back in a small scale version of the previous exercise. This time, allow the jaw to remain relaxed with the teeth about 3/4" apart. The tongue should move only within the mouth, barely moving beyond the front teeth. Gradually increase the speed with which you do this forward-backward motion until you feel you are lightly shaking the tongue loose through its whole length. Remember you are loosening the tongue, not stretching it now. It should be a very gentle, comfortable feeling. Once again, scan for and release any tension that may have built up. Once you have achieved a completely relaxed state, again focus on your natural breathing pattern. First mentally imagine, then physically bounce two 'ha's on the breath, sustaining the second (ha haa.) Continue this process, gradually combining it with the tongue loosening exercise so that the tongue begins its forward-backward motion while you sustain the final 'ha' (ha haiaiaia.) Make sure the stream of sound comes from deep within you and that nothing else tries to help support the sound. You should be as relaxed as possible. Each new breath should remove any tension built up during the previous one. Gradually begin to change the pitch of the sound. First gradually move higher. When you feel the pitch is beginning to create tension, move lower. When the lower pitches begin to create tension, gradually return to your natural pitch base. Make sure the vowel changes occur only because of the shift in tongue position, not because you try and create a different vowel sound. Once again scan for and remove any tension that may have been created. Now, roll the middle of the tongue forward, the tip still touching the bottom teeth, as you did when relaxing the tongue. Leave it in this forward position. Focus on what happens to the stream of air as you exhale through this space. Once again, first mentally, then physically begin bouncing 'ha's on the breath, sustaining the last (ha haaa.) Gradually shift the tongue to this forward position, focusing on the vibrations felt on the front teeth as the sound passes through this space. Begin to alternate between this forward position and the relaxed position (ha haeaeaea.) The motion should be as relaxed as possible. It is simply an extension of the tongue loosening exercise. You are not trying to create a change of vowel sound. It is simply the result of the change in tongue position. Gradually begin to alter the pitch, first moving higher, then lower, returning finally to your beginning pitch base. As you work through this process, put a finger in the soft place between the jawbones on the underside of the mouth. It should remain soft, even when the tongue is in motion. The only tension should be found in the middle of the tongue as it creates the motion. Once again, scan for any built up tension and remove it.
21. Soft Palate Exercise: Very gently whisper the syllable 'ka.' Focus on the place where the 'ka' is formed and observe what minute actions occur to create that sound. As you whisper 'ka,' be aware of the action of the soft palate and the back of the tongue. Now gradually begin to whisper 'ka' both as you inhale and as you exhale. Feel the temperature change as the air comes from different origins. Observe what parts of the vocal apparatus feel these changes the most. Make sure the front of the tongue remains relaxed, touching the bottom teeth as they have in previous exercises. Use these changing temperatures to sensitize the soft palate. Now yawn as widely as you can. Focus on the spontaneous lift and stretch this creates. When you yawn, try to make your yawn more horizontal than your naturally vertical one. This will begin to help form a rounder yawn, increasing the stretch in the soft palate, throat, and middle face. All your teeth should be exposed, the soft palate stretched high and wide, and you should have a clear view to the back of the throat. Now try and combine the yawn with the inhaled-exhaled 'ka.' Keep it a horizontal yawn so that the 'ka' does not choke you. Stop and swallow every few breaths so you do not dry out your throat. Also make sure you do not try and hold this stretch. It should be a springy, elastic stretch that is continually in motion. Do not drag the breath in, but simply allow it to fall in as you have in previous exercises. There should be no audible sound as you inhale to yawn. If there is sound, it indicates the throat is not completely relaxed and is giving resistance to the stream of air. Relax the throat completely. Scan for tension and remove any you find. Return once again to bouncing two 'ha's, sustaining the last (ha haaa.) Now combine the soft palate exercise with this so that the soft palate momentarily impedes the flow of air as the breath turns around (ka kaaa.) Repeat this several times. Return to your natural breathing pattern and scan for and remove any tension that may have been created. Now add the tongue loosening exercise to this combination, allowing the soft palate to impede the air flow and then the tongue action to alter its course (ka kaiaiaia.) The action of the soft palate should not create any tension that might keep the tongue from moving freely. Continue to repeat this combination, gradually changing the pitch, first moving upward, then downward, finally returning to your natural pitch base. Return to your natural breathing pattern and scan for tension. Repeat the process, this time allowing the tongue to move even further forward (ka kaeaeaea.) Again, alter the pitch. Focus on the shift in points of vibration. Having completed this sequence, return to your natural breathing pattern and scan for tension.
22. Throat Exercise: Drop your head as far back as it will go easily without involving your shoulders. Gently bounce two 'ha's, sustaining the second (ha haaa.) Mentally follow the flow of sound from deep within your abdomen upward toward the ceiling. Nothing should impede this flow. Now, using only the back of the neck muscles, slowly bring your head up on top of your spine, once again establishing that floating sensation. Continue the bounce-sustain vocalization while changing the head position and focus on the change in sensation caused by the shift in the passageway through which the sound is travelling. Make sure throughout this process that only the diaphragm area is supporting the sound. All the organs of speech, especially the throat, should be completely still and relaxed. Once again, drop the head back as before. Think of the tongue and jaw as belonging to the front of your body and the soft palate and skull to the back. Picture a wide chasm between the two. At the very bottom of this chasm is a very deep pool of sound. Release sound from this pool up through the chasm like a geyser, using the bounced-sustained 'ha' (ha haaa.) The throat and all the surrounding muscles should be totally uninvolved. The impulse for sound should be felt springing powerfully from a centre of energy far below, almost in the groin area. Now bring the head up slowly, using the back of the neck muscles. The chasm changes shape but does not close. Continue the bounced-sustained 'ha's as this motion is carried out. Note the change in sensations as the sound channel shifts. Continue to keep the throat and surrounding muscles relaxed. Only your centre of energy should be involved. Repeat this exercise again, this time focusing on the starting point of the sound in your centre and on the point on the ceiling to which you are focusing the sound. Picture the unbroken stream of sound as it flows through your body and up toward this focal point. Now bring your head up slowly, not allowing this channel to close, and pick a point straight ahead of you and focus this stream of sound towards that point. Again drop your head back. Imagine now that the pool of sound has colour, for example, blue. Picture the stream of sound as being blue and paint the focal point above you with the 'blue' sound. Slowly bring your head up and now paint the point ahead of you with the coloured sound. Repeat this portion of the exercise, changing your colour choice and focus on the change of sensation when you imagine different colours.
23. Lip Exercise: Blow air through your lips, allowing them to flutter. (This is like as a child does when creating a sound to imitate a motor boat or in imitating a horse, depending on if the sound is voiced or unvoiced.) First try performing this movement without sound, then add sound. Focus on the different sensations created when sound is added to the movement. Trying to maintain the relaxation needed to create this movement, now stretch the lips sideways with your index fingers. Release them and relax them as much as possible. Next pucker them as tightly as possible. In this position, push them out as far as you can, then pull them in as far as you can. Alternate, out and in, out and in. Now relax them as well as you can. Again, blow air through them, first unvoiced, then voiced. Return to the bounced-sustained 'ha hammma' exercise, now adding the voiced blown movement to the beginning of the sustained ha (ha bbbammma.) Complete the sequence, moving from one to five 'ha's, always sustaining the final 'ha.' Focus on the sensations created by adding the blown movement. Return to your special environment, scan for tension that may have built up and remove it, then begin repeating your key word and return yourself to as relaxed a state as possible.
25. Resonator Exercise: Drop the head back gently as you did in the throat exercise and imagine a tube that runs from the pool of sound in your groin area up toward the ceiling. Allow this tube to expand in the chest area, spreading the rib cage and creating a great, hollow cave. Now focus on the back of the neck and gently roll up, one vertebra at a time, until your head is again floating above the spine, suspending the whole spine. Do not let moving the head to this position change the opening of the tube that leads from the cave you have created. Now drop your head gently forward without letting your mouth close. Again, do not let the changing of the head position change the opening of the tube. Once again, bring the head to an upright position, allowing it to float above the body, suspending the spine. Now in one continuous motion, allow the head to gently fall backward, right itself, fall forward, and once again right itself, all the while not disturbing the feeling of openness within the tube that extends from the vast cave you have created to the ceiling. Make sure that all the responsibility for motion rests with the seven vertebrae of the neck and not any muscles that may want to help. Now once again, gently drop your head back as you did in the throat exercise. Focus on the pool of sound located in the bottom of the cave and let a low, very relaxed, warm, easy sound float up and out the tube you have created on a 'ha.' Make sure it is all vibration, not breathy at all. Put your hand on your chest and feel the vibrations of the sound throughout your chest. Now bring the head to an upright position, floating it above the spine and focus on where the vibrations seem to shift. Note that because the mouth cavity's shape has changed, the sound will too. It will sound more like an 'h' now. Let the pitch rise a little in order to heighten the vibrations the sound creates on the roof of your mouth and teeth. Now, starting from this upright position. Begin a new breath and gently allow the head to fall backward. Feel the shift in vibrations again. Allow the pitch to lower to heighten the vibrations the sound creates in your chest cavity. Indulge and wallow in the sound. Go as deeply as you can without pushing down in the throat. Beat your chest to shake up and awaken more vibrations. Enjoy these sensations. Now bring the head to an upright position again and float the head above the spine. Alternate back and forth several times, focusing on the shift of vibrations, trying each time to intensify the sensations this creates. Observe the change of pitch and the completely different quality of resonance in each cavity. Now go from the chest resonator to the mouth resonator and then gently drop the head forward, again trying not to disturb the open feeling you have created in the tube. Again, because the mouth cavity has changed, the sound will alter as well. It will now sound more like 'hi.' Feel the vibrations on the front teeth and find a higher pitch than the one you use in the mouth resonator to stimulate these vibrations even more. Once you have found these vibrations, alternate forward, straight, and back positions, using only the vertebrae to move the head, freeing the muscles of any responsibilities. Concentrate on the sensations of the shifting vibrations and try to increase them each time you return to a given position. As you do this, try and simply allow things to open rather than trying to 'place' the sound in a given area. The less you try and manipulate, the easier it will be for your body to find its natural co-ordinations for these resonating cavities. Now repeat this combination and mentally allow the different vibrations to change colours as they shift from one area of resonation to another. Direct the flow of colour toward a specific point above, in front, or below you. Examine if a variance of pitch within a given area changes the colour of the sound. Once again, return the head to an upright position, floating it above the spine. Imagine now that a friend is standing a great distance in front of you, but you wish to communicate with him/her. Allow this impulse to communicate to collect in the bottom of your cave of sound and then well up before it is allowed to escape through the tube you have created. Allow the urgency of the communication to dictate what sound escapes, do not try and 'make' any particular sound. Simply allow the emotion of what you wish to communicate to call forth the proper impulse. Change what you wish to communicate and examine how the different impulses change what is drawn forth from the cave. What resonators seem involved with which emotions? What different colours are called into play? Now relax once again, return to your special environment, focus on your natural breathing pattern, and repeat your special word, thought, or phrase until you are as relaxed and at peace as possible. Once again, allow the impulse to create sound well up and flow out of the cave of sound you have created. As it begins to flow forth, gently begin to bounce your shoulders up and down, shaking the sound as it flows out. Increase the bounce until the whole body is involved, trying to keep the body as relaxed as possible. Allow the knees to bend to absorb the rebound motion as you jump upward. Imagine your feet have springs on the bottom of them, allowing you to fly higher and higher. Now allow the body to begin to shake as well as flop as you bounce around. The sound should be totally out of control as you move around, totally influenced by the shaking out of your body. Relax once again. Float your head above the spine. Again allow the impulse of sound to well up and flow out from your cave of sound. As it begins to flow, beginning with the top of your head, gently roll down the spine, one vertebra at a time, until you are suspended from the base of the spine. (See Rag Doll Exercise) Observe the shifts of vibration as you roll downward. Begin a new breath as you need it. Gently roll back up, one vertebra at a time, allowing the head to once again float above the spine when you are fully erect. Now lie on the floor and again create the impulse for sound. Feel the difference in vibrations in this position than in a standing position. Roll over onto your stomach, placing your forehead on your hands and repeat the procedure. Examine the difference in these vibrations. Now alternate, rolling from your stomach to your back, to your stomach to your back, etc., feeling as sloppy as possible. Try to use as little muscular motion as possible to change positions. Examine how the vibrations shift as your position changes. Relax and return to your special environment, repeat your mantra, and focus once again on your natural breathing pattern.
26. Facial Isolation Exercise: Lift and lower your left eyebrow several times. Lift and lower your right eyebrow several times. Lift and lower your left cheek several times. Lift and lower your right cheek several times. Lift and lower your upper lip several times. Lift and lower your bottom lip several times. Stretch the left side of your mouth sideways and release it. Stretch the right side of your mouth sideways and release it. Alternate stretching the left and right corners of your mouth. Wrinkle the bridge of your nose up and release it. Move the bridge of your nose up and down. Squeeze your left eye shut. Stretch your left eye wide open. Squeeze your right eye shut. Stretch your right eye wide open. Alternate vigorously shutting and opening your left and right eyes. Lift your left eyebrow up and stretch the right corner of your mouth sideways simultaneously. Lift your right eyebrow up and stretch the left corner of your mouth sideways simultaneously. Devise any combination of movement to stretch the face vertically, horizontally, and diagonally. Squeeze the whole face into a tight ball. Stretch the whole face as wide as it can go. Shake the skin of the face off the bones. Massage your face with your hands. Totally relax all your facial muscles. Let your face 'melt' off the bones.
27. Middle Sinus Resonator Exercise: With your fingers, feel the shape of your face from the nose out to the cheekbones. You will find a slight hollow between the hills of your nose and cheeks which is soft and spongy. Gently massage this area with your fingertips in small circles, moving up and outward from the nostrils. Now move this area up and down as if you were pushing a pair of glasses up your nose. Now sigh out on sound, using a 'hi' and massage this area as you release the sound. Repeat, this time moving the area rather than massaging it. Notice what happens to the vibrations. Alternate these two movements, this time allowing the pitch to rise and fall until you find which pitches create the strongest vibrations in this area. Make sure all the organs of speech remain relaxed while you do this, especially the throat and tongue muscles. Do not allow the higher pitches to cause these muscles to tense. The more relaxed they are, the more the voice will demand support from the breath and find its true resonators. To ensure the tongue is as relaxed as possible, repeat the above exercise, this time with the tongue slid thick and relaxed, forward and out of the mouth. If it is really relaxed, it will be wide, touching the corners of the mouth, thick and unmoving. If it tenses anywhere along the length, it will try to pull back into the mouth again, becoming pointed or thin and flat. Also check the underside of the jaw for tension. This area should stay as soft during the exercise as if you were not making any sound whatsoever.
28. Nasal Resonator Exercise: With your finger, press the left side of your nose to close off the passage. Breathe through the other nostril in short, sharp, quick sniffs. Release the air and close off the other side of your nose, repeating the breathing procedure. Release the air. Repeat this, alternating sides several times. Focus on the feeling of cold air in the nasal passages and in the back of the throat behind the soft palate. Now close off the left passage once again, but this time, hum a pitch, picturing the vibrations warming these cool spots. Reverse sides. Repeat several times, changing the pitches on which you hum and observing the different vibrations that are created. Repeat this procedure once again, this time wrinkling your nose as you hum. Note how this changes the vibrations yet again. Vary the pitch. Repeat once again, this time leaving both passages open but massaging the nostrils with the nose wrinkled. Again, vary the pitch. Now try and focus all the sound and vibration 100% in the nose and slowly open the hum from 'mmm' to 'meee.' Try and create more and more vibrations. Experiment with pitch until you find the pitches that create the most vibrations in this area. Gently roll down the spine and, once hanging from its base, repeat the exercise. Focus on how the change in position alters the vibrations. Roll back up. Float the head above the spine and return to your special environment, repeating your 'mantra,' and focusing on your natural breathing pattern. Once again, direct sound and vibrations only through your nose. Now gently 'spread' this sound from just your nose outward to your cheekbones, smoothing this area with your fingers. As the vibrations begin to radiate outward, allow the sound to change from a very pointed 'me' to a more relaxed 'mi.' Feel the shift in vibration. Extend the scope of the vibrations even further by allowing the soft palate to relax, thus letting vibration to now escape through the mouth cavity. Alternate moving from nose to cheekbones to mouth to cheekbones to nose. Note where the vibrations impinge. Alter pitch until you can create the most vibrations in a given area. Repeat this sequence while rolling down the spine and up again. Experiment with what position seems to invoke the most vibrations for a given area. Return once again to your special environment, repeat your "mantra," and focus on your natural breathing pattern.
29. Skull Resonator Exercise: Repeat the skeletal exercise. With the head floating above the spine, close your eyes and focus inward. Imagine your body is a house. The basement is the cave of sound in your groin area, the ground floor is your chest, the second floor is your mouth, the third floor between your mouth and your eyes, the fourth floor between your eyes and your hairline, and the attic the top of your skull. Imagine your voice is an elevator whose source of power is located in the basement, but can travel to the attic. Starting in the basement, allow the elevator to gradually float to the attic, passing through each floor but not stopping. Once in the attic, allow a new breath to cause the elevator to return gradually to the basement, again passing through each floor without stopping. Repeat this sequence, this time rolling down the spine as the elevator ascends and rolling back up as it descends. Examine the differences in sensations when the body position is changes. Repeat the exercise once more, this time reclining on the floor. Examine these different sensations. Relax, return to your special environment, and focus on your natural breathing pattern.
Now that your body is relaxed and warmed up, you can apply the appropriate body posture, facial expression, and physical energy needed for your character. You'll find it much easier to create a believable character when you start from a state of relaxation, than if you tried to just go right into it without preparing yourself. Just as an Olympic athlete warms up before an event, so actors should warm up our instrument (our mind, body and voice) before we begin our performance.
Compiled by Adam Fresco (2006)
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