Actors - Find your Voice
Sen. Hillary Clinton said in her speech after her New Hampshire Primary win that she had “found her voice.” To find your voice can mean many things: to discover who you are, to express your self freely or simply to not be afraid to be who you really are, not who you think people want you to be. Are you trying to be the person that will win the election, get the job, win the award, get cast. Actors have many voices or do they? Maybe it is one voice expressing itself in different ways. So much of an actor’s audition these days is the interview - self-expression - who the actor is, how he behaves, “personality.” It’s not just the talent but also who you are and what you are like to work with that can land the part. That is where the actor’s voice comes in. An actor has his own voice and should have the confidence to express it. Hillary finding her voice reminded me of Sally Field when she won her Academy Award: “You like me, you really like me.” Underneath it all, presidential candidate, actress, person on the street, we are all trying to find our own voice and just have it heard. Vernice Klier, an international acting and voice coach, who I met with in Los Angeles recently, said that she always has any actors studying with her work in a different art form in addition to acting. For example, painting, singing, journalling etc. To me, this stretches the actor - makes their world not just about acting but focuses on them as “a person” who acts. The more an actor develops confidence, branches out, grows as a person, the more he can bring to any audition. Actors find your voice!