It’s nearly the start of in situ:’s new course! Here, Artistic Director Richard Spaul talks about what we are offering this autumn.
Richard, why a course on The Voice?
A person’s voice is one of the most important things they’ve got. It expresses thought and feeling and it’s the most intimate tool of communication. The artistic uses of The Voice are infinite – speaking, singing, sounding.
Yet many people aren’t confident about it, don’t think about its possibilities, neglect it – or even don’t like it. So I’m very excited about a year-long course which explores The Voice in detail.
Do you have a particular interest in voice work? What’s your own journey in learning about it? What’s been your own experience in using voice work in your own performances?
I’ve studied voice work for many years and have explored it as a singer, actor and teacher. I’ve worked with many practitioners who come from what is now called the Wolfsohn/Hart experimental tradition.
These people were mid-20th Century pioneers in exploring the human voice in a much more exciting and radical way than was previously being offered – and in many cases is still being offered – by traditional
voice teaching.
The Wolfsohn/Hart approach is based around the idea of exploring what the voice can do which is not necessarily talking or singing. This is usually called ‘sounding’ or ‘extended voice’ and involves a range of sound which, though fundamental to human voice, is usually ignored.
So it’s yawns, sighs, sobs, laughs, shouts – elements which are absolutely basic not just to all acting technique but also to humanity. Actors – including traditional actors – have to use these elements all the time, but they are poorly understood and valued. In the course I’m offering, we’re going to put all that right.
As for my own work, most recently in my solo performance of Hamlet and Metamorphoses, I have found that an understanding of the Wolfsohn/Hart techniques has increased my vocal range beyond what I would have imagined possible. The techniques have even allowed me to extend my voice beyond a human range – for example to animals, ghosts, and elemental forces.
There’s a very big and exciting world of voice out there and most people don’t visit it – but we will!
Will the course include the more traditional aspects of theatre voice work such
as projection or elocution?
No, definitely not. Of course there are many times when one needs to be loud and clear in theatre work, but there are far more interesting and sensitive ways of achieving that than studying projection and elocution. Those techniques derive from big proscenium arch performances where one is addressing a very distant audience. This is not true in in situ:’s work and is increasingly irrelevant to contemporary
theatre as a whole.
Does the title of the course indicate that there’ll be little or no exploration of movement or other bodily theatre skills apart from voice?
One can’t actually separate ‘movement’ and ‘voice’. Those words may indicate different categories when used in a drama school syllabus but they’re inextricably linked – voice is every bit as body-based as anything else is.
So we’ll be exploring the relationship of voice and movement, voice and text, voice and emotion, voice and character. It’s a very wide subject area and even over the course of a year we will only be able to explore a part of it.
A course entirely on The Voice sounds quite challenging. So do participants need to have done voice work already? Do they need to have a good grasp of English? Do they need to have done much drama work before?
Learning anything new and exploring any new techniques is of course challenging and requires courage and determination. But in situ:’s approach is always supportive and nurturing, allowing participants to discover things in their own way.
The Voice course is ambitious and will make demands on its participants. But there are no entry qualifications and different ranges of experiences and language mastery will all be integrated. Many experienced theatre practitioners are in fact beginners in this area of work, so I don’t want to lay down too many preconditions.
What will participants actually be doing? Give us a taste of what a class might look like and feel like!
As the course begins, we’ll meet each other and do little games and exercises so everyone feels comfortable and included.
After that, most classes will include a big chunk of group exercises where we are all learning vocal techniques together. Then we might work in pairs or small groups to take things further, and from time to time this will result in short episodes to show to the rest of the group. This process is good fun and very helpful in developing understanding and skill.
An important aspect of this course, maybe more than in other recent in situ: courses, is the idea of individual work. Voice is a very personal thing and the difficulties and opportunities involved vary greatly from one person to another.
So one person might experience their voice as thin and weak. Another might have a strong voice but feel they always sound the same and want to change that. Someone else might be controlling their voice all the time and need to relax that control in order to increase their expression and their pleasure.
These very different issues call for different ways forward. So during the classes, I will often work for a short while with one person. The group can help and support through their observation and comments, but most of all by joining in and using their own voices to encourage and develop. It’s very common for one participant to do easily what another struggles to do, and so learning from other members of the group is incredibly necessary and helpful.
The classes last 2 ½ hours and will fly by very fast.
Previously, in situ:’s autumn term course leads on to more detailed work and then a final public performance. Is that what you’re planning to do this year?
Over several decades, in situ: has developed a very good reputation for outstanding public performances. But this course offers something a little different.
We will do performances in the summer. But rather than ending the year with a formal charged-for show, we’ll be doing informal showings, ‘works-in-progress’ you might call them, free and offered only to a small, invited audience.
The accent here will be on sharing our experiments and processes rather than presenting fully-fledged artworks. It’s a more appropriate way forward when there is so much to explore around voice in terms of technique and approach.
I’m hoping all participants will want to work up to these informal showings, but it’s optional – people are welcome to do one or two terms and then take a break.
How do you think people should decide whether to get involved in the course?
I would suggest that – whether experienced or not – you look at the course description and simply see if you think it sounds exciting. If so, sign up, plunge in and start doing it!
Course Details
Course: Voice, The Muscle of the Soul, an 8-week autumn course on The Voice
Dates: Mondays, October 7 to December 2 (except November 11th)
Times: 19.30-22.00 pm
Venue: St Andrew’s Church Hall, Chesterton
Cost: £250 per term
The second term follows the same pattern, Monday January 20-March 17 (except
February 17th), venue St Andrew’s Church Hall.
The third term follows the same pattern of Mondays and will be held from the end of
April to mid-late June, firm dates to be confirmed. This term may include some work
on an outdoor site.
