Actor Speaks: Voice and the Performer

In The Actor Speaks, Patsy Rodenburg takes actors and actresses, both professional and beginners, through a complete voice workshop. She touches on every aspect of performance work that involves the voice and sorts through the kinds of vexing problems every performer faces onstage: breath and relaxation; vocal range and power; communication with other actors; singing and acting simultaneously; working on different sized stages and in both large and small auditoriums; approaching the vocal demands of different kinds of scripts. This is the final word on the actor's voice and it's destined to become the classic work on the subject for some time to come.

Beginning with what every first-year acting student faces in class and ending with what leading professional actors must achieve every night on the three stages of the Royal National Theatre, Patsy Rodenburg's celebrated work as one of the world's foremost voice and acting coaches is fully revealed in this thoughtful and inspirational book about the process of acting Through a seven-step process, she takes the actor through an intensive voice and speech workshop tackling the vexing problems faced in rehearsal and on stage: breathing and relaxation; vocal range and power; communication with other actors and the audience; integrating movement, singing and speaking; deciphering and animating a text; adjusting voice to different size stages and auditoria; working in mediums beyond the stage; sustaining a performance through an entire evening and a long run; and identifying and overcoming the countless potential problems that face every performer who works in front of an audience.

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Director of Voice at London's Royal National Theater and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Rodenburg takes professional and beginning actors and actresses through a complete voice workshop. She considers all aspects performers confront, including breath and relaxation, vocal range and power, communications with other actors, singing and active simultaneously, working on different sized stages and auditoriums, and the vocal demands of different kinds of scripts. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Patsy Rodenburg is Director of Voice at London's Royal National Theater and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. As a leading voice and acting coach, she works regularly with actors including Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Nicole Kidman, and Ralph Fiennes.

Dame Judi Dench, one of the foremost actors of our day, has won the Oscar, the Tony and the Olivier award.