QUESTION:
I am doing a small play in which i play a hunter, and i was wondering how to actually do a man-voice,(i have a high pitch girly-voice) and how to get into character before actually dressing up! Any suggestions or details of the above tips to help me? Thanks!
ANSWER:
First, ask the director if they want you to do a man’s voice. They obviously cast a woman, so unless you’re doing a comedy, you’ll likely be more believable in the role of a hunter if you just work on making the character real.
I don’t know the situation, thought, so I’ll just assume for now the director wants you to have a deeper voice. The best way to do that is to concentrate on having your breath comes from your lower belly. From what you’re saying, it sounds like your voice is in your chest right now, so practice breathing deeper and feeling your voice originate from lower in your body. If you have a lot of lines, it’s very important for your voice to be “placed” or you won’t be able to sustain the male voice and you could hurt your throat. So make sure you’re not in your throat when you do the deeper voice. Just use the breath.
In terms of working on the character, use the clues in the script. If there aren’t may clues, start with asking yourself the question “why does this person hunt?” Is it that they feel a thrill tracking an animal? Is it to get a sense of power? Is it to fit in with other men in the town who hunt? Whatever it is, it will give you a first look into what drives your character, so when you’re playing the part, you’re not just acting like you think a hunter would, you’re going after what the character wants (for example, finding this animal) knowing why it’s so important for them to get what they want.
Hope this helps. Good luck with the performance. Use comments to let us know how it went.