Remedy for actors losing their voices

[spookologist]

I'd like to hear some input on this subject if anyone had some ideas?

Hope everyone is having a great season so far.

Wayne
www.trailofterror.com

[MovieRelics]

Warm / Hot Green Tea with Honey thru the night. Works for me.

[Allen H]

A ricola and sepocal cocktail, also train them to vary their sounds/voice throughout the night, that way they dont just blow out their throats.

[phreakout]

Vitamin C drops will save your voice. Keep them hydrated with water and gatorade.

[Gahaunter]

Remedy....

Obviously all the things mentioned....

Rest, water, Vitamin C/cough drops,


But as a working actor/singer I recommend two products:

Throat Coat herbal tea and an herbal throat spray like Singer's Friend or Clear Voice.

Usually available at health food stores or grocery stores like Whole Foods. Check your local markets.

Warning: None of these items are particularly tasty (especially the spray "Singer Friend *yuck* (I've heard Clear Voice tastes better) but if your performers are dedicated and really want to keep performing and not lose their voices it should help.

[Lys]

The best thing, of course, is to train them not to abuse their voices to the point where they lose them. Beyond that, here are some suggestions:

1. Proper vocal warm up. There are a ton of resources out there with basic vocal exercises that can be done to warm the voice up before they start working. A really solid warm up takes between 15 and 30 minutes. I do mine in the car on the way to haunt.

2. Hydration, hydration, hydration. Your actors should be drinking water all week long, not just on performance nights. The body can't lubricate the vocal chords with a swig of water (though it may feel like that's what is happening), it can only lubricate them from within the body. That means that the body has to be fully hydrated before they start working.

3. Hot tea with honey and lemon. The lemon will help cut through excess mucus, and the honey has antibacterial properties that will soothe the throat. The heat from the tea will also soothe the throat.

4. Please avoid Chloraseptic and any other product that numbs the throat. All that this will do is allow the actor to continue causing damage to their voice. They might make it through the night, or even the season, but the consequences could be severe (up to and including nodes on the vocal chords).

5. BREATHE! I know that they're moving, and sometimes very quickly or in postures that don't work well with breath support, but the better support they give the easier it will be on their throats.

It's possible to have your actors make a pretty wide range of vocal sounds without killing themselves. It really depends on the actor and their abilities. For instance, I'm a trained soprano, so I can do high-pitched voices all night without getting more than a little tired. It's no worse for me than singing a full length opera. Ask me to do something low and growly, though, and I'll be done halfway through the night. Have them find vocal modifications that work with their natural vocal tendencies, and it will be easier to sustain.

I'd strongly recommend that anyone who is really interested in keeping their voice in shape, or helping their actors vocally last longer without injury, contact a vocal coach and get some basic instruction on preserving your voice while using extreme vocal technique.

Hope that helps!

[drfrightner]

This is an easy one...

Buy TONS AND TONS OF Halls Cough drops suck on them the entire night while you act before you act all throughout the night and your voice won't be hurt one bit not before, during or after.

Try it!

Larry