Voice exercises???? Pleas help!?

Question:Im in a play next week and the director says the acting is fine but i need to speak from my diaphragm, does anybody have any exercises or activities to help me do this??

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Im in a play next week and the director says the acting is fine but i need to speak from my diaphragm, does anybody have any exercises or activities to help me do this??

Firstly- do you know where your diaphragm is and what it does? you need to to know how to use it properly!

To begin- make sure youre breathing with your diaphragm- as breath = voice! so when you inhale- you tummy should expand, and contract when you exhale. Most people do the opposite, so make sure you're getting the breath right down there! You can put your hand at the base of your ribs and breathe into that if the visualisation helps you.

Some vocal exercises you can try to remind you are to breathe into your hand and with a relaxed open mouth, make a relaxed ahhhh sound, using your somach musles/diaphragm to push the sound out. You voice will probably break a few times and sound ridiculous, the first few times as you learn to control the sound with your s/d instead of with your throat! Remember- Its not the quality of sound we're after, it the diaphragm control.

When you have that fully identified and controlled, start with open sounds, like vowels, and make a 'pillar of sound'.

begin facing the wall, with your nose touching. breathe into your stomach and using your diaphragm control make enough sound to reach the wall (not much as you are on it!) slowly step backwards from the wall continuing your sound, making sure it increases enough to keep reaching the wall.

When you need a breath, stop moving back, breathe in and begin again. You should end up on the side of the room with a full diaphragm controlled sound. Its projection without shouting.

Another is to bend over (completely, from your waist) nd make a loud vowell sound (ahh eeee oooh) and give it as much volume as you can. Then whilst making the sound swing your body upright and hear the volume increase without your changing anything! Its amazing, and completely due to your diaphragm! The sound should almost double in volume, even though you were as loud as possible when upside down!

I can't believe your director gave you a critique but no exercises to fix it. . . good luck!

Yes
Repeat Uhm-Oh-We-Oh-Wah In a singing voice repeatedly and strech your mouth while doing it!

A good game is to have a "voice war' we did that in improv and it really helped. Get into two teams each at different sides of the room and say "pah" as loud as you can. Whoever can be heard the best wins.

Ask your director and then guard against a punch to your abdomen.

Put your hand on your stomach in between your pelvis and the bottom of your rib cage. Then say things that require a lot of breath, like Ha ha ha ha ha.... that should help you because your hand should move up and down when you say it if you are breathing from your diaphragm

Breath by pushing your stomach in and out without moving your chest. Do this 5-10 times a day.

What Amanda B said.....