Inevitably, you will run into situations were someone like a director or casting director or acting coach will demand that a line be spoken in a specific manner. This kind of request is not unreasonable and may be necessary for the line to make sense in the context of the script. Actors often feel trapped by the narrowness of this hyper specific direction and end up delivering a rigid, artificial reading of the line. However, the amazing mouth machine (see earlier post) can be used to get around this problem.
Let's assume that you have become comfortable using the mouth machine and that you've been successfully converting script into “talk” as you develop your monologues. Delivering a specific reading as “talk” is not that much different so long as you really “hear” the line reading given. “Hear” the verbal emphasis and vocal formation of the line as stated by the director. Then, simply turn what you've heard over to the mouth machine and let the mouth machine take care of delivering the line just as you would let it deliver a memorized line.
Really hearing the line reading as given is essential. The mouth machine needs this to render an accurate version of the line, and at the same time, make it play like real “talk”.
If you try the above and you still get an artificial sounding read, it is because you've lost contact with the person that you are supposed to be talking to. Remember, for the mouth machine to do it's magic, it needs to be speaking to someone. When you're given a strict line reading, it's easy to focus on the line and lose the person that you're talking to. So long as you have contact, the mouth machine will be able to deliver a line reading that satisfies the director and sounds like “talk”.
Next… Expanding your interpretation.
Labels: monologue line readings