The Art of Voice Acting: the art and business of performing for voice over (11 page)

Tongue twisters are a great way to loosen up the muscles in your face and mouth. Go for proper enunciation first, making sure all letters are heard and each word is clear. Begin slowly at first, then pick up speed. Don’t cheat on the end of words. For an extra challenge, practice these using your cork. With repeated practice, they will be a bit easier to do.

Most Dr. Seuss books can provide additional tongue twisters, and can be lots of fun to read out loud in a variety of styles. Some excellent tongue twisters can be found in
Fox in Sox
and
Oh, Say Can You Say
(1979). Another good book of tongue twisters is
You Said a Mouthful
by Roger Karshner (1993). Most retail and online booksellers can help you find a variety of other tongue twister books.

In 1984, while at a dinner party with people from 12 countries representing more than 15 languages, Michael Reck, of Germany, began collecting tongue twisters. Since then, he has compiled the largest collection of tongue twisters to be found anywhere—“The 1st International Collection of Tongue Twisters” at
www.uebersetzung.at/twister/en.htm
and at
www.voiceacting.com
(linked in the Free Stuff menu area). You’ll find more than 2,000 tongue twisters in 87 different languages. If you think the English tongue twisters are challenging, try some of the other languages (assuming, of course, you can read them!).

A good performer never stops learning. Continued training in acting, improvisation, voiceover, singing, and even classes in marketing and business management can be helpful. Learn the skills you need to become the best performer and business person you can be. Study other voiceover artists. Watch, listen, and learn from television and radio commercials. Observe the trends. Practice what you learn to become an expert on the techniques. Rehearse regularly to polish your performing skills. Take more classes. Learn everything you can about your home studio equipment so you can provide the best possible recordings of your work. Master marketing techniques, develop strong negotiating skills, and learn how to run your business. You can get a lot of this information from books, but the best way to learn will be to study one-on-one with professionals who can teach you the skills you need to know.

Coffee contains ingredients that tend to impair voice performance. Although the heat from the coffee might feel good, the caffeine can cause constriction of your sinuses or throat. Coffee is also a diuretic. The same is true for some soft drinks. Soft drinks also contain sugar that can cause your mouth to dry out.

Smoking is a sure-fire way to dry out your mouth quickly. Smoking over a long period of time will have the effect of lowering your voice by damaging your vocal cords, and presents potentially serious health risks.

Alcohol and drugs both can have a serious effect on your performance. You cannot present yourself as a professional if you are under their influence. Using alcohol and drugs can have a serious negative influence on your career as a voice actor. Word can spread quickly among talent agents, studios, and producers affecting your future bookings. I have seen sessions cancelled because the talent arrived at the studio “under the influence.”

Cold liquids can constrict your throat, so it’s a good idea to keep a bottle of room temperature water nearby when doing voice work. Water is great for keeping the mouth moist and keeping you hydrated.

As your mouth dries out, tiny saliva bubbles begin to form, and as you speak, the bubbles are popping. Well-known voice coach Bettye Pierce
Zoller recommends keeping a bottle of water handy—the type with a squirt top. When
dry mouth
is noticed, squirt all areas of the mouth wetting the cheeks, teeth, and tongue—even underneath it. Then, do not swallow right away, but instead swish for about five seconds or more. The idea is to get all mouth tissues wet. Swishing water in your mouth will help reduce dry mouth temporarily, but only hydration will correct the cause.

Here are some interesting statistics about water, hydration, and the human body:

• It is estimated that up to 50% of the world population is chronically dehydrated.
  
• It is estimated that in 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.
  
• Mild dehydration can slow down the human metabolism up to 3%.
  
• One glass of water shuts down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of dieters studied in a University of Washington study.
  
• Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.
  
• Research indicates that drinking 10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.
  
• A drop of 2% in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on a computer screen or a printed page.
  
• Drinking five or more glasses of water daily may decrease the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it may slash the risk of breast cancer by 79% and reduce the likelihood of bladder cancer by up to 50%.
  
• It takes about 45 minutes for a drink of water to achieve proper hydration. You may want to start drinking water well before you leave for a session.
  

Every voice actor dreads the inevitable
dry mouth
. There are many causes of mouth noise including stress, illness, smoking, antihistamines, decongestants, pain relievers, and other medications. But it is most often simply the result of saliva bubbles popping because the mouth is not hydrated. The next several tips in this section can help minimize mouth noise or reduce the possibility of it happening—but eventually it will.

Here are a few of the many solutions voice actors have come up with to deal with the symptoms of dry mouth: distilled water with Emergen-C (one packet per quart); no dairy for two days prior to a VO session; or a swish of carbonated water (flavored or not).

Allowing a throat lozenge or cough drop to slowly dissolve in your mouth can help keep your throat and mouth moist. However, most lozenges are like hard candy and contain sugar that can actually dry your mouth.
Exceptions to this are Ricola Pearls natural mountain herbal sugar-free throat lozenges and breath mints (
www.ricola.com
), Fisherman’s Friend (
www.fishermansfriend.com
), and Grether’s Redcurrant or Blackcurrant Pastilles (
www.grethers.com
). Some throat sprays such as Entertainer’s Secret (
www.entertainers-secret.com
), Singer’s Saving Grace (
www.herbsetc.com
) and Thayer’s Dry Mouth Spray (
www.thayers.com
), can help keep your throat lubricated. The best time to use a lozenge is about 30 minutes before a session. Lubricating sprays can be used at any time.

An alternative to dissolving a lozenge in your mouth is to drop one or two lozenges into a bottle of water. The lozenge-treated water will not only give you the benefits of the lozenge, but will also help keep you hydrated.

There are also a few over-the-counter remedies that work nicely to control dry mouth. One of the most effective is Oasis Moisturizing Mouthwash (with Tri-Hydra
^®
Technology) (
www.oasisdrymouth.com
). Oasis was developed as a therapy for hospital patients who suffered from dry mouth as a result of medication. But it is so effective at temporarily hydrating the mouth that it has become very popular as a general mouth rinse and is also available as a mouth spray. Oasis is PH balanced, contains no alcohol, and can give a feeling of hydration for up to two hours.

Swish a small amount of virgin olive oil to reduce or kill mouth noise and clicks. About a capful will do nicely. Work the olive oil into every corner of your mouth. The olive oil has a mild taste and leaves a coating on the inside of the mouth that holds moisture in. This clever trick came from one of our students who is also an opera singer—and it really does work!

I warned you that some of these tips might sound a bit weird. Well this insider secret and the next are two that fit that category. During a session a singer asked if I had any potato chips handy. This, of course, raised my curiosity. She then explained that a trick singers will use is to eat greasy food, like potato chips, before a session to lubricate their mouth and throat. Odd as it may sound, it does seem to work.

Some juices can be helpful in keeping your mouth moist and your throat clear. Any of the Ocean Spray brand juices do a good job of cleansing your mouth. A slice of lemon in a glass of water can also help. Grapefruit juice, without pulp, can help strip away mucus and cleanse the mouth. Any juice you use to help clear your mouth and throat should be a
clear juice that contains no pulp. Be careful of fruit juices that leave your throat “cloudy” or that leave a residue in your mouth. Orange juice, grape juice, carrot juice, and others can be a problem for many people.

This is a good trick for helping reduce “dry mouth.” Taking a bite of a Granny Smith or Pippin green apple tends to help cut through mucous buildup in the mouth and clear the throat. Lip smacks and mouth noise are the nemesis of the voice actor, and a green apple can help with this problem. This only works with green apples. Red apples may taste good, but they don’t produce the same effect.

Dairy products, such as milk and cheese, can cause the sinuses to congest. Milk will also coat the inside of the mouth, affecting your ability to speak clearly. Stay away from milk and cheese products when you know you are going to be doing voiceover work.

When you need to clear your throat, do it gently with a mild cough rather than a hard, raspy throat clearing, which can actually hurt your vocal cords. Try humming from your throat, gradually progressing into a cough. The vibration from humming often helps break up phlegm in your throat. Always be sure to vocalize and put air across your vocal cords whenever you cough. Building up saliva in your mouth and swallowing before a mild cough is also beneficial. Be careful of loud yelling or screaming and even speaking in a harsh, throaty whisper. These can also hurt your vocal cords.

Eating a full meal before a session can leave you feeling sluggish and may leave your mouth in a less-than-ideal condition for performing. If you do need to eat, have something light and rinse your mouth with water before performing. Avoid foods that you know will cause digestive problems or that might result in your saliva glands working overtime.

Get plenty of rest and stay in good physical condition. If you are on medication (especially antihistamines), be sure to increase your intake of fluids. If you suspect any problems with your voice, see your doctor immediately. Be aware of dust, smoke, fumes, pollen, and anything in your
environment that may affect your voice. You can also have reactions to food that will affect your voice. If you have allergies, you need to know how they might affect your performance, and what you can do about them. An Internet search for “allergies” will reveal resources with lots of information you can use.

Air conditioning can be very drying for your throat. Be careful not to let cold, dry air be drawn directly over your vocal cords. Smoke and dust can also dry out your throat.

Covering up throat pain will not improve your performance and may result in serious damage to your vocal cords. If you feel you cannot perform effectively, the proper thing to do would be to advise your agent or client as soon as possible so that alternative plans can be made. The worst thing you can do is to go to a session when you are ill. If you must attend a session when your voice is not in top form, be careful not to overexert or do anything that might injure your vocal cords.

Clogged or stuffy sinuses can seriously affect your performance. The resulting denasal sound (no, or limited, air moving through your nose) may be appropriate if it is consistent with a character, or if it is part of a style that becomes something identified with you. Usually, however, stuffy sinuses are a problem.

Many performers use a decongestant to clear their sinuses. Nasal sprays tend to work more quickly than tablets or capsules. Be careful when using medications to clear your sinuses. Although they will do the job, they can also dry your mouth and can have other side effects. Even over-the-counter decongestants are drugs and should be used in moderation.

When used over a period of time, the body can build up an immunity to the active ingredient in decongestants, making it necessary to use more to achieve the desired results. Once the medication is stopped, sinus congestion can return and may actually be worse than before. Some decongestants can make you drowsy, which can create other problems.

An alternative to decongestants is a saline nasal rinse, technically known as Buffered Hypertonic Saline Nasal Irrigation. That’s a technical phrase that simply refers to rinsing the nasal passage with a mixture of warm saline solution. This is a proven method for treating sinus problems, colds, allergies, post-nasal drip, and for counteracting the effects of environmental pollution.

There are a variety of ways to administer the nasal wash, including a syringe, bulb, and water pik. However, one of the easiest to use, and most effective, is a Neti
^™
Pot. This is a small pot with a spout on one end. Although the nasal wash can be done using only a saline solution, some studies have shown that the addition of baking soda (bicarbonate) helps move mucus out of the nose faster and helps the nose membrane work better. An Internet search for
nasal rinse
will bring up numerous resources and recipes. You’ll find an assortment of Neti Pots at
www.netipot.com
.

You know what a cold can do to your voice! If you feel a cold coming on, you should do whatever you can to minimize its effects. Different precautions work for different people. For some, Alka Seltzer changes the blood chemistry and helps to minimize the effects of a cold. For others, decongestants and nasal sprays at the first signs of a cold help ease its onset. Lozenges and cough drops can ease cold symptoms or a sore throat, but be aware that covering up the soreness may give you a false sense of security and your vocal cords may actually be more easily injured in this condition.

The common cold is a viral infection characterized by inflammation of the mucous membranes lining the upper respiratory passages. Coughing, sneezing, headache, and a general feeling of “being drained” are often symptoms of the common cold. In theory, there are more than 200 strains of rhinovirus that can enter the nasal cavity through the nose, mouth, or eyes. Once in the nasal cavity, the virus replicates and attacks the body. Most cold remedies rely on treating the symptoms of a cold to help you “feel better” while your body’s immune system attempts to repair the damage.

Zicam
^®
is a homeopathic cold remedy that has been shown in clinical studies to reduce the duration and severity of the common cold. According to the manufacturer, Gel Tech, LLC (
www.zicam.com
), Zicam’s active ingredients are Zincum Aceticum and Zincum Gluconicum. I’m not quite sure what they are, but I do know it works for me, and many people I’ve recommended Zicam
^®
to.

Other OTC remedies that claim to reduce a cold’s severity and duration include Airborne
^®
(
www.airbornehealth.com
), developed by second-grade teacher Victoria Knight-McDowell; Cold-Eeze
^®
, manufactured by Quigley Pharma, Inc. (
www.coldeeze.com
); and Emergen-C
^®
, manufactured by Alacer Corp. (
www.emergenc.com
).

Health food and online specialty stores are a good source for herbal remedies. Many voice actors recommend special teas from online stores like
www.traditionalmedicinals.com
(Throat Coat products and Breathe Easy Tea),
www.yogiproducts.com
(Breathe Deep Tea), and Chinese cold remedies from
www.yinchiao.com
, drinking at least 1/2 gallon of white grapefruit juice a day, Echinacea, and others. As with OTC remedies, some herbal remedies may work better for some people than others.

Many people swear by Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE) as a means of boosting the immune system to either head-off or minimize the effects of a cold and other ailments. GSE is available at health food stores.