Voice & Alexander Technique I

In the 1890s, Frederick Mathias (F.M.) Alexander, a Shakespearian actor and spoken recitalist from Australia, began experiencing severe voice loss after he performed. The medical profession of his day prescribed vocal rest which worked well enough until Alexander’s next performance when he would leave the stage as hoarse as before. Frustrated that his vocal issues were not resolving, Alexander intuited that it must be something that he was doing to himself while he performed that was contributing to the loss of his voice. Doctors agreed with Alexander but they were at a loss to say what he was doing that was causing his problems.Thus began F. M.’s journey. The discoveries he made are what we now know as the Alexander Technique, and in the past 100 plus years, AT has become a valuable part of the curriculum in music conservatories and drama schools throughout the world. Many extraordinary actors have been lifelong students of the Alexander Technique for the many ways it helps their body, voice and breath in performance. Our work together is experiential and sensory, and it involves a way of thinking which is highly creative and improvisational. It is an art, and it takes time to evolve in us. At the beginning things are bound to be confusing. You are learning a new language—a language of body and breath—and you cannot understand it through your old ways of feeling or visualizing. Confusion is absolutely normal, but it shifts as you develop a new awareness of yourself. Our work is a process of discovery and the only requirement for you as a student is to stay open and to try not to worry about getting something “right.” This is easier said than done, but I will be reminding you of it all the time. It helps if you can keep a “beginner’s mind” so that every lesson becomes a source of wonder. For an actor, your body is your instrument and how you use your body determines how well you move on stage, produce your voice, and perform. The Alexander Technique is a mind-body discipline that helps students improve their psycho-physical coordination while helping them become aware of physical habits that may be inhibiting their breathing and the expressiveness, energy and strength of their voice and body. In our work together, you will begin to gain an awareness of improved physical coordination and ease leading to a freer and more expressive voice and body. Vocal production relies on psychological and physical coordination—an alignmen