The performer's conceptualisation and perception of herself is projected
through the acoustic voice and impacts upon vocal delivery in rehearsal and
performance. However, in the context of performer voice training in Western
theatre practice the performer's sense of self, or identity, is seldom the focus of
development. Vocal development is inherently a transformational process that
requires the performer to expand beyond what has become habitual selfexpression.
Since vocal expression is embedded in identity, an attempt to
change the voice necessitates a deeper understanding, questioning, and
challenging of the performer's established sense of self. In this dissertation I
posit that acoustic vocal development can be successfully achieved through an
embodied and imaginative approach that investigates the performer's
metaphorical voice through learning opportunities provided by a process that
integrates the practices of Voice Movement Therapy (VMT) and maskwork.
This dissertation presents art-based autoethnographic research into the
potential value of such an integrated approach to performer vocal
development. The VMT maskwork approach is fundamentally an embodied
and envoiced process that provides a vastly different and heightened
experience of the bodymind and invites the performer to play in the liminal
realm of active imagination, which is triggered by the mask-image. The
dissertation investigates the vocal development benefits of using self-made
masks as a psychophysical training tool to expand the performer's
understanding and experience of the bodymind. The area of archetypes and
subpersonalities has been identified as a primary intersection between the two
modalities and three ways of working are proposed, either taking impulses
from the image (mask-image and/or imagination), the body and its movement,
or the voice. These three ways of working trigger the bodymind into a process
of active imagination that evokes a creative and integrated mask-voice-body
exploration of archetypes and/or subpersonalities. The process gives
permission to, and provides a safe container for, the amplified expression of
the extremes of self and voice. This dissertation offers a tri-phase VMT maskwork process structure, and
highlights key steps for the VMT practitioner-led facilitation of such a process.
It positions the mask as a useful transitional object which encourages reengagement
with imagination, body, voice and emotion, and thus encourages
an on-going and multi-layered reflection and investigation of self and voice is
possible.
The research showed that the integrated approach of VMT maskwork resulted
in vocal expansion in all 10 of the VMT 10 vocal components; pitch, pitch
fluctuation, loudness, glottal engagement, free air, disruption, violin, register,
timbre and articulation. Apart from acoustic vocal expansion, the approach
fostered expansion in the performer's metaphorical voice and resulted in
improved grounding and confidence in performance. These conclusions
support the research statement that VMT maskwork may be a valuable
approach to vocal development in the context of theatre performer voice
training. As researcher practitioner I hold that the embodied learning process of
VMT maskwork exposes the performer to a vastly different experience of self,
which fosters a process of self-reflexivity leading to personal meaning making,
self-knowledge, the challenging of vocal habits, and ultimately, vocal
transformation. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Drama / MA / Unrestricted
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:up/oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/60366 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Holloway Mulder, Gina |
| Contributors | Munro, Marth, gina@voice360.co.za |
| Publisher | University of Pretoria |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Rights | © 2017 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
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