For a printable copy of THROW YOUR VOICE ON HAH! instructions, click on the word: INSTRUCTIONS
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• Have the students pick a spot to focus on across the room.  Taking a deep breath, guide them in throwing their voice to that spot on the word “Hah”.  Stress that projection or being able to be heard at the back of the room, is important for an actor. 

• Stress that the students should use proper breath support–and they should project their voice without yelling. Explain: When you yell, you feel like your voice is coming from the back of your throat and, in fact, if you yell too much you risk getting a sore throat or losing your voice altogether. A projected voice will feel like it is coming from deeper in your chest, and your throat will feel relaxed and open. 

• The keys to a projected voice are:  

  • 1) Standing with good posture. Have your chin up, head straight, shoulders relaxed and back straight. When you breathe in, completely fill your lungs with air.  Imagine your lungs filling with water from the bottom up.

  • 2) Breathing from your diaphragm. The diaphragm is a flat muscle inside you just above your stomach. Place one hand on your upper chest and the other just below your rib cage. This will allow you to feel your diaphragm move as you breathe. Breathe in slowly through your nose so that your stomach moves out, causing your hand to rise. The hand on your chest should remain as still as possible.

© 2023, Friends of the Groom Theater Company

Curtains Up Curriculum by Friends of the Groom Theater Co. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Curtains Up is a training program designed for young actors sponsored by Friends of the Groom Theater Company.
It is available to the general public for free under the terms of the Creative Commons License above.