Okay, so im in the theater program at my high school. Im good at acting, %26amp; i always get roles in the school plays, but i never get the staring/co-staring roles in them. %26amp; i know why.
Im a naturally shy person, so when i talk to certain adults, or when im in front of alot of people, my voice changes to the really high baby voice, so when i act, it sounds really fake, you know sort of like the ovaltine commercials.
do you have any advice?
How can I change my voice in theater?
When I was in High School I had a similar problem. When I would try to project my voice would go up into the higher registers. My director got to the point where he would yell at me from the house to lower my voice [Thanks, Mr. Swanson] to make me aware of my voice rising.
Your shyness is causing you to take shallow breaths thus making your voice rise. The trick is to make sure you support your diaphragm [the membrane under your lungs and above your stomach] so that you can use your lower registers. This means that you need to breathe from the bottom of your lungs rather than the top. If you are in choir or chorus you will get practice, if not ask the music teacher for some pointers on how to do this. Think of breathing from your stomach [you can feel your stomach rise when you do] this gives your lungs the support they need to push your voice out. It will save wear and tear on your vocal cords and help you keep your normal speaking voice.
Another good exercise is to lay flat on the floor and try and sing a song. You can't breathe shallow in this position so you'll be forced to really support your voice.
Best of luck to you!
How can I change my voice in theater?
If you can, I'd look into the Alexander Technique. It should be able to help you with your immediate problem, but also offer a lot of other things to your acting.
