Exercises focusing on what Kristin Linklater called the “channel”, and Nancy Houfek called “floodgates”, serve a vital role for actors: they alleviate excess tension in the vocal tract and supporting structures, including the neck, jaw, lips, tongue, soft palate, pharyngeal constrictors, and laryngeal strap muscles. This recalibrating of muscular effort is crucial because it allows the actor’s breath—or mechanical energy—to be converted efficiently into acoustic energy, which is the resonance we hear as voice.
The practice of these exercises should be enjoyable, emphasizing gentle movement, easy pressure, and a range of motion that invites relaxation and breath. The exercises should feel soothing and pleasurable. This approach not only helps to open up the vocal tract but also energizes the speech articulators, making the actor’s voice more supple, responsive, and capable of nuanced expression.
Each actor can personalize the exercises to suit their individual instrument, ensuring that the work remains effective and enjoyable. Over time, attentiveness to tension release and energetic flow in and around the vocal tract will enrich the robustness and clarity of the actor’s voice, allowing for a fuller embodiment of character and a more profound connection to self, scene partner, and circumstances.