Monday, January 01, 2007

More family stuff

As this seems like a time of year for thinking about families, and particularly those we can no longer meet up with, I have decided to put my mother's Essays on Voice online.

She hoped to get them published, I suspect, but got turned down. At the time she worked alongside Patsy Rodenburg, and Patsy's books did seem to fit the publishers' needs. Her books got sold not only to actors, but to anyone who could use such skills in everyday life (that means almost all of us!)

Perhaps her style may appear a little old-fashioned now, but it represents many years of experience, and it seems a shame to let them sit in a box here in my den.

For now, I have put up a page with the Synopsis, and have even added a tiny (and very noisy) sound sample of Sheila coaching actors for the nightmare situation of 'the audition' - which for most of the rest of us might translate as 'the interview'. I had bits of tape from her old tape-recorder, but they only contained the sound of students practicing (either newsreading or Shakespeare, etc) but Tom Lee [who now works as a story-teller] kindly sent me a cassette he used to grab her notes in 1983, and although I miss the laugh, and other aspects of her voice, it gives you a glimpse of her at work. Thanks, Tom!

As well, as the essays, I may try to put a little more of this rare bit of sound up later... The page under construction you can find here...



While doing family, I'll just add in a Christmas card from my dad from 1956 (they could both write beautifully...)

Ah me...

3 comments:

trigger said...

This is wonderfull news , you're right you shouldent keep them in a box , I for one would love to see your Moms work.

Always did love Panto's work. What treasures.
Crissie

pentaphobe said...

Beautiful to see all of this.

Thank you so much for posting it.

p.s. speaking of amazing people, hope you've been celebrating the progression of Bob to the appropriate planes.. he lived to see Eris embodied.

Unknown said...

Your mother taught me. I thought she was fabulous! I did not act but my whole working life involved voice: fifteen years as a Business Correspondent on BBC TV. Then ten years in the commercial sector. I would love to read her essays and hear the cassette you allude to. I don't know if this is working but if so i am at virginia.eastman@gmail.com. thanks and best wishes, Virginia
I did the One Man Show Exercise at Webber Douglas and she coached me. At the end she told the school in her mellifluous brilliant voice: "Virginia is now bilingual: she speaks both English And Australian"!

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