The Need for Words

Voice and the Text

The Need for Words

Voice and the Text

Patsy Rodenburg (Author)

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Description

Patsy Rodenburg explores how we speak, what we speak and the impact of the spoken word. As one of the world's leading voice coaches, she describes practical ways to approach language, and uses Shakespeare, Romantic poetry, modern prose and a range of other texts to help each of us discover our own unique need for words.

In Part One the author attacks the myth that there is only one correct way to speak by clearing away the blocks that can make language inaccessible. Part Two, a series of language and text exercises, connects the voice to the shape and quality of individual words and phrases.

Drawing on the author's time spent coaching in the worlds of business and politics, this new edition reflects on how the way we use words has changed since the book was first published. It brings a renewed focus on the language of power – spoken in the worlds of politicians and company directors – which will give readers an insight into the potency of clear, direct communication. Finally, new language exercises provide readers with unmediated access to this new research, allowing them to practice and master the language and words that drive the modern world.

Foreword by Antony Sher
Introduction by the author
Part One: The Need for Words
Chapter One: Connecting with Words
Chapter Two: The Breakdown of Words
Chapter Three: Cultural and Physical Barriers
Part Two: Voice and the Text
Chapter Four: Finding a Voice
Chapter Five: Voice into Text
Chapter Six: Working Further with Texts
Acknowledgements

Product details

Published	22 Feb 2018
Format	Paperback
Edition	2nd
Extent	272
ISBN	9781474273558
Imprint	Methuen Drama
Dimensions	216 x 138 mm
Series	Performance Books
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing

Author

Patsy Rodenburg

Patsy Rodenburg, OBE, is Professor of Text and Poe…

I know Patsy to be a gifted voice and speech coach. In The Need for Words she provides practical and imaginative means for getting to the heart of the text and making the necessity for the language to be strongly felt by audiences. I do recommend it to anyone who needs to use words with clarity and passion.

Trevor Nunn
Playwrights, a complacent lot, tend to think that their text says it all. Grudgingly conceding the role of the director, they still think the words speak for themselves. They don't, and in this excellent book, Patsy Rodenburg shows why.

Alan Bennett
The Need for Words is an astonishing book. It takes you on an extraordinary voyage of discovery through the worlds of language and texts. Every actor and non-actor should know it and read it.

Declan Donnellan