Vocal and Physical Interpretation
How a performer brings a role to life using the voice and the body: vocal skills like pitch, pace and accent, and physical skills like posture, gesture and facial expression.
Justify the choices, the way you are assessed
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Bringing a role to life
A performer interprets a character using two sets of skills. Vocal skills are the choices made about the voice, such as how high or low it is or how fast the words are spoken. Physical skills are the choices made about the body, such as how a character stands or moves. Together they show the audience what a character is thinking and feeling.
Words for interpretation
Learn these four terms before you study how a role is performed.
Voice and body
A performer interprets a role in two ways at once.
What a slow line does
To reach the top grades, explain the effect of a choice on the audience. Say how a slow pace and long pauses build tension, or how a hunched posture makes a character seem defeated, rather than just naming the skill.
Match the vocal skill
- pitch
- pace
- volume
- accent
- how high or low the voice is
- how fast or slowly the words are spoken
- how loud or quiet the voice is
- the way of speaking that shows where a character is from
Match the physical skill
- posture
- gesture
- facial expression
- stillness
- the way a character holds the body
- a movement of the hand or arm that carries meaning
- using the face to show emotion
- staying completely still for effect
What does pace mean?
What does the vocal skill pace describe?
- How fast or slowly a performer speaks.
- How loud a performer speaks.
- How a performer stands.
- How high or low a performer speaks.
Spot the physical skills
Select the TWO physical skills.
- Posture.
- Gesture.
- Pitch.
- Accent.
Order the process
Put the steps of preparing a role in order, earliest first.
- Read the script and understand the character
- Choose the vocal and physical skills to use
- Rehearse the choices until they feel natural
- Perform the role for an audience
Summarise the skills
A performer uses _____ skills to control the voice, such as speaking at a fast _____ or with a rising _____. They use _____ skills to control the body, such as a hunched _____ to show that a character is tired. Together these choices show the audience what a character is like.
Count the vocal skills
How many vocal skills are listed here: pitch, pace, volume and accent?
Find the physical skills
Tap the TWO physical skills.
- Posture
- Pitch
- Gesture
- Accent
- Volume
Vocal or physical?
Decide whether each choice is a vocal skill or a physical skill.
- The actor lowers the pitch of the voice to sound older
- The actor hunches the shoulders to show the character is tired
- The actor speaks slowly with long pauses to build tension
Explain a performance
Imagine a character who is nervous before an exam. Explain how a performer could use vocal and physical skills to show the audience that the character is nervous.
- Describe a vocal skill the performer could use
- Describe a physical skill the performer could use
- Explain the effect on the audience