Voice is all about the way we speak, we use it to show character and emotions. Characterization is all about how we play a role, physically and vocally. For 39 Steps, both of these aspects are vital to the performance. The majority of the characters are over the top, exaggerations of people. Compere and Mr Memory are the stereotypical west end performers brought to an extreme, Annabella is an extreme portrayal of a spy, the Crofter and Margret are over the top Scottish man and wife. Even the professor turns from one extreme to another, going from an embellished aristocrat to a parody of a Nazi. The way we give our characters their embellishment is by over exaggerating their movement and physicality of their person. The embellishment of the physicality of the characters can be seen in the role of the Crofter and the Salesmen/Porter/Newsboy/Mrs Higgins/Policeman skit. As we are multi-rolling characterization will be essential to differentiate the various characters.
Voice will also be important to portray the characters. We will have a range of accents to show the different characters, from German to upper class British aristocrat to British working class to Scottish. All of which bring various tones to each character. Some of us will be playing women at points and so will have to alter their voice to make it more feminine.
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