I used to get laryngitis a lot when I was a kid. I'm sure it made my parents happy on some level, because I was quite the talker, and a bout of laryngitis for Sonnjea meant the other kids got a chance to speak. But I've never lost my voice before as an adult.
Dear god, why is she telling us this? I know; I blame the cold medication. Hell, you should see the Draw Something picture I just sent to Nate. They should put "do not operate gaming apps" warnings on cold remedies. I'm pretty sure no one with a terrible cold is eager to operate heavy machinery anyway, so that warning is pretty much pointless. But the cold remedy companies could do the whole world a big service if they would discourage cold-medication-induced ramblings and doodlings.
So. The thing is, I'm worried because I have class tomorrow that I really don't want to miss. I'm sad enough that I'm missing class tonight, but I consider a car heavy machinery. I can't strain my voice in class because I need it to be as strong as possible for the show on Sunday. At first, I thought I would sit out of exercises and learn by watching. But I think I will instead challenge myself to add as much information as I can non-verbally by doing really specific spacework, having huge emotional reactions and staying really connected with my scene partner. And, you know, grunting. So hopefully I'll get a lot of caveman suggestions. Or NASCAR.
I'll speak when I have to, but I bet I'm going to discover that dialogue is overused and I can get by pretty well on minimal talkiness. I'll let you know how it goes.
By Sonnjea Blackwell
