As stated by Marilyn Le Conte “studies show that 90% of communication is non-verbal. Facial expressions, gestures and eye contact are vital in conveying emotion and meaning. So how then is it possible to create a believable character and engrossing atmosphere using only your voice” (2012, http://www.rwcmd.ac.uk/other/news/inside_view/less_is_more_radio_acting.aspx). When acting for radio the listener is unable to see any of these gestures and facial expressions. This is a very difficult task to accomplish as a performer; I had to get my feelings across through the use of my voice alone. Therefore the process of acting for radio is very intricate.
The vocal and aural qualities which affect each performance are listed by Richard J. Hand and Mary Traynor as “volume, pitch, pace, accent, individual characteristics” (2011, p.175). It was important that I experimented with all of the qualities to find what suits your character best. When recording to the microphone it was important that as a performer I remembered that the microphone corresponds to the ear of the audience and listener. I wanted the audience to understand everything that I as a character was thinking and feeling, which was why I experimented differently with the way in which I developed and performed the verbatim.
The verbatim which I recorded was that of Duwayne Brooks, he was Stephen Lawrence’s best friend and present the night he was murdered. When the attack happened he was helpless and couldn’t do anything to help his friend. One member of the group of boys that killed Stephen Lawrence chased him with a metal bar. “Duwayne Brooks says it was like a ‘major car crash’ when his friend was murdered by a racist gang in 1993” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/video/2013/apr/22/stephen-lawrence-duwayne-brooks-legacy-video, 2013). On a personal level I could never understand how it feels to watch your best friend be murdered and I wanted to make sure that I did the verbatim justice. I watched clips on www.youtube.co.uk of Duwayne Brooks for inspiration and to gain a full understanding of him as a person and his feelings about the attack.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeHQM_TD2oo
The above video especially showed the emotions that Duwayne felt towards the attack, the attackers and the events which took place surrounding Stephen Lawrence’s murder.
“Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme today, Mr Brooks said: “For 18 years, I have endured harassment, victimisation, being blamed for the first prosecution failing, being brutalised and having false charges brought against me” (http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/stephen-lawrence-murder-witness-duwayne-171398, 2012). After reading this article and seeing what Duwayne Brooks had said on the murder of his friend, really affected me. It shocked me to read that people had previously blamed Duwayne for what had happened to Stephen Lawrence. This only made me want to record the verbatim with even more honesty and integrity.
Works Cited
Hand, Richard and Traynor, Mary (2011) The Radio Drama Handbook Audio Drama in Context and Practice, London & New York: Continuum.
Le Conte, Marilyn (2012) Less is more: Radio acting Uncovered, Available at: http://www.rwcmd.ac.uk/other/news/inside_view/less_is_more_radio_acting.aspx (Accessed date: 04/05/2013).
www.guardian.co.uk (2013) Stephen Lawrence’s friend Duwayne Brooks on murdered teenager’s legacy, Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/video/2013/apr/22/stephen-lawrence-duwayne-brooks-legacy-video (Accessed date: 21/05/2013).
www.mirror.co.uk (2012) Stephen Lawrence murder witness Duwayne Brooks says seeing killers jailed was “worth the struggle” of years of acrimony, Available at: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/stephen-lawrence-murder-witness-duwayne-171398 (Accessed date: 21/05/2013).