Winter 2000 p. 5

Voices from the Vox

Dealing with the Corset

IÕd like to put out an appeal to all who might have input on the topic of corsets and breathing. IÕve never heard anything specific and practical on the topic, although IÕve acted many corseted roles myself. IÕm not able to articulate anything about how I dealt with it. I donÕt like the idea of actors not being able to articulate their process and yet the description of the painting of a canvas, say, will never have the impact of the painting itself. In my case things just seemed to take care of themselves. Unlike many of my associates IÕve always enjoyed the feeling of something firm to resistÑnever found a wide belt or pantyhose uncomfortable. I think I used the corset as resistance and rather than widening my ÒcanisterÓ as I breathed, I both raised and lowered it, making a longer ÒcanÓ of my thorax.

This is probably not helpful information for one of our graduate students who is corseted for Elena in Uncle Vanya. She has a history of asthma, and when she wears the corset she experiences a muscle quiver in her right lower back. One of the undergraduates playing VanyaÕs mother has to wear a fat suit UNDER a corset, which is something IÕve never experienced. I would think she would actually have the greater problem.

Kate Burke, University of Virginia

I remember that experience [working with a corset] as being the first time I really discovered what breath control was all about. It was during rehearsals of Major Barbara and I was playing the big breath role of Barbara. The corset in rehearsals, allowed me to have a steady reminder of allowing the area below the corset to expand first as I began my thoughts. Soon I discovered a fuller breath which gave me enough breath to sustain ShawÕs long thoughts.

Being an asthmatic, I can understand your studentÕs sense of unusual muscle usage. Perhaps she is simply using muscles which are not familiar to her in the breathing process. I would suggest that she give it time and not string the corset too too tightly in the beginning. Ideally, I believe that the corset should be part of the entire rehearsal process but if has not been, she may want to put in some extra time getting used to it outside of . . .rehearsal. Asthmatics tend to be very sensitive about anything that affects breath and a minor panic could set in if she feared the effects of the corset on her ability to take a full enough breath.

Janet B Rodgers, Virginia Commonwealth University

IÕve done a lot of Shakespearean roles in my life, many of them highly corseted. For what itÕs worth, although the corsets were often confining, and I sometimes had to argue with costumers about how tightly they had to be laced (looser helps), once I confronted the claustrophobia, I found it comforting to realize that I could let my own belly muscles relax since the corset was doing the work for me. And then, I somehow learned to let go and Òbreathe between my legsÓ so to speak. In other words, something has to relax to let the air go into whatever small space is available, and letting go between the legs is helpful for voice anyway, but mandatory when itÕs the only place on the body that isnÕt tied in.

I have never had a problem with corsets and breathing either. However I tell my students what my grad voice teacher told us. When they are fitting you for your corset, fill down Òa good thirsty breathÓ and have them tighten around an expanded rib cage. I also think that some people fight against the constriction almost creating a claustrophobic reaction. So maybe the advice is to relax your muscles within the corset. I can remember wardrobe people who would measure the corsets each day of rehearsal and tighten it little by little during the rehearsal process (over the course of three weeks). The idea was to gradually get the actor accustom to the size the designer wanted without having them pass out. Lets face it, they are uncomfortable but also very necessary in many classical plays.

Susan Coromel, University of Evansville

When dealing with corsets, I always give the same advise . . . :ÓWhen you go in for your first fitting take a FULL breath before they measure you.Ó I also often tell them not to let the costumer know, because IÕve come across many costumers who, concerned with getting the waist as small as possible, will make sure that they exhale the air before they finish the fitting.

In the warm-up process, I find that the standing tremor exercises developed by Catherine Fitzmaurice can be performed in a corset and it helps the person learn where the breath has to be Òre-placed.Ó The corset does, then, provide a good firm reminder for structuring the breath. Even though there are periods where men wore corsets, designers donÕt tend to put men in them. If they do, they are often harder on the men. Both a costume builder and a designer told me that menÕs ribs tend to be harder. Because of this, when they corset a man, they would put him in it, let him wear it about 10 minutes, and then re-tighten it. I had myself put in a corset, in this manner, because I wanted to be able to better teach women how to use a corset. That first time, I couldnÕt believe the pain. Who in their right mind decided to subject women to that?

However, because of all this, I have taken corsets into the voice class. I think itÕs important for the students to get a chance to work with something like that in a supportive atmosphere before they are thrown into rehearsals. I do put the men in the corsets. I feel itÕs a good learning experience for the men as well. Even though itÕs less likely that they will be required to wear a corset, I feel it helps them relate to what their female class-members are dealing with.

Michael J. Barnes, University of Miami

I worked at a school where the costume designer was quite misogynistic, and not only put all the women in corsets, girdles, and Òmerry widowsÓ for every show, but routinely took 2 inches off waist measurements for women. I directed a production of Quilters where the pioneer womenÕs singing voices were diminished by half with the addition of merry widows. I think of corsets as an aid only if the actor has already freed their breathing and the corset is not meant as a way to actually reduce the body. Certainly a corset can act as a reminder to an actor to align themselves in such a way that it appears that they have been Òcorseted.Ó IÕve never bought the notion that period underwear helps an actor if it restricts the actor.

Claudia Anderson, Cal Arts

I find it helpful to have the actor spend time in squat while getting used to the corset. It releases the pelvic tilt, which is increased by wearing a corset, so that the tail drops between the legs offering an opportunity for the psoas to open in the front of the body. A released psoas helps to release the diaphragm and the front of the spine and it is also a key to your structural stability.

I too enjoy the sensation of the resistance the corset offers as it informs the sensory awareness in the intercostal muscles between each of the ribs lining the cage. As the largest part of the lungs are down low you might try some specific warm-ups that help the actress open the front of the spine and the floating ribs. It is my experience, that most students donÕt have a clear idea of how to open this area freely.

The triangle in yoga and the side stretch (an adaptation of the triangleÑfront leg is bent at a right angle and arm extends over the head, important to drop hips low) are great for this. DonÕt attempt them while corseted. The natural response in yogic asanas deepen the breathing throughout the body in total so there is more of a Òwhole body breathingÓ going on. The squat (while corseted) will also help the actress get the breath into the back.

I notice when working with my asthmatic students the Òpanic syndromeÓ . . . creeps in especially during heightened states of emotion. Their natural impulse is to quicken the breath, taking short gasps. While the actress is in the squat and has a comfortable sense of quiet . . . encourage her to work with text that presents these heightened states so she can experience them with a relaxed body. If she has trouble working in the squat due to lack of flexibility in her hips/legs, i.e., cannot get her heels down, it is helpful to have another actor (perhaps her scene partner) sit across from her in the squat and hold her hands so that they can use each otherÕs weight to really lean back, get the heels on the floor and work the scene.

Another simple exercise for her to become familiar with is one she can do in her dressing room. In a chair, with the body relaxed/flopped forward over the knees, in a relaxed state, have her begin breathing out to extend the exhale to a count of 4 while breathing in for a count of only 3. Bending over the legs does two helpful things: releases the neck and head and gets the breath expansion into the back. This exercise is explained in detail in Donna FarhiÕs Breathing Book (although I have adapted it by having them drop over) along with many others and wonderful illustrations. This book has been an exceptional tool for many of my asthmatic students.

Candice A. Brown, Brandeis University

I worked with a designer in Ashland (I was the vocal coach at that time) who designed a corset that had a kind of spandex on each side, so the ribs could actually move. I thought it was brilliant and should be patented. I tend to agree with ClaudiaÑif someone knows how to release their breath, they weÕll figure it out in a corset, but for a young student with lots of tension, it is quite difficult.

Judith Shahn, University of Washington

. . . This reminds me that the current costume designer here at my university is a Russian emigre who laces all her corsets with elastic so that the corsets provide shape but move with the breath.

Rinda Frye, University of Louisville

Some actors I have worked with in corset find that opening up the lower back (lumbar) region is useful before putting on the corset as a reminder to access that breath area as well. Patsy Rodenburg does a Òkabuki breathingÓ exercise (basically slightly bending at the knees in second position in a wide stance) with the hand on the belly to quickly access lower body breathingÑwhich can be done with the corset on for a minute or so as part of a warm-up or as prep backstageÑpeople found this helped too.

Debra Hale-Thomas, Indiana University

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