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The increasing use of amplification technologies, wireless microphones, digital sound processing and artificial intelligence is reshaping contemporary theatre practice and actor training. As technological systems become capable of enhancing, modifying, and even simulating vocal performance, questions arise regarding the continuing relevance of traditional vocal technique.
This paper examines the role of vocal training in an era characterized by growing technological mediation. Drawing on voice studies, theatre anthropology, performance theory and vocal pedagogy, it argues that vocal technique cannot be reduced to a functional means of sound projection. Rather, it constitutes a form of embodied knowledge through which actors develop bodily awareness, breath control, expressive presence, and performative agency.
The discussion revisits key contributions by Jerzy Grotowski, Peter Brook, Roland Barthes, Mladen Dolar and Nina Sun Eidsheim in order to explore the relationship between voice, body, technology, and meaning. While contemporary technologies may compensate for certain acoustic limitations, they cannot replace the psychophysical processes through which vocal expression emerges.
The paper proposes a critical approach to actor training that integrates technological innovation while preserving the embodied foundations of vocal practice, highlighting the continued significance of the human voice as a site of artistic presence and communication.
| Presenting author | Samson Martha Melinda, Department of Drama and Theatre Studies, Faculty of Letters and Arts, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania |
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