Expert: Wanda Reinholdt - 11/15/2007

Question
Dear Ms. Reinholdt,
 I am having trouble finding a warm up which prepares me fully for a show (be it musical/dancing or non-musical) this resulted in an injury to one of my knees during a performance of Cabaret. I've been in physical therapy for a week and my doctor feels that I should be better in time for my audition for Thurber Carnival tomorrow. I am flexible 5'1 teenager with hyperextensive ligaments and previous knee injuries (including the Cabaret injury). Whenever I warm up my muscles I either don't get enough time to stretch everything or can't find a stretch which stretches me enough to actually be called a stretch. Any suggestions? I think a few vocal warm ups would probably help too. I have singing ones but none that warm me up for non-musical venues.
Sincerely,
Dana

Answer
Hi there, Dana...Thanks for writing. I am sorry to hear about your injury.  I myself am in physio right now and so I know how it feels to be working on your body.

About warming up your body, because of your injuries and your hypertensive-ness, I want to recommend that you go to a physiotherapist to talk about some options for you.  They will be able to give you some good warm ups and some deep ones that will not hurt you further.

I would recommend that you stretch every day as well.  Don't only wait for a show but do it every day.  If you could stretch in the morning and the evening, that would be preferable.  Make the stretching a part of your life.  

Then before a show, be sure that you give yourself time at home just before you leave to go to your call, to warm up all your muscles.  Then once you get to the back stage, just do the exercises that stretch the places you are most tense.

Regarding your voice, stretch your lips too as well as your cheeks by doing very wide silent words.  Then do those same wide big open words with a small voice and build the voice to a big voice.

You can also do some humming to warm up your voice.  

And one of my favorite warm ups is to do tongue twisters with a wide mouth.  

Does that help?

Let me know if it does.  I wish you the best.

Wanda