Sir Patrick Stewart is currently projecting his famous voice to audiences 8 shows a week in the Broadway show, A Life in the Theatre.
To keep his voice in perfect condition, he’s stopped eating dairy and talking on the phone. I could handle the no-phone edict. The dairy? I need my Starbucks latte’s.
He recently told the New York Post that “with just us talking onstage for 90 minutes, no intermission, the first line of defence is how to use your voice. Over the years, I’ve visited voice coaches here and in England. I have this same doctor for 15 years who’s looked after some of our greatest voices. I’m one of the humblest of her clients.”
“She first listens to what I have to say, examines the orifice, takes video pictures of the vocal cords, then prescribes treatment. Like being sure there’s sufficient hydration and water. My dressing room is steam-filled with a humidifier. And no dairy products. They’re bad bad bad. They create mucus. And I warm up before going onstage… I’m really avoiding most (press) interviews (as well) because I must protect my voice. The one thing I’m told not to do is talk on the phone.”
