Rate refers to the pace at which an actor speaks. It encompasses the tempo and rhythm of speech, which can significantly influence the audience’s perception of a character and their emotional state. Here are some ways rate is utilised in acting, along with illustrative examples for students to use in the Drama or Theatre Arts classroom. Get your students to read from the page below using their devices.
This is the second in a series of articles about voice in acting. The first article explored the use of tone.
Practical Application
To effectively use rate in acting, performers can use various techniques to master control over their speech speed and adaptability to different emotional states:
- Tempo Drills: Actors can practice delivering lines at different speeds. By varying the tempo, actors explore how different rates affect the interpretation and emotional impact of their lines.
- Breath Control: Focusing on breath support helps actors maintain clarity and control over their speech, especially when speaking rapidly or maintaining a slow, deliberate pace.
- Emotional Recall: Actors can use personal experiences to access emotions that influence their rate of speech. This technique helps actors deliver lines in a manner that feels authentic to the character’s emotional state.
- Text Analysis: Breaking down the script to understand the motivations and emotions behind the lines. Actors can then decide on the appropriate rate to match the character’s internal and external circumstances.
Emotional Intensity
Fast rate: Often associated with excitement, urgency, or nervousness. For example, a character in a panic might speak quickly to convey their agitation and distress. In Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, George’s fast speech rate during his heated argument with Martha reflects his frustration and desperation.
GEORGE:
(speaking quickly, angrily) Martha, in my mind, you are buried in cement right up to your neck. No, up to your nose, it's much quieter. You don't do anything; you don't say anything; you sit there and just make judgments on everybody. I disgust you? You know, Martha, self-deception is not your best quality.
MARTHA:
(provocatively) No? Well, you just hold that thought, Georgie boy.
GEORGE:
(more urgently) Oh, I will, Martha, I will. You know what's really disgusting? It's not that you are lying to me or yourself, but that you think I can't see right through you. You think I can't see what you are doing?
MARTHA:
(mockingly) Oh, please enlighten me, George. Tell me what I'm doing.
GEORGE:
(frantically) You are trying to humiliate me. To make me feel small. To prove that I am less of a man than you need. But guess what, Martha? I won't let you. I won't let you make me disappear!
Slow rate: Commonly linked with contemplation, sadness, or gravity. A character delivering a solemn monologue might speak slowly to emphasise their profound thoughts or emotions. In Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Edmund’s slow speech rate reflects his deep introspection and sorrow.
EDMUND:
(speaking slowly, reflectively) It was a great mistake, my being born a man. I would have been much more successful as a seagull or a fish. As it is, I will always be a stranger who never feels at home, who does not really want and is not really wanted, who can never belong, who must always be a little in love with death!
JAMES:
(gently) That’s morbid, lad.
EDMUND:
(slowly) But it’s true. I’ve always been a lover of the dark. A strange dark fellow from the time I can remember anything. I’d get in a corner and talk to myself. Did you ever see me when I didn’t have my nose stuck in a book? And in high school, I discovered that the world is the beautiful, cruel thing—it's great promise unfulfilled. The more you know, the more you suffer. The sea is the best place. I was never on the sea before last year — well, it was in the South Pacific, and the beauty of the island world and the joy of living seemed to get hold of me for the first time. I could drink in beauty without a thought of tomorrow. And then in the moonlight, and the surf making a clean break, the perfect rhythm — I'd lie on the deck, half asleep, and be carried off into a dream world. I wouldn't even care if I died. I felt like I belonged. But back here, on land, all I do is suffocate.
JAMES:
(soothingly) You're too young, Edmund. Too young to talk like that.
EDMUND:
(slowly) Maybe, but it's the truth. I've seen too much, felt too much. I carry the weight of everything I've ever known and can't let it go. And sometimes, it feels like that weight is going to pull me under. Just like the sea.Character Traits
Fast rate: Characters who are energetic, anxious, or intellectually quick may speak rapidly. For instance, in The Importance of Being Earnest, Algernon’s rapid speech reflects his wit and lively personality.
ALGERNON:
(speaking quickly, animatedly) You don’t seem to realize, dear boy, that by persistently remaining single, a man converts himself into a permanent public temptation. Men should be more careful; this very celibacy leads weaker vessels astray.
JACK:
(amused) Yes, but if my name was Algy, I couldn’t talk about my own aunt in that way.
ALGERNON:
(quickly) Your name isn’t Algy. It’s Ernest.
JACK:
(teasingly) It’s not Ernest; it’s Jack.
ALGERNON:
(fast, dismissive) You’ve always told me it was Ernest. I have introduced you to everyone as Ernest. You answer to the name of Ernest. You look as if your name was Ernest. You are the most earnest-looking person I ever saw in my life. It is perfectly absurd your saying that your name isn’t Ernest. It’s on your cards. Here is one of them. (takes card out of his case) “Mr. Ernest Worthing, B. 4, The Albany.” I’ll keep this as a proof that your name is Ernest if ever you attempt to deny it to me, or to Gwendolen, or to anyone else.
JACK:
(laughing) It’s absurd, but true. My name is Jack in the country and Ernest in town. I have always pretended to have a younger brother named Ernest who lives in Albany.
ALGERNON:
(amused) So you’ve been leading a double life?
JACK:
(quickly) Precisely. And now I want to end it. I am in love with Gwendolen. I want to be Ernest forever.Slow rate: Characters who are thoughtful, authoritative, or experiencing emotional weight may speak slowly. In A Raisin in the Sun, Mama’s slow speech often conveys her deep reflections and emotional gravity.
MAMA:
(speaking slowly, thoughtfully) Son — how come you talk so much 'bout money?
WALTER:
(impatiently) Because it is life, Mama!
MAMA:
(deliberately) Oh — so now it’s life. Money is life. Once upon a time freedom used to be life—now it’s money. I guess the world really do change.
WALTER:
(agitatedly) No — it was always money, Mama. We just didn’t know about it.
MAMA:
(slowly, firmly) No ... something has changed. You something new, boy. In my time we was worried about not being lynched and getting to the North if we could and how to stay alive and still have a pinch of dignity too ... Now here come you and Beneatha—talking 'bout things we ain’t never even thought about hardly, me and your daddy. You ain’t satisfied or proud of nothing we done. I mean that you had a home; that we kept you out of trouble till you was grown; that you don’t have to ride to work on the back of nobody’s streetcar—You my children—but how different we done become.
WALTER:
(defensively) Mama, you don’t understand. Times have changed. We have to change with them. It’s not just about surviving anymore. It’s about thriving. Making something of ourselves.
MAMA:
(slowly, with emotion) But at what cost, Walter? What are we willing to sacrifice? Our family? Our principles? I worry that in chasing after all this money, we’re losing sight of what’s truly important.Psychological States
Fast rate: Characters experiencing heightened emotions such as fear, excitement, or panic often speak rapidly. In Waiting for Godot, Lucky’s frantic monologue reflects his agitated mental state.
LUCKY:
(speaking quickly, frantically)
Given the existence as uttered forth in the public works of Puncher
and Wattmann of a personal God quaquaquaqua with white beard
quaquaquaqua outside time without extension who from the heights of
divine apathia divine athambia divine aphasia loves us dearly with some
exceptions for reasons unknown but time will tell and suffers like the
divine Miranda with those who for reasons unknown but time will tell are
plunged in torment plunged in fire whose fire flames if that continues and
who can doubt it will fire the firmament that is to say blast hell to heaven
so blue still and calm so calm with a calm which even though intermittent
is better than nothing but not so fast and considering what is more that as a
result of the labors left unfinished crowned by the Acacacacademy of
Anthropopopometry of Essy-in-Possy of Testew and Cunard it is
established beyond all doubt all other doubt than that which clings to the
labors of men that as a result of the labors unfinished of Testew and
Cunnard it is established as hereinafter but not so fast for reasons
unknown that as a result of the public works of Puncher and Wattmann.... Slow rate: Characters who are in deep thought, sadness, or exhaustion may speak slowly. In Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman’s slow speech often reflects his weariness and sense of defeat, conveying the emotional and psychological toll of his struggles.
WILLY:
(speaking slowly, tiredly) I’m tired to the death. [The flute has faded away. He sits on the bed beside her, a little numb.] I couldn’t make it. I just couldn’t make it, Linda.
LINDA:
(gently) Where were you all day? You look terrible.
WILLY:
(slowly) I got as far as a little above Yonkers. I stopped for a cup of coffee. Maybe it was the coffee.
LINDA:
(concerned) What?
WILLY:
(slowly) I suddenly couldn’t drive any more. The car kept going off onto the shoulder, y’know?
LINDA:
(softly) Oh. Maybe it was the steering again. I don’t think Angelo knows the Studebaker.
WILLY:
(wearily) No, it’s me, it’s me. Suddenly I realize I’m going sixty miles an hour and I don’t remember the last five minutes. I’m—I can’t seem to—keep my mind to it.
LINDA:
(reassuringly) Maybe it’s your glasses. You never went for your new glasses.
WILLY:
(slowly) No, I see everything. I came back ten miles an hour. It took me nearly four hours from Yonkers.
LINDA:
(worriedly) Oh. Well, you’ll just have to take a rest, dear. You can’t continue this way.
WILLY:
(musingly) I can’t understand it. I’m vital in New England.
LINDA:
(softly) But you’re sixty years old, dear. You can’t keep working the way you used to.
WILLY:
(with a sigh) They don’t need me in New York. I’m the New England man. I’m vital in New England.
LINDA:
(gently) But you’re not a young man anymore, Willy. You can’t expect to go on like this.
WILLY:
(slowly) I’ve always been vital. Always. But now... I’m just tired, Linda. Tired of everything.Creating Atmosphere and Tension
Slow rate: A slow rate can create suspense and tension, drawing the audience into the scene and heightening their anticipation. In The Silence of the Lambs, Dr. Hannibal Lecter’s slow, deliberate speech adds to the chilling atmosphere and psychological tension.
LECTER:
(speaking slowly, deliberately) A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti. [He makes a hissing sound.] You use Evian skin cream, and sometimes you wear L'Air du Temps, but not today.
CLARICE:
(nervously) How do you know that?
LECTER:
(slowly, with emphasis) The way you’re looking at me. Your eyes tell me everything, Clarice. I can see you thinking, analyzing, wondering. It’s fascinating.
CLARICE:
(slowly) What is it you want to see, Dr. Lecter?
LECTER:
(very slowly, almost whispering) I want to see what scares you. I want to see what makes you tremble in the dark. And then I want to know why.
Delivering Exposition and Information
Moderate to fast rate: When delivering exposition or important information, a moderate to fast rate can keep the audience engaged and ensure the narrative flows smoothly. In Inception, the character of Cobb explains the concept of shared dreaming quickly and efficiently to keep the audience engaged with complex ideas.
COBB:
(speaking quickly, efficiently) The dream is always about the feeling of falling. You can never remember the beginning of a dream, can you? You always wind up right in the middle of what's going on.
ARIADNE:
(curiously) I guess, yeah.
COBB:
(fast) So how did we end up here?
ARIADNE:
(realizing) Well, we just came from the...uh...
COBB:
(quickly) Think about it, Ariadne. How did you get here? Where are you right now?
ARIADNE:
(slowly) We're in a dream.
COBB:
(nodding) Exactly. We’re in a dream and you’re about to build something amazing.Comic Timing
Fast and variable rate: In comedy, the rate of speech is critical for the timing and delivery of jokes. A rapid exchange can enhance the comedic effect, while sudden pauses can create humorous tension. In Much Ado About Nothing, the banter between Beatrice and Benedick is marked by rapid, witty exchanges.
BEATRICE:
(speaking quickly, playfully) I wonder that you will still be talking, Signior Benedick: nobody marks you.
BENEDICK:
(just as quickly) What, my dear Lady Disdain! are you yet living?
BEATRICE:
(mockingly) Is it possible disdain should die while she hath such meet food to feed it as Signior Benedick? Courtesy itself must convert to disdain, if you come in her presence.
BENEDICK:
(teasingly) Then is courtesy a turncoat. But it is certain I am loved of all ladies, only you excepted: and I would I could find in my heart that I had not a hard heart; for, truly, I love none.
BEATRICE:
(quickly) A dear happiness to women: they would else have been troubled with a pernicious suitor. I thank God and my cold blood, I am of your humour for that: I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me.
BENEDICK:
(smiling) God keep your ladyship still in that mind! so some gentleman or other shall 'scape a predestinate scratched face.
BEATRICE:
(laughing) Scratching could not make it worse, an 'twere such a face as yours were.Social and Cultural Contexts
Variable rate: The speech rate can reflect social status, cultural background, or regional identity. Characters from different social classes or regions might speak at different rates, reflecting their background and upbringing. In Pygmalion, Eliza Doolittle’s speech rate and style evolve as she undergoes her transformation under Professor Higgins’s tutelage.
HIGGINS:
(speaking formally, at a moderate pace) The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain. Now, repeat after me.
ELIZA:
(tentatively, slowly) The rine in Spine sties minely in the pline.
HIGGINS:
(correcting) The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain.
ELIZA:
(more confidently, faster) The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain!
HIGGINS:
(delighted) By George, she’s got it! Now, once again, where does it rain?
ELIZA:
(elegantly, at a moderate pace) The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain.
HIGGINS:
(smiling) Exactly! Now you’re speaking like a true lady. And remember, it’s not just about pronunciation. It’s about poise, grace, and confidence.
ELIZA:
(smiling) I’ll remember that, Professor Higgins. Thank you.
HIGGINS:
(smiling) You’re doing splendidly, Eliza. Keep up the good work.