My Voice

My voice is who I am. It distinguishes me from everyone else, who I used to be, and who I will be tomorrow. I have a different voice if I am a man, a woman, a Nazi, an Italian, an African-American, a girl, a boy, Trump or Beiden or whoever. Sometimes called your “brand.” What is your brand? You should know this. If you don’t you should figure it out. If you don’t know what it is, decided what you want it to be and work to be it. “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

I understood the importance of voice one day about 30 years ago when I came in front the television in the middle of the day and turned it on. I came upon the middle of a classic film I didn’t know. I watched for a few minutes. The screen was full of stage stuff and there were two actors I didn’t recognize because they were heavily in costume. Then one talked. It was Alex Guinness, one of my favorite favorite character actors and whose many performances I had enjoyed many times. I heard his voice, recognized him completely, and was embarrassed that I hadn’t done so before. Then the other actor spoke. It was Stanley Holloway, who played Alfred P. Doolittle in both the stage and screen versions of My Fair Lady. Once I heard his voice, I saw Doolittle in front of me. I recognized each once I heard his voice, I sat back and took advantage of my good luck to be able to watch them both in the same film.

Not everybody can be as famous or as accomplished as those guys, but your voice is important. Go ahead and be the mouse that roared.