Voice Toys for the Road
By Jenna Pastuszek
Going out of town for a gig, a tour, or an audition?
Here's a list of toys that won't take up too much space in your bag but will save your (vocal) life.
Neti Pot: Relieves allergies & sinus symptoms: nasal allergies & dryness; sinus pressure & nasal stuffiness; nasal symptoms for flu & cold; nasal irritation from occupational dust, fumes, animal dander, grass, pollen, smoke, & house dust; post nasal drip & nasal drainage.
Mini Humidifier: This travel humidifier is a life saver in a dry theatre. Easy to install at any dressing room station.
Portable Steamer: Nebulizer or Pure Mist. I LOVE my Nebulizer. You can read more about nebulizer vs. steamer here.
Leo Vibrator (get your head out of the gutter): Vibration is one of the best tools for body mapping (how to fully recruit the parts of your body that will aid in efficient production of your voice). This particular vibrator is great for the face and neck -- try it to wake up your voice, and to experience fuller sensations of your sound!
Lozenges: I prefer sugar-free Grether’s Pastilles or Fontus drops. AVOID cough drops with menthol in them (it’s a numbing agent so you can’t feel if/when you’re doing vocal damage).
Preventative Medicinals: Oil of oregano. Someone in your cast coming down with a plague? Avoid this by putting a few drops of this on your tongue. It tastes like a disgusting highly concentrated amount of pizza and then slightly burns but helps stave off colds.
TEA TIME! Use this Portable Electric Tea Kettle to whip up some Throat Coat and Manuka honey. Manuka is pricey, but it has wayyyy more medicinal benefits than regular honey. Another option is picking up LOCAL honey in whatever city you're in (especially if you're there for a longer sit down). Getting local honey helps acclimate your system to the local allergens.
Metal reusable straw: You can attach this one to your key chain. See Tom Burke's youtube video for a refresher on how to use it.
Tools for Muscle release: Lacrosse ball to roll out cranky muscles. If that's too hard, check out these spiky massage balls. I'd also suggest a mini massager and a portable foam roller.
APPS! (All available in the Apple App Store)
For breathing and meditation:
Breethe
Breathing
Breethe Deep
Headspace
Voice warm ups:
Voice WarmUp (I love these minute long warm ups with this funny British man)
What else do you pack for those on-the-road auditions or gigs? Let us know what we can add to our list!