Opera director Dr. Marc Reynolds shows how story, visualization and body language unlock vocal technique. Start with the conversation, not the singing.

Dr. Marc Reynolds, director of opera studies at Texas State University, hands you a full toolbox for fusing acting with vocal technique. First the why: students parked in fight-or-flight cannot absorb what you teach, so you get concrete ways to settle them before the lesson starts. Then the tools. Treat every song as a conversation, with subtext and a moment before. Move where the singer feels the emotion and watch the breath drop. Use the bow-and-arrow and four-rooms images, place the sound with the eyes, free the hands instead of pinning them, swap feet-together posture for contrapposto, and keep the feet moving last.