We open tomorrow and my voice is gone

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 4:14pm

High Protein Tonsil Wash.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 4:16pm

Throat coat won't get your voice back in a day.

All the steam you can take, and 10x the water you can handle.

[Kitzarina]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 4:17pm

Boil an onion in water. Once it has finished steeping, use the boiled water to make peppermint tea. Add honey to taste. Drink this for the rest of the day and all day tomorrow. My drama teacher SWEARS by this stuff.

Also, I would highly recommend putting yourself on vocal rest. Do not talk unless absolutely necessary, and then don't whisper. Just speak softly and make sure that you are talking in your head, not on your throat.

An extremely radical suggestion that I don't recommend but that has been practiced by actors I know is to make a trip to the ER or your family doctor and have them prescribe you some steroids. I would only use this as a last resort, however.

Hope your voice comes back and either way--break a leg!

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 4:17pm

Throat coat is a tea and available at most grocers.It is splendid. Sit in a steam room if you belong to a gym. Sueleen, you are soooo bad. Love ya kitten.

[alliez92092]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 4:21pm

Steam up your bathroom and just stay there.

[boxers7]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 4:47pm

Apple Cider Vinegar. Two tablespoons in a glass of warm water. Gargle it then spit it out. Then take the same amount and swallow it. Do this every hour for as many hours as you have. Worked for me in seven.

[Isabella2]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 5:02pm

i heard if you boil ginger root for like 5 hours and then drink the juice that helps.

[defyingravity11]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 6:11pm

Buckley's Mixture!

It smells like body oder and tar and tastes even worse, but it works wonders!

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 7:21pm

Turn your shower on hot and close the dor for a while. Let the room get steamed up and then go sit in there.

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 7:30pm

isn't there a shot that you can get? i remember seeing alicia keys getting one before she went on for the grammy's. that may be a little radical though.

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 7:30pm

isn't there a shot that you can get? i remember seeing alicia keys getting one before she went on for the grammy's. that may be a little radical though.

[bwaylover86]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 8:26pm

A friend of mine got really sick before she opened as Maria in the Sound of Music and was walking around with a bottle of vinegar all day just drinking it straight... im not sure if it was a specific kind or if she mixed it with anything but try it lol.

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 8:28pm

Apple Cider Vinegar. Two tablespoons in a glass of warm water. Gargle it then spit it out. Then take the same amount and swallow it. Do this every hour for as many hours as you have. Worked for me in seven.

- Ewww. I rather not have my voice than to gargle with Vinegar.

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 9:42am

I wish I had some advice - I lost my voice due to allergies on the day before we opened once, and even with some allergy shots from a local doctor, nothing changed.
When I'm in a show, I drink tons of Throat coat, always keep some Ricola's on hand, and even when I'm not performing, I drink a lot of water - it keeps me very healthy.

[Princeton78]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 2:22pm

Alkalol.

http://www.alkalolcompany.com/

[temms]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 2:42pm

Bustinloose -

Sounds like you're making the right call. Justa word of precaution. As a musical director-type person, I've dealt a lot with singers on steroids. It happens more frequently than you'd think (and probably more frequently than it should - if it were up to me, I'd tell the actor to stay home, get vocal rest, and let the understudy go on.) But it's a fact of the industry.

One thing to be VERY CAREFUL of - your voice on steroids will feel like it's never felt. You will feel like you are indestructible and can hit notes with a ferocity that you've never had before. The problem is, whatever is causing the damage is still there. Steroids mask the symptoms - they don't cure the disease.

Too many singers take the steroids, then sing as though they're healthy, which they're not. That's when the problems come. If you're doing damage to already wounded cords, that's where you start to build up scar tissue and bad things like hemmorhages can happen (years down the line.)

This is not meant to scare, just to point out that you still need to be as careful with your voice on the steroids as without - even more so. The temptation will be to, as your name implies, "bust loose", but do yourself a favor and resist. You are still singing on a sick voice, even if it doesn't feel like it.

Break a leg!

[helloagain]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 2:45pm

1 Cup(measurement) of WARM not hot water

2tsp of salt

2tsp of bakeing soada

2tbsp of Honey

Mix to gether and Gargle for 2 Mins

It helped me sing through strep so It will atleast help you it realy works
!!!

[erikaamato]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 2:56pm

Too many singers take the steroids, then sing as though they're healthy, which they're not. That's when the problems come. If you're doing damage to already wounded cords, that's where you start to build up scar tissue and bad things like hemmorhages can happen (years down the line.)

I am so glad you mentioned this, because I was going to say the same thing.

I personally have never had to resort to the steroid shot (knock on wood), but I know lots of folks who have and then ended up needing surgery down the line because they oversang while under the "influence" of the shot. There's nothing wrong with the shot itself; it's just what temms said: the temptation is to blow the roof off the joint, 'cause you (falsely) feel great.

For the record, when I'm vocally fatigued I always go with drinking more water than you ever thought you could drink (as Rath suggested), plus vocal rest.

Break a leg, and be careful!

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 3:24pm

ew steriods.

BE CAREFUL. i have a friend that had nods when she was very young (due to wildly unhealthy speaking technique), took steroids and continued her horrible habits - this led to major complications and she required surgery. she now can't sing at all and when she speaks, she sounds like julie andrews (ie: a toad)

BE CAREFUL.

lol and all for The Wizard of Oz.

[jynni]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 3:34pm

I've found that a teaspoon of olive oil does wonders.

[caitlincanfly]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 6:15pm

Pineapple juice.
Not kidding.
My director in high school swore by it, and it always worked for me.

[clarkstallings]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 6:22pm

And the moral of this story to all directors and MDs is...don't let your understudies fall by the rehearsal wayside, you never know when you'll actually need them.

[ShbrtAlley44]

Posted: 10/24/06 at 6:32pm

Be careful and break a leg, bustinloose!

Is there a particular type of Throat Coat that works best?

[ErinDillyFan]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 9:17am

We're waiting with bated breath.
Updated On: 10/25/06 at 09:17 AM

[Isabella2]

Posted: 10/25/06 at 1:34pm

i wanna know too. how are you doing?