Articulation Exercise for Actors: Seuss on Socks

This is one of my favourite articulation exercises.  It forces you to open your mouth, articulate and speak clearly.  The Step 4 Scene and Technique Class students at my Glasgow Acting Studio have been working on this as part of their warm up.

At first it looks tremendously tricky, but it isn’t.  There’s only 13 lines, which means that if you really want to nail it, it will take becoming confident on two lines per day for the next 7 days.  Within a week, you will be able to rattle it off with ease and perfect articulation.  Give it a go, it’s a great little challenge.

About Socks 

Give me the gift of a grip-top sock,
A clip drape shipshape tip top sock.
Not your spinslick slapstick slipshod stock,
But a plastic, elastic grip-top sock.
None of your fantastic slack swap slop
From a slap dash flash cash haberdash shop.
Not a knick knack knitlock knockneed knickerbocker sock
With a mock-shot blob-mottled trick-ticker top clock.
Not a supersheet seersucker ruck sack sock,
Not a spot-speckled frog-freckled cheap sheik’s sock
Off a hodge-podge moss-blotched scotch-botched block.
Nothing slipshod drip drop flip flop or glip glop
Tip me to a tip top grip top sock.

Dr. Seuss

See if you can get it down to doing it in about 25 seconds, while retaining the clarity of speech. If you can do it in 20 seconds and retain beautiful articulation, then you’ve really cracked it!