A Second Language Actor’s Schizo-affect Training Using AI: The Human Voice
A Second Language Actor’s Schizo-affect Training Using AI: The Human Voice

Summary/Abstract: This article explores the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in training second language actors through the lens of schizo-affect, a concept derived from Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, representing the non-linear, affect-charged dimensions of utterance. Conventional voice and speech training prioritizes native-standard fluency, often stifling individuality and the expressive potential of second language actors. Drawing on Jean Cocteau’s monodrama The Human Voice, the project investigates how second language actors can develop a distinct, performative English – an English-becoming another-language – by harnessing schizo-affect. AI tools such as Speakometer, Speechling, and Resemble AI, typically designed to normalize pronunciation, are repurposed to amplify the expressive, affective dimensions of speech, providing critical feedback, mirroring, and contrast. Through targeted engagement with AI, actors explore internal auditory models, isolate and manipulate idiosyncratic pronunciation, and cultivate a unique vocal identity, while simultaneously aligning schizo-affect with character creation. The analysis demonstrates that second language expression should not be treated as a deficit but as a source of creative rupture, enabling actors to integrate unpredictability, bodily tension, and unusual rhythms into performance. Ultimately, the article argues for a rethinking of second language acting pedagogy, emphasizing expressive experimentation, individuality, and the cultivation of non-standard voices as aesthetic and performative resources.

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