Carla Balenda

This is a 1954 Lydia Lane article where actress Carla Balenda talks about voice and relaxation. Enjoy!

Carla Balenda is no stranger to Hollywood as she has been under contract to Columbia and RKO but she didn’t really hit her stride until she was chosen to be Mickey Rooney’s TV love. “I wanted to bean actress even when I was a little girl but you don’t have to be in the theater to be dramatic,” she told me as we chatted in her dressing room at NBC. “Every time you walk, walk as if you were on the stage with purpose and with grace. Shakespeare has had a lot of, influence on my attitude toward life. My dramatic coach Ed Edson has made him very real to me and her thoughts are now in a book called The World’s Your Stage. ”

As Carla talked, I was aware of the musical quality of her voice and told her so. “When I first heard my voice I thought it was loo high and thin, but then I was quite young. As you mature and leave childish things behind, your voice naturally lowers. When you find a grownup persons with a high voice, it’s I usually an indication that they ‘have not grown-up inside. “I think our voices play such an important part in the impression we make. ‘Use all gently,’ Shakespeare said. This applies especially to women. I try to apply this to all accomplishments to use everything I have to advantage. I think it’s fun to experiment  with yourself to give your friends a surprise occasionally. You’ll find they have much more attention to you when they can’t anticipate how you are going to look or what you are going to say.

Although Carla has a very busy schedule she gives the impression of being very i relaxed. There is nothing like getting your feet higher than your head to give your body complete relaxation. As soon as I finish a day’s work. I undress and lie on my ironing board – I put the board on a low cocktail table and as I relax I let m arms fall to the floor instead of crossing them in front “And while in this position, I try to let my mind go completely blank, then breathe to a count of six. I follow with a shower and end up feeling wonderfully refreshed.”