Familiar

My next project starts previews on February 5th at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. The play is Familiar by Danai Gurira, and this production is directed by Adam Immerwahr. It's about a family who has emigrated from Zimbabwe to Minnesota, and now one of the adult children who has grown up in the States is marrying a white American man. There is Shona-accented English in the play, as well as some Shona language. There are two native Shona speakers working on the production, and we were able to work together to describe the sounds of the language and the accented English. It's been a thrilling process, and it's a wonderful play! 

Performances run at Woolly (641 D. St. NW, Washington, D.C.) February 5th through March 4th, and tickets are available here.

Experiencing Speech

Before the holiday, I was in NYC for a little more than a week to teach the Knight-Thompson Speechwork workshop, Experiencing Speech, with fellow KTS teacher, Eliza Martin Simpson. Experiencing Speech is the introduction to the KTS approach to teaching speech and accents to actors (or anyone) and covers anatomy, the physical actions of all speech sounds in human language, descriptive phonetics, and the skills of adjusting linguistic detail in speech. We had a wonderful, curious, generous group of participants in this 21st offering of Experiencing Speech. Here we are gurning:

Argonautika

Last night, Argonautika by Mary Zimmerman and directed by Steve Snyder opened at Penn State. It's an ambitious, stimulating telling of the myth of Jason and the Golden Fleece. I served as Voice and Text coach on the production. Performances continue at the Pavilion Theatre through November 3rd. Tickets and more info here.

Shakespeare in Love

Tonight is the first preview of Shakespeare in Love at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. The play is adapted for the stage by Lee Hall and directed by Bonnie J. Monte, and I have coached a spectrum of accents ranging from the Queen's Upper-Crust RP to Webster's Cockney. It's a delightful homage to humanity, artistry, and love. Performances run through November 12th at the F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre in Madison, NJ. More info and tickets here.

Experiencing Speech in NYC

I'm happy to say that I will be co-teaching Experiencing Speech, a Knight-Thompson Speechwork workshop, in NYC in December with fellow Certified Teacher (and my former student) Eliza Martin Simpson.

Eliza and I first met as participants in Experiencing Accents, another KTS workshop in 2011 before she became my student at Rutgers University.

Experiencing Speech is a 6-day workshop that provides an introduction to KTS, covering vocal anatomy, the physicality of speech actions, practice of all the sounds in human language, descriptive phonetics, and the skills of adjusting linguistic detail in speech.

This workshop is a prerequisite for the KTS Teacher Certification, and the workshop can be taken in two parts. Registration and more info is here. Join us!

Singapore

In August, I traveled to Singapore - my first time visiting Asia - to attend the annual Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA) conference. I had a wonderful time taking workshops led by voice and storytelling practitioners from Australia, India, Bali, and Mongolia. I co-presented a workshop on linguistic detail in Singlish with fellow Knight Thompson-Speechwork Teacher Jeremy Sortore and native Singaporean and voice coach Petrina Kow. We chose Singlish to explore this core principle of KTS - the principle that advocates teaching speech skills and fluency strategies that might increase or decrease the amount of linguistic detail a speaker uses, rather than teaching a prescriptive pronunciation pattern as a standard. The practices explored in the workshop are part of a larger conversation about the use of the term "formality" in KTS. You can read more of that conversation here, on the KTS blog.

After the VASTA conference, Jeremy Sortore and I co-taught Experiencing Speech: Part One, the introductory Knight-Thompson Speechwork workshop that covers vocal anatomy and the physical actions of all speech sounds in every human language. We had a wonderful group of speech explorers in the workshop. Here we are gurning on our last day together:

Good Men Wanted

This week, I went up to Poughkeepsie to do some dialect coaching for New York Stage and Film. The play is GOOD MEN WANTED by Kevin Armento and directed by Jaki Bradley. It takes place during the Civil War (sort of) and follows the journeys of several women who, for various reasons, disguise themselves as men in order to enlist and fight in the war. It's a powerful and engaging new play, and I had a wonderful time working with some of the cast on these historical accents.

Performances run July 20-30 in the Powerhouse Theater on the Vassar College Campus in Poughkeepsie, NY. More info and tickets available here.

And here's a snap shot from the train ride along the Hudson - always beautiful.

Larry Singer Studios Summer Conservatory

This summer, I'm delighted to be teaching voice in the Larry Singer Studios Summer Conservatory in NYC. It's my first time teaching with Larry, and it's a real joy. The students study voice, physical acting, scene study, and writing for performance. They also attend professional productions and meet with industry professionals in the city. And they receive college credit! 

Theatermakers

I'm teaching Voice in the Theatermakers training program at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT, for the fourth time. Theatermakers is an ensemble that is made up of college-aged actors, directors, and playwrights. It's a 6-week immersive experience in which the students make and perform new work every week, as well as train with and observe professionals. The group is delightful this year, and we get to work here:

YOU ARE PERFECT at the Toronto Fringe

My next project opens at the Toronto Fringe Festival next week. White Horse Theater Company will bring the second production of YOU ARE PERFECT by Cyndy A. Marion to Canada July 7-15. This production is directed by Rhys J. McClelland, and I again helped with the accents. Take a journey into the mind and memory of Susan Atkins. Tickets and more info here.

Fitzmaurice Voicework Workshop

This is a new website for me, and thus begins a new blog.

I had the privilege of teaching two days in Catherine Fitzmaurice's 6-day workshop in NYC over Memorial Day Weekend. On Saturday, I was part of the Restructuring teaching team, exploring and practicing the FV method of breath support for communication. On Monday, I was part of the Speech teaching team, exploring and practicing all possible speech actions and using them for communication. It was a wonderful group of participants and teachers.