VASTA.ORG - Website of the Voice And Speech Trainers Association, Inc.

VASTA is poised to become an exciting international organization and is actively planting seeds for global networking, other cultural involvement and resource-sharing.

Our mission is to:

Practice and encourage the highest standards of voice and speech use and artistry in all professional arenas.
Serve the needs of voice and speech teachers and students in training and practice.
Promote the concept that the art of the voice and speech specialist is integral to the successful teaching of acting and to the development of all professional voice users.

Encourage and facilitate opportunities for ongoing education and the exchanging of knowledge and information among professionals in the field.

VASTA is all about

Vision
Artistry
Standards of conduct
Training enhancement and
Advocacy for our profession.

Statement of Principles

The Voice and Speech Trainers Association expects the following of its members:

1. Offer instruction, advice, and guidance based on their ongoing pursuit of the best information, thought and practices available in their respective specialization.

2. Acknowledge teachers and colleagues who have contributed to their work.

3. Present accurately the nature and duration of their training and experience.

4. Respect the right of colleagues to advocate approaches with which they may not agree and allow students freedom to choose practices which may best meet their needs.

5. Take responsibility for the emotional climate of their classrooms, fostering an atmosphere conducive to their students' optimal growth.

6. Refer a student to a specialist (physician, psychologist, speech pathologist, singing teacher, voice and/or speech teacher, body alignment expert, etc.) whenever the need arises, except in cases where doing so could be detrimental.

8. Give students ongoing, objective assessments, as well as informed opinions of their abilities and progress.

9. Acknowledge the primacy of the director in matters of interpretation and addressing any questions or differences with the director in private.

10. Dedicate their teaching and practice to enhancing the art of communication, nurturing individual creativity in all its differences, developing empathetic abilities as an essential component of voice teaching, and going beyond facile standards of right and wrong, correct and incorrect in assessing the human voice.

VASTA Statements of Mission and Principles

Mission Statement

Statement of Principles