VOICE & RITUAL: BEYOND THE SPOKEN WORD
Marymount Manhattan College, NYC

by Judylee Vivier,
VASTA Director of Conferences 2003-2004

This year in the Big Apple VASTA brings us the exciting work of three experts who explore the ritual use and potential of the voice by taking us beyond the spoken word into the powerful areas of the extended voice that we rarely use. Each presenter will get the opportunity to either introduce their workshop sessions or conclude their workshop sessions through a brief presentation to all the participants.

This year we are continuing and extending (by half an hour) the discussion regarding our Burning Issues. Please share some of these with us on the registration form, in order to help us facilitate the process. Do be sure to bring your lunch to this session. Time is extremely valuable this year since the expanse of New York demands travel time be accommodated.

The conference begins on Monday August 4th and runs until Thursday August 7th. 

We look forward to seeing you!

View/Print the Conference Flyer (pdf)

View a Map of the Marymount Manhattan College (MMC)
& our conference hotel, the Franklin

Accommodation | Alternate Accommodations | Application

Presenters

Richard Armstrong’s distinction as teacher, director, and performer is recognized throughout the world. A pioneer of the extension of the human voice, his unique abilities have taken him to over 25 countries, and inspired a whole generation of performers and their work. He has been part of the music theatre faculty at the Banff Centre, Canada since 1985. He also teaches at Towson University, Fordham College at Lincoln Centre, New York University’s Experimental Theatre Wing and for theatre companies, universities and opera schools around the world.

Session Description:
The Voice is the Muscle of the Soul: This short phrase eloquently sums up the practical philosophy of Richard Armstrong’s 35 years of work on human sound: the voice as a manifestation of the psyche, a potential key to hidden or blocked areas of personality. The unchained voice, often described as the extended voice to differentiate it from the specialized classical voice, reveals that multi-octave expression is the normal healthy range of the human being. Classically trained singers find that, apart from equipping them for the demands of much contemporary repertoire, the training brings great therapeutic benefit. There is no damage to the vocal cords, as the limits of the traditional voice are examined and extended. The workshop will focus especially on the connection between the voice and the personality of each participant, through both individual and group work. Richard Armstrong’s vocal training is equally relevant for actors and singers, dancers or instrumentalists, composers and storytellers. Building on existing vocal and musical skills, through training adapted to the needs of each student, his aim is to help anyone to develop their full potential.

Marya Lowry is an actress and teaching artist specializing in voice, text and verse performance and has been on the faculty of Brandeis University’s Professional Theatre Training Program since 1989. As an actress, her work spans the classical, contemporary and experimental stages, narration with the Boston Pops and Handel & Haydn Society, and original music-theatre creations. Professional voice/text coaching includes: Shakespeare’s plays on Broadway and Off Broadway, at Shakespeare Festivals and for an international company of The Bacchae in Denmark and France. Marya has taught voice and text workshops in New York City, Boston, the Roy Hart International Voice Centre in France and at the Giving Voice Festival in Wales. She is engaged in research and application of extended voice in the classroom and performance.

Session Description:
Beauty from Ashes:The voice, before the evolution of language, ideas and song, holds the purest and most profound expression of our humanity. In this workshop we will journey to the sounds and songs of sorrow, explore your personal heart’s cry, and venture into the soul-satisfying joy of unboundaried expressions of life. Participants will be introduced to basic inquiries that are the threshold to the larger exploration of ritual lamentation. Supported by breath, physical and emotional energy, and examined in relationship to others and to your own inner imaginative life, we will search out the expression of a primal connection to the sounds of longing and loss, hope, rage and despair – the raw materials of the ancient art of lamentation.

Wendy DeLeo LeBorgne, Ph.D. is a voice pathologist and singing voice specialist at the Blaine Block Institute for Voice Analysis and Rehabilitation and The Professional Voice Center of Greater Cincinnati. Dr. LeBorgne holds a B.F.A. in Musical Theater from Shenandoah Conservatory and her masters and doctoral degrees from the University of Cincinnati in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a specialty in voice disorders. Her research has focused primarily on the area of the professional singing voice. Original peer-reviewed research has been published in the Journal of Voice and she is a contributing author to the book Voice Therapy: Clinical Studies (2000).
Dr. LeBorgne actively presents nationally and internationally on the professional performing voice. Clinically, her work includes providing voice evaluations and therapy for singers and actors with the Cincinnati Opera, Broadway Series, Dayton Opera, Wright State University, and Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. In addition to her duties as a voice pathologist, Dr. LeBorgne continues to maintain an active professional performing career.

Session Description:
Actor training programs traditionally educate students in vocal production that may or may not parallel the training a singer receives. In some instances, semantic confusion arises for the actor as terminology and pedagogy for singing may be in direct contrast to the traditional vocal production pedagogy. Specifically, issues related to breath management, physical and emotional tension, phonotory habits, and resonance training may provide the actor with sources of confusion in an attempt to blend the two worlds. The present workshop will address the following goals:
1) Bridging the gap between commonly used terminology in acting and singing pedagogy;
2) Providing communication strategies for the vocal production instructors and the singing voice teachers to develop a cohesive program for crossover performers;
3) Hands on techniques for the vocal production instructor to connect speech into song. Specific exercises (Vocal Function Exercises, Stemple 2000) will be taught in small groups to improve glottal efficiency through balancing respiration, phonation, and resonance.

Accommodations

THE FRANKLIN HOTEL Reservations: 1-800-607-4009
164 E 87th St.,  NY 10128 (between Lexington and 3rd Avenues)
Only 40 rooms have been reserved for VASTA: 20 standard and 20 superior.  
Reservation deadline is JUNE 16, 2003 to qualify for the VASTA Group Rates.
VASTA Group Rates:
$119.00 per night for a standard room (double bed) w/bathroom  
$129.00 per night for a superior room (queen bed) w/bathroom  
Add 13.25% New York State Hotel Tax plus a $2.00 occupancy tax per night.
Rates include a basic complimentary continental breakfast served in the small guest lounge between 7:00-9:30a.m. Complimentary tea and coffee are available in the lounge 24 hours a day.

View a Map of the Franklin Hotel

Alternate Accommodations:

All rates are subject to change

COSMOPOLITAN HOTEL: 212- 566-1900 Larry Bader
95 West Broadway between Chambers and Reade Streets – Tribeca (WTC)
Rooms range from $109.00-$150.00 for a single (or 2 intimate people) person $109.00-$119.00
Rooms are spotless, small but very quaint, all different shapes and sizes. Friendly and homely. No Restaurant. No Breakfast. Neighborhood has many wonderful restaurants and cafes. Food shops. Take out.
Convenient to subway – NR and 4/5/6.

View a Map of the Cosmopolitan Hotel

GERSHWIN HOTEL: (212) 545-8000 Makiko
7 East 27th St between 5th and Madison.
Funky old Art Déco Hotel – really fun. Rooms are small but clean, simple, and neat – shower no bath – single (or 2 close) $109.00 summer special no guarantee it will be offered next year.
Café between 7-11:00 a.m. Bar. No Restaurant in hotel. Restaurants in neighborhood.
Subways convenient: NR on 28th St and Madison. Buses .

View a Map of the Gershwin Hotel

Also some inexpensive and sparser accommodations:
THE LEO HOUSE:
332 West 23rd Street (8 th & 9 th Avenues)  
ph:  212 929-1010    fax:   212 366-6801
$62 for single (share bath with one other room)
$72 for single with private bath

View a Map of the Leo House

YWCA/YMCA: <www.ymcanyc.org>
Westside:
5 West 63rd Street
phone # 212-875-4273
rates: $72-$140 per night

Eastside:
Vanderbilt
224 East 47th Street
phone: 212-756-9600
rates: approx the same as Westside

Application Forms are available online (includes pricing information).