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Judylee Vivier has been serving as our Human Resources director since she started her term as a board member. She keeps track of jobs that need filling and collects the names of members who express an interest in serving. I encourage you to send her an email and let her know what kind of contribution you could make to all the wonderful things we do.

 

It’s also time for all of us to be thinking ahead to our conference in Denver this summer. Our dates are now firm. We’ll be in Denver, Colorado August 3-7 2007. We’ll be hosted by the National Center for Voice and Speech (NCVS) at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. The board met recently at NCVS and I can tell you the facilities are wonderful. Kate Ufema is our co-conference planner with Phil Timberlake and they have lined up an incredible smorgasbord of speakers and events on the topic of voice science. For experienced voice teachers or those that are just beginning, there will be an incredible range of information and experiences, all tailored to the needs of our membership. Assistant Conference Planner Michele Cuomo has already sent out announcements through Vastavox with an initial call for papers for our member presentation day. Be on the alert for further communications from the whole conference team.

We’re taking a break this summer from our customary practice of holding our conference in company with the Association of Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE). As you may know, VASTA was founded in the same year as ATHE and although we are a separate organization, we operate as a focus group within ATHE.  For years, we held our conference in the same city immediately before or after ATHE’s conference. Since 2004 we’ve been expanding our horizons, piggybacking with the Voice Foundation in Philadelphia and holding our first overseas conference in Glasgow.  This conference with NCVS represents another conversation with a sister organization.  We know we’ll be back with ATHE in New York in 2009 but other plans are still being developed. I hope that if you have ideas you’ll feel free to share them with me at pthompso@uci.edu.
   

Our three focus committees: International, Diversity, and Pedagogy have been hard at work drafting statements and discussing goals and actions. You can look forward to reading more about their work in future editions of the VASTA Voice and on our website but I’d like to give you a thumbnail sketch of each area by way of introduction.

Diversity in our membership and in the people we serve has been a long term goal of this organization. We recognize that this is a complex issue and our efforts in this regard will require a vigorous and open dialogue. This summer in Chicago we held an extended panel to talk about our “diversity template” and that discussion left me excited about our ability to speak passionately and thoughtfully together on this subject. Beth McGee chairs the Diversity Committee.

Pedagogy is built into our identity as an organization of Voice and Speech Trainers and this focus committee is looking for ways to advance that mission. The committee will foster investigation of the principles behind voice/speech training methods and work to enhance the quality and reputation of VASTA’s training and trainers. Joanna Cazden chairs the Diversity Committee.

VASTA aims to serve the Voice and Speech practitioner and advocate for the profession. VASTA’s International focus committee is concerned with carrying that mission forward to individuals and organizations beyond the borders of the United States. As a first step we have created the VASTA International listserv (http://listserv.uc.edu/archives/vasta-international.html). This is an email forum specifically intended to be a place where we can discuss issues of voice and speech teaching as experienced in an international and cross-cultural context.  So far there have been some fascinating discussions. Join the list to participate or just to listen in. Rocco Dal Vera is VASTA’s International Liaison.

This is a time of great activity for VASTA. I’m excited to be part of it and I hope you are too.

Word,
Phil Thompson 

Warm Wishes,

Allison Hetzel

ANNOUNCING:The VASTA Fellows Program

A new program created in response to the VASTA Vision 2014 outreach advocacy goals

VASTA seeks to raise the profile of what we do as an organization, raise standards for practice within the profession and increase public awareness of effective, healthy and creative vocal usage. To that end, VASTA has created this Fellows Program to connect qualified VASTA representatives with institutions and organizations in need of workshops, master classes and symposia. The purpose is to provide expertise in specific areas that may not be available in a given institution or organization.

VASTA members are invited to apply to become a VASTA Fellow.

Both individuals and teams are welcome to apply.

“Boldly go where no voice and speech trainer has gone before.”

• create a greater demand for voice and speech specialists
• create opportunities for tenure-track service credit
• create a sabbatical opportunity
• create opportunities to expand the work of VASTA membersAll travel, housing and expenses will be paid by the hosting institution

Apply Now!

A description of the Fellows Program and an application to become a Fellow are available on the VASTA web site.

VASTA Fellows Committee:
Linda de Vries (Chair), Claudia Anderson, Debra Hale, Thomas Keating, Kristen Loree

 

Absent

• Board Member: Judylee Vivier (JLV)

The following is an overview of the meetings.

LW called the Board meeting to order.  Minutes from the November 2005 Board meeting were approved.

International outreach was discussed.  LW made a motion to create an ad hoc position for an international liaison.  BM seconded the motion. The motion was passed.  RDV will serve in the ad hoc position to explore internationalization of VASTA.

RDV noted that ATHE intends to place increased focus on pedagogy.  PT made a motion to create a Pedagogy Committee with a chair.  RDV seconded the motion.  Motion was passed. 

ML reported on the VASTA Fellows Program, which was created in fulfillment of the VASTA Vision 2014 outreach and advocacy goals. VASTA seeks to raise the profile of what we do as an organization, raise standards for practice within the profession and increase public awareness of good vocal usage. To that end, the VASTA Fellows Program seeks to connect qualified VASTA representatives with institutions in need of workshops, master classes and symposia.  Information and the application process for the Fellows Program will be announced to VASTA membership.

PNT reported on the 2007 VASTA conference, which will be held in Denver.  KU noted that a Denver conference would be scheduled either to follow or to precede the Denver Center Vocology Institute. 

The Board voted for the next president of VASTA.  Beth McGee was voted in as President-Elect.  At the November 2006 Board meeting, Phil Thompson will begin his term as President and LW will become Past President.  The Board thanked LW for her outstanding service as President of VASTA.

CF reported on the budget.  VASTA continues to be in excellent financial health.

VASTA’s endowment fund is nearing $50,000.  KU submitted a VASTA Endowment Proposal.  The Board voted to accept the VASTA Endowment Proposal. The VASTA Endowment is established to secure a strong financial basis for the ongoing work of the Association and to promote the goals of the Association by providing financial support for its endeavors.  The VASTA Endowment will be administered by an Endowment Manager appointed by the Board of Directors. The Endowment Manager will oversee the investment of funds either through direct means or through a proxy. At least once annually, at the Fall Board meeting, the Endowment Manager will report to the VASTA Board on the state of the Endowment funds. 

AH reported on the VASTA Voice newsletter.  Mark Ingram is stepping in as Associate Editor.  The changes to regional divisions are working well.  Newsletter issues will appear in September, November, February, April, and July.  The membership directory (which is published in the newsletter) is distributed for non-commercial, non-profit uses only.  The fall and spring newsletters will contain the member directory.

ME reported on Membership.  Kudos to ME for his successful work on behalf of membership.  A healthy renewal rate has been maintained throughout this year.  On the renewal letter, ME will point out that if a membership lapses, the member’s information on the Professional Index will be removed.  If after a lapse dues are paid and membership is reinstated, all Professional Index information will need to be re-entered by the member.

PC reported on ATHE conferences.  Adrianne Moore is the Conference Planner for 2008-2009. “Re-Generations” is the title for the next ATHE conference, which will be held in New Orleans.  VASTA presented 5 panels at ATHE 2006; 8 peer reviews were provided.  The Board noted that PC did a superb job of representing VASTA at the ATHE conference.

MB reported on technology.  The July issue of the VASTA Voice was successfully designed and sent by Mark Ingram.  After a new issue of the VASTA Voice is mailed, the previous issue becomes accessible on the VASTA website via the left-side drop down menu – under “Publications|Newsletter.”  To order mailing labels, people need to make sure they follow the instructions at www.vasta.org/resources/labels/labels.html

Other business included PR volunteering to plan ways to help new members make connections at future conferences, and the Board discussing VASTA’s 20th birthday party at the Chicago conference. 

At the end of the August 10 meeting, everyone agreed that Chicago had been a FABULOUS conference—better than ever.  Heartfelt thanks were extended to PNT for the excellent job he did in planning and organizing the conference.

Respectfully submitted
Lynn Watson
Secretary

York University has an Affirmative Action Program with respect to its faculty and librarian appointments.  The designated groups are: women, racial/visible minorities, persons with disabilities and aboriginal peoples.  Persons in these groups must self-identify in order to participate in the Affirmative Action Program.  The Department of Theatre welcomes applications from persons in these groups.  The Affirmative Action Program can be found on York’s website at http://www.yorku.ca/acadjobs/ or a copy can be obtained by calling the Affirmative Action Office at 416 736 5713.  All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given priority.

 

This June, under the leadership of Janet Rodgers, a group of VASTA members from all over the United States traveled across the pond to study the Voices and Archetypes of Myth with renowned folk singer and former VASTA Conference presenter Frankie Armstrong.  Since 1999?  Janet has been bringing select groups of students from Virginia Commonwealth University to Kinnersley castle to undertake these unique vocal explorations. Then after a successful collaboration with VASTA members Allison Hetzel and Marlene Johnson on a presentation of Frankie’s Archetype work at the 2005 VASTA Conference in Edinburgh, Janet heard the call from fellow members for a VASTA sponsored workshop with Frankie.

 

So, on June 8, six VASTA members, two additional theatre professionals from the specialties of movement and theatre education gathered at Paddington Station in London to embark on the journey to Kinnersley to begin our very personal, yet epic vocal explorations.

Over course of eight days we gathered in the Grand Hall to discover our own personal huntress, lover, sibyl, hero, trickster, child, crone, leader, maiden, storyteller, and disturbing, seductive Lucifer.  Frankie has honed these vocal archetypes over three decades, assigning each a mantra to inspire their personal songs.

I have the songs and stories to guide you on your journey.
- The Storyteller

Through these mantras and specifically guided circumstances, our group of vocal explorers where given the opportunity to access the songs and voices of these ancient figures of myth.  As a special treat Frankie introduced the experimental journeys of the fool and the mother, still works in progress. 

As our time at the castle waned, we had explored all of these Archetypes intimately, sometimes blending them together, other times introducing one to another, and finally applying the vocal work to text.

The value of this workshop is quite hard to articulate in words. As a new student of voice and speech, often times I get bogged down in science and detail and forget the innocence of song and story that feeds our need to perform.  Archetype work awakens parts of the imagination that may have lain dormant for far too long.  This was evident in that many of the participants had visited the castle in the past to study with Frankie, and had returned to dig deeper into to work.  Hopefully, if interest warrants VASTA members will continue to visit Kinnersley castle to work with Frankie Armstrong and spread this wonderful work across the globe

The longevity of a singer’s career depends upon having the skill to give a director quality sound without compromised vocal integrity. A powerful belt, capably executed with good technique is an indispensable expressive tool. Ever since the Broadway Belt became a necessary skill for singers, the debate has raged on – how does one produce a healthy Broadway Belt?
 
The answers are hidden in the origins of the belt and human physiology.

The Broadway Belt emerged when producers and directors demanded a less classical, more “pop” sound – meaning, clearly spoken lyrics and unaffected vocal production – a natural, powerful, communicative sound. In other words, speech on musical pitch, which I realize may sound like an oxymoron, but science supports this concept. 

Singing has traditionally been considered a right-brain only activity. As emerging research improves our understanding of the acoustics and mechanics of the vocal apparatus, the rules of theater performance voice and singing blend together.

Speech is a left-brain activity that is natural, comfortable and easy. You talk all day long without a passing thought to technique. You speak on pitch in normal conversation. And you speak in rhythm – sometimes smooth and legato, sometimes pointed and staccato.

 

Neurologically, the Broadway Belt requires a crossover in the brain in order to speak (left brain) on musical pitch (right brain). Yet, it has been proven that emotionally inflected speech, i.e., speech with pitch variation, crosses over from left-brain to the expressive right-brain where music is processed. It does so without the physical tension and psychological fear surrounding singing. That is why the foundation of a healthy belt rests in speaking on pitch to combine the ease of speech with the music of singing.

Here’s how to practice the Broadway Belt technique: Inhale to open nasal passages, soft palate high, diaphragm low, body relaxed and ready to respond – you then simply speak through the space. Practice helps the two lobes of the brain work together to produce speech on musical pitch. Using speech as the initial impulse for sound production will give you the quality that Broadway producers and directors are looking for while taking good care of your voice.

Everyone is capable of performing a healthy belt. Here are a few tips from the Morganix Method®, "Your Key to Vocal Excellence" to get you started:

1. To begin speaking on pitch, listen for the musical elements of your speech. Say the phrase, “Have a nice day,” and try to find the musical notes on which you spoke by playing them on an instrument.

Now reverse the process. Play a musical pitch then match that pitch to begin a phrase. Be sure to use speech – no “singing” allowed. In the beginning you may find it a bit difficult to maintain speech. Be persistent. Be patient with yourself when you practice.

2. To infuse this technique into a song, match the first word of each phrase to the first pitch. Speak the word on the starting pitch repeat this until you feel comfortable that you are using speech without any physical manipulation of the larynx. Then begin “singing” the phrase with the spoken sound leading the forward release of breath and sound. 

3. Increase belt quality by increasing the release of breath and lyric. Notice I said release, not spin or buzz or force. Release breath and sound through your open instrument. 

4. Need more gutsy quality? Anchor your vocalization deeper in your body. Inhale into the deepest part of your back and use those muscles to “speak” the lyrics. Continue following the rules of good vocal production no matter what sound you crave.

Go forth and create wonderful music!

Sally Morgan is a Philadelphia based author of Morganix Method®, "Your Key to Vocal Excellence" and "125 Secrets to Help You Speak Like a Pro", award-winning composer, singer and master vocal trainer. You can reach <Sally@MorganixMethod.com> or <www.MorganixMethod.com>

 

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Member News

Regional Editor, Linda Cartwright <linda.cartwright@clear.net.nz>

CICELY BERRY (Stratford-upon-Avon, U.K.) is still at the RSC and enjoying their Complete Works Festival.  In April, she was in New York for the launch of the documentary on her work put out by WGBH, Boston.  It is called Where Words Prevail and covers international work.  Also in April she was in Rio with the young theatre group in Vidigal – Nos Do Horro, which means Us From the Hills.  They brought Two Gentlemen of Verona to the RSC in August and played it in the new Courtyard Theatre.  Cicely will be in New York in November working with TFANA.

KATE FOY (University of Southern Queensland, Australia) voice coached The Comedy of Errors for Shakespeare in Queen’s Park Festival 2006.  She then co-directed some short plays, Allsorts, for the USQ Performance Centre.  Currently she’s directing a school’s touring production of scenes from Black Box Shakespeare: All’s Fair for the Shakespeare in Queen’s Park Festival launch program in October.  Kate is also Chair of the organising committee for this festival, preparing for the 2007 season in March.  She will be voice coaching a new production of Macbeth, a program of the sonnets and producing the tour from Toowoomba to Fraser Coast.

BERNADETTE PRYDE (University of Southern Queensland, Australia) has been lecturing at USQ and acting.  She starred in the short film Silent Receiver that won Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Best Original Score at the Shoot Out Film Festival.  She played the role of Charity in the musical Sweet Charity for the Empire Theatre, Toowoomba, as well as dialect coaching.  Instead of delivering her paper at the 2006 VASTA conference, she accepted the chance to play Mrs Walker in the old Kaufman and Hart classic, Once in a Lifetime for QUT, directed by Donn Finn of Mali Finn Casting LA.

CANADA
Regional Editor, Dawn McCaugherty <d.m.mccaugherty@ucalgary.ca>

ERIC ARMSTRONG (York University) has been busy this year preparing his tenure file. At the VASTA conference in Chicago he presented with Michael Barnes on recording audio using a mac computer and was also honoured with a VASTA Leadership and Service Award. In July, he taught voice at Toronto Youth Theatre's inaugural summer program at the Hart House Theatre. This summer he revised his "Introducing the IPA" workbook, used at several actor training programs in Canada and the US, and recorded plenty of supporting audio material to go with it. He also continues to do web design work for voice and acting specialists. Eric can be heard answering the "Good Question," about why singers lose their accents when they sing, on CBC St. John radio, at http://www.cbc.ca/informationmorningsaintjohn/archives/2006_oct_w2.html

MARK INGRAM (Toronto Film School, York U.) continues to have a busy year, teaching voice and acting at Toronto Film School and York University. He has also been acting as assistant coordinator for the acting program at the Film School. This summer he started on as Assistant Editor for the VASTA Voice newsletter. He’s also done some more voice work on some MOWs and continues (still!) to renovate his house.

DAWN McCAUGHERTY (University of Calgary) enjoyed this summer teaching at Canada’s National Voice Intensive in Vancouver and then traveling with the Voice Intensive (its first time on the road!) and three colleagues to the Summer Arts Program at CSU Fresno (many thanks to Tom Provenzano). In addition to a mountain of administrative work due to taking on the position of Graduate Coordinator for the department, she is preparing to direct Twelfth Night at school in the new year and will again be dialect coaching Christmas Carol for Theatre Calgary.

BETTY MOULTON (University of Alberta) heads the new MFA in Theatre Voice Pedagogy now underway, and it is very exciting to be working with the first two students! Fitting in all the study and practical time for everything we want to cover is a challenge, so the students are very busy. Other current and enjoyable projects include teaching broadcast and character voice in the actor training program. Research continues on “The effect of accented English on comprehension in the classroom” with non native professors at the University of Alberta and with colleagues from Speech-Language Pathology and Linguistics.
 
IRENE PAUZER (Ryerson University) continues her journey towards tenure as Head of Voice and Speech at Ryerson’s Theatre Department. Irene participated in the Speech Dialects workshop this June held in Williamsburg, Virginia where she had the pleasure of meeting many colleagues from VASTA and had an opportunity to put faces to names.  Also, in July this summer she worked again as a member of the Stratford coaching team giving company warm-ups, individual tutorials and serving as vocal coach for the production of The Liar.  She looks forward to presenting her research study at the VASTA Conference 2007 and reconnecting with her new as well as old friends.

MEREDITH SCOTT (Citadel Theatre, Edmonton) was appointed Director of the Foote Theatre School at the Citadel Theatre this spring. She has also been busy coaching privately, teaching workshops for the Theatre School and was recently Dialect Coach for the Citadel’s production of Equus.

DAVID SMUKLER (York University) celebrated the 20th Anniversary of Canada's National Voice Intensive with participants from Asia, Europe and Latin America as well as from across Canada and the States.  Four of the faculty conducted a mini Voice Intensive at the Summer Arts Program in Fresno, California.
 
DANIELLE WILSON (Brock University) spent a wonderful month in Calgary participating and creating theatre at the One Yellow Rabbit Summer Lab Intensive this past July. In September, she re-located to St. Catharines, Ontario for the school year where she is teaching full time at Brock University. She is currently teaching voice, acting and collective creation to undergraduate students in the Dramatic Arts Department.

NORTHEAST (ME, VT, NH, MA, CT, PA, RI, NJ, DE, MD, D.C.)
Regional Editor, Peter-Jack Tkatch <Peter-Jack.Tkatch@uvm.edu>

JANET MADELLE FEINDEL (Carnegie Mellon) assisted with the Alexander Alliance in Germany and gave a workshop in Krefeld.  Her chapter “Strategies for Dealing with Vocal Tension” is included in The Performer’s Voice, published by Plural.  Janet dialect/voice coached The Real Thing, directed by Bob Miller, The Birthday Party, directed by Ron Lindbloom and One Flea Spare, directed by John Shepard, (at the THE REP, Pittsburgh Playhouse), As You Like It, directed by Di Trevis, at CMU and Mazel, with the Jewish Theatre of Pittsburgh.   

DUDLEY KNIGHT taught a four-day workshop in Fitzmaurice Voicework and Knight Speechwork at the Korean National University of Arts, November 14-17, 2006. He was a member of the Equity company at the Utah Shakespearean Festival's fall season, acting in The Merchant of Venice and Peg o' My Heart. During 2006 he also taught several major workshops in his approach to speech training and has voice/text directed at several regional theatres.

NANCY KREBS (Baltimore School for the Arts, The Voiceworks) will be serving as dialect/vocal coach for the Baltimore School for the Arts Theatre department production of The Laramie Project. She is also in the process of composing an original score for the spring production of Arabian Nights by Mary Zimmerman, and will be serving as musical director. In between she will present a workshop at the 2nd Annual Lessac Conference coming up in January "The Spoken Word to Song: the Lessac Singing Application", and conducting morning 'refresher sessions' in Kinesensic training at the conference.
 
BARRY KUR (Penn State University School of Theatre): At Penn State, Barry is coaching Blues for an Alabama Sky and Urinetown this fall and will coach Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, Parade, and Mother Courage in the spring.  As President-elect of the Lessac Training and Research Institute, he is coordinating the panels and presentations for the second annual Lessac Institute Conference, January 11-13 in Denver. The second edition of his text, Stage Dialects Studies: A Continuation of the Lessac Approach to Actor Voice and Speech Training is available via the order form on Lessac Institute web site <www.lessacinstitute.com> or directly from Barry at  <bxk1@psu.edu>.

MARYA LOWRY (Brandeis U.) is playing Gertrude in Hamlet (Actors' Shakespeare Project) at the historic Strand Theatre in Boston for October-November run. <www.actorsshakespeareproject.org>. She will perform for "Hamlet Conversations", an evening of performances and discussion featuring actors and directors from four recent Hamlet productions by New England companies, including ASP; Tina Packer, Shakespeare & Co. and Trinity Rep. Panel moderated by Stephen Greenblatt (author, Will in the World). Marya continues work with ASP and the Mass. Dept. of Youth Services to bring Shakespeare workshops to incarcerated youth and after school programs.

NATALIE MCMANUS (George Mason Univ.; Forensics Coach at Northwest High School; and President of Puck's Pals, LLC) Natalie, a Designated Linklater Voice Teacher and Speech-Language Pathologist, teaches the introductory and advanced voice and speech classes, and vocal coaches several shows at GMU; coaches and acts as Tournament Director for the Montgomery County Forensics League; and teaches Shakespeare workshops to a growing number of middle schools.  She attend Kristin Linklater's "Sound and Movement" workshop and will be attending Richard Armstong's "Roy Hart Workshop" in November.  Natalie awaits release of the movie Past Perfect (view trailer at PastPerfectmovie.com).

SALLY MORGAN has developed a vocal technique to solve the vocal challenges shared by a majority of singers: head voice/chest voice, lyric/belt, spoken/sung, character demands and creating intimacy with an audience.  Your Key to Vocal Excellence is her newly published training book Morganix Method.ä with a 4 CD training set, Morganix Methodäis a healthy technique that integrates all the ways you use your voice. Physiologically the voice is one instrument – singing, speaking, moaning or groaning. Morganix Methodä treats singing and speaking the same with one technique to train the voice’s enormous range of abilities.  <http://www.MorganixMethod.com> workshops, seminars, private <Sally@MorganixMethod.com>

RUTH ROOTBERG was a guest voice & Alexander teacher at UW-Milwaukee this past summer and again in October.  She also team taught an Alexander workshop with Luc Vanier, demonstrating the Technique's effectiveness in expanding vocal presence, at Danceworks in Milwaukee.  As part of International Alexander Awareness Week, Ruth gave a short presentation on Voice and the Alexander Technique in Amherst.

KAREN RYKER (University of Connecticut-Storrs) this fall coaches Restoration Comedy and Cabaret (teaming with David A. Stern).  Work continues on the next issue of Reviews section of The Voice and Speech Review.  And in October, she and her family will bury her dad at Arlington Cemetery with full military honors – a joyous occasion.

LEIGH WILSON SMILEY (University of Maryland) Researched and produced a performance focused on the voice in grief.  The Cassandra Project – Speaking the Unspeakable was performed at the First Inaugural Capital Fringe Festival.  She co-presented a workshop at the ATHE Conference in Chicago entitled “Vocal Presence with Self:  A Conscious Journey through the Linklater and F.M. Alexander Techniques.”  This fall Leigh dialect coached The Weir and voice coached The Piano Lesson.  She is currently co-authoring a proposal for an MFA in Performance at the University of Maryland.

NEW YORK
Regional Editor, Leigh Smiley<leigh_smiley@yahoo.com>

LINDA CARROLL (Grabscheid Voice Center, NYC) is director for a “Laryngeal Imaging: seeing is believing” conference in Miami Beach this November, and has a chapter in the new Fried/Ferlito textbook The Larynx (Plural Publishing) due out in 2007. The spring-summer was busy with lectures in Paris, Istanbul, Charleston (SC), Madison (WI), and mentoring in Jordan. Clinical practice continues to be very busy with voice disorders and training clinicians/vocologists.

LUCILLE SCHUTMAAT-RUBIN, Ph.D.  (Professionally Speaking, NYC):  A software engineer seeks vocal variety; a multilingual performer asks for clear consonants; a professor wants voice appeal; an actor in The Drowsy Chaperone needs to avoid vocal misuse; a Spanish teacher wants to be understood in English; a business manager demands “to be heard”; a VP needs presentation polish; and a TV personality on “The Insider” requests vocal ease. June, I coached presenters at “The Care of the Professional Voice,” Philadelphia. July, I attended VASTA in Chicago and re-connected with the VASTA family. September, I returned to Circle in the Square Theatre School.

 

AMY STOLLER (Freelance) Since April: Dialect Design or Coaching for In the Matter of Jay Robert Oppenheimer at Keen Company; Hobson’s Choice and The Secret Garden at Peterborough Players, NH; Anna Christie at Boomerang, I Wish You a Boat at the Ward Acting Studio, and John Ferguson at the Mint. Co-Director of Cheer from Chawton - deemed “hit of the Festival” in its UK premiere at the Jane Austen Festival in Bath. Nine-year-old client Dylan Riley Snyder secured his Broadway debut as Young Tarzan with his new “non-regional” accent. More shows upcoming at the Pearl, DramaLeague DirectorFest, and the Mint.

BETSY ALLEN, MA Voice Pedagogy and Vocal Performance, New York University's Gallatin School and Associate teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework has taken up residence in London. She is pursuing work as an actor and vocalist on stage and screen, as well as coaching individuals in Self-Scripting and Voice.

KATE (WILSON) MARE is currently coaching Mad Forest, The Fifth of July, Shakespeare's R&J, and Intimate Apparel at Juilliard. She recently coached the film, Whatever Lola Wants.

SOUTHERN (AL, AR, LA, MS, OK, TX, TN, KY)
Regional Editor, Darryl Thompson; Thompsonnorton@yahoo.com

ROBIN ARONSON (University of Southern Mississippi) recently presented "Feel Like a Kid" at the First International Arts in Society Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland. Aronson also participated in the Lessac Summer Intensive Workshop and performed Fefu in Fefu and Her Friends at the University of Southern Mississippi. robin.aronson@usm.edu

RINDA FRYE, (University of Louisville), coached the dialects for Dracula at Actors Theatre of Louisville, for Brigadoon at the Music Theatre of Louisville, and for Blithe Spirit at the University of Louisville.  She is currently directing Romeo and Juliet at U of L and coaching dialects for Christmas Carol at Actors Theatre.

DAYDRIE HAGUE     (AUBURN UNIVERSITY) directed Speak Truth to Power, Voices from Beyond the Dark by Ariel Dorfman in a benefit performance for the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Foundation. Ms. Hague had the pleasure of attending the” Voices of the  Archetypes  of  Myth” led by Frankie Armstrong this past summer  in Hereford, England as well as a “Fitzmaurice Mastery Workshop” led by Catherine Fitzmaurice and  Phil Thompson this fall in NYC.  This spring she will vocal coach and perform in Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman, as well as collaborate on workshops funded by the National Science Foundation to improve the  conditions for women scientists in academia.

ALLISON HETZEL (University of Alabama) recently directed a production of Our Town at UA.  This past summer she presented a paper on Pedagogy at the VASTA conference. She has become involved as a respondent for KCACTF Region IV. She is enjoying getting to know her new students and colleagues in Theatre Department at UA. She is the Editor of the VASTA Voice and can be contacted at <ahetzel25@aol.com> with ideas for articles. 

MARLENE JOHNSON (University of Alabama- Birmingham ) coached dialects for the Alliance Theatre production of Mrs. Warren’s Profession in September.  She also served as Vocal Director for Theatre UAB's production of Playboy of the Western World and Intimate Apparel.  In addition, she directed for UAB's 10-Minute Play Festival and Once in a Lifetime for a UAB fundraiser with Kitty Carlisle Hart and Anne Kaufman Schneider.  She continues as Voice and Speech Chair of SETC.

 

TANERA MARSHALL (University of Illinois at Chicago) is currently in her second year on the faculty of UIC’s BA/BFA actor training program. In addition to UIC productions, Tanera is doing voice and dialect/accent work this fall with Greasy Joan & Co. and the Vittum Theater in Chicago and Metropolis Arts Centre in Arlington Heights. This past summer, received a grant to begin collection of voices of North America’s indigenous peoples. Audio files from her travels to Alaska, Alberta, and Montana can be heard at the IDEA website, where she is an Associate Editor.

 

SUSAN MURRAY MILLER enjoyed serving as British dialect coach last year for Queen Lucia at Lifetime Theatre, Chicago and as Bosnian dialect coach for Necessary Targets at Theatre of Western Springs this Fall.  She has been coaching a Liberian and a Croatian (among others) on accent reduction.  This past summer she worked with John C. Reilly (Canadian) and Lili Taylor (Scottish), both dialects for the film Quebec, shot in Chicago.

 

JILL WALMSLEY ZAGER (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) coached dialects for three shows at Utah Shakespearean Festival this summer.  Is busy coaching dialects for Gint and Dancing at Lughnasa this Fall and teaching four classes in the BFA/MFA Acting programs.  She will perform the role of the Narrator for Haleakala with the Champaign-Urbana Symphony.

 

SOUTHEAST ( WV, VA, NC, SC, GA, FL)
Regional Editor: Daydrie Hague < hagueda@auburn.edu>   

CYNTHIA BARRETT (Freelance Atlanta) recently played Chelsea in On Golden Pond at Greensboro, NC’s Triad Stage; Nina in Brooklyn Boy at Atlanta’s Jewish Theatre of the South; Past in A Christmas Carol for North Carolina Shakespeare Festival; and coached A Nervous Smile, Voices Underwater and Bunnicula for Synchronicity Performance Group.  She also continues to work with all kinds of private voice clients and is doggedly prepping to coach I Am My Own Wife, Cripple of Inishmaan and Laramie Project all during the first three months of ’07!

DEBRA HALE (Florida State University) taught for the Department of Theatre and Dance at UCSD this past summer.  She presented "Creative Combinations" at the VASTA Conference in Chicago in August, and "Beginnings" at ATHE, both with Linklater Colleague Claudia Anderson.  She just finished performing the role of Kitty in Six Degrees of Separation a faculty/student show at Florida State University.  She turned in her tenure binder this fall with a huge sigh of relief.

KATE INGRAM (University of Central Florida) spent the summer directing at Montana's first professional AEA theatre company: the Alpine Theatre Project in Whitefish, Montana.  Upon her return to UCF, she was named Interim Artistic Director, and also recently directed an acclaimed production of Anna in the Tropics, which has been strongly recommended to move on to the Atlanta KCACTF Regional Festival.

MARY IRWIN (North Carolina School of the Arts) In addition to her teaching and coaching duties at NCSA, Mary has worked this year as Dialect Coach on Master Harold . . . and the boys at Triad Stage, directed by Benny Sato Ambush.  She has also served as Voice and Text Coach for the NC Shakespeare Festival's production of Taming of the Shrew, directed by John Woodson.  She is looking forward to working on the accents for NCSA's all-school production of West Side Story, to be directed by Gerald Freedman.  This production will mark the 50th anniversary of the original production of West Side Story. 

BONNIE RAPHAEL is serving as voice, speech and dialects coach for two productions at PlayMakers Repertory Company this fall:  The Underpants, directed by Gene Saks, and Tuesdays with Morrie, directed by Joan Darling. In addition, she will present a workshop, “Putting Your Best Voice Forward”, for the Women in Leadership Development Conference, to be held at Meredith College in November.

JANET B. RODGERS (Virginia Commonwealth University) After 9 months of exploring archetypes with her new FLUXUS PROJECT company, Ms Rodgers directed The Invasion Project.  Presented in Richmond and Petersburg, VA, the piece was described as, “truly remarkable.” In June, Janet took a group to Kinnersley Castle in England where they worked with Frankie Armstrong, exploring “Voices of Archetypes and Myths.  In August she presented “Spheres of Voice Training” at the VASTA conference and, since has dialect/voice coached VCU’s production of The Nerd.  VCU’s MFA in Voice and Speech Pedagogy program continues to develop - anyone who is interested, please recommend them to her at <jrodgers@vcu.edu>.

ERICA TOBOLSKI (University of South Carolina) coached The Merchant of Venice, Peg O’ My Heart and Johnny Guitar for the Utah Shakespearean Festival’s Fall 2006 season.  At the university she was vocal consultant for Good Person of Setzuan, directed by Romanian guest director Beatrice Rancea.  She was awarded tenure and promotion in May and is writing a how-to book for people modifying their southern dialect.

LAURA WAYTH (University of Miami) continues to teach as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre at the UM Theatre Conservatory.  Ms. Wayth just finished directing The World Goes Round at the Jerry Herman Ring Theatre.  She will travel to Marrakech, Morocco to coach a staged reading of a new play to be presented at the Moroccan Fulbright Alumni Association conference and to present a Viewpoints workshop at the University of Morocco. <l.wayth@miami.edu>

ELIZABETH WILEY (College of William and Mary) Directed Shirley Valentine for Williamsburg Players, April 2006; hosted the Speech Methods Workshop at the College of William & Mary featuring Louis Colaianni, Dudley Knight and Gillian Lane-Plescia and coordinated by Amy Sue Fall, June 2006; Company Dialect Coach and Director of Romeo and Juliet for Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire 2006; planning to return to the Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta to teach voice for the Paddy Crean Art of the Sword Workshop in January 2007. <eawile@wm.edu>