Enlarge Text Size
Normal |Large |Extra-Large

Volume 4, Issue 2
March 2008

Table of Contents:

A Message from the President
From the Editor
Preparing for a New Generation of Theatre Artists/Scholars
VASTA Fellows Program
VASTA Membership Enrichment Grants

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Phil Thompson

VASTAns,
    
Back in February, Eric Armstrong posted to VASTAVox a lovely rumination on collaboration. His words on this subject express this foundational principle of VASTA so gracefully that I’ve decided to quote him here at length:

    VASTAVox is a great example of how we've harnessed a technology, a listserv, to cooperate, greatly benefiting us all. At VASTA conferences, significant teachers essentially give their expertise away for free (our honoraria are so frugal that they are somewhat embarrassing), yet I feel pretty certain that most of those master teachers feel that their gift comes back to them, if not (always) in monetary form, then in good-will and in reputation.  

I would go further to suggest that perhaps those theatre voice methodologies that make a greater effort to share their approach with the community are rewarded by greater interest, greater growth, greater adoption by the community. Those approaches to voice that "circle the wagons" and keep to themselves, isolate themselves from the potential for growth through the greater community. They may protect their "intellectual property" by so doing, but in the long run, I suspect that this will keep their ideas out of the greater stream of consciousness that moves our field ever onward. They may be able to refine their methodologies through their own valuable intramural questioning and exploration, avoiding a dilution of what makes their approach special, but by so doing they may lose the opportunity to collaborate and experiment with those who are willing to question even the most fundamental concepts of an approach to voice.

Competition in a "zero-sum game", where to win, the other must lose, doesn't have to be the norm; I'm so thankful that we've created a community that thrives through "win-win" situations. Let us work hard to continue to foster a common ground, where we can all find ways to personal, professional (and financial!) growth, through respecting one another enough to respectfully challenge one another, and in allowing ourselves to question those theories that we imagine to be fact. Thank you, VASTAns, for fostering that environment and selflessly providing each other with the place to share and question.

At its best, VASTA is precisely that kind of organization. We welcome, we support, we celebrate our members and in creating that community, we create a resource that gives back to each of us.

VASTAVox is a shining example of the power of our community and I believe it has been transformative, amplifying our ability to solve problems and driving us all to be more intellectually rigorous in our work. I need to let you know, however, that there are changes on the horizon. Since its inception, VASTAVox has been hosted by the University of California, Irvine. We’ve recently been informed that we have grown too large for them to continue that service and we will have to find a new arrangement. By the time you read this you may already have received a survey asking your opinion of the options available. It will not be an effortless transition but with your assistance and patience, we’ll be able to move on to VASTAVox 2.0 without losing anything that makes the current system so valuable.

I’d also like to remind you of two other community resources that thrive on your contributions. The Voice and Speech Review and our annual conference. The editorial staff of VSR is always interested in hearing your ideas for articles and can help you in the process to find the department and editor best suited to your research interests look here. As announced in previous editions of the Vasta Voice, Our conference this year will be held in Ashland Oregon at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. For those of you who can manage to attend, this conference promises to be full of excitement.

Word,
Phil Thompson

back to top

FROM THE EDITOR

Mark Ingram

Dear VASTA members,

As this edition of your newsletter hits your “in box” a bit late, I am reminded for the need to stop and breathe. It has been a whirlwind of a spring and my time-management skills have been stretched to their fullest.

It is a brief edition, but that always seems to be the case just before our very large Member News edition – due next. Expect to hear from your regional editors very soon for your latest news.

Also with the spring comes for the need for VASTA Voice to start looking for a new Associate Editor. It is a two-year commitment – first year as Associate and the second year as the Editor. If you are interested please contact me at voice.editor@vasta.org and I’ll give you more details on the job.

As always, if you have articles that you would like to share with the membership through publication in VASTA Voice, please contact me.

With a pause for a breath and then moving on,
Mark

back to top

Preparing for a New Generation of Theatre Artists/Scholars

Beth McGee
President-Elect, VASTAChair, VASTA Diversity Committee
Associate Professor, Department of Theater and Dance, Case Western Reserve University

VASTAvoice Spring Diversity Article


As theater programs in the United States position themselves to meet the needs of a 21st century education and training, it is imperative that they embrace inclusion as a value that drives decision-making.  Current US Census Bureau projections highlight that the white non-Hispanic college-age population (18-24 years) will shrink from 65% in 2005 to below 50% by 2040.  The “Baby Boom” professorate is beginning to retire, which will open up faculty positions to a field of MFA’s and PhD’s who will be over 50% women.  The new generation of students puts a high degree of importance on the integration of personal life, family life, and work life.  To remain operational and inspirational to the new generation of scholars/theater artists, the academic theater community needs to be pro-active in its choices as the ethnic, racial, age, and gender outlook of the academy changes.

Academic theater institutions have a long history of excelling in performance, education, training, and scholarship, but many of their academic cultures still reflect values that historically favored the population that established the programs and their curricula. The current changing demographic of faculty, staff and students are expected to flourish in a system historically associated with inherent intellectual/professional biases and the exclusion of the contributions of historically under-represented persons within the field.  To remain competitive in the 21st century, academic theater programs may need to re-think how we recruit students and faculty, how we produce and cast our seasons, how we educate a new generation of theater practitioners, and how we retain talented minority faculty. Having a diverse student body, staff, and faculty enhances the overall educational community by infusing it with differing points of view, differing educational foci, a diverse workforce of active alumni, and a constant flow of ideas that stimulate scholarship and academic culture.

As Voice professionals, VASTA is keenly aware of how “voice” is linked to cultural, familial, and personal identity, and how training practices created for a majority white population of theater artists (and passed down to their students) may not enhance the educational/workplace experiences of minority faculty and students or women, and may actively work against their ability to thrive in our academic institutions and our profession.  If we wish our profession, (academic and professional), to mirror the diversity of the US population, we must begin to be proactive in our choices.  It is especially important that Deans, Department Chairs and senior administrators guide and help the faculty and students in efforts to create an inclusive and equitable environment within their academic theater programs.

In future issues of the Voice, I will highlight specific best practices and strategies towards reaching this goal.
 back to top

VASTA Fellows Program

The following announcement is ready to be released to academic institutions:

The Voice And Speech Trainers’ Association
ANNOUNCES
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.

Institutions are invited to apply to host a VASTA Fellow

• improve the voice and speech skills of your students, staff or clients
• encourage healthy vocal use by your students, staff or clients
• enhance the techniques available to your students, staff or clients

Apply Now!

Eligibility

You may apply for the services of a VASTA fellow if you are a not-for-profit educational institution, conservatory, theatre, or organization, whether or not you have a VASTA member on your faculty or staff.

Process

If you are interested in hosting a VASTA Fellow, or team of Fellows, apply to the VASTA Fellows Committee. Application forms are available online through the VASTA web site (http://www.vasta.org ). Send a copy of the application to the Chair of the VASTA Fellows Committee, Linda de Vries, at (lindv@attglobal.net). The chair will then distribute a copy to each committee member. Please see the list of available programs at the bottom of this brochure.

The VASTA Fellows Committee will then match your institution with the appropriate Fellow, notify the Fellow, and the Fellow will make direct contact with you. All arrangements will then be made between you and the Fellow. A designated member of the VASTA Fellows Committee will monitor the process as necessary.

Responsibilities of the Hosting Institution

Applicant institutions agree to:

1. Complete the application process. If approved, the Fellows Committee will put a VASTA Fellow in direct contact with the institution.
2. Bear the expense of reasonable round-trip transportation, on-site ground transportation, housing and board of the Fellow during the site visit.
3. Request no more than one visit per year.
4. Charge admission to the Fellow’s presentation ONLY to recoup costs and with the agreement of the Committee and the Fellow.
5. Respond to a brief questionnaire provided by the VASTA Fellows Committee at the conclusion of the visit or program.

Deadlines

You may apply any time up to January 1st or August 1st annually. The Committee will match the Fellows with applying Institutions by February 1 or September 1. Please do not contact the Fellows directly.

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

A list of VASTA Fellows and programs available appear on the following pages. When the committee connects you with a Fellow, you may request a complete Curriculum Vitae if you wish.

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

Vasta Fellows

ERIC ARMSTRONG is an Associate Professor in the Theatre Department at York University, Toronto. He has been teaching and giving workshops for over ten years in both the USA and Canada. He holds an MFA in acting from York University, and studied at The Drama Studio in London. His work includes extensive professional dialect coaching for both theatre and film. An active member of VASTA, he has held many positions, including board member, conference planner, and director of technology. His expertise includes speaking voice production and pedagogy, classical text, phonetics, and dialects.

MICHA ESPINOSA is Director of Voice and Speech at Western Michigan University. She holds a BFA degree from Stephens College and an MFA from the University of California, San Diego. With nine years as a workshop presenter, she has taught voice, speech and movement workshops nationally and internationally including: Japan, Canada, Mexico and Chile. She is a member of AFTRA and SAG and has performed in film, television, commercials and regional theatre. She is also a certified yoga instructor with extensive Feldenkrais training. She is an associate teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework and a trainer for the Fitzmaurice Voicework Teacher Certification Program. She has served as an officer in VASTA since 2000 and has published in the Voice and Speech Review.

SHEILA GORDON is a professional actor and Assistant Professor of Acting and Voice at St. Edward’s University. She holds a BFA in acting from New York University and an MFA from Carnegie Mellon University-Moscow Art Theatre. She is a member of AEA, SAG, VASTA and ATME, is a certified teacher of the Pilates System and will be a Guild Certified practitioner of the Feldenkrais Technique in November, 2007. She has 20 years experience as a workshop presenter and has published articles in The Voice and Speech Review and The Moon City Review.

JULIA GUICHARD is an Assistant Professor at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio where she teaches acting, voice, speech, script analysis and Alexander Technique and serves as vocal coach for the department of theatre. She holds a BFA in Acting from the DePaul University/Goodman School of Drama and an MFA in Acting from Pennsylvania State University. Julia is a certified teacher of the Alexander Technique, holding certificates from The Performance School and Alexander Technique International. She has taught master classes and workshops at regional theatres and universities across the country for five years. Julia has also published several articles on performance pedagogy in The Voice and Speech Review, Theatre Topics and Multimedia Educational Resources for Learning and Teaching Online, as well as served as an Associate Editor of IDEA and Production Editor of The Voice and Speech Review.

ANTONIO OCAMPO-GUZMAN is an actor, director, author and teacher with extensive professional experience in his native Colombia, as well as in the US, Mexico and Europe. He holds a BFA (equivalent) from the Teatro Libre Acting School in Bogotá. Colombia, and an MFA in Directing from York University in Toronto. With 12 years’ experience as a workshop presenter, he is adapting the popular Linklater Practice (Freeing the Natural Voice) into Spanish and offers workshops and symposia on the issues of the professional training of Latino actors across the US. He has served on the faculties of Emerson College, FSU and ASU, and currently teaches at Northeastern University in Boston, MA.

BRIAN E. PETTY , M.A., CCC-SLP, is a speech pathologist at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, specializing in disorders of the professional and singing voice. He holds a Bachelor of Music in vocal performance from Oklahoma State University and dual Master of Arts degrees from The Ohio State University in vocal pedagogy and speech and hearing science. He has nine years’ experience as a workshop presenter, is a frequent lecturer on professional voice disorders, and has performed with choirs and symphonies nationwide.

PAUL SCHIERHORN is an actor (AEA member), director and teacher with nineteen years experience as a workshop presenter. He holds an MFA in Acting from Yale University School of Drama and has received an Antoinette Perry (TONY) award nomination, a Mortarboard Award for Excellence in Teaching, a Storer Boone Award, and OBIE award, and the Oliver Thorndike Award from Yale University. He is an Associate Professor at Tulane University currently on leave to serve as Professor and Director of the BFA Musical Theatre Program at Mars Hill College in North Carolina.

MIRIAM VAN MERSBERGEN, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is a speech pathologist at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, specializing in disorders of the professional and singing voice. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Music and Communication Arts (double major) from Calvin College, an MA in Speech Language Pathology and Vocology from the University of Iowa, and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota with a research emphasis on voice and emotion. She is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Society for Psychophysiological Research and the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). She has seven years’ experience as a workshop presenter and has authored multiple articles for the Journal of Voice and the Journal of Speech and Hearing Science.

SHERRI K. ZELAZNY, MA, CCC-SLP, is a speech pathologist at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, where she is Senior Clinical Speech Language Pathologist. She holds a BS in Speech Pathology and Audiology from Ithaca College and an MA from New York University. She is certified in the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment® for Parkinson Disease. She has 15 years as a workshop presenter and has authored articles for ASHA, VASTA and LSHSS.

Programs Available

Master Classes

• Alexander Technique and the Voice. Understand how to release your voice from an efficient body. This master class introduces the principles of the Alexander Technique and its application to voice and acting; it is appropriate for theatre performers and musicians. Duration: Half day.
• Beyond Journaling: Integrating Writing in Performance Classes. Integrate the performance class and writing across the curriculum. Using the principles of the Writing Across the Curriculum Movement, this master class explores the potential of writing, both formal and informal, to help students integrate critical thinking and artistic practice; it presents and discusses techniques for designing and assessing student writing; participants create or revise a new writing assignment for one course; the sessions may be one-on-one or in groups. Duration: Half-day.
• Designing a Course from the Ground Up. Learn to improve your syllabi. This master class introduces faculty to the basic building blocks of course design: constructing a syllabus, developing teaching goals and student learning outcomes, and identifying effective tools to achieve and assess student learning; the sessions may be one-on-one or in groups. Duration: Half-day.
• Potential Hazards to Voice Health in the Theatre: Protect your voice while satisfying the director and the designers. This master class will define the vocal hazards that actors and singers confront in today’s theatre and provide guidelines for maintaining effective vocal hygiene; it is conducted by a speech-language pathologist. Duration: Several hours.
• The Latino Actor. Increase your understanding of your Latino identity in relation to the Eurocentric industry and training. This master class addresses the linguistic and cultural identity of Latino actors; it allows student actors to discover or reclaim their bilingual cultural selves through discussion among peers; it explores the actors’ relationship to language, linguistic history and identity; it develops an increased understanding of the entertainment industry and its relationship to Latino communities; it helps actors to discern which training and professional experiences are respectful of their heritage. Duration: Two to four hours. Participants: Speakers of English, Spanish and Spanglish; all levels are welcome.
• To Tech or Not to Tech. Learn to integrate technology into the performance classroom. This master class provides information on a variety of technologies for delivering course content and supplementing in-class teaching: online learning objects, wikis, webquests, content management systems, and more; its focus is not on learning specific software, but on understanding the potential for using technology effectively in the performance classroom to help students learn; the sessions may be one on one or in groups. Duration: Half-day.
• Vocal Health of Young Performers: Nurture art while maintaining balance in development. This master class, conducted by a speech-language pathologist who is also a singing teacher, will address the vocal needs and abilities of the developing performer and highlight problems that young performers can face; techniques to avoid vocal stress or strain will also be covered. Duration: Half-day.

Workshops

• Alexander Technique and the Voice. Release your voice from an efficient body. This workshop introduces the principles of the Alexander Technique and its application to voice and acting; the participants are introduced to a series of exercises; they are then invited to perform text from monologues or scenes and receive “hands on” instruction in applying Alexander Technique to performance; it is appropriate for theatre performers and musicians. Duration: Half-day or longer. Limit: Fifteen participants.
• An Introduction to First Folio Technique. Understand the First Folio as a blueprint for acting Shakespeare. Based upon the methods of Neil Freeman and Patrick Tucker, this workshop introduces student and actors to the exploration of Shakespeare text through his original printing, the First Folio; it explores the demands of the text as informed by the punctuation, orthography (spelling), poetry and argument of the text, as made evident through the way the text is printed in the Folio; it serves as a great investigation for those new to Shakespeare; it informs actors’ choices and emboldens them to embrace the musicality and muscularity of the language while exploring the balance of their emotion and intellect. Duration: Full-day.
• Dialects 101: It’s not the nine eggs you catch that they remember . . . it’s the one you drop. This workshop serves as a tie-in to a production involving a dialect at the host institution; the workshop leader trains the host institution in the use of videoconferencing via Internet for listening and consultation in the early stages of rehearsal and then arrives on-site for a few days late in the rehearsal period. Duration: several days. Equipment: a computer, a webcam, Skype or iChat A/V software.
• Dialects through Play. Deepen your approach to dialect study. This workshop introduces students and actors to core concepts of dialect acquisition through exploration, song and play; it includes vowel sounds that are outside the awareness of the participants, variations in articulation styles, resonance and placement; it can be taught either as an introduction to dialects or as the study of a single dialect in depth, depending upon length of time; participates receive handouts and CDs of the dialects studied. Duration: Full day or three days.
• Learn the Entire IPA: Bring the world’s dialects to the tip of your tongue. This workshop teaches the sounds and symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet; participants explore the full range of human articulation, and begin to experiment with the process of connecting those actions and sounds with the symbols devised by the International Phonetic Association, and used by linguists and performers around the world; in a playful yet precise investigation, it explores the sounds and what's required to go beyond the familiar into the foreign and somewhat alien sounds of the world's languages; participants will receive a workbook, CDs and access to web-based materials to supplement the experience. Duration: Full day or three days.
• Learn the IPA for the Sounds of English: Bring the dialects of English to the tip of your tongue. This workshop teaches the English sounds and symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet; participants explore and begin to experiment with the process of connecting those actions and sounds with the symbols devised by the International Phonetic Association, and used by linguists and performers around the world; in a playful yet precise investigation, it explores the sounds and what's required to go beyond the familiar into the foreign and somewhat alien sounds of the dialects of English; participants will receive a workbook, CDs and access to web-based materials to supplement the experience. Duration: Full day or three days.
• Shakespeare's Heightened Text. Learn to connect voice and movement when acting Shakespeare. This interactive workshop encourages students and actors to connect voice and movement, bringing the text alive in the body; participants are introduced to verse scansion, rhetorical structure and First Folio clues in order to understand the technical demands of heightened text as the foundation for artistic choices; it can provide either introductory or advanced work with Shakespeare’s texts; it may be adapted for large or small groups. Duration: Full-day.
• The Art of the Voiceover: You can learn to give voice to objects, ideas and people through mass media . This workshop explores the basics of lending your voice to a variety of media using hands-on digital recording with “real-world” copy; it provides tips on how to develop an effective demonstration tape or CD; it acquaints you with new markets for voiceover work: retail, political, narration, podcasts, blogs, streaming web audio, videogames and more. Duration: Half- to full-day. Equipment: a computer, a webcam, Skype or iChat A/V software.
• The Rule of Four : If you can capture and hold a child’s attention with your voice, you can capture and hold anybody’s attention. This workshop explores free, truthful, vivid techniques for reading aloud that captivate children; it transfers these principles to more complex text by moving back and forth between simple children’s stories and adult text. Duration: several hours.
• Equipment: a computer, a webcam, Skype or iChat A/V software.
• The Voice is a Process, not an Organ:You will take a holistic tour of breath, vibration, resonation . . . and freedom. This workshop explores the basics of the “whole-body” voice that incorporates freeing the body, breath, intellect and emotions into a powerful package of communication; it draws upon Alexander and Linklater techniques; it uses pre-recorded video and audio, on-the-spot video and audio and more. Duration: Two Days. Equipment: a computer, a webcam, Skype or iChat A/V software.
• Touching Voice. Awaken your body, voice and creative impulses through trust and release. This workshop introduces participants to the world of creative impulse through voice and movement; it begins with Transformational Movement and Voice Lessons (inspired by the movement work of Moshe Feldenkrais and Anat Baniel); these awareness building lessons help individuals to move beyond habitual movement, breathing and voice production patterns, preparing participants to partner with one another in "Touching Voice," a respectful, dance-like method of shaping and releasing vocal expression and text (inspired by the work of Sergei Ostrenko); partners learn a method of gentle physical contact/movement which affects listening, rhythm, tempo and emotional connection to speech; this intensely transformative process creates dynamic outcomes in releasing habitual speech patterns and finding organic connections to text. Duration: Full-Day.
• Voice and Breath. Learn core voice and breath concepts. This workshop explores core breath and voice concepts from the Iris Warren-Kristin Linklater tradition; it is suitable for programs without significant voice training in their curriculum; it challenges young actors to dig into the core of their work through an exploration of breath in the core, ease of sounding, resonance and articulation; it can be adapted to fit the needs of just about any group, and its level of instruction adjusted in response to the kind of work that participants have been exposed to in the past. Duration: Half-day or full-day.
• Voice/Voz Workshop. Discover or reclaim your Latino linguistic heritage in acting.. This workshop trains Latino/a actors in the vocal techniques of Catharine Fitzmaurice and Kristin Linklater; it includes practical application and opportunity to work in English and Spanish; it allows student actors to discover or reclaim their bilingual cultural selves through practice among peers; it explores the actors’ relationship to language, linguistic history and identity. Duration: Two to four hours. Limit: Sixteen (16) participants. Equipment: A large, open space. Participants: Speakers of English, Spanish and Spanglish; all levels are welcome.
• When Breath Energy Stops: You will address the physiology of breathing, respiratory problems, and emotion. This workshop will identify breathing problems observed in performers and common breathing disorders, with a focus on technique and treatment; it is conducted by a speech language pathologist who is also a singing teacher. Duration: half-day.

Symposia

•  Diagnosis and management of Professional Voice Disorders: .The science of the voice and the art of the voice are necessary partners. This symposium will bring together speech-language pathologists, speech and dialect coaches, and singing teachers within the host institution to explore the relationship and potential cooperation between medical voice professionals and aesthetic voice professionals; it will be led by a team of three speech-language pathologists. Duration: Full-day.
• Identity Politics and the Training of Latino Actors. Increase your understanding of speech training, bicultural identity and professional outlook for Latino actors. This Symposium, guided by two Latino theatre professionals, leads faculty, administrators and students in a roundtable discussion that addresses the challenging questions of linguistic identity and speech training, bicultural identity and physical awareness, and professional outlook. Duration: One to four hours.

back to top

VASTA Membership Enrichment Grants

Lisa Wilson

The Board announces a name change and clarification of Membership Enrichment Grants, formerly ROW and ROG.  These MEG grants are in two categories as explained below. The first member receiving grants under this new name is D'Arcy Smith.  His workshop in Ohio will provide perspectives on the vocal challenges faced by the musical theatre performer.

VASTA Membership Enrichment Grants

VASTA is interested in facilitating networking between members of our profession. In the same spirit VASTA is offering small grants to support our members who wish to host a regional workshop aimed at providing opportunities to members in their home region.  We are calling these Membership Enrichment Grants. Currently they are in two categories:
 
MEG I: small Networking Hospitality grants.
MEG II: slightly larger grants to provide partial support for regional workshops.

MEG category I
 
Networking Hospitality Grant up to $150.00
 
VASTA is offering networking hospitality grants to VASTA Members interested in hosting a member get-together to support networking among  professional voice trainers.
 Hosts are encouraged include professionals who may be interested in, but not members VASTA organization. (i.e, The get-together could be as small as the 6 state members of VASTA, or could be as large as a hospitality session for a regional VASTA sponsored. The size of the gathering will take be taken into account in making the award.)

The goal is to facilitate members in communing, exchange ideas, maybe solve some problems, foster working and sharing relationships within your own region. And as long as you are at it as a VASTA ambassador/host you can introduce VASTA to those who are not familiar, and celebrate what we do.

To be eligible you must be currently be and have been a member of VASTA for two consecutive years.
 
Write up a brief proposal. Please include a prospective guest list, pick your location, project the budget expenses, attach your completed application form.

Send the application via e-mail, or FAX to the Past President (currently Lisa Wilson), who will get back to you as soon as possible.  Grants are awarded on a first come first served basis until the budget for the year is depleted.

Following the gathering, the receipts for the gathering are submitted to the Treasurer and then a check for the approved amount will be reimbursed.  Expenses above the approved amount cannot be reimbursed.

MEG Category II
 
Workshop support grants up to $500.00
 
VASTA is now offering Workshop Support Grants to assist those VASTA members who wish to host a regional VASTA workshop. Examples of potential grant requests: designated to pay fees for the presenter, materials or space necessary to the workshop, or support for travel or housing for a presenter.

Restrictions -The member requesting the grant may not be a presenter receiving a fee at the event. The primary purpose of the workshop may not be to make a profit for the coordinator.

First consideration will be given to proposals that promote the exchange of ideas, techniques, and pedagogy to enhance our work as trainers and coaches. Applicant must be current and have been a member of VASTA for two
 consecutive years. If a fee is charged to support the workshop, VASTA members should be given discount. Membership contact emails will be available to the approved grant presenter.

As a follow up, the recipient of an enrichment grant must submit a paragraph or two about your event to the Past President, the write-up will also be submitted to and published in the VASTA Voice, the on-line newsletter.

The application process is simple, fill out the appropriate form posted on the website. E-mail, or FAX the application to the Past President. Include your proposed budget.

MEG Grant applications will be reviewed in the order they are received and grants continue to be awarded until the current year’s budget is depleted.  VASTA is operated on a calendar year budget.

back to top

©2008, Voice and Speech Trainers Association

Questions or comments? E-mail us at vastavoice@vasta.org

This site is maintained by VASTA Director of Technology, Michael J. Barnes. Original site design is by Eric Armstrong.

© 1997-2010 The Voice and Speech Trainers Association, Inc.