Fall 1999 p. 6

Voice and Speech Review

By Rocco Dal Vera
University of Cincinnati

It is time for another update on our progress with VASTA’s journal, Voice and Speech Review. I am pleased to report that the editorial staff is now in place and we are receiving submissions. The departments of the journal and their editors are:

ETHICS, STANDARDS & PRACTICES
Associate Editor – Marian Hampton

HEIGHTENED TEXT, VERSE AND SCANSION
Associate Editor – Neil Freeman
Assistant Editor – Rena Cook

PEDAGOGY AND COACHING
Associate Editor – Paul Meier

PRIVATE STUDIO PRACTICE
Associate Editor – Jack Horton

PRONUNCIATION, PHONETICS, LINGUISTICS,
DIALECT/ACCENT STUDIES
Associate Editor – Louis Colaianni

REVIEWS AND SOURCES
Associate Editor – Mandy Rees

SINGING
Associate Editor – Dorothy Mennen

VOCAL PRODUCTION, VOICE RELATED MOVEMENT STUDIES
Associate Editor – Marth Munro
Assistant Editor – Ursula Meyer

VOICE AND SPEECH SCIENCE, VOCAL HEALTH
Associate Editor – Ron Scherer

Accompanying this article is a three-fold brochure. Please save this. When you go to conferences or meetings, make copies and give them away to anyone who might be interested in writing papers for or subscribing to the journal. The brochure will provide some basic information about the journal. The following are some responses to other frequently asked questions:
What Kinds of Writing Are You Encouraged to Send?
Each department will typically contain some of the following:
• Columns (about 500-600 words): • From the Associate Editor of that section • Of opinion and advice • Relating personal
methods • Peer-reviewed research articles (up to 6000 words) • Tutorial information • Interviews and biographical sketches • Book Reviews • Performance Reviews • Case Studies • Abstracts of articles from other publications • Re-prints of significant articles published elsewhere • Abstracts of Theses or Dissertations • Calls for papers from other journals • Resources • Tidbits--small boxes with interesting information, trivia, 10-best lists, etc. • Poetry, Satire or Humor • Quotations • Illustrations, cartoons, photos

Consider writing in both conventional and unusual ways (a dialogue between yourself and a director or client; a fantasy of being observed and advised by your favorite teacher while you are teaching or acting, etc.). When possible, avoid overly scientific or scholastic verbiage. Make a clear thesis statement, and develop your argument in plain language.

Not every article has to be about something world-changing, or even successful. Write about investigations, problems, things you did wrong — but learned from. It is our desire to print readable, practical and accessible articles. It is unlikely that we will be attracted to titles like “The Semiotics of Post-Colonial Deconstructionist Vocal Coaching: A Millennial Investigation.” Avoid language that is absolute. Words like “must”, “always”, “never” may tend to be perceived as naive at best and possibly coercive. Be cautious of assertions like “this is the best (or only) way.”

Consider collaborative writing. Work with an experienced journal writer on a common project. A good partner can not only provide experience, an objective eye and contrasting perspectives, but can also keep you on track with deadlines. Choose someone like you would a good tennis partner—someone who terrifies and inspires you into a better game. Please note that you should not submit your article to more than one potential publisher at a time. After you have sent in a paper, it is your privilege to withdraw that submission and send it elsewhere. Just notify us before re-submitting the article.

How, and to Whom Should You Send in Articles. Send your material to either the editor, or directly to the associate editor if you know what department you are targeting. You may send it (initially) as a hard copy through the mail, as an email, as an email attachment, a fax, etc. If your article is selected, you will be asked to submit it either on disc or as an attached file in a stipulated format along with a black and white headshot. I can’t promise that the final design will allow us to print a headshot for every writer--but I want to try for that. You may include any other black and white illustrations or photos, charts or graphs that may help the article. Photos and illustrations should be sent with credit to the photographer or artist, and written permission to use them.

You may also want to make reference to sound clips in your article. Paul Meier has offered to create a web site that will house any such clips. Authors would coordinate with Paul and we would publish the URL’s in the text to reference the articles.

Release Dates and Frequency of Publication. The journal will be published annually, until we sense a justification for a move to a semi-annual publication. The first edition will come out next summer for the conference in Washington. Papers will be accepted for the first issue until January 1, 2000. Material submitted after that date will be considered for the next issue.

Who will receive the Journal? The Journal is a benefit of VASTA membership and will be sent to currently paid up members automatically. Please don’t let your membership lapse, and keep the secretary apprised of your correct address. It will also be sold to individual subscribers and libraries for $35.00. (International rates will be determined later.) Encourage your library to add it to their collection, and suggest that your department become an Institutional member (Newsletter and Journal for $65.00).

In Closing. This has been an introduction to the Journal, its organization, scope, focus and perspectives. It is also an invitation for you to contribute your opinions and ideas as we conceptualize this important undertaking. Voice and speech training and coaching is not well understood as a profession --even, at times, by its practitioners. The range of individual practice, theoretical underpinnings, and objective goals is quite broad. Subject areas with which we need to be familiar can range from hard science to ephemeral art. Few among the membership can claim to be conversant with the most advanced concepts and methodologies in all the areas related to the field.
This Journal can provide an access point to information necessary for its readers to remain up-to-date in this rapidly changing and diverse field, and can be a forum for broadening and unifying discussions of critical topics. The Voice and Speech Review will be an important public representation of our profession. Members of allied professions may come to a richer understanding of our professional goals and methods by reading the Journal. Observations we make from our experiences may provide useful contributions to other professions. Since the Journal will welcome submissions from other disciplines, it will serve as a conduit through which information and techniques from other fields can improve our own work. This communication, collaboration, and cross-fertilization is a primary goal of the Journal.

The Journal can encourage new research and rational investigation into areas that are especially relevant to professional voice training for the performing arts. The Journal has the potential to positively evolve the intellectual landscape of our profession. Those coaches and trainers who hold academic postings may find the Journal a helpful tool on the road to tenure and promotion. It can provide an outlet for scholarly publication and a concrete measure of one’s contribution to the field--as well as an overall ratification of the craft itself.

In future years we may look back and see this inauguration of our Journal as one of the most significant steps taken by the Voice and Speech Trainers Association since its inception. Thank you for helping to make this important work a reality.

Voice Onstage and Off Reprinting

“Voice: Onstage and Off” by Robert Barton and Rocco Dal Vera had an adventurous fall term. The publisher, Harcourt Brace, inadvertently allowed the book to go out of stock in late summer, and failed to order a new printing. Then, an anonymous inventory manager, upon seeing that there were no more copies, listed the book as “out of print” on the customer service computers. This resulted in some panic as professors struggled to get copies for their fall term classes. When Harcourt Brace’s editors realized what had happened they ordered up a custom printing in paperback. This
seemed like an effective solution, except that since the book had changed from hard cover to paperback, it now had a new ISBN, and orders requesting the original ISBN were rejected. Callers were again being told that the book was out of print.
The problems have finally been ironed out. The good news is that since the book has now been released in paperback, the price should go down a bit, making it an even better choice for actors. It still is packaged with an accompanying audio cassette. If you would like to receive a complimentary desk copy, qualified professors, and those who are considering the book for adoption can ask for:

“Voice: Onstage and Off”,
by Robert Barton and Rocco Dal Vera
(Fort Worth:Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1995),
348 pages, with audio cassette, ISBN 0155130099.
In the USA at: 800-237-2665.
In Australia, call: 61-29-517-8999. The contact person is Samantha Dew.
In Canada, call: 416-255-4491. The contact person is Susan Mykjewicz.
In the UK, South Africa, India, Middle East call: 44-171-424-4289, contact Gail Edminson, <gail_edminson@harcourt.com>.

© Copyright 1987-2001 Voice and Speech Trainers Association, Inc.