Name: Rocco Dal Vera, BFA, MFA

Address:
2872 Morningview Lane
Cincinnati, OH
45211
United States

Phone:  (513-389) 556-1981

FAX:  (513-389) 556-3399

Email Address: Rocco.DalVera@uc.edu

Current Affiliation:
UC/College-Conservatory of Music,and Resident Voice Coach/Associate Artist Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival

Training:
MFA in Voice and Speech Coaching for the Theatre from the National Theatre Conservatory at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

Selected Work Experience:
Co-author with Robert Barton of Voice: Onstage and Off, a textbook in use by over 300 colleges and universities. Former head of voice and speech department for the American Academy of Dramatic Arts/ West. and head of the BFA Acting and Musical Theatre programs at Wright State University. Coached and did post production looping for over 500 films and television series including, L.A. Law, Hill St. Blues, THIRTYsomething, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Gods Must Be Crazy. Works extensively as a coach and trainer in corporate and theatre environments.

Area(s) of Specialization:
speech, voice, dialects, text work, camera and microphone technique (voice-over), media and presentation training

Professional Organizations:  AEA, AAUP, AFTRA, ACTRA, ATHE, SAG, The Voice Foundation, NATS, VASTA

Selected Publications: Voice: Onstage and Off, textbook; Founding Editor of the Voice and Speech Review; Editor-in-Chief for Standard Speech, The Voice in Violence, and Film, Broadcast and E-Media Coaching.


Statement of Philosophy:
More a credo than a set of philosophical axioms, and more of a set of ideals to aim for than an everyday actuality, the following statements are my beliefs and strivings as I work with performers:

I aim to empower the actor. I take the position that each actor has innumerable voices and inner personae waiting to be unleashed, and untapped gifts to bring to the audience. If acting is believing, I have to believe in and recognize the actors' potential and then lead them into an experience of that potential.

As a coach, I am in service to the director's vision and the actor's artistry. I work as unobtrusively as possible to support the process of the play. I feel I have been the most successful when the reviews don't mention the dialect or the voices, but praise the performances and the production. I feel it is important to address psychological and emotional blocks to progress as well as the physiological. Without presuming to be a therapist, I try to assist the actor in recognizing when issues of fear and esteem are blocking artistic progress as significantly as not placing enough pressure with the tongue on the alveolar ridge, or not reading a text analytically, or not committing to an objective in a scene.

I seek to present adaptable solutions, and approaches and to honor all approaches rather than indoctrinating or imposing bias. Not every method will work for all students all the time. I must remain as proficient and knowledgeable in a wide variety of teaching and training methods, and modify my techniques in the service of the artist's development. Every method is potentially perfect for certain actors at certain places in their development.

I endeavor to be sensitive to learning styles and modalities. Since we each perceive in different ways and we each process in different ways, all learners need to be taught in a variety of styles. This will assure that each actor is comfortable and successful part of the time while being stretched to develop other learning abilities. All learners will "shine" at different places in the learning cycle, so they will learn from each other. I work to avoid teaching from my biases and perspectives only.

I attempt to maintain a playful attitude. Though we approach our work with passion, actors need to be cautioned not to confuse tension with intensity. Voice and Speech technique should free, not bind the actor. It can be easy to forget that creativity is more a wildflower than a hothouse orchid. I teach in what is sometimes called a "conservatory." It is an appropriate name. One of the meanings of conservatory is a glass enclosed greenhouse where plants are forced to grow rapidly out of season. In that environment small matters take on a disproportionate significance. I try to stay loose, stay light, and focus on the joy of learning.