Leigh Wilson Smiley Voice & Presentation Coach

she/her

Leigh Wilson Smiley
lwsmiley@gmail.com

Leigh Wilson Smiley (Designated Linklater Voice Teacher 1998) is a theatre professional with over two decades of experience as an educator, voice specialist, performer, and director. She is Emerita Associate Professor at the University of Maryland's School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies in College Park, where she served as Director (2013-2020) and Head of MFA Performance (2009-2012).

As a voice and dialect coach, Smiley has collaborated with prestigious regional theatres including Ford's Theatre, Arena Stage, and the Kennedy Center. Her expertise contributed to the Helen Hayes Award-winning productions "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "Ragtime."

Smiley's scholarly work appears in publications such as "Gender and Voice" and "Shakespeare Around the Globe." Her screen credits include roles in Jonathan Demme's films "Philadelphia," and "Beloved," complemented by numerous classical and contemporary stage performances. She is a union member of Actors Equity and Screen Actors Guild-AFTRA.
Smiley has been on the faculties of Fordham University, University of the Arts, University of Pennsylvania, and Emerson College, and led workshops for Shakespeare & Company, Walnut Street Theatre, People’s Light and Theatre, Pig Iron Theatre, and others. Smiley's innovations include the "Presentational Training for Linguists" DVD and the Visual Accent and Dialect Archive (VADA). She currently focuses on teaching voice and public speaking skills to professionals of all disciplines who want freer, more expressive voices, and on her research on archetypes and the expressive voice.
For more information: https://tdps.umd.edu/directory/leigh-wilson-smiley

Linklater Voice Certification 1998

1:1 Coaching

Acting

Corporate Coaching/Trainings

Directing

Group Coaching/Workshops

Presence

Public Speaking

Shakespeare

Speech & Dialects

Actors Equity (AEA)
SAG/AFTRA

As a voice and dialect coach, Smiley has collaborated with prestigious regional theatres including Ford's Theatre, Arena Stage, Pig Iron Theatre, The Shakespeare Theatre, and the Kennedy Center. Her expertise contributed to the Helen Hayes Award-winning productions "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "Ragtime."

Associate Professor, Head of MFA in Performance, and Director of School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies University of Maryland, College Park.

Chapters in VASTA's Voice and Speech Reviews focused on "Gender and Voice" and "Shakespeare Around the Globe."

The Visual Accent and Dialect Archive (VADA) online resource for actors

"Presentational Training for Linguists" DVD