VASTA's Interdisciplinary Engagement Committee is a bridge between our voice and speech community to the rest of the world. We seek to engage with other professional organizations in an effort to continually expand VASTA’s visibility. We work towards this goal through multiple projects.
Committee Co-Chairs
Colton Weiss
Vivian Majkowski
Engagement Grant Reviewers
Jennifer Scapetis
Anne Marie Nest
Debbie Winter
Kris Danford
KCACTF Coordinator and Asst.
Sim Rivers
Karen Kopryanski
Marie Downing
SETC Outreach
Vivian Majkowski
Tech & Admin Support
Kimberley Cohan
VO Atlanta, KCACTF Reps
TBD
Board Liaison:
Kristi Dana
We fulfill our mission a number of ways:
Interdisciplinary Engagement Grants
The committee awards external conference grants to assist VASTA members in seeking knowledge in other disciplines. We are committed to helping members share their research and support their professional development, while simultaneously fostering cross-disciplinary relationships that give back to our community and raise voice and speech awareness for the next generation of practitioners.
Interdisciplinary Engagement Grant
Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KC/ACTF) Regional/National Vocal Excellence Award
Each year the committee coordinates VASTA representatives to attend Regional and National Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival events and award Vocal Excellence in performance by young actors participating in the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship competition. These representatives attend the festivals to select the award recipients and give a workshop, building awareness of vocal skills and training.
Hey VASTA Members!
The VASTA Engagement Committee is looking for VASTA members who are interested in being representatives at the Annual Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival regional festivals as well as the national festival. This is an excellent opportunity to bring further awareness to VASTA and the work of Voice and Speech Trainers, which is core to VASTA’s mission.
This year, the festivals are virtual, which will provide more ability for at-distance members to be involved!
This year’s regional festivals will be held on the following dates and at the following locations:
• Region 1 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Northeast New York, Rhode Island, Vermont) - Jan 30th - Feb 4th
• Region 2 (Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia, New Jersey, Western New York, Northern Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia) - Jan 24th - 27th
• Region 3 (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin) - Jan 9th - 13th
• Region 4 (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Southern Virginia, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands) - Feb 6th - 10th
• Region 5 (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota) - Jan 16th - 21st
• Region 6 (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas) - Feb 26th - 29th
• Region 7 (Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Northern California, Northern Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming) - Feb 18th - 23rd
• Region 8 (Arizona, Central and Southern California, Hawaii, Southern Nevada, Utah) - Feb 11th - 16th
A note to VASTA Members who teach at the University Level: If you are affiliated with a university that is participating in the KC/ACTF regional festival competitions, especially if your students are participating in the Irene Ryans, you may not be able to be a rep in your home region, but can be a rep in another area. With the festivals being virtual this year, this will be far more accommodating than in years past.
Responsibilities
1) Attend the Irene Ryan Semi-Finals/Finals and award one of the finalists with the VASTA Award in Vocal Excellence (how this works and criteria for the award will be provided). These will take place synchronously or asynchronously depending on the region.
2) One of our aims is to broaden participants' understanding of voice and speech training and you are strongly encouraged to lead a workshop on a subject of your choice. We are keen that these workshops support VASTA’s mission around equity, diversity, and inclusion - do let us know if you would like any support with this. This year, workshops will either be presented synchronously (during the festival dates) or asynchronously (pre-recorded and given access to participants to be viewed at any time).
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For more information on KC/ACTF, visit https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/opportunities-for-artists/pre-professional-artist-training/kcactf/regional-festivals/
If you are interested in participating in any of the regional festivals as a VASTA rep, please contact Sim Rivers, KC/ACTF lead coordinator for the VASTA Engagement Committee, at sim.c.rivers@gmail.com and include which festivals you would be available and eligible to rep.
#MyVoiceCan Campaign
Part of VASTA's mission is to advance the visibility of the voice in the world, which means: we want to know what voices can and are doing around the world! How are voices being used to impact different communities around the globe? The committee's #MyVoiceCan Blog continually seeks incredible people around the globe using their voice to better their community and increasing awareness, promoting our organization's commitment to the training of voice and speech. What can your voice do?
#MyVoiceCan Questionnaire
Check out the #MyVoiceCan Blog!
Voiceover Atlanta
Calling all VO Voice Specialists:
VASTA and VO Atlanta are working on creating a permanent relationship!
VO ATL is virtual for our inaugural year and the Interdisciplinary Engagement Committee is looking to get some VO folk to this conference in the hopes that you will want to be on ground next year (fingers crossed)!
We are looking for:
4 20-minute warm-ups to be aired before the major daily session blocks, and
2-3 break-out sessions (that is what the conference calls its 45-minute workshops or presentations).
Do you have a great VO warm-up? Or tips for accents and VO? Or vocal health and audiobook narration? Or character voice workouts? Or……
Reach out! We just solidified this and need to have people committed ASAP.
Related Conferences
This committee decided it would like to provide a list of conferences that could bridge the gap between the world of voice and other industries and profession.
If you'd like to add a conference to the list, please email committee chair, Colton Weiss.
See Related Conferences Here!