Home2022 VASTA Annual Conference

Converging Pathways

July 13th - 17th, 2022

VASTA Annual Conference

VASTA practitioners have unlocked a wealth of invaluable approaches to teaching and communicating within our individual practices. We have learned how to connect and collaborate in new ways. The varying pathways through which we can communicate beyond our established sensibilities, expand the colours in the palette of life and in our practice and pedagogy. Through the convergence of our multicultural and interdisciplinary voices, bodies, communities, and narratives, we are launching ourselves into a brave new arena, “ripe” with inspiration and collective wisdom. Converging Pathways is the time to collect our knowledge and study new intersections between voice, speech, culture, storytelling, technology, and artistry.

In 2022, VASTA will have its first in person conference in two years. In the spirit of inclusion and accessibility, we will have hybrid on-line events and workshops available.

Online registration still available!
Join the 2022 conference from anywhere in the world!

Click below to learn more about registration options
and to register for the conference.

Conference Schedules:

In-Person Full Conference Schedule

Americans Time Zones - Online Schedule

Europe/Africa Time Zones - Online Schedule

Asia/Oceania Time Zones - Online Schedule

Accommodations

Sonoma State University

Traveling to & from Sonoma

General questions or thoughts?

The conference planning committee is here to help!

To get in touch with us, click here!

Dory Sibley
Conference Director

Dory Rebekah Sibley is a mother, original works artist, teacher and singer. She is an Assistant Professor of Voice and Speech in the theatre department at Coastal Carolina University where she is the current Recruitment Coordinator and Chair of the Edwards College Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. Dory spent 15 years studying and working in Italy before moving to CCU last year. Originally an opera singer, she now holds an MFA in Physical Theatre from the Accademia dell’Arte and is the Co-Founder of the masked theatre company Tut’Zanni and the all-women “clown-noir” troupe Women From Mars. She is a certified teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework® and holds a certification in the Elemental Body Alignment System (EBAS). Dory has been invited to be a guest artist at more than 30 institutions, conferences and festivals across Europe and the USA teaching workshops in Fitzmaurice Voicework®, Voice in the Mask, Voice for Dancers and Movement for Musicians. Her original devised work has been featured in various European public theatres including Arezzo, Cortona, Genova, Turin, Milan, Berlin and across the USA.

Marie Ramirez Downing

Board Liaison
Marie is an Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts, Performance (Acting, Voice and Movement) at Sonoma State University. She has an M.F.A. in Acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University, a B.A. in Theatre Arts, Acting from California State University, Fresno and is a Designated Linklater Voice Teacher via Kristin Linklater and the Linklater Center for Voice and Language in New York City (2012). Marie has presented identity and heritage, voice and acting workshops at The Association for Theatre in Higher Education, The Voice and Speech Trainers Association, The Southern Theatre Conference, and The Western Academy of Management. She is an elected member of the Board of Directors for The Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA).

Kimberley Cohan

Director of Operations
Kimberley Cohan (she/her/hers) is a nonprofit professional, actor, singer, and teaching artist. She is overjoyed to have joined the VASTA team as the Director of Operations in June 2021. In Kimberley's work as the Programs Director for the regional service organization Theatre Bay Area, she led the programs team in advancing TBA’s member services, programs and events strategies, and new initiatives. She also helmed the creation of the Performing Arts Worker Relief Fund at TBA — collaborating with partner organizations, funders, and media relations to successfully raise over $650,000 and distribute nearly 800 grants in less than a year. Kimberley has Bachelor of Arts degrees in Music, Economics, and Environmental Studies from the University of California Santa Cruz. Kimberley also works as a Songs by Heart teaching artist, connecting people with memory loss to the language and joy of music.

Echo Sibley

Assistant Conference Director
Echo Sibley is a graduate of the University of Arkansas with an MM in Voice Performance and an MFA in Acting. As an Artist, Writer and Educator she has presented or performed at various festivals and venues including the Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival, Crisis Art Festival, Lilith Culturale Festival, Festival Internazionale di Valle Christi, SETC, Opera in the Ozarks and the Jazz & Wine Festival. She is a founding member of the international, feminist, clown-noir Troupe, Women From Mars, whose show “Silent Reflections” toured Italy and the US. She taught Acting Techniques for Musical Theatre, Voice & Speech and Acting at Centro Formazione Artistica di Luca Bizzarri in Genova, Italy. As well, she was a Recording Artist, Voice & Acting Coach and the Translator for Orange Home Records in Leivi, Italy for over a decade. She is a proud member of VASTA, the Golden Key Honor Society and Pi Kappa Lambda. She is currently Assistant Professor of Theatre at West Texas A & M University.

Nicole Cowans

Assistant Conference Director
Nicole Cowans is a freelance performance artist, Integral Sound Healing Practitioner, certified teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework®, and most recently accepted a position as Professor of Voice & Speech at the Oklahoma City University for their MFA in Screen Acting program. She is passionate about empowering diverse voices and has experience teaching students of all ages and skill levels in group and private settings. Her teaching pedagogy includes: Fitzmaurice Voicework®, Knight-Thompson Speechwork, Accent Acquisition, Contact Improvisation, Shakespeare and musical theatre singing. She has taught and served as a voice/text coach in many organizations across the world including: University of California Santa Barbara, Art of Acting Stella Adler Studio LA, Hussian College, Crafton Hills Community College, University of California Irvine, Center Theatre Group, Pacific Residence Youth Conservatory, Laselle College of Arts in Singapore, Seydways Acting Studio, Cal State University Fresno, Institut D'l Teatre in Spain, The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, and Adishakti Labratory for Theatre Arts Research in India. As an Afro-Latina, she is bilingual (Spanish) and specializes in coaching in both languages. Nicole holds an MFA in Drama from the University of California Irvine; as well as a B.A. in Theatre, a B.A. in Psychology, and a Minor in Music (vocal performance) from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. For more visit: NicoleCowans.com

Adi Cabral

Membership Proposal Curator
Adi Cabral (they/them), is a voice and accent coach, intimacy director, and actor whose work has been seen/heard at the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities (CO), the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (MO), New Repertory Theatre (MA), the Stella Adler Studio of Acting (NY), Mildred’s Umbrella Theatre Company (TX), The New Hazlett Theater (PA), The Hangar Theatre Company (NY), and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Scotland, UK). They are a certified teacher of Knight-Thompson Speechwork and Fitzmaurice Voicework and a Master Reiki Healer and Teacher. Adi is the co-author of Here’s How to Teach Voice and Communication Skills to Transgender Women, a manualized approach for early-career speech and language pathologists wishing to begin offering gender affirming speech services. Adi currently serves as Assistant Professor of Voice and Movement at the University of Nevada, Reno. For more information, please visit www.adicabral.com.

Shannon Blanchet

Membership Proposal Curator
Shannon (she/her) is an actor, improvisor and educator living in Treaty Six Territory and the homeland of the Métis , also known as Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. A VASTA member since 2017, she has appeared on stages across Canada, Off-Broadway, and in London's West End. She also has a history of working behind-the-scenes in media, contributing to video games, television shows and music videos for Bioware, Mosaic Entertainment, Prairie Dog Film and Television, Anaid Productions and Six Shooter Records. With a BFA (Acting) and an MFA (Theatre Voice Pedagogy) from the University of Alberta, she recently joined the University of Saskatchewan’s Department of Drama as an Assistant Professor of Voice and Acting. Her ongoing research fuses performance and cognitive neuroscience methodologies to investigate the relationship between experience and expression. She is tickled, eager and honoured to create stronger connections with members of VASTA’s incredible community as a part of the conference team for 2022.

Jennifer Scapetis

Global Engagement Coordinator
Jennifer Scapetis-Tycer (University of Connecticut) studied Voice at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and Acting at ArtsEd, London. Coaching for US theatres include Bated Breath (Off-Broadway), Goodspeed Musicals, Berkshire Theatre Group, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Playhouse on Park West Hartford, Saratoga Shakespeare Company; in the UK at The Oval Theatre and the Rose Theatre Bankside; and in Australia for Dirty Pretty Theatre at 45 Downstairs. Jennifer’s acting credits include Saratoga Shakespeare (USA) and Soho Theatre, Rich Mix, Tara Arts, The Swan, Wireless Theatre Company and Channel 4 in the UK. Jennifer also enjoys working in Audio Drama/Narration, and recently directed Connecticut Repertory Theatre's first fully recorded radio play, It's a Wonderful Life.

Mark Wilkinson

Social Media Ambassador
Dr. Mark Wilkinson is a Canadian performing artist, educator, and vocologist who represents the conference on social media. He holds a collaborative doctorate from the departments of music, speech and hearing science, and otolaryngology of The Ohio State University. He joyfully works with professional performers and everyday voice users to heal, train, or fine-tune their voices. He presents masterclasses and voice health clinics across North America and is currently a guest-lecturer at the University of Toronto. When not on stage or in the studio, he is an avid outdoorsman, hiker, and nature photographer.

Erin Washington

Access, Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator
Erin Nicole Washington. Actor, acting & dialect coach for TV/film and theatre. From Inglewood, CA, Erin began her training at Amazing Grace Conservatory to SUNY Purchase then to Harvard ART IATT & is currently in post-grad at ATI-LA. She has studied in Bali, Poland, Russia and, most recently, Italy. When she isn’t dancing with dialects, she is collaborating with multi-disciplinary experts & artists from around the world, exploring the embodied body via cultural exchange, seeking to decolonize imagination, tap in to primal processes, a mutuality that tends to link the inherent connection between ancestral wellness, relationship to nature and somatics. We can peacefully coexist because of our differences. Diversity is what makes our species stronger. Erin's work with EDI re-members your ancestors, your history, your body; to create deeper awareness, readiness and more room and opportunities for growth in your nervous system and our eco-system that is VASTA; to re-build & re-discovers your full membership in human community. Erin is in Service to All, and here to point us inward, to help self-realize our own path, gifts, power and voice.