WORKSHOPS
The workshops I offer vary greatly and can be adjusted to fit the needs of your group:
Fitzmaurice Voicework®
"Fitzmaurice Voicework® is a comprehensive, holistic approach to voice training. Originally developed for actors, it is now also used to help people with a wide variety of interests and needs. Fitzmaurice Voicework® teachers address the human voice: voice in performances that are scripted, improvised, and/or sung; Shakespeare text, public speaking, singing, breathing, integration of voice with movement, vocal rehabilitation, presence and being present, cultural and identity issues with voice and speech, and so much more."* The session offered will explore various poses and techniques to integrate full body awareness and control in order to support the speech and through-line of the desired text.
*From the Fitzmaurice Voicework® webpage: http://www.fitzmauricevoice.com
Accent Acquisition
Fine tuning a specific accent or dialect for a project a commonly needed tool for the working actor, but before mastering a sound, understanding of oral posturing in your native tongue is essential. Learn to identify sounds unique to your personal dialect, understand the tongue's role in sound production, define oral posturing in varying sounds, and learn to create your personal dialect or accent through this offering. Through practice of listening, learning, and teaching your sounds, you can develop the foundational knowledge of speech allowing your approach to accents/dialects in the future to be one of ease and confidence.
Shaking Up the Audition Room
Monologues are often worked to a point of ease and comfort that can easily flirt with boredom. If you find yourself going on auto pilot or wishing there was something more exciting in your audition, sometimes all it takes is a good second look at the text. In this workshop we play with Viewpoints, Laban, Fitzmaurice Voicework® and each other, returning to the core principles of objectives and connecting to what is being spoken.
Vocal Intensity
Many scripts require scenes or individual moments of heightened emotion resulting in an extreme vocal quality. Too many times do actors rely on "natural instinct" to carry them through the text and end up hurting their vocal folds in the process. Even if an actor can successfully create the vocal quality once, the foundation of this safe performance is not clearly defined, leading to damage later in the repetition of the scene. Learn techniques to safely access breath support and full dexterity in vocal range time after time.
These workshops are prepared to teach. Others can be crafted to fit your group's need. Please do not hesitate to contact me with ideas or questions!