Dear Student, Thanks for being candid with me about your academic struggle this term and the shame you’re experiencing about it. I can’t help you process that, but I can say that I don’t need you to feel badly or even apologize. I trust that you’re having a valuable learning experience in some way. I… Continue reading Dear Student: Failing
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Dear Student: Drama School (Know Before You Go)
Your education only begins with school. Two to four years of university training can give you a good foundation (if you are ready to make the most of it) but serious and successful actors continue to take class and learn new skills throughout their careers. You can expect to be in class for a long,… Continue reading Dear Student: Drama School (Know Before You Go)
Dear Student: On Not Being Chosen for an Acting Award
Dear [Student], I’m sorry you’re disappointed about [not being chosen for an award]. I can’t make that feel better for you, but I can try to answer your question, and I hope my perspective might help you find some new perspective too. [The question was, in essence, “Not to seem entitled, but I deserved to… Continue reading Dear Student: On Not Being Chosen for an Acting Award
Notes on the 2018 VASTA/PAVA Conference Soma and Science: Bridging the Gap in Interdisciplinary Voice Training
The Version of Record of this manuscript has been published and is available in the Voice and Speech Review 12:3, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23268263.2018.1518378.
Exercise Essay: Vowel Yoga
The Version of Record of this manuscript has been published and is available in the Voice and Speech Review 11:3, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23268263.2017.1398392
Directing Chekhov’s “Seagull”
This spring I had the opportunity to direct Anton Chekhov’s Seagull with a phenomenal group of student actors at UVU. We started with a month of silent-etude-based rehearsal in place of table work and included a collaborator from the dance department to bring this production to life. I hope you’ll enjoy some photos from the production.… Continue reading Directing Chekhov’s “Seagull”
Posture Through Movement
Originally published November 4, 2017 on the KTSpeechblog: Posture Through Movement Here’s an odd question: What if Speaking With Skill had been written specifically for French speakers (perhaps by Dudley “Chevalier”)? The “vowel calisthenics” figure-8 exercise beginning on page 279 might look something like this…try it out! Does your mouth feel more French yet? Sometimes coaching an… Continue reading Posture Through Movement
Formality
Originally published September 5, 2017 on the KTSpeechblog: Formality A few weeks ago, fellow KTS-er Julie Foh and I presented together in Singapore at the VASTA conference. Our topic was “Linguistic Detail in Singlish” and I was thinking a lot about, well, linguistic detail…but also the idea of formality. And I stumbled into a can… Continue reading Formality
Uptalk?
Originally published May 1, 2017 on the KTSpeechblog: Uptalk? I recently attended a two-day webinar devoted to transgender voice and communication training for voice clinicians. It was a fantastic experience, and I would recommend the training without hesitation. Even in a super-inclusive and culturally-sensitive environment, people are bound to put a foot in a mouth… Continue reading Uptalk?
How Many Accents?
Originally published March 20, 2017 on the KTSpeechblog: How Many Accents? From Jeremy: In the last two posts, we (the editors) introduced ourselves and let you eavesdrop on one of our conversations. But enough about us! We’d like to hear from you. The big question I’m wrestling with today is: In a college accents course,… Continue reading How Many Accents?