Voice Work & Dialect Coaching
I think about voice work as a release of impeding tension and a release of your natural tone in connection with your breath and body. So many people find themselves unable to express what needs to be said for myriad reasons. When they begin to open their mouths something shuts down or constricts and what comes to the surface feels tight or alien.
When clients for voice first come to study with me, they have a sense that how they sound and how it feels to express doesn’t feel true to them and how they want to be in the world.
Through breathing, alignment and tone placement we can set up the instrument to make more resonant sound. We also use Somatic Experiencing and other methods to go deeper into what might be the fundamental cause of tension or shut down.
Voice and dialect work are an essential part of creating authentic stories for Film/TV and stage. These elements can transform a piece of art so that it vibrates with heart-stopping nuance and color, surpassing all expectations.
Process
My Juilliard education and my decades as both an actor and coach, give me the gift of flexibility to work differently with every creator, tapping into strengths and helping to clarify the task at hand.
No matter what the work is, we use a Somatic approach – the way a person speaks is a full-body study, not only from the neck up.
We utilize models found online from the region or communities that are a match or most similar to the character and sound we are crafting. I try to find models that also match the actor’s physiognomy so we can use the mirror neurons in the brain to our advantage.
In all respects, this is a layered process and requires the dedication of the creator and support from the creative team or casting director.
