Workshops already confirmed
Barbara Houseman - Accent and Voice - developing individual vocal potential
Yvonne Morley and Tim Charrington - Working in OP (Original Pronunciation) for Shakespeare
Edda Sharpe - Space Exploration (Approach to Learning and Teaching Accents)
Aundrea Fudge - Hispanic Accents of America
Anne-Marie Speed - Singing in Your Own Accent
Deborah Garvey - Exploration of the different types of RP
Joel Trill & Hazel Holder - African Diaspora Accent (ADA)
Workshop Details:
African Diaspora Accent (Hazel Holder & Joel Trill)
The African Diaspora Accent (ADA) focuses on accents and dialects born or evolved through the presence of diasporan ethnic groups, in particular, those of sub-Saharan African descent. The programme began in 2017, and actors have already been able to take advantage of Nigerian, Ugandan, Jamaican, Trinidadian and African American accent workshops. The workshops are designed to be inclusive, dynamic and playful, and so incorporate a plethora of activities that facilitate discussion, analysis and embodiment of this broad and rich variety of accents and dialects.
Exploration of the different types of RP (Deborah Garvey)
This workshop offers a chronological practical exploration of four accents which fall under the umbrella heading of Received Pronunciation or RP: Period or Heightened RP; BBC 50's English; Standard RP; and Modern Chelsea Set. Selected dramatic texts and recordings will be used to practically explore and interrogate common and distinctive features of each of the selected four accents.
Hispanic Accents of America (Aundrea Fudge)
The aim of this workshop is to equip participants with a broad knowledge of three Hispanic Accents prevalent in the United States. Participants will learn key phonetic and prosodic elements of Puerto Rican, Chicano, and Dominican accents as they relate to English. They will also learn and discuss the cultural significance of the accents and their place in the creative cannon. The workshop will feature recordings of native speakers of these accents as well as accent breakdowns and key dramatic texts.
Singing in an Accent (Anne-Marie Speed)
Why do so many British performers find it hard to sing in their own accent? Learning how to sing in your own accent as well as learning how to sound authentic when singing in another accent is an essential skill for MT performers and CCM artists. Singing in your own accent is often neglected while the influence and impact of singing in another accent on your own sound is often underestimated. This workshop will address how to sing anything in your own accent and also how to maintain your own sound when singing in a different accent.
Space Exploration (Edda Sharpe)
seeing, hearing and feeling your resonant space.
We all know how tricky it is when we ask clients to ‘raise the back of the tongue’. And let’s be honest, it can even be tricky for voice professionals, too! And what about when a vowel is not quite right, but you just don’t know, or can’t explain why? What strategies do you have to correct it?
Having a strong sense of the inner workings of the resonant space is a key skill when it comes to being able to transform our own speech patterns into those of another accent, and even more so when we are teaching and coaching others. It can also revolutionise the way we experience and explore sound.
In this workshop participants will develop a strong auditory-visual-kinaesthetic map of the resonant space in their mouths. We will identify 8 ‘stopping points’ or landmarks in that map, (also known as ‘cardinal vowels’) against which all other vowels can me mapped. We will take away the distracting resonance of the voice, so that our sense can concentrate on what’s really happening with the resonance in the mouth.
The session will be pulled together by applying the skills to a wonderful, uplifting Proclaimers song.
Accent and Voice - developing individual vocal potential (Barbara Houseman)
Thankfully the days are fading fast when one accent is seen as better in terms of vocal quality, range or expression. Less and less students are expected to conform to an single idea of a good voice. How then do we find more objective criteria for fully developing voices in a way that keeps their individuality?
This practical workshop will explore aspects of voice training and question how we can ensure that we develop voices in a way which respects and reflects the individuality of each voice?
Original Pronunciation Workshop (Tim Charrington and Yvonne Morley-Chisholm)
Yvonne and Tim will time-travel through a few centuries to consider and explore Original Pronunciation. Their main focus will be on the OP that Richard III would have spoken while also considering Chauceran and Shakespearean OP. There will be opportunity for participants to try it out for themselves and there will be time for discussion and questions.
Presentations from
Joel Trill & Hazel Holder
Aundrea Fudge
Yvonne Morley
Anne-Marie Speed
Presentation Details:
The Case for Speech Training (Anne-Marie Speed)
Many voice teachers lack both the skills and confidence to lead classes in effective speech training. This is partly due to a misunderstanding of what ‘good’ speech is when considered outside of the parameters of accent and the absence of classes in speech training in most voice teacher education programmes. Clear speech is not the sole preserve of one particular accent and its role in acting and singing as well as performance value is seriously undervalued. This session will outline the case for a reappraisal of the role of speech training within drama schools and identify the clear benefits it brings to all actors and singers, regardless of genre or accent.
How has the African Diaspora Accents project supported actors in training and performance?(Joel Trill and Hazel Holder)
In this presentation/paper, Joel and Hazel discuss how the ADA project was born from a shared desire to support actors who identify with multi-ethnic and or African diasporic heritages. They will also discuss, the ways in which the concept of a ‘safe space’ has shaped and informed their approach to the work, thus far; prompting them to make a commitment to offering their clients, and participants alike, place of ’radical openness’!
Accent and Identity (Aundrea Fudge)
How does the way we speak determine our identity? Can changing your accent change your identity? In this presentation we'll explore the basic fundamentals of sociolinguistics, language/accent acquisition, and cultural theory in an attempt to better understand the social impact of language and accent. Does the way you speak determine the way you see the world or is it the world that determines the way you speak?
A Voice for Richard (Yvonne Morley-Chisholm and Tim Charrington)
Yvonne and Timwill present the research that is currently in progress to give voice to the late King Richard III. The presentation will also include a brief sample of the Ricardian Original Pronunciation.