Profile
I am a voice practitioner and actor trainer with two decades experience teaching in UK conservatoires; coaching in film, TV and theatre; and consulting internationally. I read English at Cambridge University and then studied performance with Growtowski collaborators Vlado Sav and Abani Biswas, later training as an actor at L’Ecole Philippe Gaulier and with Bob McAndrew and Larry Moss. I trained in voice under David Carey at Central in 1997.
I have taught widely at Central on MA Voice Studies (researching integrative practice between voice and movement), on MA Acting for Screen, and am currently the lead voice practitioner on MA Acting and the Course Leader for MA Acting Contemporary.
In addition to my work at Central, I have been Voice and Text specialist for Rutgers University actor training MFA/BFA program at the Globe Theatre, and taught at RADA, Rose Bruford, Oxford School of Drama, ALRA, BADA and the Guildford School of Acting. I have coached in the West End, for touring and regional theatre (including the epic Wars of the Roses for Trevor Nunn), and for the BBC and film. I ran a leading UK voice company Speak Easily for many years, consulting privately and for bodies such as the UN, and the World Economic Forum and many FTSE 100 companies.
For 20 years I have sought an integrated, physiology-centred actor training methodology, which uses voice training as a lens through which to train acting, rather than an end in its own right. Key tenets include self-exploration by the actor, individuality of approach, and the enhancement of functional movement as a foundation to vocal production. My aim as Course Leader on MA Acting Contemporary is to centre the actor in their training process, seeking to integrate the disciplines into a full psycho-physical experience of acting, rather than each discrete field functioning and training separately.
Areas of Expertise
Vocal Pedagogy: development of an inclusive practice grounded in precise physical experiment and play, which empowers the student to self-discover.
Integrated Practice: unifying the experience for the actor and grounding the disciplines (voice, movement, text work) in a shared physiological understanding of acting.
Character: physiological character transformation that addresses fundamentals of vocal expression as well as physical and accent/dialect change.
Voice for screen: specific practice to ensure authentic, responsive, nuanced vocal use under close camera conditions.
Acting in a second language: enhancing the work of non-native actors working in English, to clarify the communication, storytelling and connection to words, without inhibiting the creative impulse.
Practice
My practice currently includes voice, accent and performance coaching for stage and screen. I also conduct regular workshops for theatre and film actors and directors. Alongside my coaching work with stage and screen, I established and grew the London-based voice agency, Speak Easily from inception to, at its peak, one of the leading specialist voice and accent companies in the country. During this period, I mentored many early career voice teachers who are now highly successful with roles in the RSC, RADA, Arts Ed and Guildford or as well-established dialect coaches working in the film industry. I personally conducted training at the UN, the World Economic Forum and for CEO’s and Senior leaders across Europe. I also consult privately with actors preparing text, voice and accent for roles and auditions.
Coaching on productions includes
- 2020 - Globe Theatre/Rutgers - Nicole Charles - A Winter’s Tale
- 2019 - BBC – (as Performance Director) – The Tempest
- 2017 - Chipping Norton/Dukes Lancaster – John Terry - The Island
- 2016 - New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich – Trevor Nunn - A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- 2016 - Rose Theatre Kingston – Trevor Nunn - King John
- 2015 - Rose Theatre Kingston – Trevor Nunn - Wars of the Roses
- 2015 - Feature Film – Bryan/Esteban - Nameless
- 2013 - Sherman Theatre, Cardiff – Robbie Bowman - Sexual Perversity in Chicago
- 2012 - BBC – Gaynord/Dowd - Class Dismissed
- 2012/13 - RSC – Matthew Warchus – Matilda (West End)
Workshops
- 2016 - ‘Shakespeare Summer School’ Voice coach alongside Michael Attenborough (acting), Lilo Baur (movement), for Living Pictures Theatre Company
- 2015/6 - L’Afdas supported workshops for professional actors: ‘English Pronunciation for Actors’, ‘Acting in English’, Tomatis Frequences Langues, Paris
- 2015/16 - Workshops on ‘Voice and Movement Practice in Rehearsal for Professional Directors’, Living Pictures Theatre Company
- 2014/15 - Training featured poets to deliver their own work for the ‘Climate Revolution Poetry Project’ delivered at Keats House and sponsored by Vivienne Westwood 2015 Multiple workshops in Voice, Accent, Complex Text, Audition Technique, Voice for Teachers at Perform, Olympia
- 2010 - Voice and movement director for ‘Voices of Extremity’ workshop for professional actors with Forensic Speech Scientist Lisa Roberts of York University and director Dan Barnard of Living Pictures/Fanshen
- 2007 - ‘Voice, Presence, Rhetoric’ workshop for the Dean and Fellows of the World Economic Forum, Geneva