The first episode of Next Chapter Podcasts/Play On Podcasts’ series THE TEMPEST is out today! The Shakespeare play has been translated into modern English by Kenneth Cavander, and the episodes were directed by Andy Wolk. I served as Voice and Text Coach. A new episode will drop every week. Listen to it here and anywhere else you get your podcasts.
The Ladykillers
The U.S. premiere of the play The Ladykillers by Graham Linehan and directed by Carl Wallnau at Centenary Stage Company in Hackettstown, NJ, started performances on February 17th and runs through March 5th. This dark farce takes place in North London in the 1950s, and I had a delightful time working with the cast on RP, Cockney, North London, and Romanian accents. More info and tickets here.
The Winter's Tale
The first four episodes of Next Chapter Podcasts/Play On Shakespeare’s presentation of THE WINTER’S TALE, modern English translation and directed by Tracy Young, are streaming now! New episodes drop every Friday. This play is one of my favorites, and I had an absolute blast revisiting it as Voice and Text Coach. Find it wherever you get your podcasts!
Measure for Measure
The first four episodes of Next Chapter Podcasts/Play On Shakespeare’s presentation of MEASURE FOR MEASURE, modern English translation by Aditi Brennan Kapil and directed by Jessie Austrian, are streaming now! New episodes drop every Friday. I once again had a wonderful time serving as Voice and Text Coach on this series. Find it wherever you get your podcasts!
David Geffen School of Drama
I’m excited and honored to share that last summer I accepted a position as Assistant Professor in the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. It’s week eight of my first semester teaching at DGSD, and I’m having an absolutely wonderful time. I’m teaching speech and accents to the MFA Acting students, and it’s really a dream come true.
The Caretaker
THE CARETAKER by Harold Pinter and directed by Bonnie J. Monte opened this past weekend at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in Madison, NJ. It’s a beautiful and devastating production of a brilliantly crafted play. The actors are doing wonderful work overall, and especially with their own individually crafted London idiolects. Performances run at the F.M Kirby Shakespeare Theatre through October 9th. Tickets and info here.
Henry V Podcast
This spring I served as Voice and Text Coach for a podcast production of HENRY V, translated into modern English verse by Lloyd Suh and directed by Krista Williams for Next Chapter Podcasts. I had a wonderful time working with Bobby Moreno on Henry’s many speeches in this play, as well as with Nikki Massoud and Brittany Kathryn Allen on the French language and accented English in the play.
The first three episodes are out, and a new episode will drop each Friday. Listen wherever you get your podcasts!
Twelfth Night Podcast
This spring I served as Voice and Text Coach for a podcast version of TWELFTH NIGHT, translated into modern English verse by Alison Carey and directed by Christopher Liam Moore for Next Chapter Podcasts. The cast is delightful, as is the sound design. A new episode will arrive every Friday for the next several weeks. Give us a listen here, or anywhere you get your podcasts!
June Show Updates
I coached two shows that both started performances last week.
Clubbed Thumb’s production of BODIES THEY RITUAL by Angela Hanks and directed by Knud Adams has performances at the Wild Project in NYC through Saturday, July 2nd. It’s a NYTimes Critic’s Pick! More info and tickets here.
Bucks County Playhouse’s production of KINKY BOOTS by Harvey Fierstein & Cyndi Lauper and directed by Sheryl Kaller & Hope Boykin started performances on June 25th and runs through July 30th in charming New Hope, PA. More info and tickets here.
Belfast Girls
My latest project opened at the Irish Repertory Theatre on May 19th. BELFAST GIRLS by Jaki McCarrick and directed by Nicola Murphy has performances through June 26th and follows the journey of five women from Belfast to Sydney during the Great Famine of the 1840s. I had a wonderful time working with the cast on accents from Belfast, County Sligo, and County Louth. More information and tickets here.
RIDE THE CYCLONE and Other Show Updates
My latest project started performances on April 30th at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, NJ. The piece is a musical called RIDE THE CYCLONE by Brooke Maxwell & Jacob Richmond and directed by McCarter’s new Artistic Director, Sarah Rasmussen. It’s wacky and magical, and I coached some French and Ukrainian accents for it. Performances run through May 29th. More info and tickets here.
Some other projects of mine have come and gone since my last post. I served as Voice Coach on two productions at Connecticut Repertory Theatre this spring: SEVEN SPOTS ON THE SUN by Martín Zimmerman and directed by Tlaloc Rivas had performances March 26th - April 3rd and LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS by Howard Ashman & Alan Menken and directed by Vince Tycer had performances April 21st - May 1st. I also coached accents for a production of CABARET by John Kander, Fred Ebb, & Joe Masteroff and directed by Ken Prestininzi at Connecticut College in New London, CT.
It’s been a busy spring!
Experiencing Accents #20
Experiencing Accents #20 wrapped last Sunday. This six-day Knight-Thompson Speechwork explores the skills of accent acquisition and performance. I had a wonderful time teaching with KTS Co-Director Andrea Caban and with our delightful group of participants. Here our the thumbnails from our session recordings:
CORIOLANUS Podcast Interview
A few weeks ago, I had the distinct honor of being in conversation with Play on Podcasts Executive Producer Michael Goodfriend and brilliant Dramaturg Amrita Ramanan about our work on the podcast version of Sean San José’s modern verse translation of CORIOLANUS, directed by Kate Wisniewski. You can listen to our conversation here — and anywhere you get your podcasts.
December Updates
Two shows I coached had performances in December.
FOOD FOR THE GODS, written and directed by Nehprii Amenii, had three performances at the Connecticut Repertory Theatre, December 11th & 12th. This promenade-style performance piece served as a healing ritual for black men killed by police and other self-appointed law-enforcers over the years. It’s a piece unlike any others I’ve worked on, and I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity. The number of performances was reduced due to issues around COVID.
A CHILD’S CHRISTMAS IN WALES, adapted by Adrian Mitchell and Jeremy Brooks from Dylan Thomas’s short story and directed by Bonnie J. Monte, had performances at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, December 8th-26th. It was a beautiful, heart-warming show with a lovely cast, and it was the first show produced in the Kirby Theatre in two years. It closed early due to issues around COVID.
Lastly, I co-taught the 33rd offering of the Knight-Thompson Speechwork workshop, Experiencing Speech, December 11th-17th. I love teaching this workshop, especially in the December slot. The workshop is always filled with interesting, curious participants who teach me so much. And I had a blast teaching with my KTS colleagues, Andrea Caban and Nathan Crocker. Here’s a screenshot of our recording thumbnails:
The 39 Steps
Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s production of THE 39 STEPS, adapted by Patrick Barlow and directed by Helen T. Clark, starts performances tonight. I served as one of the Voice & Dialect Coaches on the piece, helping the actors with a wide range of accents: RP, Cockney, German, Wiltshire, and various areas of Scotland! Performances run though November 7th, and seating is limited to allow for social distancing in the theater. More information here.
Coriolanus
This summer, I got to serve as Voice and Text Consultant on Play On Shakespeare’s podcast production of CORIOLANUS in a modern verse translation by Sean San José and directed by fellow A.R.T. alum Kate Wisniewski. The cast is comprised of all female and non-binary actors, and a majority of them are people of color.
It was challenging and deeply fulfilling to work on this text with this group of artists. A new episode will be streamed for free each week! Listen to the first episode now and subscribe.
September Happenings
A few updates from September! I co-taught the 19th offering of the Knight-Thompson Speechwork (KTS) workshop EXPERIENCING ACCENTS with KTS Co-Director Andrea Caban. See our workshop recording thumbnails below!
I also taught a masterclass on KTS for graduate theatre pedagogy students at Virginia Commonwealth University. Thanks to Karen Kopryanski for the invitation!
Lastly, I coached accents and idiolects for a production of LET ME DOWN EASY by Anna Deveare Smith and directed by Ginny Anderson at Connecticut College in New London.
Oral Posture Intensive
A week ago, I finished co-teaching the first ever Knight-Thompson Speechwork Posture Intensive workshop with KTS Co-Director Andrea Caban. It was a really fun, really granular deep dive into oral (or vocal tract) posture in accent work. These are the thumbnails of our session recordings. What a treat to share virtual space with this group.
Experiencing Accents #18
Today was the last day of the 18th offering of the Knight-Thompson Speechwork workshop, Experiencing Accents. I co-led the workshop with fellow KTS Master Teacher Tyler Seiple — our first time leading a KTS workshop together! We had a wonderful time working on the skills of accent acquisition with a group of very thoughtful and playful participants. Since we’ve started offering workshops online, I’ve enjoyed looking back at the thumbnails of our recordings.
American Association for Anatomy
The American Association for Anatomy recently took note of my new book, Experiencing Speech: A Skills-Based, Panlingual Approach to Actor Training, and invited my co-author Andrea Caban and me to write about the anatomical images that Phil Thompson and Jeff Parker created for it. You can read our blurb here, in their monthly online newsletter.
