the 2007 edition of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA) journal, editor Mandy Rees brings together more than fifty cutting edge articles on a broad range of current issues in the field. Voice and Gender explores the relationship between vocal expression and gender identity and the norms associated with gendered roles. In the realm of theatre, men are often called upon to play feminine characters (such as Romeo) while women are called upon to play more masculine characters (such as Lady MacBeth). The text questions gender norms and examines how they may inhibit our range of expression. An emphasis is placed on how the performer and instructor might overcome these barriers in taking on a role outside of their own gender identity. Gender remains one of the most misunderstood and divisive facets of human nature. Voice and Gender challenges readers to reexamine the way they hear, perceive, and express the concept of gender and sexual identity within their performance as well as in their own lives. Articles are grouped into the following categories: . Pedagogy and coaching . Vocal Production, Voice Related Movement Studies . Ethics, Standards and Practices . Heightened Text, Verse and Scansion . Private Studio Practice . Voice and Speech Science, Vocal Health . Pronunciation, Phonetics, Linguistics, Dialect/Accent Studies . Singing The book also contains editorials, memorials, letters to the editor, articles, website and book reviews, and selected thesis and dissertation abstracts.

(Applause Books). Standard Speech is an anthology of essays from VASTA (the Voice and Speech Trainers Association) on a variety of topics of interest to actors, voice and speech teachers. Exploring the idea of what should be the standards for good speech this volume offers views from more than 40 top experts on the subject. Also essays on Coaching, Singing, Vocal Health, Verse and Dialect Accent studies. A must for the serious student of voice and speech.

(Applause Books). This book features 67 articles from experts all over the world on the theme of coaching actors for performances in film, broadcast and e-media. Covers a wide variety of topics, from Breathing Principles & Pedagogy to Dialect/Accent Studies to Private Studio Practice.

Stages of Reckoning is a crucial conversation about how racialized bodies and power intersect within actor training spaces. This book provokes embodied and intellectual discomfort for the reader to take risks with their ideologies, identities, and practices and to make new pedagogical choices for students with racialized identities. Centering the voices of actor trainers of color to acknowledge their personal experience and professional pedagogy as theory, this volume illuminates actionable ideas for text work, casting, voice, consent practices, and movement while offering decolonial approaches to current Eurocentric methods. These offerings invite the reader to create spaces where students can bring more of themselves, their communities, and their stories into their training and as fodder for performance making that will lead to a more just world. This book is for people in high/secondary schools, higher education, and private training studios who wish to teach and direct actors of color in ways that more fully honor their multiple identities.

(Applause Books). Potent and empowering voice exercises by the master teachers who devised them! One of the constants that any actor, director or theatre teacher needs is a strong vocal warmup. This valuable, first-of-its-kind resource contains 75 exercises for both solo and group work, contributed by some of the best professionals in the world. There is a brief description of the history and purpose of each exercise followed by the exercise itself. The Voice & Speech Workout comes with audio training that will be especially helpful to the student or theatre professional working alone. Here master teachers run through each exercise in real time (leaving enough time for response). Among the contributors are such important voice teachers as: Frankie Armstrong, Mary Corrigan, Marian Hampton and Dorothy Runk Mennen. The exercises are divided into nine different areas: Getting to Know Your Voice; Stretching, Centering, Releasing, Aligning; Breathing and Supporting; Making Sound (Resonance and Articulation); Exploring Pitch; Projecting and Calling; Integrating Voice, Breath and Text; Integrating Voice and Movement; Exploring Character Voices and Dialects.

(Applause Books). This collection from The Voice and Speech Trainers Association focuses on the voice in stage violence, addressing such questions as: * How does one scream safely? * What are the best ways to orchestrate voices in complex battle scenes? * How to voice coaches work collaboratively with fight directors and the rest of the creative team? * What techniques are used to re-voice violent stunt scenes on film? * How accurate are actor presentations of extreme emotion? * What is missing from many portrayals of domestic violence? Written by leading theatre voice and speech coaches, the volume contains 63 articles, essays, interviews and reviews covering a wide variety of professional concerns.

"[This edition] updates the original landmark text and provides a comprehensive review of the latest developments in this fast-growing area of research. Covering both experimental and theoretical perspectives, each of the 11 sections is edited by an internationally recognised authority in the area"--Jacket.