Gulfshore Playhouse Theatre Education Project Continues Training Series, Adds Diction and Dialect Workshops

The Gulfshore Playhouse Theatre Education Project continues their Professional Training Series with two new workshops on diction and dialect. The professional training workshops are geared toward professional actors and stage managers in the South Florida area.

Dialect and Vocal Coach John Patrick will take you through an introductory warm-up of the skills and elements necessary for actors to incorporate their whole body in vocal technique. On-the-feet games will be used to explore the rhythm and music unique to an Upper Class British Accent (known as RP) and will culminate in a videotape of specific sounds for the participants' reference. Adult actors of all experience levels and high school students with theatre experience are all welcome to register. Please bring a notebook and pen. Handout materials will be provided.

John Patrick is an Assistant Professor of Voice & Speech in the Professional Actor Training Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is the Resident Vocal Coach to Playmakers Repertory Company and Dialect Coach of Gulfshore Playhouse. This class will be provided on February 12th from 6:00 - 8:30 p.m. and the cost is $30 at the Norris Center. Registration ends February 9th.

Gulfshore Playhouse Artistic Associate Cody Nickell will be hosting a Voice and Diction Workshop. Focusing on breathing, vocal tone, and speech, this class will serve to expand your knowledge, and give you a good basis from which to work on the stage, with goals of achieving better projection, better tonal quality, and better diction. This class will be taught by Gulfshore Playhouse Artistic Associate Cody Nickell.

Cody is a two-time Helen Hayes Award nominee and the winner of The Connecticut Critics' Circle. He has appeared in over 30 professional productions, including World and U.S premieres, classic re-stagings and multiple award-winning shows. Cody also has a deep commitment to new plays, having been involved in the development of over 20 new works. This workshop will take place on February 16th at The Norris Center from 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. Cost for this workshop is $25.

Are you a Stage Manager that wants to meet with other stage managers to discuss tricks of the trade, problem-solving techniques and finding the newest technology? Join Gulfshore Playhouse General Manager and Production Stage Manager Melanie Lisby for "Stage Managers Unite," a monthly Stage Managers forum. Melanie has Stage Managed numerous shows across the country and is a proud member of the Actors' Equity Association since 2003. Come network, share stories and learn some new rules for the road. "Stage Managers Unite" will meet on February 18, March 25 and April 15 and will be held at The Norris Center from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. The cost for each forum is $25. These workshops are independent of each other, so you can attend one or all dates listed.

"Inside the Actor's Audition" will help give tips on how to ace that next big audition. Founder and Producing Artistic Director Kristen Coury will give you helpful hints such as what to wear, what to do and what to expect, as well as a perspective from the director's side of the table. Come prepared with several monologues and one will be chosen to be worked on through the afternoon. "Inside the Actor's Audition" will be held at The Norris Center on March 9 and April 13 from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. The cost of each workshop is $75.

"I am overjoyed at the response our professional series has received, and am delighted to include visiting experts as well as our own in-house creative staff," says Irene Horowitz, Gulfshore Playhouse Director of Education.

Gulfshore Playhouse is Naples' first and finest professional theatre company offering a variety of stimulating, thought-provoking and entertaining productions from important classics to Broadway hits and innovative new works. Our shows are conceived and created in-house using a team of professional designers and technicians as well as Equity actors with credits ranging from Broadway shows to film and television.

The Gulfshore Playhouse Theatre Education Project serves Southwest Florida through a wide variety of unique educational opportunities. Our programming provides people from our diverse community accessibility to the art of theatre. Program offerings range from ART SMART, our in-school residencies which teach content curriculum through the lively art of theatre during the school day, to the STAR (Student Theatre Artist in Residence) after-school theatre classes and Theatre Summer Camps. We offer a variety of educational opportunities for adults, from rigorous internship programs to classes taught by professional actors and members of the Gulfshore Playhouse creative team, including assisted living outreach and our newly unveiled Synergy Series, a series of panel discussions and talk-backs relating to our Mainstage productions.

All Professional Training Series workshops will be held at The Norris Center. To register for any workshop, call the office at (239) 261-7529. For more information on all Gulfshore Playhouse events, visit the website at www.gulfshoreplayhouse.org.

More Articles by This Author...