| dc.description.abstract | Vocal instruction for actors is a growing specialization within college theatre programs in the United States. Theatre voice has typically been taught by master teachers, some of whom eventually publish texts which outline their instructional systems. These published theatre voice texts have become standards in the discipline of theatre voice over the past 10-30 years and a mere handful of them are the primary required texts used in a large number of theatre voice classes in U.S. colleges and professional training schools. For the most part, these texts (along with their authors) have been accepted without question as the undisputed authorities in the field of theatre voice without serious critical discussion or assessment of their objective, methods, procedures, or efficacy.This study examines eight of the most popular vocal training texts used in theatre voice classes in American colleges and professional training programs from the perspective of vocal anatomy and physiology. These include Edith Skinner's Speak with Distinction, Evangeline Machlin's Speech for the Stage, Arthur Lessac's The Use and Training of the Human Voice, Kristin Linklater's Freeing the Natural Voice, Cicely Berry's Voice and the Actor, J. Clifford Turner's Voice and Speech in the Theatre, Michael McCallion's The Voice Book, and Patsy Rodenburg's The Right to Speak.Instructional methodology, functional descriptions, and exercises relating to the physiological processes of respiration, phonation, resonance and articulation are examined and compared to current literature about those functional processes in the field of voice science. Additionally, each system is examined to assess the degree to which it advocates vocal health and the manner in which it recommends that vocal health be pursued.Recommendations for selecting an appropriate vocal training system are proposed based on a student's desired learning outcomes, possible methodological preferences, and preferred mode of learning. | en_US |
