Feb. 9, 2005 Voice enhancement and vocal freedom are debuting in the University of
Wyoming Department of Theatre and Dance, compliments of a faculty member who recently
was certified in Fitzmaurice Voicework, a renowned approach to voice training.
Lou Anne Wright, associate professor of voice, dialects, acting and theatre history,
is the only UW faculty member trained in Fitzmaurice Voicework. Each year, only about
65 associate teachers are certified in the United States.
"Fitzmaurice Voicework combines classical voice training for theatre with adaptations
of several body based disciplines, including yoga, bioenergetics, and shiatsu," says
Wright, who took two years of intermittent workshops followed by two consecutive summers
of classes to be certified as an associate teacher of the system.
Anatomy training is one component of the system, Wright explains. "Another gift from
this training is my greater understanding of the breath stress relationship in humans,"
she says.
"I have more empathy for young actors as they struggle to free their bodies and breathing
patterns for stage work." She says the enhanced movement and flexibility training
will instill more confidence in UW students.
Wright says her students will learn to achieve vocal freedom, which is the ability
to reach the top and bottom of the actor's range on command, while performing intense
physical movements on stage.
"If a student or actor is willing to fully experience the training by keeping a sense
of curiosity and staying mentally and physically flexible, it can transform a performance
or audition," she says.
Catherine Fitzmaurice, developer of this vocal training, combines "vocal practice
with energetic philosophy." Her creative approach is taught widely in the United States
and internationally.
Wright is in London until March, teaching in the UW London Semester, offered through
the College of Arts and Sciences. She says she applies the Fitzmaurice exercises for
warm up in one of her acting classes. Wright also has created a course, "Voice for
the Actor," that introduces the fundamentals of the Fitzmaurice system and is a prerequisite
to her department's speech class.
Posted on Wednesday, February 09, 2005
