Vocal Work for Actors & Speakers

Special workshop -  SCRIPT ANALYSIS  FEBRUARY 28 FOR 6 SESSIONS

DEVON ALLEN  

A SURVEY WAS TAKEN AND AGENTS WERE ASKED WHAT IS THE ONE SKILL MISSING IN PROFESSIONAL ACTORS’ WORK?  IT WAS UNANIMOUS (and the same can be said for SPEAKERS)  - VOCAL TRAINING

If you are serious about your Acting Career (OR your Speaking)  then you realize how important your speaking voice is, not only in theater but in film and on the platform.   It can be welcoming or screechy.  It can have range or be monotone.  It can sooth or  irritate.

I am truly honored to be able to present A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO STUDY WITH THE VERY BEST. (see outstanding bio below).

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***After many requests, I am excited to announce that Devon Allen is, FOR THE FIRST TIME, conducting a six-week workshop on Core Elements of Scene Work for the Actor.***

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Core Elements of Scene Work for the Actor

It’s all in the choices an actor makes. That’s where the great talents made their mark and that’s why they received so much well deserved praise. Scene work was at the center of their artistic success and so we begin the crucial work in this class.

In this lively and invigorating class, learn to build a foundation for your character – mine the play for character arc, identify immediate needs, interpret rhythm to heighten dramatic shaping of the scene, and develop preparation tools that propel you into the launch of a scene.

Learn to read the play for all its acting clues. Earn confidence in the way you prepare a role.

Class Overview:

  • The first and second classes focus on exercises leading into first staging of scene work.
  • The third and fourth classes consist of extensive notes after the first staging of scenes.
  • The final two classes are reserved for second staging of the scenes, revealing evident growth.

This course is appropriate for both theatre and film actors. This class can be taught for all levels; you will be paired with an actor at a similar level for scene work. Scenes are assigned by the instructor.
Limit: only 10 students

Workshop held at:
Barbara Kite’s Acting Studio
3294 SE Hawthorne
Tuesday evenings from 7:00 – 9:30 p.m.

6 sessions: Feb. 28, March 6, March 13, March 20, (no class March 27), April 3, April 10

Cost is $170.00 (payment plans available; a deposit of $50.00 is required to hold your place in the class.)

PLEASE CALL 503-223-9119 or e-mail allendevon@gmail.com

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Instructor Biography

Education: Certificate in Acting: Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, London, England
Master of Fine Arts in Acting: University of California at San Diego

Teaching: Head of Acting and Directing, and resident artist, at Portland State University’s Department of Theatre and Film, New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Duke University, U.C.S.D., and Muhlenberg College, Master Teacher of Acting for The Actors Centre in London and The Shakespeare Festival of New Jersey. Worked extensively with Cicely Berry, O.B.E., Head of Voice and Acting for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Acting: Leading roles in Fortinbras by Lee Blessing (premiere, directed by Des McAnuff) and Orestes by Charles Mee, Jr. (premiere, directed by Robert Woodruff) for La Jolla Playhouse; Medea (directed by Evan Yionoulis); Happy Days by Samuel Beckett, Suspension Theatre; Lizzie Vinyl and the China Thing (premiere) by Naomi Iizuka with Corpus Theatre at the Edinburgh Festival; in rotating repertory with Checkov, Pinter, and Beckett for the Theatre Project Company in St. Louis; Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, Taming of the Shrew, and Macbeth in Scotland and London; Douglas Schmidt in Execution of Justice by Emily Mann and Lady Bracknell in Oscar Over Here (premiere) by Romulus Linney (dir. Jeff Storer) for Manbites Dog Theatre; Ann in The Castle and Galactia in Scenes from an Execution by Howard Barker, and Aunt Dan in Wallace Shawn’s Aunt Dan and Lemon (dir. James Peck), Fefu in Marie Irene Fornes’ Fefu and Her Friends (directed by the playwright, and the premiere of the one-set version), Placida in Howard Barker’s Ursula (The Lab, TASO, and IFCC), and Alida in Jennifer Haley’s Breadcrumbs, a Fractured Fairy Tale (presented at PCS for The Lab). She was a full company member of The Brecht Company, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she acted roles in Caryl Churchill, Beckett, Brecht, and Howard Brenton.

Directing: Far Away by Caryl Churchill for Manbites Dog Theatre, Vogel’s How I Learned to Drive for Bloomsburg Ensemble and Shepard’s Curse of the Starving Class for Theatre Outlet. Devon has devised and directed numerous new works for the lab, among them The Kafka Opera, Cave Theory, Parts I & II (with Keiko Yamamoto), and Ophelia’s Tattoo (with Erik Ehn), all of which enjoyed successful runs in New York City. Among her Portland credits, she has directed Tim Crouch’s An Oak Tree (The Lab, with Dennis Kelly), Will Eno’s Oh the Humanity (The Lab), Conor McPherson’s This Lime Tree Bower (CoHo and The Lab; winner of two Drammys), Eno’s Thom Pain (based on nothing) (The Lab, with Matthew DiBiasio), Caridad Svich’s The Labyrinth of Desire (Miracle Theatre), The Heidi Chronicles (Profile), Shannon Wheeler’s Too Much Coffee Man Opera for PCPA (The Lab and Ajax Comics).

Artistic Director of Our Shoes Are Red/The Performance Lab. Founded in 1993 to give artists a rich theatrical experience that is then shared with audiences.

Member of the Actors Equity Association, Lincoln Center Director’s Lab.

In 2009 was participant in prestigious Theatre for a New Audience’s American Director’s Project.

 

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‘My work would strengthen the voice, and help both the sound and performance of any reading. Breath support for the voice, more musicality, phrasing with the breath, speech tools for variation and to awaken the listener’s ear, a richer and fuller tone, a more confident sound, and a basic knowledge of when your voice is on the breath and fully supported and when it is not – all these elements are taught. You will leave the sessions with exercises that you can continue on your own, and apply to your speaking or performing work. The work also feels very good – releasing muscle tension and learning how to breathe fully, often for the first time in a long while. My training is Cicely Berry-based; she is one of the most renowned voice coaches in the world, and I have trained with her directly.” - Devon Allen