Shifting Landscapes: Changing Standards in Accent Training 29 – 30 June 2012

Conference Programme

 
Shifting Landscapes hosted by The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in collaboration with The Central School of Speech and Drama and supported by the Scottish Drama Training Network, has been initiated in response to last year’s highly successful conference on Accents and Dialects held in London at the CSSD. A plethora of themes emerged that demanded further attention:
·         Should RP RIP?
·         Are phonetics necessary?
·         Do we begin to incorporate the Generation X dialects emerging from the influence of Rap, Hip-Hop and street culture?
·         How do we respond to the demands of the film industry particularly where the training of children is involved?
·         Will the extraordinary advances in Neuroscience change our understanding and teaching of the relationship between the brain and voice?
 
Shifting Landscapes seeks to provide a forum in which we – actors, directors, voice coaches, educators, scientists, anyone and  everyone interested in the possibilities of the human voice – can share our  knowledge and experience to critically examine the future of accent and dialect training in the 21 st Century.

 
We hope you will join us to participate in what promises to be an extraordinary day of debate and provocation.
 

Timings & Programme

0845   Registration

0920   Institutional Welcome - Hugh Hodgart, Dean of Drama, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland 

0930   Welcome by Ros Steen, Jane Boston, Alison Forsyth

POINTS OF VIEW

0945   The Voice Coach   Edda Sharpe

1015   The Actor        

1030   The Director     John Tiffany

1045   Standard Accents for Generation X
Amy Mihyang Ginther, Peri Olufunwa and Yen Yen Ng –/ Central School of Speech and Drama

1100   Comfort Break & Coffee

1115   Q & A from the floor Coffee

1200   Workshop Session 1
           Coaching the Child Actor – Jo Cameron Brown
The Flying Scotsman, a whistle-stop tour of Scottish Dialects – Jean Sangster
Virtual Phonetics: accents, apps and attitude – Hilary Jones

1250   Lunch

1330   Optional tour of the building

1400   Dr. Patricia Bestelmeyer– the Neuroscience of Accents

1445   Research presentations – 3 x 10 minute and 5 minutes Q & A

1530   Comfort Break & Coffee

1545   Workshop Session 2
Repeat of Session 1, delegates will select another of the workshops to attend.

1645   Plenary Round-up

1715   Drinks Reception & Networking

1800   Event End

Day 2 – Introduction to the Nadine George Technique
This voice workshop will give a short practical introduction to the core technique of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Centre for Voice in Performance, rooted in the technique of Nadine George of Voice Studio International.

The workshop will comprise an intensive practical exploration of the voice and its source in the body, linked to text. We will begin with hands-on breath, energy and focus work done in pairs and alone before going on to explore male and female qualities of sound in both men and women.

Each participant will have individual work on her or his own voice in one of the qualities which will be explored through sound sung from the body. The vibration, energy and quality of the sound will then be linked directly to the speaking of a short piece of text.

There will be also be an opportunity for discussion of the work including its use in professional rehearsal practice and training.

Cost:
£55 for day one – conference only
£90 for both days (conference and one day intro to Nadine George Technique)
Student rate £20 – conference only