Free Your Speaking Voice – Voicework Course with Matthew Collins

(4 X 75 minutes)  £60

Twice Weekly at 10.30 am:    

Monday 20 July    Thursday 23 July    Monday 27 July      Thursday 30 July 

Physicality, culture and psychology influence the human voice. A new baby vocalises freely but as we grow, we acquire habits that can limit our voice. In these four 75 minute workshops, participants will be taken through vocal exercises that aim to free the spoken voice. Each session will work on different elements of the vocal process and each will culminate in speaking a rich text – anything from a Shakespeare sonnet to Martin Luther King's 'I Have A Dream' speech. 

Workshop 1   Monday 20 July 10.30 am

Release and Alignment

A look at the Vocal Process and an introduction to the principles of voicework with a focus on Release (the vocal benefits of freeing the body from tension) and Alignment (the importance of posture in vocalising).   

Workshop 2 Thursday 23 July 10.30 am

Breathing and Phonation

Breath fuels the voice – and speaking at length and volume requires plenty of it. But breath also steadies the body. In this session, we examine ways of filling up the tank and calming the body with breath.  We also look at Phonation – the physical process by which raw sound is made.

Workshop 3  Thursday  27 July 10.30 am

Resonance and Articulation

Raw sound is made when the vocal folds (chords) in the larynx come together and move apart. This sends air molecules in the throat into vibration. These molecules are then vibrated again as they resonate in the body bouncing around space in the mouth, chest and head (and even the whole skeleton), to give the voice colour, tone and depth. This raw sound is then shaped by the articulators into speech sounds used to form words. 

In this session, we will explore our vocal resonance and release and exercise our articulators.

Workshop 4

Text/Speaking/Connecting with an Audience

We put everything together and take it fully into text. This session will focus on free, expressive speaking, connecting with an audience and rounding up lessons learned in the four-day workshop.  

Matthew Collins   Bio 

Matthew Collins spent 15 years presenting on TV (The Travel Show, Wogan, Richard and Judy, and other programmes...) He's been a professional speaker for 25 years and he teaches voicework to a wide range of students – from performers to prisoners to Women's Institute members. His classes are fun and his workshops for anyone – but particularly for people who don't like public speaking.                     www.matthewcollins.co.uk