Depictions of a Voice and Speech Trainer: Current Trends in the VASTA Community

ABSTRACT

The Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA) was founded in 1986. Over the years, the organization has greatly expanded its membership to include trainers from around the world with varying degrees of experience and training. Simultaneously, VASTA has refocused its vision every 10 years to respond to developments both in the voice and speech field and society at large. This research examines data collected from a VASTA-wide, open-ended survey, sent to members in November 2019, about a trainer’s scope of practice, training, and education in an attempt to gain a clearer sense of the VASTA community as it currently exists. It offers observations and suggestions as to how the organization can use these findings in order to best serve its membership. Additionally, the work seeks to be a foundation for further studies that will help shape the future of VASTA, the benefits it offers members, and guidelines it presents for those looking for further professional development.

KEYWORDS:

• VASTA
• voice and speech
• training
• guidelines
• trends
• vocal pedagogy
• education

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary Material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Notes

1. The resources section asked if VASTA members were published and if they would like to have their resource appear on the website. It was not a part of our research and was separated from the results.

2. A multiple-choice survey format would create response bias by limiting respondents to only select the choices we provided rather than the full range of their potential response.

3. See the Online Supplemental Section for all of the raw data responses.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Joe Hetterly

Joe Hetterly (he/him/his) is a passionate arts administrator and teacher who is interested in cultivating spaces for other artists to create. As an educator, he is a self-reflective voice and speech practitioner who is focused on responding to the needs of the individual artist. Although not a “certified” teacher, he draws from his broad experience with Linklater Voice, Fitzmaurice Voicework®, Knight-Thompson Speechwork, and Beth McGuire and Jane Guyer Fujita’s Window into Speech Workshops. His professional experience includes working as an actor, in casting, at a talent agency, and at a Broadway General Management company. He has taught at SUNY Purchase and NYCDA.

Sammi Grant

Sammi Grant (she/her/hers) is an adjunct professor of voice, speech, and accents at The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). She also works as a freelance dialect/vocal coach for theatre and television. She has an MFA in voice studies from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and a BFA in acting from Illinois Wesleyan University. Sammi is a proud VASTA member and is currently serving as a Junior Board Member as well as serving on the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee.

Sarah Nichols

Sarah Nichols (she/her/hers) is a voice, speech, and accent coach from Orlando, Florida. She has taught at East15 Acting School, Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance, Virginia Commonwealth University, and the American University in Cairo. Sarah is a Senior Editor-at-Large for the International Dialects of English Archive and an active member of VASTA, where she serves as a Junior Board Member. Having recently completed the voice studies MFA at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Sarah is a new resident of Washington, DC and currently teaches online voice workshops for Washington Improv Theater.

Pamela Prather

Pamela Prather (she/her/hers) is a tenured Associate Professor at State University of New York (SUNY), Purchase, current President of VASTA, and under contract with Routledge Publishing to write the Voice Coach’s Toolkit. Past academic appointments: Yale School of Drama, NYU’s Playwright’s Horizon’s BFA program, UCLA, Marymount Manhattan College. Coaching credits: off-Broadway and regional theatres and over 23 productions at the Tony Award® winning Alley Theatre. Executive coaching includes: The Carlisle Group, APAX Partners, Silver Lake, Spotify, and Facebook. She hosts sHeroes Journey© Podcast aimed to amplify women’s voices. Certifications: Prana Yoga, Laughter Yoga, Fitzmaurice Voicework® and VVT. www.pamelaprather.com