Origins of Theatre Performance and Voice Training in Canada: Consciously Bringing Trauma-Informed Voice into View

ABSTRACT

This article highlights the origins of performance training and voice pedagogy in Canada developed, in part, through the work of Michel Saint-Denis and Iris Warren. It further connects the origins of performance voice to the social sciences, highlighting the historical influences that psychodynamic therapeutic approaches have had toward informing somatic voice methodologies and pedagogy. By revisiting one thread within the historic collaboration between these fields, the article encourages actively revisiting cross-disciplinary collaborations to support knowledge-creation; which has the potential to advance both fields and encourage the development of trauma-informed, embodied frameworks to support integrated pedagogies and accessible interventions across disciplines.

KEYWORDS:

• Performance
• voice
• trauma
• cross-disciplinary
• polyvagal theory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. While other voice and speech training methodologies have historically been taught, and continue to be taught globally, naming and detailing other approaches would exceed the scope of this paper. The historical thread which is being investigated and followed throughout this article is focused primarily on the origins of one methodology of voice that began, in part, by Iris Warren and later influenced Kristen Linklater. It is my hope that this article encourages further historiographic research and scholarship in our field.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shannon Vickers

Shannon Vickers is Professor of Theatre Voice in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Winnipeg. She is an interdisciplinary artist-scholar with publications ranging from prolific research-creation in professional theatres across Canada, to impactful scholarship. Shannon has provided voice, text, and dialect coaching for theatrical productions across Canada. She is the recipient of The Dudley Knight Award for Outstanding Vocal Scholarship. The first season of her research podcast, Voicing Creativity, mobilizes research and artistry from leaders in the Arts and Humanities across Canada. Shannon is the Editor of the Voice and Speech Review.