Wednesday, November 23, 2011

My Voice Class Experience by Jane Anne Wilder


I recently took Gin Hammond’s eight-week Voice course. It was terrific; changed my craft – and even my life – in ways I couldn’t have possibly foreseen.

I have to ‘fess up and say I expected it to be boring. I mean ‘Voice.’ Yuk. But I want to do more voice work, so I took it like a flu shot.

Can’t talk about the course without a few words about Gin Hammond, for those of you who don’t know her. Gin is extremely knowledgeable, well-respected, caring, passionate about her subject, non-judgmental and a joy to be with. She made what I consider a boring subject intriguing.

Yes, we studied the voice itself. But we also learned how to make it work for us; a heavy emphasis on breathing and how to give our voices power. We did a lot of yoga, because apparently you need open hips to have a strong voice. Ditto lots of posture work. That’s one way my life changed. I now am very conscious of my posture, especially when recording.

We used monologues for practice. Although Gin rarely commented on our acting, it was amazing to see how our acting improved once we put her techniques in practice. She even taught us how to walk into an audition and what to do once there.

We did one exercise about chakras – yes, I rolled my eyes – then did our monologues ‘from’ each chakra. I was astounded – each version of my monologue was different. I saw the imaginary person from entirely different viewpoints depending on the chakra. This gave me a feeling of depth for the monologue I had never had before.

Now that the course is over, it looks like I’m going to have to get back into yoga. I may even study chakras. Am I going to take her upcoming Voice Over class?

I think I was the first person who signed up.


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Gin Hammond will be teaching a Voice Over at Freehold this Winter Quarter.

Freehold's Winter Acting Classes for Beginning and Advanced Students in Seattle Are Now Open for Registration


We are privileged to have highly acclaimed artists as faculty. Our students range from the beginner who has never taken an acting class to the advanced trained student looking to continue their practice.


There is truly something for everyone.





Freehold's Winter Class, 2012 Line-Up:

Step I: Intro to Acting with Meg McLynn
Step I: Intro to Acting with Sarah Harlett
Step II: Acting with Text with Sarah Harlett
Step III: Scene Study Text Intensive with Annette Toutonghi
The Actor's Homework with Annette Toutonghi
Alexander Technique: For The Actor's Toolbox with Cathy Madden
Auditioning with Annette Toutonghi
Directing and Acting for the Camera with John Jacobsen
Improvisation with Matt Smith
Intermediate Clown with George Lewis
Meisner: Instrument with Robin Lynn Smith
Movement with Paul Budraitis
Playwriting II: The Playwright's Vision with Elizabeth Heffron
Shakespeare with Amy Thone
Solo Performance and Presentation with Marya Sea Kaminski
Spoken Word and Performance Poetry with Daemond Arrindell
Stage Combat with Geof Alm
Voice-Over with Gin Hammond

We also have a little space in 2 of our Fall Classes:
Public Speaking with Gin Hammond
Verse and Voice with Kimberly White

Check out our Fall e-newsletter with great articles from faculty and students:
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs025/1102313671991/archive/1107754246809.html

To register for a class: http://www.freeholdtheatre.org



If you're looking for outstanding training in a supportive atmosphere,
Freehold is the place.

Freehold Theatre Lab/Studio
2222 2nd Avenue, Suite 200
Seattle, WA 98121
(206) 323-7499