Thesis (Ed. D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Ronald J. Baken. Dissertation Committee: Carol Wilder, Edward Mysak. Bibliography: leaves 62-65.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin, 1933. / Thesis note stamped on cover. Each plate accompanied by leaf with descriptive letterpress not included in foliation. Bibliography: iv leaves at end.

Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2000. / "A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, May 10, 2000." Also available in print.

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Thesis (Ed. D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Harry R. Wilson. Dissertation Committee: Arthur T. Jersild, Gladys Tipton. Bibliography: leaves 62-64.

The aim of this paper is to examine the Estill Voice Training System to explain how it may be used in tandem with widely accepted voice and speech methodologies such as those developed by Kristin Linklater, Patsy Rodenburg and Dudley Knight/Phil Thompson in order produce versatile performers able to meet the vocal gauntlet flung at the feet of the contemporary actor. Students must be able to effectively function as voice-over talent, sing musical theatre, rattle off classical text with aplomb and work in film, all with superior vocal health. Synthesizing proven techniques with the skills presented in the inter-disciplinary Estill Voice Training System, I hope to develop a new, anatomically specific, voice and speech training progression to efficiently assist the student actor discover the physical and emotional vocal ranges demanded of the contemporary actor.

Recent advances in sound technology have had significant implications for the teaching of voice and speech that are only now becoming apparent. As more students become “plugged in” it becomes more difficult, both for the instructor and the student, to communicate, let alone find a voice. We are becoming increasingly addicted to communicating through our devices, rather than through the traditional and accepted modes of the past: using the human voice. In light of these rapid and various new developments, voice training, especially at the introductory level, needs to be examined anew. A number of traditional approaches and teaching methods for twenty-first century Generation Y students may need to be reconsidered or updated. Technical advancements - which are affecting actual physical changes in our human condition - necessitate that the voice instructor be informed by, and where possible incorporate, the new technologies into teaching. This thesis focuses on possible ways to combine and integrate such technologies with traditional practices of voice and speech training in an attempt to reestablish the importance, vibrancy and creative potential of the spoken voice in theater performance. This thesis includes a record of a production that I directed in the fall of 2009: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM 2009 ON THE RADIO and its later Podcast.

THE VOICE OF RITUAL: AN EXPLORATION TEACHING BODY AND BREATH USING THE PEDAGOGICAL PRINCIPLES OF RITUAL POETIC DRAMA WITHIN THE AFRICAN CONTINUUM By Jacquelynn Rae Camden, MFA Candidate A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts Theatre Pedagogy: Voice and Speech & Ritual Poetic Drama Within the African Continuum at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2012 Major Director: Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates, Theatre The focus of my undergraduate training and the concentration of my graduate work have been specifically in two areas: Ritual Poetic Drama Within the African Continuum under the tutelage of Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates, and Voice and Speech with Janet B. Rodgers. I spent my undergraduate years learning and absorbing the material and philosophy of both Rodgers and Pettiford-Wates, and in my first year of graduate work, I was able to study their teaching principles and methodologies within the classroom as a teaching assistant. I was also fortunate enough to study the teaching principles of fellow graduate students within both concentrations: Ritual Poetic Drama Within the African Continuum and Voice & Speech. It is my intention with this thesis, to explain how and why I decided to integrate some of the teaching methodologies of RPDWTAC into the Second Year Voice & Speech course I taught in the fall of 2010, which focused on body and breath. It is my belief that these particular practices of Ritual Poetic Drama within the African Continuum as applied to the Junior Acting Studio are also beneficial in the pedagogy of Voice and Speech in the classroom, because such practices create an environment that encourages the building of an artistic community, personal responsibility, and the freeing of the artist’s body, mind, and spirit, resulting in the freeing of the voice as well.

Voice and speech training for the actor has traditionally defined itself as distinct from the vocal training of the musical theatre or opera singer. The separation in philosophy and practice by trainers of actors and singers reflects the resultant capabilities and proclivities of our performers. Those performers generally sing or act, and if asked, will sometimes do both, but may damage their voices in the process. This study aims to explore and reveal how actors may develop a greater sense of courage and trust, have easy access to breath, find freedom in their bodies and voices, become better listeners and therefore more engaging actors, uncover untold depths of characterization, unearth resonance that communicates easily, and discover the music of rhythm and melody in their spoken voices, all through the use of ensemble singing in the actor's voice and speech classroom.

My first semester pursuing my MFA in Voice and Speech Pedagogy I vocal-coached an openly gay student playing a straight character who would mask his sexual identity in such a manner that his performance became stiff and uninteresting. Rather than using his personal identity as an asset in the pursuit of a successful performance, his chosen vocal tactics removed any sense of theatricality from his performance. I confronted the student and suggested such extreme vocal suppression diminished the quality of his overall performance. He replied, "So you want me to get the gay out."His use of the phrase, "get the gay out" to describe a fuller adaptation of his sexual identity to suit the character fascinated me and led to me to create a performance seminar course that used open acknowledgment of Camp performance styles as a valuable way to prepare students, gay or straight, for careers on the stage and screen. This thesis is a record of the course taught in the spring of 2007; CAMP: RIDICULOUS THEATRE AS SERIOUS DRAMA.