Beth McGuire: Idiolect
In-Person Workshop Beth McGuire: Idiolect The way you speak, is where you begin Weekend Workshop Dates & Times Saturday, November 12, 2022 – 11:00am-3:30pm Sunday, November 13, 2022 – 11:00am-3:30pm Pearl Studios, 500 8th Avenue, 4th Floor, Studio #412 This workshop will take place in person. We are unable to accommodate observers for this workshop. About the Workshop Vocal coach, dialect coach, teacher, and company member, Beth McGuire, leads a workshop at The Actors Center for the first time with a weekend devoted to Idiolect. From Beth: “For folks who are unfamiliar with the term Idiolect, it is the particular way in which one speaks. In my experience, when an actor is in service to a script there is nearly always a transformation in relation to how they speak. Sometimes it can be quite clear because a dialect is required in relation to where the event takes place. Other considerations can be status, gender, age, and tactical i.e. code shifting.” Over two days, Beth will guide participants in exploring the psycho-physical relationship we have with our own idiolect, as well as looking at questions of how the understanding of this cellular relationship can be liberating in terms of transformation, and encourage a robust embodiment in relation to accent and dialect work. Areas of investigation will include: experiential anatomy, breath and vibration, articulation of phonemes, prosody, vowel and consonant systems and their relationship to each other and finally, the transformation of sound into image as spoken in ‘the word’. Sessions run Saturday and Sunday 11:00am-3:30pm with a half-hour break for lunch. COVID-19 Safety Policies For this workshop: At-home rapid covid test required before each session Masks optional Daily health screening questionnaire Large studio Windows and portable HEPA/equivalent air purifiers About Beth McGuire Beth McGuire has worked as a vocal and accent/dialect coach both on and off Broadway, in regional theatre, and in film and television for over 30 years. She was on the Yale School of Drama faculty for over 20 years and recently joined the faculty of Juilliard Drama Division. Beth lives in NYC and has a private practice teaching and coaching. Her book, African Accents: A Workbook for Actors, is the first practical comprehensive analysis of the genre. Some of Beth’s most recent theater projects include, He Brought Her Heart Back in a Box by Adrienne Kennedy, at TFNA, directed by Evan Yionoulis, and Twelfth Night at the YRT, directed by Carl Cofield. One of her favorite projects on Broadway was A Streetcar Named...

