When I got home from the Voice Intensive last summer, I
imagine I was pretty annoying. I couldn’t stop talking about it to anyone who
had the politeness to listen. And even though I get asked about it less now,
because it’s been seven months, I still have that impulse to scream on top of a
mountain how much I loved it. The more I contemplate my 5 weeks in the program,
the more I am convinced that that time
spent was one of the happiest I have had in my life. And it is funny, because
some of the conditions of the intensive would lead me to believe that that
statement doesn’t make sense. For example, I woke up every day at 7:00 AM—which
is far earlier for me than usual. I took transit for an hour to get to the
UBC—something that would have made me extremely grumpy had I been in Calgary. I
worked hard. I exhausted myself physically, mentally and emotionally for five weeks every day from 8:30 AM – 9:30
PM. The weekends were spent doing laundry, having cook-a-thons, watching orange
is the new black, going to the beach, sleeping and of course working on
Shakespeare. Oh, and I wouldn’t see my boyfriend for that entire time.
And yet, I was extremely happy. I was exhausted. But I had more energy than before. I was constantly being pushed for new ideas and insights, and those came easier to me than before. I hadn’t gone to yoga in months, and even after a full 12 hours of physicality, I often finished my days by going for a run along the beach before I went home. I was being challenged. I was being confronted with my own ingrained self-editing. But more than all of that, I was taught how to breathe.
This might sound really hippy-dippy, but I was happy because I breathed. In every breath, I came to rediscover myself. In every breath I came to rediscover my surroundings. In every breath I was present. And you might think: I breathe already, why would I spend weeks doing something I already know how to do? And I am going to burst your bubble: you don’t know how to breathe. From the breath stems all the work. At the intensive, everything is integrated through the breath and the voice. They look at your vocal instrument as a whole: your body, your voice, your mind, imaginations, sensations. I could go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on about my feeling about the intensive. I could gush your ear off for hours. But let’s talk about what’s unique, and what’s valuable about the program for theatre practitioners.
The Voice Intensive’s faculty is impressive. At the head is David Smukler who founded it thirty years ago. He is one of the most senior voice teachers in Canada and is one of the most senior voice teachers in Canada, is on the faculty of York University's Department of Theatre where he supervises the Voice Teacher Diploma in the MFA Acting Program. He has studied and taught all over the world, he is very tall, can be very intimidating, but more than that, he has a giant heart, a persistence and an intensity when he teaches. Perhaps I cannot speak for other theatre institutions, but I will. You never get more one-on-one attention than at the intensive. Sessions vary in size, anywhere from 6 people to 36 people, but you will never be lost in a crowd. This is scary at times, because the faculty’s bullshit meter is off the charts. You will come to terms with a new understanding of your body, your body and your pre-conceived ideas and ego. And you will resist. Sometimes in acting classes I have been in, there is resistance and eventually, for the sake of time, the teacher will move on. But that doesn’t happen here. You have their undivided attention, and the faculty communicates with expertise, empathy and enthusiasm. What the faculty achieves is creating a deeply supportive and non-competitive environment for all participants. Everyone has his or her own individual process to go through—everyone’s needs and challenges are different. To witness the journey of others is truly a gift, and to be witnessed is another.
And yet, I was extremely happy. I was exhausted. But I had more energy than before. I was constantly being pushed for new ideas and insights, and those came easier to me than before. I hadn’t gone to yoga in months, and even after a full 12 hours of physicality, I often finished my days by going for a run along the beach before I went home. I was being challenged. I was being confronted with my own ingrained self-editing. But more than all of that, I was taught how to breathe.
This might sound really hippy-dippy, but I was happy because I breathed. In every breath, I came to rediscover myself. In every breath I came to rediscover my surroundings. In every breath I was present. And you might think: I breathe already, why would I spend weeks doing something I already know how to do? And I am going to burst your bubble: you don’t know how to breathe. From the breath stems all the work. At the intensive, everything is integrated through the breath and the voice. They look at your vocal instrument as a whole: your body, your voice, your mind, imaginations, sensations. I could go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on about my feeling about the intensive. I could gush your ear off for hours. But let’s talk about what’s unique, and what’s valuable about the program for theatre practitioners.
The Voice Intensive’s faculty is impressive. At the head is David Smukler who founded it thirty years ago. He is one of the most senior voice teachers in Canada and is one of the most senior voice teachers in Canada, is on the faculty of York University's Department of Theatre where he supervises the Voice Teacher Diploma in the MFA Acting Program. He has studied and taught all over the world, he is very tall, can be very intimidating, but more than that, he has a giant heart, a persistence and an intensity when he teaches. Perhaps I cannot speak for other theatre institutions, but I will. You never get more one-on-one attention than at the intensive. Sessions vary in size, anywhere from 6 people to 36 people, but you will never be lost in a crowd. This is scary at times, because the faculty’s bullshit meter is off the charts. You will come to terms with a new understanding of your body, your body and your pre-conceived ideas and ego. And you will resist. Sometimes in acting classes I have been in, there is resistance and eventually, for the sake of time, the teacher will move on. But that doesn’t happen here. You have their undivided attention, and the faculty communicates with expertise, empathy and enthusiasm. What the faculty achieves is creating a deeply supportive and non-competitive environment for all participants. Everyone has his or her own individual process to go through—everyone’s needs and challenges are different. To witness the journey of others is truly a gift, and to be witnessed is another.
At the intensive you will learn many many things, but the majority of the work focuses around freeing the natural voice from habitual patterns, opening up physical space in the body for breath to move freely, syntonics, the connection between sensation & the imagination, speech pathology, and the Shakespeare text of that given year. This summer they are doing Othello, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night & Richard III. You will work on a monologue from one of these plays and a scene with a partner (or two) from one of these plays with a final presentation on the last day of the intensive. I won’t divulge more about what happens at the intensive, because it is best to discover that for yourself and to reap the same amount of delight, surprise and resistance that I did. You will be challenged. You will be confused. But at the end, you will reach some clarity, have an understanding of what it means to be really present, and re-sensitize yourself to your surroundings. You will also be gifted a personal bullshit meter that will stay with you always. It will tell you when you are being inauthentic and you will wish it were something physical so you can throw it at the nearest wall or off the highest bridge. You will also leave with 11 mentors and roughly 25 new friends from all over the country.
Some changes have been made!
When I attended last year, it was a 5-week program but it has been adjusted to 4 weeks from May 17th – June 13th. If you can go, clear your schedule. Take this time to immerse yourself in the work without outside distractions or obligations. Dedicate your weekends to doing laundry, having cook-a-thons, going to the beach and hanging out with other participants! The voice intensive is also being held in Toronto instead of Vancouver and partnering with pounds per square inch performance—a Toronto Theatre company under the direction of one of the faculty members, Gerry Trentham. It’s the 30th anniversary for the Intensive and I have no doubt that the faculty is going to make it a very exciting year! If I could go every year, I would. And if you can't go this year, you should consider going whenever it's feasible for you! If you have any questions about the Intensive, any funding to go there or whatever, give me a shout in the comments and we can talk! The deadline to apply is March 15th, but really March 16th (because the 15th is a Sunday). And if nothing else, but this has made you curious about the intensive and you want to learn more, check out their very helpful and comprehensive website.
