Integrative Training and the Essential Role of Cross-Disciplinary Discussion

Integrative Training and the Essential Role of Cross-Disciplinary Discussion
Joan Melton, PhD, ADVS

This participative workshop draws on findings and topics from recent studies with professional actors, singers, and dancers, conducted in New York City November 2022 – March 2023. Methodology included before and after videos, a 90-minute voice-movement class, two individual sessions with the primary investigator over a two-week period, and a final discussion of responses to the training. Three unusual topics that emerged in group discussions will be shared at the workshop after preliminary focus on the voice-movement relationship, and shape changes in the vocal tract. Participants will explore “Adjusting to Performance Environments—or Not,” “More than One Way to Be Loud,” and “What is Acting?”

Dr. Joan Melton is a leading researcher in cross-disciplinary performance techniques and a pioneer in the integration of singing and voice-movement training for actors. Author of three ground-breaking textbooks, One Voice (3rd ed 2022), Dancing with Voice (2015), Singing in Musical Theatre (2007), she has taught at major centers of drama and music in the US, UK, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, and is a composer and voice coach for productions in a wide range of media. www.joanmelton.net