Training a performer’s voices

Are there gaps between what prominent voice trainings promote and what the intercultural performer requires in order to 'speak with the voices of the now'? How might these gaps be filled in a way that allows the voice to be a driving dramaturgical force in intercultural work and widen the range of how the voice makes meaning? This essay is a studio-based analysis of pedagogical strategies for working 'between' cultures. It argues for an inclusion of composition training for the voice within conservatoire and university programmes. Using exercises as a starting point for theoretical discussion, the article explores how we might rebuild an understanding of what 'voice' is and how it functions. Topics of discussion include: re-thinking the vocal score, the composer's vocabulary, re-thinking skills, the integrated psychophysical cultural 'centre' and the importance of the role of the mind in voice work. Central to the argument is a new understanding of the method of physical actions interpreted through Csikszentmihalyi's writings on flow. Theoretically the article draws on the work of Zarrilli, McAllister-Viel, Bogart and Bryon, among others. Practical examples come from the author's research at the Norwegian Theatre Academy, an international conservatoire, in itself an example of an alternative institutional model for training the intercultural performer.