The Spoken Word
It’s time to be heard!
“Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning.” — Maya Angelou (1928 - 2014)
Public Speaking and Social Interaction
For corporate customers and individual professionals
Good verbal communication and presentation skills is vital for being successful in business. I provide professional services to corporate customers to enable their management and employees to improve their presentation and communication skills. I can help you or your employees to develop the skills to interact confidently and successfully with clients and colleagues.
My clients include individual business professionals as well as large international companies such as Cisco Systems.
Classes for Professional Actors and Aspiring Actors
These classes are for acting students and professional actors, focusing on voice, breathing, body language and movement, presentation, cold reading, audition pieces, improvisation and basic acting techniques, such as character motivation and finding truth in the text.
I prepare actors for auditions and coach them for roles. I mainly work with people individually, but I also do group classes on occasion.
Public Speaking for Non-Actors
I also offer individual classes to non-actors. These are designed for people who want to improve their Public Speaking abilities. They help people to overcome shyness in social situations, to gain confidence, to give effective presentations, to deliver a speech, and to impress at interviews. The lessons improve vocal range, posture and focus, and can address strong accents or other voice problems that affect clarity. Crisis of confidence? Contact me for help!
“For the only way one can speak of nothing is to speak of it as though it were something.”
- Samuel Beckett
For Children: Theatre and Communication Development
I teach drama to children in schools and summer camps. My method of teaching drama is unique. After a period of getting to know the students with drama exercises and theatre games, I write a play with a role for each one in the class. The plays have simplicity, humour and depth. Some are based on myths and folk tales, while others are original stories with a fairy tale quality. I have a wide repertoire of plays already written. Costumes are put together imaginatively and cheaply, and there is sometimes some set painting to create a backdrop that highlights the action of the play. Teamwork is emphasized; there are no "auditions" and no "stars." No stage or theatre is necessary. The play can take place in a room, in a garden, even in the street. The result is a lively production in which every student shines, and a taste of theatre the young actors will never forget.
Testimonial
“After a series of career setbacks, I had lost confidence, lacked presence and had given up. I hired Joyce as a 'drama coach' to help me work on my appearance, presentation style, presence and affect. This gave me the confidence to keep going in my career search. Eventually I was able to embark on a new career. I attribute this in a large degree to the drama coaching I received by working with Joyce.”
— Loren (San Jose, CA)