Mary Irwin

Exploring the Link between Voice, Language, and Impulse


Dates:    29th, 30th of June and 1st of July

Times:    10am - 5pm

Where:   Coed Dylan Near Carmarthen in Carmarthenshire

Cost:       £150 (Lunch will be provided)

How to Apply:

Please send an email to lpworkshops14@gmail.com, 'SUBJECT LINE: Mary Irwin Workshop' with a brief 'biog' about yourself, a paragraph saying what you'd hope to get from the workshop, and if you would like travel and accommodation recommendations.

The Workshop Content:

Mornings:

  • Linklater voice warm-ups guided by Mary.
  • Group text work - looking at iambic, prose, embodying the language and various other exercises.

Afternoons:

  • Language within scene work - how to get the text to live, what is Shakespeare telling us and how we can liberate the voice from a Linklater perspective.

Preparation:

  • A copy of As You Like It will be needed (this will be our main source for text work). You will also be sent out scenes a week in advance to familiarize yourself with.

Travelling to the Workshop and Accommodation:

For travel and accommodation recommendations please ask at time of applying. We're aiming to organise lifts from train stations or nearby towns. There is an option to camp on the site – which will be free of charge, and we can also advise on a local Youth Hostel.

About Mary:

Mary Irwin is an American teacher and coach of voice, speech and text. She is presently serving as Course Leader on the MFA Linklater Teaching Practice (Voice & Theatre Arts) course at Rose Bruford College, and is a Visiting Lecturer at the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, teaching on both the BA Acting (Collaborative & Devised Theatre), and the MA/MFA Voice Studies courses. She is Professor Emerita in the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) School of Drama, where she taught voice, Shakespeare, and speech from 1995-2018, serving as Head of Voice and Speech from 2001-2016, and as Assistant Dean from 2013-2016. She has been involved in over 100 professional and University productions working with voice, text, and accent.

She is a Designated Linklater Teacher (2003) and was honoured to assist the late Kristin Linklater in two teacher trainings and two Shakespeare workshops at the Kristin Linklater Voice Centre in Orkney.

She holds an MA in Voice Studies from the Central School of Speech and Drama, London (dissertation entitled “Alchemical Reactions: The fusion of Shakespeare’s text with voice and acting practices in contemporary actor training”.); and a BA (summa cum laude) from New York University.