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Meet Marianne

Voice, Dialect and Presentation Coach

Hello, thank you for taking the time to find out about what I do as a voice, dialect and presentation coach. I'm passionate in bringing voices to life for performances on stage, screen and in the workplace. 

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I started my life as a dancer that was more comfortable with movement than words.  I was always fascinated by good speakers, how they could easily articulate ideas with wit and ease.  I wanted to be able to do that but with many obstacles in the way such as breathing issues and impostor syndrome it took me a while to overcome this. 

 

So I ventured into the world of drama and came across voice.  Eventually after much study at drama school including a masters degree in Voice Studies and a subsequent career in television I found my voice.  Growing up in a diverse, multi-cultural environment I was fortunate to be around many accents and languages and this paved the way to hone my skills in accents and dialects which I teach every day now.

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Movement is at the heart of what I do and it filters in to voice and accent study too.  Over the past few years working with the incredibly talented Stagebox students I have honed a methodology of accent training that uses movement theory and visual art to learn accents.  This sensory approach really works to make authentic accents.

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My approach is always fun and playful.  It's so important to relax and have fun when working on your voice as it is such a personal area of development.  My style is inclusive and nurturing with no judgement and prejudice.

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I hold a masters degree in Voice Studies from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama; BA Hons in Media Arts from Royal Holloway University of London and a diploma in leadership and management from CMI in association with Sky Leaders. I'm a trained classical dancer, actor, singer, a certified yoga instructor and vocal yoga teacher in the Heather Lyle method.



Over the past 18 years I've worked in some fabulous institutions such as the Royal Shakespeare Company, Sky TV, Derby University, Drama Studio London, Royal Central and Birmingham Conservatoire School of Acting. As well as running my private practice  I am currently Head of Voice at Stagebox and regularly teach at London School of English.

 

Voice/Dialect credits on stage and screen include The Count of Monte Cristo (TV series, Palomar), The Children (Nottingham Playhouse), Newark Newark (sit com, Balloon Entertainment), Twelfth Night (Nottingham Playhouse/Lakeside), Beekeeper of Aleppo (Nottingham Playhouse), The Clothes They Stood Up In (Nott'm Playhouse), Private Peaceful (Nottingham Playhouse) Moonlight and Magnolias (Nottingham Playhouse), Boar (Nottingham Playhouse). A Christmas Carol (RSC), Acting Alone (Derby Theatre and Nottingham Playhouse), Hundreds and Thousands (English Touring Company), Larkside to Candleford (Finsborough Theatre).

 

I was also one of the founding UK artists in EVDC, a vocal dance company. During my time at Sky I was the voice of channel 996 for 3 years in association with the RNIB.

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My client list includes professionals from Amazon, United Nations, IDeas, Sky, NHS, RSC, Stagebox, Nottingham Playhouse, Derby Theatre, Barclays, HM Revenues & Customs, Ministry of Defence, British Gas, HSBC, RBS, Societe Generale, Zitron, Ernst & Young to name a few. She has also taught voice to doctors, dentists, childminders, healthcare practitioners, actors, presenters, undercover reporters, singers, lawyers, barristers, CEOs, salespersons, call-centre staff, managers, teachers, lecturers, students and children.

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Books

Training Materials

I have written several course books for voice and accent training. There are comprehensive training manuals for Clear Speech and Advanced Clear Speech which are in depth courses in Standard English for non-native speakers.  In these courses we go into the finer details of how we speak; the phonetics and phonology of the accent and the practical application to improve clarity.  These programmes have seen hundreds of people transform their voices to a better more informed use of the language.

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More recently I've written a series of Standard English Accent and Dialect Courses that are more actor based to help all individuals to learn the accent.  The focus here is on practical text performance.  Here we apply our practical and sensory methodology for complete consistency and authentic accents.

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We also have training books in Presentation Skills and Voice Confidence and Eloquence.  These books work really well to develop incredible talents in presenting for work or vocational ventures.

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My accent and dialect database is an extensive collection which I have researched, analysed and taught on productions, in colleges and in 121s with superb results.

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