Julio Agustin (Hons), 2017, is a director/choreographer who has performed in the Broadway companies of Fosse, Steel Pier, Never Gonna Dance, Bells Are Ringing, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and Chicago. His book, The Professional Actor's Handbook: From Casting Call to Curtain Call, was released by Rowman & Littlefield in 2017. Award nominations: Audelco Award, Best Director (Sweet Charity @ New Haarlem Arts Theatre, NYC); Syracuse Area Live Theatre, Best Choreographer (In the Heights @ Hangar Theatre); the Shelfer Eminent Scholar Chair from the Florida State University. Julio holds a Bachelor of Music, Florida State; MFA in Directing, Penn State; and is currently an Associate Professor and Director of Music Theatre at Elon University. Member: SDC, AEA, SAG-AFTRA, ATHE (www.julioagustin.com).
Practitioners
Zac Bradford (Hons), 2015, is an Australian singing teacher. He holds an Advanced Certificate in Vocal Pedagogy from New York University, where he was mentored by Dr. Brian Gill, and a MMusSt (Voice Pedagogy), GDipMus, and BMus (Jazz Voice) from QLD Conservatorium of Music (Australia). He worked as Adjunct Faculty in Voice at NYU Steinhardt, and as a Voice Teacher Associate at New York Vocal Coaching. Zac recently returned to Australia, where he manages and teaches voice at New York Vocal Coaching AUSTRALIA, the first international branch of NYVC. He also works as sessional staff at Griffith University, Queensland Conservatorium, teaching voice in the Jazz Department. On stage, he has worked professionally as a gig singer, performing in a wide variety of styles, ranging from Jazz to Pop and various other mediums in the contemporary music genre. Zac is passionate about seeking a holistic, integrative, evidence-based approach to voice training, where detailed scientific information is mindfully linked with practical application. Zac has been published in the Fusion Journal (2019), and his research with Dr. Joan Melton and Jessica Lee was published in the Journal of Voice (2020, 2021). http://australia.newyorkvocalcoaching.com/
I Putu Budiawan (Hons), 2014, is a Senior Lecturer in Theatre (Acting) at Victoria College of the Arts, University of Melbourne, Australia. Formerly Head of Voice and Speech at Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore, he is a Certified Integrative Studies Practitioner, an Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework®, an UNESCO Designated Master Teacher of Maskwork, the first African American Ceremonial Mask Dancer of Bali, and a member of the Asian Pacific Bureau. He teaches Mask Work, Fitzmaurice Voicework®, Michael Chekhov, Clown, Viewpoints, and Grotowski Technique. He coached Michelle Williams for her Academy Award nominated performance in Ang Lee's movie Brokeback Mountain. He is a PhD candidate at Goldsmiths University of London and will complete the degree at University of Melbourne.
Kristen Calgaro (Hons), 2020, is a New York-based actor, director and educator. A proud member of AEA and an Associate Artist with NY Classical Theatre, her recent NYC acting credits include The Importance of Being Earnest (NYCT) and Mourning Becomes Electra (Target Margin Theater, NYT Critics’ Pick). Kristen has directed for New York Theater Festival, Amios’ SHOTZ! series, and RULE OF at The TANK. She has a background in dance, yoga, and meditation, and is passionate about healing the nervous system to make space for more authentic communication. Kristen believes that mindfulness of the body and breath empowers us to use our voices more truthfully, both as artists and as human beings. She is an academic tutor with Compass Education Group and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Virginia with a BA in Religious Studies and Spanish. www.kristencalgaro.com
Sammi Grant (Hons) 2015, she/her/hers, is a Chicago-based dialect/vocal coach and voice/speech teacher. Chicago theatres she has worked with include: Goodman Theatre, Timeline Theatre, Drury Lane, Porchlight Music Theatre, Gift Theatre, Windy City Playhouse, First Folio Theatre, Rivendell Theatre, and many more. Film/TV credits
include: Rescued by Ruby (Netflix); Patriot (Amazon Prime); The Exorcist (Fox). Sammi is a professor of voice/speech for The Theatre School at DePaul University, Illinois Wesleyan University, and Access Acting Academy. She holds an MFA, with Distinction, in Voice Studies from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, London. Sammi is a proud member of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA), where she served on the Junior Board and 2021 Conference Planning Team, and is currently a member of the EDIA+ Committee and the Educore Leadership Team. www.sammigrant.com
Crystal Hanson (Hons) 2021, is located in St. Albert, Alberta, Canada. She runs a private voice studio and has been teaching private and group classes for 25 years. She also teaches musical theatre classes for the Foote Theatre School, Citadel Theatre in Edmonton. Crystal toured throughout Western Canada in musicals and worked on the original production of The Caravan, which was written and produced in Prague, Czech Republic. She toured with the Alberta Opera for four seasons and played a major role in creating/directing its Artist in Residency Program. Crystal is currently completing a Masters in Voice Pedagogy from the University of Wales and has recently launched a new voice work and coaching service, Voice Body Works. She is a member of local Edmonton show bands The Scoundrels and Dash Rip Rock and is thrilled to have completed her One Voice Certification!
James Harrison (Hons), 2014 is an Australian theatre maker, writer, and in-demand performance coach based in Tasmania. He teaches voice at Launceston College, is a teacher/director for the Launceston Youth Theatre Ensemble, and coaches on the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts' (WAAPA) summer programs. He is a proud graduate of The University of Tasmania's School of Visual and Performing Arts and a certified practitioner in Integrative Studies (Hons), One Voice Centre for Integrative Studies, New York. James also has his own recognized approach to actor training that has been taught both interstate and overseas. His ongoing practice suggests that many of the exigencies of performance could be addressed by implementing key elements of Kendo, a Japanese martial art, and he has devised a series of exercises that explore those concepts. Pivotal to the approach is the idea that increasing demands on vocalization in training prepares the performer for easier vocalization in performance. https://youtu.be/wKq2uR4RLs8
Dr. Robert Lewis (Hons), 2017, is a Lecturer in Acting for Stage and Screen at the School of Communication and Creative Industries, Charles Sturt University in New South Wales, Australia. From 2004 – 2016, he lectured in the Theatre Program at Tasmanian College of the Arts, University of Tasmania (UTAS). He is a graduate of UTAS (BPA and PhD), Monash University (BA Hons), RMIT (Education), and NIDA (Grad. Dip. Dramatic Art - Voice Studies). His PhD focused on intercultural performance training aesthetics and integrative practices. He is a director, theatre maker, and voice/movement teacher who is passionate about integrating voice with various movement and physical theatre practices. He has trained both in the Suzuki Method and in Butoh. Robert has published theatre performances and training films through Contemporary Arts Media (Artfilms), and has written academic articles on the subject of voice/movement integration. He is Director of the Voice Theatre Lab and its associated company, Persona Collective, a performance group focusing on integrative practice and research.
Maggie Marino-Pitts (Hons), 2016, is a musical theatre performer originally from the Boston area. The past two years, she has been teaching dance at Wagner College and serving as Resident Choreographer in the Theatre Department. At Wagner she choreographed and staged A Chorus Line (2016) under the direction of Michele Pawk, and co-choreographed Cats with director and Head of Dance Rusty Curcio (2015). Maggie holds a Masters with Distinction in Musical Theatre Performance from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and was in the national tour of The Addams Family 2013 – 14.
Tyler McKenzie (Hons), 2020, is an actor and singer from Allentown, Pennsylvania. He was born with a love of storytelling and made his stage debut at nine years old in a production of A Christmas Carol. He also loved acting for the camera and collaborated with fellow creatives in the production of short films. Tyler pursued a theatre degree at DeSales University, where he got the chance to work with M. Night Shyamalan as a stand-in on the film Glass. That experience inspired him to travel to California to meet other actors and teachers in the film industry. Now back on the East Coast, Tyler studies with Mary Saunders-Barton, US (singing), Joan Melton, US, who heads the One Voice Course, and Mel Churcher, UK (acting). Select credits range from music theatre to national cable TV. Tyler has a special love for Disney, a passion for Star Wars, and worked for The Walt Disney Company as a character in the Star Wars-themed land Galaxy’s Edge. When he is not acting, Tyler can be found developing creative projects and playing with Legos (no, seriously...). He seeks to inspire people to dream, cultivating the power of imagination through storytelling on stage and screen. www.thetylermckenzie.com
Amanda Wansa Morgan, 2014, is an Atlanta-based music director, composer, director, and actor serving as Coordinator of Musical Theatre and Associate Professor at Kennesaw State University, where she teaches musical theatre performance, voice, acting, and musical theatre history and literature. At KSU, she has directed Ragtime, Heathers, A Man of No Importance, and music directed Bring It On, and Thumbelina (world premiere). Amanda was previously on faculty at The University of Mississippi, Director of Music Education, Charleston Stage, and music director at Alliance Theatre, Six Flags Over Georgia, Atlanta Lyric Theatre, Jennie T. Anderson Theatre, Actor’s Express (2018 Suzi Bass Award for Outstanding Music Direction of The Color Purple), Synchronicity Theater, and others. Amanda has an MFA in Acting from The University of Central Florida and degrees in Music and Theatre from Florida State University. She holds a Certificate of Figure Proficiency, Estill Voice Systems, is Secretary to the Executive Committee, Musical Theatre Educators Alliance (MTNA) until 2022, and is author of “Women in CCM” (Contemporary Commercial Music) in the Rowan & Littlefield book, So You Want to Sing Music by Women. www.amandawansamorgan.com
Erica Northcott, 2014, Canadian soprano, is an active performer in choral, early music, oratorio, operetta, musical theatre, contemporary theatre and commercial music. She has worked in North and South America, Europe and Japan, and is a member of EnChor and the Phoenix Chamber Choir. Erica is Head of Voice for the Music Department at Douglas College, Westminster, and is certified in Somatic Voicework™ the LoVetri Method. A graduate of the University of British Columbia, she is a member of NATS and ACTRA, adjudicates at festivals throughout western Canada, teaches privately, and leads a variety of workshops for singers.
Sara Paar, 2014, soprano, is an enthusiastic performer of contemporary classical music, opera, vocal dance, and music theatre. Hailed as “astonishing,” Dr. Paar is a favorite with composers and has performed both traditional and new works with ensembles in the US, including Ensemble 365, One World Symphony, and The Choral Society of the Hamptons. Recent performances and recordings include works by Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, Marga Richter, Roscoe Mitchell, and Clarice Assad. Originally from Wisconsin, Sara recently completed her doctorate in music at The Graduate Center, City University of New York. Her dissertation, inspired by work with Joan Melton, investigates the neurology of speaking and singing and the impact that knowledge has on the technique of Sprechstimme and other speech-song techniques. www.sarapaar.com
Nick Salamone (Hons), 2020, is the author of twelve multi-award winning full-length plays. He has acted in almost eighty productions of plays in NYC Off and Off Off Broadway, in Los Angeles and the United Kingdom and is the recipient of the Playwrights’ Arena Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Los Angeles Theatre Community. He balances his love of the classical canon with his passion for new works, modern masterpieces and the avant garde. He has been nominated for Britain’s Stage Award as Best Actor at the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival, as well as the LA Weekly Award, four times for the BSW Garland Award, and most recently won the NYC Summerfest Best Actor Award. He is an associate artist with Playwrights’ Arena and with New York Classical Theatre where he has performed in 15 productions. He graduated summa cum laude, phi beta kappa, from Tufts University with dual degrees in Drama and English, studied for seven years at HB Studios, and has been taught by Joan Melton, Patsy Rodenberg, Alfred Molina, Geraldine Page and Steven Strimpell.
Noémi Sárog (Hons) 2021, is a Los Angeles-based Hungarian actress, singer and dancer. She studied classical music (piano and singing) and acting in Hungary, then transferred to Atlantic Acting School Full-time Conservatory from where she graduated in 2018. Since then, she has been studying voice with Francine Zerfas and Joan Melton. Noémi originated the role of Alma in the world premiere musical Captain Filthy Fred at La Mama Summer Program (Pilvax Productions). You can hear her sing as the Songstress, an opera singer, in Enoptromancy, or When We Meet As One, a film by Michael Seebold. She recently produced Algorithm, an audio drama podcast with her theatre company: Floor Five Theatre Co, and is currently working on a new audio book: Things that Go Bump in the Night. Noémi is very grateful to be part of the One Voice Practitioner community. Her mantra is: Share the love, share the knowledge. Follow her on social media: @noemisarog. www.noemisarog.com
Elizabeth Smith (Hons), 2017, is a Theatre Arts educator in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She is a Certified Margolis Teacher and a One Voice Practitioner. She teaches acting and musical theatre courses at Parkland High School and serves on the Pennsylvania State International Thespian Board. Elizabeth has worked on over seventy-five high school and community productions, serving as director, choreographer, and costumer, and is passionate about integrating voice and movement in the classroom. She is excited now to move to Tampa, Florida (2021) to pursue new and exciting endeavors in the classroom and on the stage.
Jennifer Spencer (Hons), 2014, is an Edmonton-based Actor, Director, Playwright, and Voice/Text Coach. A multiple Sterling nominee for her work as actor, director, and playwright, she is the adaptor and director of the wildly successful Maggie-Now Cycle of Plays. Jennifer is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada and the Theatre Arts Program of MacEwan University. Her article, Performance Arts Training in the Era of #metoo, won Forum Article of the Year from the Voice And Speech Trainers Association (VASTA) in 2019. Jennifer is a sessional faculty member of the Theatre Arts Program, MacEwan University, where in 2019, she was nominated for a Distinguished Teaching Award. She also teaches at the Foote Theatre School, Citadel Theatre, and for St. Alberts Children’s Theatre School, while maintaining a small roster of private voice clients. Jennifer’s most recent play, Enchanted Antlers, received a 2019 Edmonton Community Foundation grant that allowed it to tour to elementary schools in the Northend of Edmonton. In the winter of 2020, Jennifer brought an online and interactive version of the play to Alberta schools and senior centres via remote hosting and pre-recorded video. That can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJTF1vj19wQ
Caitlyn Stirling, 2017, is an aspiring Australian voice practitioner. She regularly works both on and off stage with theatre companies in Tasmania. Theatre credits range from directing and technical design to leading roles in musicals and classical theatre. Caitlyn is a graduate of Tasmanian College of the Arts, UTAS, Launceston, with a Bachelor of Contemporary Arts and an Honours Degree in Theatre. She is particularly passionate about heavy metal music, and is in process of exploring metal screaming as it relates to a range of theatre genres.
Petra Valman (Hons), 2020, is an opera singer, speech and language therapist, voice teacher, entertainer and project manager in Sweden. She is a freelance creative coloratura soprano who integrates singing, acting and movements in her opera projects on stage. She also manages her own artistic projects and has sung opera roles including Violetta, Poppea and Gretchen. Petra has written two librettos herself—about motherhood and about loneliness—in operas for children. She also sings other genres, like jazz, musical theatre and ballads. In the field of teaching, Petra gives courses on breathing techniques, singing technique, articulation, and voice and movement for both adults and children. She is an experienced speech and language therapist, treating children with acquired brain injuries and with developmental language disorders. petravalman.se
Janet Van Wess, 2017, teaches four comprehensive levels of acting and theatre arts in a suburb of Portland, Oregon. A native New Yorker, prior to beginning her teaching career Janet worked professionally in several genres of theatre performance in New York, Chicago and Portland. She is excited to continue her education in voice, acting and movement as she prepares to leave the realm of public education and return to private and professional endeavors.
Jack Wallace (Hons), 2015, is an English voice practitioner specializing in dialect and classical text. Jack received his BA in Drama and Ethnomusicology from Queen’s University, Belfast, and MA in Professional Voice Practice from Birmingham School of Acting. These studies are part of a life-long journey of discovery of the different aspects of voice and performance. Now based in Los Angeles, he focuses on Dialect coaching and Voiceover and is always looking for ways to help actors connect with an accent to create a full body experience that can enhance and inform their performance. His special interest lies in working on Verbatim Theatre and Biographic performances—helping actors to re-create voices of "real people.” www.voicecoachjack.com
Colton Weiss (Hons) 2021, is an adjunct professor and freelance voice, speech, and dialect coach based in Columbus, Ohio, with research interests around musical theatre and dialect coaching integration. He has presented at ATHE and published with the Voice and Speech Review. Teaching credits include Harvard University, Ohio State University, Capital University, and Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Favorite coaching credits include Violet the Musical (ART/Oberon), Matilda the Musical (Weathervane Playhouse), and The Winter’s Tale (Tecumseh Drama). Colton is a proud graduate of the A.R.T. Institute at Harvard University and a member of VASTA. www.coltonweiss.com