Voice and Speech for Actors

voice and speech for actors

Shane Ann teaches a private voice and speech program called Voice and Speech for Actors, at the Pearl Studios in Manhattan, NY.  The program has a:

The Voice and Speech for Actors classes include learning how to support the voice, how to have clear speech (without sounding phony) and how to apply voice and speech work to any kind of text from voice over and commercial copy to television scripts to Shakespeare.

She also does private coaching for theater, film and television and is a Voice Consultant & Dialect Coach on Broadway.



“Shane Ann is in that very special class of teachers that makes something magical of their subject. Her passion and remarkable understanding of the material, the highly focused and individualized attention she pays to each student and her gift of making the most complex language of Shakespeare seem totally accessible is unparalleled.

The program she has constructed is the most thorough and dynamic you will find, completely distinct in its source material and its approach to finding your voice and commanding the text.”Jenna Weinberg

The Purpose of the Program is to:

  • Develop the actor’s voice so that it is sensitive to and has the ability to meet the demands of language – all types of language from voice-over copy to classical texts. A monotone speech pattern or a voice that is nasal, tight, or unsupported does not allow the actor the flexibility to express the full range of what he or she is feeling
  • To uncover the clear, resonant, and versatile voice, which everyone has, is one of the primary aims of the program
  • Classes are structured so that each technical tool leads to the next step. All of the speech work is connected to the voice work and all of the exercises are applied to texts – poetry and prose.

The Voice and Speech for Actors Program Includes:

  • Speech (diction) exercises to learn the correct placement of all of the consonants and vowels in Standard American Speech, to eliminate regionalisms, and to give a clarity to the actor’s speech without sounding phony
  • Voice work to develop a centered, supported voice by working on relaxation, breathing, resonance, stress, volume, and melody
  • A variety of exercises applying the speech and voice work to prose passages and poetry. The poetry work begins with contemporary poems and ends with Restoration and Elizabethan poems and the sonnets of William Shakespeare.



voice and speech for actors

“Not only did Shane Ann improve my speech, but she also strengthened my self confidence as an actor. I feel ready to enter any audition with the confidence needed to make people stop and listen. Joining Shane Ann’s Voice and Speech for Actors was the best professional decision I’ve made.”Bethany Winkels