Adapt
Hone
Practise
Succeed
1-1 Voice and Accent Coaching
Is it for me?
As an actor, having a vocal instrument that you can have confidence in is essential. Building a strong, flexible and clear instrument will not only give you this confidence but it will allow you to make a wider variety of acting choices, to be heard in any space, to be more memorable and more hireable too. Most importantly, your voice helps you to be believable and to be real.
Body posture and alignment, as well as the stresses and tensions created by everyday life, can all effect the voice. It may be that when you finished your training you had great confidence in your voice but you have lost this over time. You may have had little vocal training and want to build this up. You may be looking to increase your range and flexibility and the choices that you can make as an actor, or to focus on a specific vocal problem. Or you may need to learn a specific accent for an audition or role. I have also worked with many non-English actors seeking to improve their English accent... I can help you improve in any of these areas, and more - it completely depends upon you and your needs.
What will I learn?
For accent training, we will have an initial chat to set up a timeframe for when you need to know the accent by and so I can learn how you work as an actor. It may be that you want to learn an accent phonetically, through colour-coding, by learning mouth placement and physicality, or through a combination of all three. People learn in different ways and I can easily move between different approaches.
Whichever way we work, I firmly believe that it is essential to remember that having the ability to play is key to being a good actor. An accent or voice is not just changing your voice, but adopting a new character: with me you will explore the physical consequences of a new accent - how your character holds themselves, how they use their mouth, and the gestures that they use. It is essential to get the accent into the body first, and then begin looking at the specifics of individual sounds and mouth placements.
Having worked alongside Casting Directors, I know exactly what you need to nail a role and accent. If you are training for a specific audition, I can also meet with you on the day near the audition location so that you are completely prepared and relaxed in your accent.
For both voice and accent coaching, as well as utilising visual aids/stimuli, colour-coding text and phonetics, I also use methodologies taught by: Laban, Jo Estill, Cicely Berry, Andrew Wade, Dinah Harris, Barbara Houseman, Sanford Meisner and Edith Skinner, Edda Sharpe and Yvonne Morley. Having such a wide-range of teaching styles and exercises to draw upon means that I can adapt to your individual needs and learning requirements. Sometimes it is useful to film the session so that you can see how your own mouth and body are working, and we might also use a mirror to demonstrate posture, alignment and breath placement. We’ll always record your work, so that you can listen back to it both during and between sessions, be encouraged by your progress and understand the areas that still need focus.
What do I need to know?
If you're interested in one-to-one voice over training then the absolute best way to proceed is to get in touch with me by email so that we can arrange a quick Zoom chat to discuss your needs and devise a plan of action.
Sessions usually take place at The Voice Zone's studio in Walton-on-Thames in blocks of 2 hours. However, on some occasions it is possible to meet in Central London (for an increased fee to cover room hire).
There is a small discount available for Spotlight members. Sessions are a minimum of 2 hours in length.
What do other actors think?
Matthew Bancroft
M & P Artist Management
“I found Peter to to be the kind of teacher that engages me immediately. His knowledge is always gifted with direction and has the follow through to get you where you need to be. I got much more than just the vocal coaching and breakdown from Peter, I got the belief in the character and how to relate it to myself, though the accent at first seemed so alien. He helped me cultivate something that was very organic."
Marietta Melrose
Louisa Spring Management (LA)
“Peter Warnock is a teacher with infinite amount of skills and experience. Not only did we work on my audition pieces, but we also tried different voice techniques and accents. It seemed as if Mr. Warnock is one of those great actors who want to share their experience and capabilities with the new generation…I cannot find words strong enough to express my gratitude so I will just say thank you!”
Alejandro Galicia
(now working in LA)
“In the very first session, Peter helped me identify the difference between my native accent and the General American and English accents... We also worked on putting physical actions to my lines to keep the fluidity of a line. We also did exercises on relaxation, breathing, and posture to improve the sound of my voice... I had a fantastic time working with Peter. He was very encouraging during the sessions. He was clear and specific in explaining the voice techniques that targeted the areas I needed to work on to develop a new accent.”