ktspeechwork.org

EXPERIENCING ACCENTS #9
2017-08-20 - 2017-08-26
A SIX-DAY WORKSHOP IN THE SKILLS OF ACCENT ACQUISITION
WITH CO-FOUNDER PHILIP THOMPSON AND MASTER TEACHER ERIK SINGER

Come and join KTS co-founder Philip Thompson and Master Teacher Erik Singer for Experiencing Accents in New York City from August 20th-26th, 2017.

See below to register, put down a deposit, or pay in full.

Click here for a full description of the workshop. For more about Knight-Thompson Speechwork, please visit About the Work.

Workshop Costs
VASTA Members $800*
Non-members $900
* if you’re interested in repeating a workshop that you’ve already taken, contact us for special pricing deals.
In order to plan effectively for these workshops, it’s important to have a clear sense of the commitment of potential participants. For that reason we ask for a deposit of $200 to secure your place in the workshop. This is due six weeks prior to the start of the workshop, on July 9th. The full payment is due three weeks prior to the start of the workshop, on July 30th. If your plans change, and you are unable to attend, we will refund any payment less $75 if you inform us by August 10th. After that date, however, no refunds are possible. Please plan accordingly.

NB We’ve set things up to make it easy for you to pay via PayPal. Even without a PayPal account you can use their website to pay with a credit card. If you plan to pay by check you can follow the same links, but on the “checkout” page click “pay by check” and then “place order.” Your order will be recorded and you’ll be given information on where to send the check.

PHONETICS INTENSIVE #8
2017-08-11 10:00 - 2017-08-13 16:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
A Three-Day Intensive in Phonetic Transcription
With KTS Master Teacher Andrea Caban and Certified KTS Teacher Tyler Seiple
Join Master Teacher Andrea Caban and Certified KTS Teacher Tyler Seiple online for a Phonetics Intensive from August 11th to August 13th, 2017.
This course will be online only. All documents and audio materials will be shared through an online platform.
Don’t get frenetic- get phonetic! Register below!

Click here for a full description of our Phonetics Intensive workshops.

Please note that Experiencing Speech is a prerequisite for the Phonetics Intensive.

The workshop will be held online through a video conferencing software. The days will run from 10:00am to 5:30pm PDT. Sunday’s session will end at 4:00pm PDT . The total cost for the workshop is $400. Spots are limited. All questions to knightthompsonspeechwork@gmail.com.

Workshop Costs
$400
In order to plan effectively for these workshops, it’s important to have a clear sense of the commitment of potential participants. For that reason we ask for a deposit of $100 to secure your place in the workshop.

EXPERIENCING SPEECH: Part One
2017-08-09 10:00 - 2017-08-11 18:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
This Summer in Singapore, KTS Teachers Julie Foh and Jeremy Sortore offer a three day workshop in Experiencing Speech: A playful, investigative, and thorough introduction to your vocal tract and the shapes of human language!

This three-day session (Part One) focuses on:

Awareness and practice of precise articulation action
The physical actions that produce all the sounds of the world’s languages—”Omnish”
Vocal Tract Posture—the articulatory basis for the sounds in accents and languages

This session will also prepare the participant for Part Two, which includes detailed phonetic transcription and an exploration of the skills of formal and informal speech. (No phonetic transcription will be used in Part One of the workshop.)

Workshop Costs
VASTA Members $400*
Non-members $500**
In order to plan effectively for these workshops, it’s important to have a clear sense of the commitment of potential participants. For that reason we ask for a deposit of $200 to secure your place in the workshop. This is due on June 28th . The full payment is due on July 19th. If your plans change, and you are unable to attend, we will refund any payment less $75 if you inform us by July 30th. After that date, however, no refunds are possible. Please plan accordingly.

* Use the code “vasta” when checking out.
** If you’re interested in repeating an “Experiencing…” workshop that you’ve already taken, contact us for discount code.

WEBINAR 5: Diversity and Inclusion in Speech Training
2017-07-12 14:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York)
Please join Cynthia DeCure and all interested Knight-Thompson Speechwork connoisseurs for our fifth KTS Webinar Series on Wednesday, July 12th at 2pm (EDT). The topic will be “Diversity and Inclusion in Speech Training,” specifically focused on teaching speech in university or studio class settings.
The Registration fee is $10 to cover hosting costs. Please register below!

Once a month, every member of the KTS community is invited to connect, collaborate, and share all things KTS-related. If you have taken the Experiencing Speech Intensive or have been introduced to fundamental Experiencing Speechwork practices, or are interested in this aspect of the work, this webinar is for you! Your KTS questions, solutions, phobias, phenomenons, doohickeys, details, observations, obsessions, and fancies are all invited to the conversation.
Our aim for the Webinar Series is to keep us connected on regular basis, sustain our KTS conversations, and strengthen our growing KTS community.
Inspired by VASTA’s forum, “Things that Work,” our KTS Webinars offer the opportunity for the facilitator to offer up a question and the participants to chime in with possible solutions.

Wanna Lead a Webinar?
We welcome volunteer facilitators and lead presenters for our monthly webinars. Is there a topic you would like to research and/or share your experience on? Would this be a useful line item on your CV? Contact the KTS Webinar Series organizers Susan Schuld and Kristi Dana at ktswebinars@gmail.com to schedule you as a KTS webinar facilitator.

TEACHER CERTIFICATION PROGRAM 4
2017-07-10 - 2017-07-29
Knight-Thompson Speechwork is pleased to announce we will be offering a three-week Teacher Certification program in Knight-Thompson Speechwork in July 2017, taught by Co-Founder and Director Philip Thompson, with Master Teachers Andrea Caban and Erik Singer. The program will be held in Southern California, at a location soon to be named. Sessions will take place five days a week, Monday through Friday, except the final week which may end on a Saturday, depending on enrollment. Sessions will run from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

Program Goals
The purpose of the Certification is to make sure that its participants possess:

A thorough understanding of the Knight-Thompson approach to speech training.
A thorough knowledge of the International Phonetic Alphabet and an ability to use it effectively in teaching.
A thorough understanding of the Knight-Thompson approach to the methodology of accent training.
An ability to productively use research resources for accent acquisition, as well as efficiently learn and effectively model new accents
A demonstrated ability to teach this material effectively and with full understanding.
A demonstrated ability to use this approach creatively in teaching and coaching.

The emphasis in the Certification program will be on individual development and all participants will receive substantial individual attention and mentoring. Participation in the Certification program does not guarantee certification: in some cases we may require additional work to demonstrate understanding and teaching skill. Admission to the Teacher Certification Program is open only to participants who have already taken Experiencing Speech, Experiencing Accents and a Phonetics Intensive*. Prospective participants in the Teacher Certification Program also must have some experience incorporating this approach in their own teaching before going on to Certification.
*Participants who feel they have a strong and thorough understanding of the IPA and narrow transcription may try to “test-out” of this requirement, if desired.

Texts
Prospective participants are required to read and work through the following three texts before the beginning of the program:

Speaking With Skill, Dudley Knight
A Practical Introduction to Phonetics, J.C. Catford
Practical Phonetics and Phonology, Beverly Collins and Inger Mees

In addition to the three required texts, the following book is strongly recommended.

Word on the Street, John McWhorter

This is a lively read, aimed at a general audience, but manages to be a solid introduction to the principles of language change and variety and the view of linguistic relativity that these follows ineluctably from these facts. If you feel you have a strong, detailed understanding of this subject already, then this text is not absolutely necessary. (Nor is it the only text by which you can acquire this understanding—there are several other books by John McWhorter that may fit the bill. There are precious few by other writers that are as accessible, though you may wish to browse through the books listed here.)
The following books are also recommended.

Accents of English, by J.C. Wells
Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, by J.C. Wells
Phonetic Symbol Guide, by William Ladusaw and Geoffrey Pullum
The Sound Patterns of Spoken English, by Linda Shockey. (This is an advanced text, and should be tackled after Catford and Collins and Mees.)

There is a Facebook group called ‘2016 KTS Cert Discussion Group.’ This group is a forum for prospective participants to discuss the reading, teaching, and anything else pertaining to the work. Active participation in the discussion forum through the year leading up to the program is strongly encouraged (though not required). Prospective participants, are, of course, also encouraged to participate in discussions on the regular KTS Facebook group and on the KTS blog.

Program Costs
The enrollment fee for the Certification is $3,000.
Please note that registration for the Cert does not guarantee admittance.
In order to plan effectively for these workshops, it’s important to have a clear sense of the commitment of potential participants. For that reason we ask for a deposit of $500 to secure your place in the workshop. This is due by April 24th, 2017. The full payment is due June 4th. If your plans change, and you are unable to attend, we will refund any payment less $100 if you inform us before June 4th. After that date, however, no refunds are possible. Please plan accordingly.

“General” American 102—Building Skills
2017-07-01 09:00 - 11:30 (America/New_York)
This online class is a follow up to “General” American 101—The Essentials. Don’t worry! If you missed it, you can purchase the full webinar recording and complete set of materials.
On July 1st, we’ll explore:

Some of the trickiest vowel sounds in “General” American
How ‘r’ sounds work when they come after a vowel sound
How stress and rhythm function in American English
Going deeper into the oral posture of the accent
How to warm-up properly to get quicker results

The details:

The workshop will run from 12:00pm to 2:30pm Eastern Standard Time on Saturday, July 1st.
It will be held over the user-friendly Zoom platform. You will be sent an invitation to attend a Zoom “meeting” the day before the workshop.
Zoom will support attendance via computer, tablet, or phone, so you can attend from anywhere.
The full workshop will also be recorded, so that you can review it at your convenience, even if you aren’t able to attend live! This also means you can review the workshop again any time you want!

*For those who have taken previous Knight-Thompson Speechwork accent intensives, please note that this workshop is specifically aimed at actors, and does not assume any prior speech or accent training. Teachers and coaches are welcome, but in order to make the workshop maximally accessible to all, it will be considerably less information-dense than some previous Knight-Thompson offerings.

Modern RP 101—The Basics
2017-06-10 12:00 - 14:30 (America/New_York)
Modern RP is one of the most called for accents in film and probably the single most called for accent in theater.
What is it? The RP stands for Received Pronunciation. Traditional RP is the accent you hear from older classically trained English actors, like Ben Kingsley, Helen Mirren,
or Jeremy Irons. Modern RP is what you’ll hear from many educated British English speakers today (especially those under the age of fifty or so).
Traditional RP is still a useful accent to be sure—often what’s called for in period films or plays by writers like Wilde, Shaw, and Stoppard. But if you’re an actor under fifty and you’re playing an English character in the 21st century, Modern RP is what you need.
The webinar will take place on Saturday, June 10th from 12pm to 2:30pm EST. In it, you will learn specific tools for mastering some the basics of Modern RP accents, as well as clear and practical guidance for how to move forward and continue to practice on your own.
The webinar will be recorded and available after-the-fact as well, so you can view or review the recording anytime, even if you’re not able to attend live.
The webinar will designed to as to be useful to non-live participants as well as live ones. (After-the-fact purchases will include the full set of resources provided to live participants.)
Note that the webinar is not interactive. Due to the time limitations, most of the webinar will be focused on practical instruction in the accent, rather than coaching individual participants. There will be short Q&A at the end.

EXPERIENCING SPEECH #20
2017-06-10 - 2017-06-16
A Six-Day Workshop in:

the sounds of the world’s languages
the physicality of speech actions
descriptive phonetics
the skills of formal and informal speech

Click here for a full description of the workshop.
Workshop Costs
VASTA Members $800*
ANY Union Members $800**
Non-members $900***
There is also a PART ONE ONLY OPTION for $500 ($400 with union membership)!
This three-day session (Part One) focuses on:

Awareness and practice of precise articulation action
The physical actions that produce all the sounds of the world’s languages—”Omnish”
Vocal Tract Posture—the articulatory basis for the sounds in accents and languages

This session will also prepare the participant for Part Two, which includes detailed phonetic transcription and an exploration of the skills of formal and informal speech. (No phonetic transcription will be used in Part One of the workshop.) Email knightthompsonspeechwork@gmail.com if interested in a PART ONE ONLY OPTION.

In order to plan effectively for these workshops, it’s important to have a clear sense of the commitment of potential participants. For that reason we ask for a deposit of $200 to secure your place in the workshop. This is due on April 29th. The full payment is due on May 20th. If your plans change, and you are unable to attend, we will refund any payment less $75 if you inform us by May 31st. After that date, however, no refunds are possible. Please plan accordingly.

* Use the code “vasta” when checking out.
** Use the code “unionpride” when checking out.
*** If you’re interested in repeating an “Experiencing…” workshop that you’ve already taken, contact us for discount code.

WEBINAR 4: Preparing Students for Today's Industry
2017-06-02 14:00 - 15:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Please join Pamela Vanderway and all interested Knight-Thompson Speechwork connoisseurs, for our fourth KTS Webinar Series on Friday June 2nd at 2pm EDT. Pamela will be sharing her ideas of how to prepare students for the realities of our job market with:”They Know the Accent, Now What? – Preparing Students for Today’s Industry.”
To read more about Pamela and her work, visit: http://dialectcoaches.com/
Pamela is interested in receiving your questions pre-webinar! Please use this link to bring you to a google document where you can enter your questions:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SvjPemkTp6eey08kjj3GPIaxO4vqE3fPTmKcuukdR0Y/edit?usp=sharing

The Registration fee is $10 to cover hosting costs. Please register in the Upcoming Events section on the KTS website at http://ktspeechwork.com

Once a month, every member of the KTS community is invited to connect, collaborate, and share all things KTS related. If you have taken the Experiencing Speech Intensive or have been introduced to fundamental Experiencing Speechwork practices, or are interested in this aspect of the work, this webinar is for you! Your KTS questions, solutions, phobias, phenomenons, doohickeys, details, observations, obsessions, and fancies are all invited to the conversation.

Our aim for the Webinar Series is to keep us connected on a regular basis, sustain our KTS conversations, and strengthen our growing KTS community.

Inspired by VASTA’s forum “Things that Work,” the format of our Webinars allow the facilitator to offer up a question and for the opportunity for participants to chime in with possible solutions.

Wanna Lead a Webinar?
We welcome volunteer facilitators and lead presenters for our monthly webinars. Is there a topic you would like to research and/or share your experience on? Would this be a useful line item on your CV? Contact the KTS Webinar Series organizers Susan Schuld and Kristi Dana at ktswebinars@gmail.com to schedule you as a KTS webinar facilitator.

Phonetics 101: IPA for Actors
2017-05-20 12:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York)
Tickets go on sale Tuesday, April 25th.
In this 3-hr webinar, Master Teacher Erik Singer will teach the basics of phonetics and the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Topics will include:
· What are all the different possible speech actions?
· Which languages and accents use these actions/sounds?
· How can we describe these actions in precise physical terms?
· How can I feel these actions in my own vocal tract?
· What are the IPA symbols for some of these actions?
· What’s the difference between a vowel sound and a consonant sound?
· What can I use phonetics for? How do I use it?
· Will learning phonetics make me better at accents?
· How can I keep learning phonetics and improving my skills?
For those who have taken previous Knight-Thompson Speechwork accent intensives, please note that this workshop is specifically aimed at actors, and does not assume any prior speech or accent training. Teachers and coaches are welcome, but in order to make the workshop maximally accessible to all, it will be considerably less information-dense than some previous Knight-Thompson offerings.

Webinar 3: KTS for Undergraduates
2017-05-05 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York)
Please join Andrea Caban and all interested Knight-Thompson Speechwork connoisseur’s, for our third KTS Webinar Series on Friday May 5th, 12pm (EST). Andrea will be sharing her ideas about how to teach “KTS for Undergraduates”

The Registration fee is $10 to cover Zoom Video hosting costs. Please register in the Upcoming Events section on the KTS website at http://ktspeechwork.com

Once a month, every member of the KTS community is invited to connect, collaborate, and share all things KTS related. If you have taken the Experiencing Speech Intensive or have been introduced to fundamental Experiencing Speechwork practices, or are interested in this aspect of the work, this webinar is for you! Your KTS questions, solutions, phobias, phenomenon’s, doohickey’s, details, observations, obsessions, and fancies are all invited to the conversation. Our aim for the Webinar Series is to keep us connected on regular basis, sustain our KTS conversations, and strengthen our growing KTS community.

Inspired from VASTA’s forum “Things that Work,” the format of our Webinars allow for the facilitator to offer up a question, and the participants to then chime in with their solutions or suggestions.

Wanna Lead a Webinar?
We welcome volunteer facilitators and lead presenters for our monthly webinars. Is there a topic you would like to research and/or share your experience on? Would this be a useful line item on your CV? Contact the KTS Webinar Series organizers Susan Schuld and Kristi Dana at ktswebinars@gmail.comto schedule you as a KTS webinar facilitator.

PHONETICS INTENSIVE #7
2017-04-29 - 2017-04-30
A Three-Day Intensive in Phonetic Transcription
With KTS Master Teacher Erik Singer
Join Master Teacher Erik Singer online for a Phonetics Intensive on April 25th, April 29th, and April 30th, 2017.
This course will be online only for Day 1 on April 25th and will be in-room and online for Day 2 and Day 3 in NYC at the National Opera Center on Saturday and Sunday April 29th and 30th. “Distance Course” participants will be able to log on to a live video feed of the intensive. All documents and audio materials will be distributed shared through an online platform.
Buckle down and get your phonetics groove on with other intrepid phonetinauts. Need more encouragement? Two words: IPA baseball. So register below and come and play with us! (Do it. You know you want to.)

Click here for a full description of our Phonetics Intensive workshops.

Please note that Experiencing Speech is a prerequisite for the Phonetics Intensive.

The workshop will be held online through a video conferencing software. The days will run from 10:00 to 6:00, with an hour break for lunch. Sunday’s session will end at 5:00 . The total cost for the workshop is $400. Spots are strictly limited. All questions to knightthompsonspeechwork@gmail.com.
**Prospective applicants for the Teacher Certification Program may choose to try to “test-out” of this requirement. There is a non-refundable $75 fee for taking the test. Taking the test is no guarantee of successfully testing out.

Workshop Costs

$400
In order to plan effectively for these workshops, it’s important to have a clear sense of the commitment of potential participants. For that reason we ask for a deposit of $100 to secure your place in the workshop. This is due six weeks prior to the start of the workshop, on March 20th. The full payment is due three weeks prior to the start of the workshop, on April 10th. If your plans change, and you are unable to attend, we will refund any payment less $75 if you inform us by April 20th. After that date, however, no refunds are possible. Please plan accordingly.

"General" American 101: The Essentials
2017-04-15 12:00 - 14:30 (America/New_York)
This 2 1/2 hour webinar, taught by Master Teacher Erik Singer, is specifically designed for actors. It will teach the essential foundations of a “General” American accent, and is appropriate for Brits, Kiwis, Aussies, South Africans, and non-native speakers of English.

WE’LL EXPLORE:
· The “oral posture” of American English
· The peculiar articulation that is the American ‘r’ sound
· How to master the difference between the vowels in sheep and ship, green and grin
· How to master the difference between the vowels in pull and pool, soot and suit
· How to master the difference between the two different ‘th’ sounds in words like this and thin
· and several other essential and (often tricky!) vowel sounds.
What is “General” American anyway?
Whether you’re a Brit, an Aussie, a Kiwi, or a non-native speaker of English, you need to find an American English accent that fits you and your casting like a glove. So we’ll also focus on:
· how to find your American accent—where to look, what to listen for, and more.
· how to keep practicing on your own (Practice makes perfect, after all!).
For those who have taken previous Knight-Thompson Speechwork accent intensives, please note that this workshop is specifically aimed at actors, and does not assume any prior speech or accent training. Teachers and coaches are welcome, but in order to make the workshop maximally accessible to all, it will be considerably less information-dense than previous all-day accent intensives.

Webinar 2: An Introduction to Vowel Space: 2 Ways in for a Beginner
2017-04-14 14:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York)
WEBINAR 2: AN INTRODUCTION TO VOWEL SPACE: 2 WAYS IN FOR A BEGINNER
Please join Jeremy Sortore, Eliza Simpson and all interested Knight-Thompson Speechwork connoisseurs, for our second KTS Webinar Series on Friday April 14th 2pm (EST). Our topic is an Introduction to Vowel Space: 2 ways in for a beginner.
WEBINAR 2
FRIDAY APRIL 14th
2PM EST
$10.00 (The Registration fee is $10 to cover Zoom hosting costs)
Once a month, every member of the KTS community is invited to connect, collaborate, and share all things KTS related. If you have taken the Experiencing Speech Intensive or have been introduced to fundamental Experiencing Speechwork practices, or are interested in this aspect of the work, this webinar is for you! Your KTS questions, solutions, phobias, phenomena, doohickeys, details, observations, obsessions, and fancies are all invited to the conversation.
Our aim for the Webinar Series is to keep us connected on regular basis, sustain our KTS conversations, and strengthen our growing community.
Inspired by VASTA’s forum Things that Work , the format of our Webinar offers the opportunity for the facilitator to present a question, and the participants can chime in with their solutions.
Wanna Lead a Webinar?
We welcome volunteer facilitators and lead presenters for our monthly webinars. Is there a topic you would like to research and/or share your experience on? Would this be a useful line item on your CV? Contact the KTS Webinar Series organizers Susan Schuld and Kristi Dana at ktswebinars@gmail.com to schedule you as a KTS webinar facilitator. You can also sign-up on our google doc, here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1C6FnXLKMeaXa5XmvdPcnckpiiLhDww8_7KEUXF6LBag/edit#gid=0

We look forward to seeing all of you on April 14th at 2pm EST!
