We have reluctantly decided not to run this course in 2021. If you want to find out when and where the next Freeing the Storytellers Voice will be held sign-up here.
“One of the most powerful and and massively enjoyable courses I’ve ever done”
Course Participant feedback
The voice is at the heart of our storytelling practice yet many of us have a pretty meager grasp on how to work with it and develop it. How about being able to find a resonance and authenticity in your storytelling voice and having a range of tried and trusted methods and techniques to build on after the course is over? This is what were offering on the Freeing the Storyteller’s Voice course.
The workshop will equip you with simple and effective techniques and attitudes that will help you tell with resonance and spontaneity, make clear and supple contact with your audience and get more satisfaction and joy from your practice as a storyteller.
This is an experiential course that will transform your performances by giving you the tools to develop your own authentic and embodied storytelling voice in the company of two highly experienced performers and facilitators. We will be working on how we can make our voices clearer and more free and bring the energy and flexibility of your voice into the heart of your storytelling. There will be a mixture of whole group, small group and partner work.
If you have any feeling that your voice may not be ‘good enough’ this is probably the course for you.
Please bring some story material to play with.
If you have any queries at all, just email me.
Michael Harvey has worked all over the world telling traditional stories and leading workshops. His storytelling home turf is the physical and mythological landscape of Wales and he has worked extensively with the production company Adverse Camber touring the award winning show Hunting the Giant’s Daughter. He has won a Major Creative Wales Award and was a member of the 3rd Labo at La Maison du Conte storytelling centre in Paris.
Pauline Down is a voice teacher, singer and composer. She is a founder member of the Natural Voice Network and leads community choirs, holds individual and small group sessions for building confidence and vocal skills and is a leader in the field of singing and health. Pauline also has experience in theatre and performance and has a passion for performing poetry as well as close harmony a cappella singing, most recently on Frankie Armstrong’s most recent CD The Cats of Coven Lawn and the Chalk Circle Collective.
Participant and Booker feedback
Storyteller Michael Harvey and singer/composer Pauline Down ran a superb workshop ‘Freeing the Storyteller’s Voice’. Michael and Pauline work so well together, passing the leadership of the group between them effortlessly…with lots of exercises to promote a relaxed use of the voice and to help an understanding of how the whole body is involved in voice production, as well as group games that brought out the playful side of performance, there was something for everyone, and by the end, many of us had got even more from it than we expected or hoped for. It seemed that everyone left feeling more confident and with new ideas to try out. (Cath Edwards – co-organiser Stafford Knot Storytelling Club)My voice feels free at last!
Over many years I have done many courses. I do not remember anything better. Michael and Pauline’s depth of experience and watchfulness which is relaxing in the intensity of small group work. Very good support from teachers who explained clearly and helpfully. Spontaneity and fun in practiceThere was a great balance between structure and flexibility. A great opportunity to explore the complexities and depths of the voice and apply it to storytelling. A well facilitated course with movement, sound and laughter. Having both a singer and a storyteller as co-facilitators was great. It made for a more playful exploration of my voice and a solid focus on the breath. It’s a chance to step outside normal time and soak up stories in a playful, imaginative way. A complete delight – these kinds of courses feed the soul
The difference… I now have a toolkit for approaching vocal realease, character development and have a deeper understanding of how breath informs the storytelling. I am going away with some specific wide ranging tools that will absolutely help my storytelling. There are too many useful tools to sum up but I feel my stories will be more defined. I understand the need to place focus specifically and have tools to break down my ‘practice’.
Over the time together I could experience my storywork changing, lightening and deepening. My voice feels free at last! Incredible development! Development of a true voice which was freed and development of speaking on the breath.
Excellent course which enabled me to discover an authentic clear voice. I now have a selection of tools to practice with. It has given me a great way into developing characters. Before I didn’t use the full range of my voice but during the course I experimented with placing different parts of the story in different parts of my body – it was great fun! It made me aware of the possibilities of using my voice more flexibly and joyfully when telling a story
A very energetic and creative workshop full of playfulness and useful technique. A chance to work with a master storyteller. A safe place to be playful and light-hearted whilst learning.
Michael and Pauline are brilliant workshop leaders; they pack so much into a short space of time…you feel such confidence putting yourself in the hands of experts.
Participant Feedback
Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions: Michael Harvey Tel 07812 166138 michael@michaelharvey.org
Storytelling at Bleddfa 