As anyone who's ever sat through a play where the actors don't project, or a musical where the singers are drowned out -- by the strings -- vocal coaches are an underlooked and underrated commodity in the commercial theatre. At least for one night, however, the coaches will get their due when the Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA) takes part in a Roundtable forum sponsored by the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF).
"The Director/Vocal Coach Relationship" happens Feb. 17, 5 PM, at the Foundation offices at 1501 Broadway, 17th Floor.
Expected to speak are coaches Ralph Zito, Walter Wilson, Arden Sampsen, Dennis Carlo and former VASTA president, Barry Kurr. The discussion will center on the role of the vocal coach in dramas and comedies.
For tickets ($5; free for SDCF and VASTA members) call (212) 302-5359.
* Other upcoming SDCF events are as follows:
March 17, 1999: A seminar with Walter Bobbie will concentrate on the making of cast recordings, including, one would assume, those of Chicago and Footloose . Bill Rosenfield of RCA Victor/BMG Classics, and Jay David Saks will also sit in.
April 9, 1999: SDCF will host a weekend-long symposium on directing classical plays. Topics will include classical text analysis, staging and period movement, stage combat, reinterpreting and adapting Shakespeare, and directing classical texts for the "MTV generation."
April 27, 1999: Actor-director Austin Pendleton will appear within the "One on One" format.
For reservations and additional information, call SDC Foundation at (212) 302-5359.
-- By David Lefkowitz & Robert Simonson
