Ellen Hartley and Katie Heath

“I had no idea…”

Tuesday 29 April, 19.00-21.00 BST

The theme: Understanding a neurodivergent experience and discussing neuro-inclusive practices in actor training for voice, text and accents. Ellen Hartley and Katie Heath offer insight into their own, different personal journeys as neurodivergent voice practitioners navigating their learning and professional life with a hidden disability. They will discuss their shared research interest of exploring different neuro-inclusive approaches and strategies when working with actors in conservatoire and professional settings.

Ellen Hartley is a freelance voice coach specialising in classical and complex text work. Projects include: eight years with the RSC: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry IV – Rebellion, Hamnet, and Julius Caesar. Shakespeare’s Globe: Princess Essex and The Taming of the Shrew; Crongton Knights (Coventry Belgrade); Becoming Nancy (Birmingham Rep); Of Mice and Men (Birmingham Rep/Leeds Playhouse); and Freeman (Birmingham Rep).  Ellen teaches actors and voice coaches to MFA level at Bristol Old Vic, Birmingham Conservatoire, Mountview, and Fontainebleau School of Acting. Ellen is interested in developing and promoting inclusive practice and supporting a neurodivergent actor’s access to effective text exploration.

Katie Heath is a Voice and Dialect coach, currently Lecturer in Voice at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (RCSSD) on both the BA Acting: Collaborative and Devised Performance and the MA/ MFA Voice Studies: Teaching and Pedagogy Courses, and part of the Higher Educational Faculty at Shakespeare’s Globe. Katie trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), and then at RCSSD on the MFA in Voice Studies course. She was recently certified as a Knight Thompson Speechwork Teacher. Recent Credits (voice and dialect coach): Seasonal Voice Coach at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre (Season 2023/2024); Alex Rider (Sony/Amazon); The Gates (Feature film – Studio Atlantic).