Accent and Language: Context and Culture with Eric Armstrong
Wednesday 28th May 2025, 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM (London Time)
How best should a coach, teacher or researcher approach an accent or language variety and the people who speak it? Accent coach, designer, educator and researcher Eric Armstrong will discuss ethical and reliable research methods, sources, and fieldwork that benefits the community and the artists who will make use of data and materials you generate. Whether preparing for work on historical fiction, contemporary verbatim theatre pieces based on real individuals, or science fiction with constructed language or accents, there is much to consider as you approach the world—and people—of each project you work on.
Eric Armstrong works as an accent/dialect coach for theatre, film, television and gaming. He is the Chair of the Department of Theatre, Dance & Performance at York University in Toronto, Canada, where he teaches voice, speech, dialects/accents, and text in the BFA acting program. Eric holds a BFA from Concordia University and an MFA from York University, as well as certificates from The Drama Studio, London; The International Commedia Dell'Arte Training Workshop, Italy; and is certified in Knight-Thompson Speechwork. He has taught full-time at university programs for over thirty years in Toronto, Windsor, Boston and Chicago.
His professional dialect coaching/design for theatre includes work for Project Humanity, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Volcano Theatre, Canadian Stage, Crow's Theatre, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Soulpepper, Steppenwolf and Court Theatre; coaching for film and television highlights include designing the Belter accents for Prime Video’s The Expanse, as well as coaching actors Iain Glen, Felicity Jones, Eric Bana, Kelly Macdonald, America Ferrera, Jared Harris, Michelle Williams, Sarah Silverman, and Tom Wilkinson.
He is a former director and board member of VASTA; he has presented countless times at the annual VASTA conference and has frequently presented on accent resources for under-represented groups. He is a member of the Canada’s National Voice Association and presented on Voice for Devising as part of the 2024 NVA Conference. He has published numerous articles and reviews in the Voice and Speech Review and was the recipient of its Dudley Knight Award for Outstanding Vocal Scholarship.
🏷️ Price £30 (UK VAT inclusive)
🎥 Recording automatically sent to all who book (even if you cannot attend live)
▶️ Rewatch as many times as you like
📜 Certificate of attendance available
Eric Armstrong
Eric Armstrong works as an accent/dialect coach for theatre, film, television and gaming. He is the Chair of the Department of Theatre, Dance & Performance at York University in Toronto, Canada, where he teaches voice, speech, dialects/accents, and text in the BFA acting program.
Attend this course for as little as £22 as part of the Voice Professional Training CPD Award Scheme.
Learn MoreSorry, this is an archived short course...
We have plenty of upcoming short courses coming soon. See details of some of them below or look at the full list of short courses.
Tuesday 2nd December 2025
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
(London Time)
Vocal Health, Well-being and Hindustani Classical Music
Dr Sunny Sandhu
Join Dr Sunny Sandhu for a 2-hour course that introduces participants to the ancient practice of kharaj exercises in the Dhrupad tradition, focusing on the deep and resonant lower octave of the voice. Through guided breathing, slow tonal exploration, and sustained notes, students will learn techniques that strengthen the vocal cords, expand range, and develop clarity and stability in sound production!
Thursday 4th December 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
(R)evolutionary Voice Training: harnessing human instinct to accelerate vocal transformation!
Maddie Tarbox
Human beings and our vertebrate ancestors have been communicating via vocalization for millions of years – those sounds did not start as complex language, but as animal mimicry, acoustic cuing, and emotional primal sounds. Join Maddie Tarbox for this two hour session as she unpicks the repertoire of instinctive shortcuts that can lower cognitive load and accelerate vocal change!
Tuesday 9th December 2025
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
Low Male Voices (LMVs): Development, Technique, and Repertoire
Dr Dann Mitton
Join Dr Dann Mitton for this two hour workshop where he explores the Development, Techniques, and Repertoire favoured for Low Male Voices (LMVs). Typically labelled as 'Bass' and 'Baritone', these classifications are used in classical music, choral settings, and vocal pedagogy to help determine suitable repertoire and vocal roles. In contemporary music, the distinctions are less rigid but still useful for understanding vocal range and timbre.