The Emotional Voice: Past Theories, Present Practice
Thursday 5th February 2026, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM (London Time)
Thursday 5th February 2026, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM (London Time)
Theories of emotion across time and their application to voice practice (a 2-part course)
From the Greek actor Polus of Aegina carrying an urn of his own dead son’s ashes onstage in Sophocles’ Electra (Konjin, 1997) to the so-called American Method acting of Hollywood in the 20th Century, how performers work with and express emotion has been a vital part of their craft and how they are perceived by audiences.
Exactly what emotion is has been a hotly debated topic throughout history. In fact, the first time the word ‘emotion’ was used regularly in literature was the 19th century (Evans, 2019). There are many theories that have developed surrounding its definition, how emotions should be categorised, whether or not they are universal, and how we express them.
In this two-part course, we consider these questions:
How have theories of emotion developed over time?
How could understanding theories of emotion help voice practitioners in their coaching of singers and speakers?
Who is it for?
This course is for voice teachers (spoken or singing) who have an interest in emotion research and would like to know more about the history of the theories of emotion and how a deeper knowledge of these concepts can be applied in the voice studio. The first part of each section will be in a lecture format, but there will be plenty of opportunities for discussion.
Session 1: Theories of emotion, past and present
We will follow a brief history of emotion theories, looking at how the study of emotion has been connected with theology, ethics, art and science. We will consider where we are now in emotion research, and ask whether or not we as voice practitioners need to choose where we land on the topic.
Session 2: Application to practice in the voice studio
We will consider the theories of emotion on a more practical level and look at how these ideas impact our understanding of vocal expression and attitudes towards performance.
🏷️ Price £50 (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
Louisa Morgan
Louisa Morgan is a lecturer, voice teacher and researcher, with a special focus on spoken and sung emotion. Louisa lectures with Voice Study Centre (spoken voice lead) and teaches Musical Theatre students on the MA/MFA course at the Guildford School of Acting (GSA).
Sorry, 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.
Wednesday 4th March 2026
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Wednesday 11th March 2026
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Wednesday 18th March 2026
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Wednesday 25th March 2026
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Wednesday 1st April 2026
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Wednesday 8th April 2026
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
(London Time)
Learn to Coach RP and SSBE – a Certificate in Accent Coaching
Louisa Morgan
This six-week course is an opportunity to learn about both Received Pronunciation and Standard Southern British English. Rather than a course in learning how to speak RP/SSBE (there are many brilliant available courses for this already), this course is about learning how to coach it.
Thursday 5th March 2026
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Thursday 12th March 2026
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
(London Time)
Acting Emotion: Perspectives from the Masters
Louisa Morgan
Stanislavski said, “our artistic emotions are, at first, as shy as wild animals and they hide in the depths of our souls.” Michael Chekhov said, our bodies should be like a “sensitive membrane, a kind of receiver and conveyor of the subtlest images, feelings, emotions and will impulses.” And Meisner said we should be “living truthfully under imaginary circumstances.” Join Louisa Morgan in this 2-part course as she explores a range of well-known acting practitioners to investigate what they believed (or believe) about emotion and how they approached it in their work. She'll compare their work to see where they align and where they diverge.
Tuesday 17th March 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
The Use of Vibrato in Belt and Legit Styles of Singing in Professional Female Musical Theatre Performers
Dr. Alyssa Becker
Shaped by the popular music of its time, musical theatre blends storytelling with an ever-evolving range of vocal styles—from classical legit singing to jazz, hip-hop, and powerhouse belting. Despite its importance, much of what we understand about vibrato comes from laboratory-based studies that strip singing of its musical, stylistic, and performance context. Join Dr Alyssa Becker as she connects current research with real-world pedagogy, revealing how elite musical theatre performers strategically use vibrato to shape style and storytelling, and showing how these insights can be applied in the voice studio to train stylistic flexibility and control!