The Nature Of Empathy And Its Relevance For Voice Work
Thursday 10th June 2021, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (London Time)
How do we sense, understand, and respond to other people’s feelings? What neurobiological, situational, and sociopolitical influences modify these reactions? In the pandemic era, how have online interactions and social distance modified our capacities for empathy? Can empathy be trained; can it go too far; and does it always lead to helpful action? This presentation will combine research from animal studies, neurology, and social psychology, plus real-life examples, leading to suggestions for effective teaching and impactful artistry.
DEFINITIONS: WHAT IS EMPATHY?
Terminological problems
Three recognized components: Somatic; Cognitive; Action-oriented
SOMATIC OR EMBODIED EMPATHY
Neurobiological mirroring of others’ feeling-state
- Influence of sensitivity to own feeling-state
- Influence of kinship and close social bonds
- Relevance of boundaries: whose feelings are whose?
COGNITIVE EMPATHY
Thinking about, imagining, or mentally assuming how someone else feels
- Influence of group affiliation, moral judgment, and cognitive bias
- Importance of active listening and verbal confirmation
COMPASSIONATE ACTION
The choice to relieve others’ distress, or to withdraw
- The difference between caring and making a difference
- How the arts may inspire action—or not
THE TRAINABILITY OF EMPATHY
- Subjective, experiential training
- Objective, formal training
- How compassionate action can feed-back into feelings
- How screens (virtual world) help or hurt
IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ARTS AND ARTS TEACHERS
- Empathy enhances learning
- Empathy touches audiences
- The importance of self-care
- The importance of community
- Life after lockdown: empathy at home, in classrooms, and in the wider world
Joanna Cazden
Joanna Cazden, MFA, MS-CCC is a speech pathologist specializing in vocal arts rehabilitation, now in private practice after 18 years as senior voice clinician...
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.
Tuesday 3rd March 2026
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
(London Time)
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This two-hour workshop, led by performer, articulatory phoneticist, and voice physiologist, Dr. Richard Lissemore, will examine in detail the role that biological sex plays in the perception and pedagogy of singing voices. We'll consider how parameters such as anatomy, physiology, articulation, resonance, and radiated acoustics influence the perceptions and pedagogical decision-making of singing teachers.
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.