I’ve always been a bit obsessed with accents and voices, and annoyed my brother and his friends by speaking exclusively in an American accent when I was obsessed with Saved by the Bell in the late nineties.
I started dance classes, stage school and AmDram as soon as I could walk and talk, and I followed this passion into higher education where I trained as an actor at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (formerly Birmingham School of Acting) before pursuing a career in acting.
A few years later I came back to my voice obsession, going back into education to get a master’s with distinction in Professional Voice Practice. Here I built upon my actor training and found a passion and ability for all things accent and dialect, as well as building skills in other areas of voice work, and I have been teaching voice at a number of drama schools since completing my training.
As well as teaching and coaching, I provide show support on productions, most recently on Bhangra Nation at Birmingham Rep, Secret Cinema presents Grease, and Fighting Irish at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry.
Our sessions together will always be a safe space for you to learn and practice, and there is always time to laugh and find joy in the work.
Ellie provided a safe, friendly place to work on some long-standing obstacles I'd faced with my voice and brought a wealth of knowhow and useful exercises I'd never tried before.
— Sarah Amero, Actor
How can I help you?
Vocal Technique
If you are a professional voice user I can assist you in working to improve your vocal technique to ensure healthy and free voice use. Using specific and tailored exercises, we can work together on issues such as breath work, vocal health, clarity in speech, confidence in speech, public speaking or vocal fatigue. We can work together to develop your own personal practice and I can support you in finding and freeing your authentic voice. Please get in touch to discuss your specific requirements.
Drama School Audition Prep
If you are applying for drama schools and preparing for auditions, I can help you choose the perfect pieces and work on them with you to bring them up to a high standard to give you the best chance of securing a place. I have been through the drama school audition process myself and now work as a visiting lecturer in a drama school so not only do I know what they are looking for, I know exactly how you are feeling!
Accent and Dialect
Whether you’re looking to fine tune your RP accent or want to start from the very beginning with General American or another accent for your toolbox, I will work with you to make your accents the best that they can be. Using a variety of techniques, we will work together and look at each aspect of the accent from the history and context to the sounds and physicality. My biggest priority is to ensure that after we have worked together you are able to produce an authentic sound that you have ownership over.
Presentation Skills
If you feel you are not a professional voice user or don’t have much experience with public speaking, then I can work with you if you have a presentation or speech to prepare for. Together we will find ways to improve your confidence and vocal techniques and find strategies to ensure you feel confident and are able to deliver your message to your audience.
Self-Tape and Audition Prep
If you’ve got a self-tape or in person audition that you really want to nail but you need some extra support, I can help. Whether that’s working on your character and text analysis, brushing up on an accent at the last minute or if you just need a bit of confidence boost I can work with you to make sure you’re feeling confident and enter the audition room ready to deliver your best work. Auditions can come at very short notice - please get in touch and I will do my best to work around your schedule.
Text Work and Analysis
Whether you want to feel more assured when approaching classical texts like Shakespeare or you want to find more depth in contemporary texts then we can work together to fine tune these skills. I can support you in nurturing your text intrepetation and analysis so that you can face those tough scripts head on and explore the best choices for the character and the piece.