Kate DeVore

Kate DeVore is a voice and dialect coach, a speech pathologist specializing in professional voice, and a personal development coach. She operates Total Voice, Inc. and teaches "Voice for the Actor" at Columbia College.

How did you find your passion for teaching voice?
By running into unexpected mentors.  I had always planned to be an actor, and had trained accordingly.  In undergrad I apprenticed with our voice and speech teacher and became her teaching assistant.  Then I learned to be a voice therapist (speech pathologist) because of another mentor in that field.

What are the most common vocal “problems” you see?
Insufficient breath and/or poor alignment leading to vocal strain and decreased vocal color and expressivity.  There are so many reasons people don’t breathe well – stress, holding in the abs for aesthetic reasons, a subconscious desire to cut off emotions in daily life to name a few.  As breath is the power source for voice, weak breath support leads to a weak voice at best, and vocal strain/injury at worst. Alignment, or the relationship of the head to the rest of the body, is hugely important because the neck is a pathway for the voice.  If the pathway is constricted by postural issues, the voice gets filtered in a way that reduces resonance. 

What’s your favorite beverage?
The good voice coach answer would be water, but the true answer is wine.

Please explain why it is so important for actors to understand and care for their vocal instrument?
The voice is an actor’s primary vehicle for expression.  All of the inner work on emotion and intention is meaningless if it doesn’t reach the audience.  People often think, “I know how to talk, I don’t need to work on voice.”  But actors are truly vocal athletes, so this is akin to a runner saying, “I know how to walk, I don’t need to train for a marathon.”  We all develop habits and tension as a result of daily life that impact our ability to freely and expressively use our voices.  There are so many nuances, colors, and niches available for those who know how to access their voice.  As someone who has always had an intrinsic appreciation of the power of the voice, it has taken me a long time to understand that it is a very un-sexy aspect of actor training: most people don’t fully appreciate it until after they have done it.  Until people understand the untapped potential, they don’t know what they are missing.  Actors are interested in expressing truth, and humans typically express truth through the voice (as well as other aspects of the body).

If someone has ‘da  Chicaago’ accent….how will it limit their casting?
Any dialect is limiting if it is the only way an actor can talk.  Voice and speech training is about increasing options and choices, allowing for greater freedom and possibilities.  Having an identifiable accent means that you can only play characters who are from wherever you are from.  I am a huge fan of dialects – I think the world would be a boring place if everyone talked the same way – and at the same time it is important for actors to be able to use a Neutral American accent as well.  Learning a General American dialect doesn’t mean someone has to “lose” their native dialect; the term for changing in and out of different dialects as it serves you is “code switching.”
For help learning good neurtal American speech please check my website www.GeneralAmericanAccent.com. 

What is your favorite junk food?
Ice cream: peppermint or Haagen Dazs coffee.

What do I do if I need a German accent for my film audition…..tomorrow!?!
This is why it is wise for actors to have a few common dialects under their belt!  If that isn’t the case and you can’t find a coach on short notice, there are many dialect training resources available online, including my own which is available via instant download.  If you need an obscure dialect you can’t find training materials for, listen to some native speakers of whatever accent you need (and again, the internet has tons of people from all over the world speaking English).  You can get a feel for the way they speak by imitating them. See if you can get a sense of the music, lilt, and rhythm of the accent.  Listen for three or four key sound changes and just focus on those.  Prepare as well as you can, and when you get to the audition do your best with the accent and focus primarily on the acting.

Is there a way for me to scream at my husband with out hurting my voice?
Yes there is.  There are ways to scream and yell and growl and keen and cough and grunt and all sorts of things without hurting yourself.  This is, however, something that requires actual training.  Talk to Rachael about a shouting and screaming workshop!

Have you ever written a book on Voice?
Why yes I have, thank you for asking!  The book I wrote with a friend/colleague was just released this month: The Voice Book: Caring For, Protecting, and Improving Your Voice.  We are both voice therapists (speech pathologists specializing in professional voice), and while I am a theatre voice/speech/dialect trainer as well, my co-author is a singer and singing teacher.  So we have our bases pretty well covered!  It’s basically a user’s manual for the voice.  It explains the basics of how everything works, has tons of exercises to improve breathing, alignment, and resonance, and addresses vocal injury prevention (i. e., what to do if you get hoarse or vocally fatigued).  It comes with a CD with exercises and a thorough vocal warm-up. 

What is the tackiest thing you own?
A lava lamp.  Yellow liquid with red lava – the only way to go.

If your house was on fire, what 2 items would take with you?

Assuming my cats don't count as "items," one thing would be a piece of art (not sure which, one of the Asian carvings I inherited from my Dad.) And I can't believe this, but I think the second think might actually be my computer because of the irreplaceable work and photos on it.

What's your advice for an early career actor?

Listen. Watch. Attune. Increase awareness. Observe. Notice what makes actors (and other speakers) compelling, moving and interesting. Also notice what makes them dull, uninteresting, and unconvincing. It's so much easier to see flaws (and, sadly, strengths) in others than in oneself. Awareness always comes before change. Then study everything you can to get as many tools in your toolbox and colors to your palette as possible. Train your instrument so it is available to follow expressive impulses.