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Bring Text to Life with Expert Voice & Shakespeare Coaching

Unlock the power of spoken word by mastering text structure, sound, and the deep intellectual and emotional journey behind every line. Kirsten, a teaching associate of world-renowned voice coach Patsy Rodenburg for a decade, specializes in training actors to excel in heightened text and Shakespeare.

Whether you're preparing for auditions, performances, or refining your craft, Kirsten’s coaching helps you bring authenticity, clarity, and power to every word.

Ready to elevate your performance? Book a session today and bring your text to life!

SHAKESPEARE PREPARATION

or how to use poetry to speak Shakespeare

Elevate Your Shakespeare Performance with Expert Voice & Text Coaching

Unlock the power of Shakespeare by embracing skills in rhetoric, breath, intellect, and emotion. Kirsten trains actors using poetic texts that bring Shakespeare to life—helping them crack the code of his language and speak with clarity, intention, and authenticity.

Through her proven approach, students don’t just recite lines—they embody them, delivering performances that are compelling, connected, and alive.

Work with Kirsten one-on-one or bring her transformative workshops to your group or school. Ready to excel in Shakespearean performance? Book a session today!

 "Kirsten taught us to be present and vulnerable and to enjoy playing with sounds and meaning." —participant Orange County School of the Arts

"Stand Up and Talk About Me*"

or how to prepare for diverse American playwrights through poetry

*Langston Hughes, "Note on Commercial Theatre"

Expanding Vocal Training with the Power of American Poetry

With over two decades of classroom experience, Kirsten has seen firsthand the need for diverse poetry to train student voices for the rich and varied canon of contemporary American playwrights. In response, she developed a groundbreaking progression of American poetry designed to prepare actors for the unique demands of the American stage and screen.

Her research explored essential questions:

Through this work, Kirsten uncovered a lineage of poetry rooted in early American experiences. Acknowledging the importance of representation, she collaborated with colleagues to expand this progression, ensuring it reflects the diverse voices of today’s performers.

Kirsten’s approach empowers actors to recognize rhythms, cultural influences, sounds, and structures in writing—giving them the tools to find poetic texts that align with the voices of dramatic writers. Once an actor can identify these patterns, they can apply them to any project, strengthening both their vocal and text work.

She has presented this workshop at conferences and in arts programs at schools. Bring this transformative training to your ensemble or book a private coaching session today!

WHAT THEY SAY

or feedback on the American voices diverse poetry progression

On "Stand Up and Talk About Me:" Diversifying Voice Pedagogy Through Poetic Texts: 

"To work through the progression of American poetry was not only a historical journey but a lyrical journey. We were challenged when we took the deep dive into understanding the rhythm of Dickinson in the 19th century. And we were enlightened all the way to the 21st century with poets like Quenton Baker and the sporadic structure of his stanzas. The passage of time through poetical schemes was fascinating and even polarizing. 

In a way, it feels as if there is never enough conversation or time or practice to fully grasp the beauty and power of language. The body of poetry is like a passage way into theater, performance, acting. One cannot understand the text of a script if one does not practice meter or rhyme in poetry. The structure of poems is a reflection of the narrative in performance. Decoding poets like the modern and nuanced Gwendolyn Brooks or the early 20th century revolutionary Amy Lowell, is the key to performing Chekhov or Arthur Miller or Nottage or Gurira. Without mastering poetry there is no bountiful performance on the stage."

Jenelle Smith, filmmaker & actor

"Before being able to comprehend, digest, and appreciate the work of Shakespeare it was vital to start with old English poetry in my work with Kirsten. It was imperative to understand the journey that English poetry took and the phases it went through in order to pave the way for Shakespeare himself.

But what if we went beyond this? What if instead of just understanding the journey to Shakespeare we also understood how American poetry came to be what it was today?

Often when I think of great playwrights, my mind hops over the pond. What these American poems and progression taught me was the beauty and DIVERSITY of pieces written by people right here at home. I never realized how the same building blocks that led to Shakespeare were also diverging on their own journey here.

By studying a diverse set of playwrights I also understood American history in a way I never had before. Instead of reading lines in a history book I got to feel the rhythm, the heart heartbeat, the life, the struggle, and the honest human experience in a different way.

Overall I was exposed to and gained a whole new appreciation for poetry I may have never discovered otherwise. The ability to study the progression of poetry beyond Shakespeare made me realize the key contributions that were made after him in order to arrive to where we are modern day. I not only read modern poems differently, but entire plays as well. I have a whole new outlook which adds depth and insight to any piece I approach, modern or classical."

Sophia Guernsey, actor