During her secondment in Europe, NIDA Master of Fine Arts (Voice) student Bosilka May has had the unique opportunity of working with hearing impaired actors on RCS’s Bachelor of Arts (BA) British Performance in Sign Language � the only course of its kind in Europe.
Photo: Bosilka (centre, in grey) with Bachelor of Arts (Acting) year two students at RCS
Secondments help NIDA students begin transitioning into their respective industry, at home or internationally, before they leave our institute.
For NIDA Master of Fine Arts (Voice) student Bosilka May, this meant a trip to Europe and a three-week tutoring and observing role at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) in Glasgow, UK. During this time she had the unique opportunity of working with hearing impaired actors on RCS’s Bachelor of Arts (BA) British Performance in Sign Language � the only course of its kind in Europe.
‘It’s been very interesting to see the work that the RCS is doing with this group of performers for the first time,’ said Bosilka, who herself has a hearing impairment and whose interest in working with deaf performers led her to the RCS.
‘Some of the hearing impaired performers don’t use their voice, and instead only use British Sign Language (BSL) or Australian Sign Language (ASL), and therefore the course has tutors who use sign language. They perform exclusively in sign BSL, while others use a blend of their voice and BSL together,’ she said.
‘My background is in movement, dance performance and acting. I’m also interested in using voice work with movement and music, to discover the voice and sound.’
Bosilka has been observing and teaching part of the classes, and has also worked with students in BA Acting, BA Musical Theatre, actors from BA Contemporary Performance Practice and students from Master of Arts Musical Theatre and Lecoque movement classes.
‘I’ve been helping students from each course train and achieve “getting into their voice” through their bodies, using the techniques and training that I have been taught on the MFA Voice course at NIDA and also some of my own methods,’ she said.
NIDA’s MFA (Voice) course has various employment outcomes, including professional voice coaching in the performing arts, and the learning outcomes of the Master’s degree are regarded internationally.
‘RCS follow the Nadine George method of voice technique, which has been interesting to experience as it differs from the one we use at NIDA, but essentially we are all working from the same principle. We’re getting the actors and performers to open up and have greater awareness of their bodies, freeing them of tension in order to produce their optimum voice,’ said Bosilka.
‘It’s been especially good working with Jean Sangster (Head of Voice and Centre for Voice in Performance at RCS) as her background is music. She incorporates into voice classes both Nadine George techniques and her 30 years of musical teaching,’ she added
‘It is really important for me to be on this international placement especially here at the RCS, which is considered to be third in the world. I’m able to experience all the different cohorts of performing arts disciplines and to teach in their classes. This gives me both knowledge and experience that I can take back with me to Australia.’
Bosilka has now moved on to the CISPA-Copenhagen International School of Performing Arts, where she will stay for four weeks in the second part of her European secondment. The school is producing innovative work and training under Artistic Directors Lars Henning and Louise Søeborg Ohlsen.
For more information about NIDA’s MFA (Voice) course, please visit nida.edu.au/courses/graduate/voice
