Accents for the Actor

Welcome to Accents for the Actor!

I’m Maggie Surovell (she/her/hers), founder of Accents for the Actor. For the past 15 years I have been passionate about helping actors on stage, TV and film gain confidence while working with new accents, as well as helping them connect to a more authentic and expressive speaking voice.

Now more than ever, it is vital that you empower your voice. When you are in tune and in harmony with your deeper self, your voice and your words are more authentic and clear. And when you are able to access a voice/body connection in your day-to-day life, you are able to bring that same authenticity to your acting.

With COVID-19 becoming our new normal, I am now making available all my services over multiple online platforms (Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, Google Meet, and more). These services include multiple accent workshops, production coaching, private one-on-one coaching sessions, and corporate communications coaching.

Please take a look at the services I offer, then schedule an appointment or tell me what you need here. Together, we will figure out how I can best help you.

Thanks for stopping by!

Production Classes Private Coaching Corporate Coaching Accent Workshops

Production

I am a dialect coach for theater and film available for pre-production as well as on-set coaching. Recently I dialect coached an Angolan Portuguese accent in pre-production, on-set, and ADR for the 2020 Sundance Film Festival selection Farewell Amor, starring Ntare Mwine, Zalnab Jah and Jayme Lawson, and a Dominican Accent in pre-production for Manny in Bottom of the Ninth, starring Joe Manganiello and Sofia Vergara. I have also dialect coached Off-Broadway productions at Cherry Lane Theatre (Bhutan), Theatre Row (Becoming Adele), Ensemble Studio Theatre (Davy and Stu), P.S. 122 (Southern Promises), among others. Regional credits include dialect coaching for New York Stage and Film’s Powerhouse Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, and Two River Theater Company. A certified teacher in Fitzmaurice Voicework®, I also have an MFA in acting from University of Georgia and a BA in theater from Temple University.

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Accent Workshops

Register here for many different accent workshops! Please note that you must complete An Intro to Accents: A Prerequisite To Accent Workshops before signing up for one of the accent workshops. If you have had extensive speech work as an actor, please email Maggie for a special request to skip this prerequisite and go straight into the accent workshops.

Continue to check this page as the courses are updated throughout the year.

Schedule Appointment

Classes

Voice & Text Class for the Actor (On-going) Here we focus on a variety of dynamic exercises designed to open and connect the actor to her/his/their body, breath, and voice. Through this practice the actor will begin experiencing more presence, as well as accessing a wide range of authentic sounds with an efficient and healthy use of the voice.

We will build on:

Listening & Connecting to the self and the listener
A daily voice warm-up using Fitzmaurice Tremorwork®
Integrating free breathing and spontaneous vocal expressivity into your acting work
Tools to gain vocal power and healthy use of your voice during a time of civil unrest.
Individualized coaching for a scene or monologue of your choice

Special COVID Group Class! 10:30AM Wednesdays via Zoom.

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Private Coaching

I offer one-on-one individual coaching for all services over Zoom, Skype, or FaceTime.

Schedule an Appointment

Corporate Coaching

I offer individualized coaching to top law firms and corporations around the world, in-person or over video conference platforms.

I have provided communications coaching and accent reduction coaching, as well as presentation workshops (40 or more participants) to a wide range of firms, including: Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP; Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP; Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP; Andeavor (now Marathon Petroleum Corporation); Perkins Coie LLP; Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP; Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP; Debevoise and Plimpton LLP; American Express; Omnicom Group; and Merrill Lynch.

I currently teach voice and speech at State University of New York at Purchase in the Conservatory for Theater Arts BFA Acting Program. I have also taught at Circle in the Square, Rutgers University, Sarah Lawrence College, the University of Georgia, and Yale Summer Session. I studied voice and speech as an intern at the Yale School of Drama, earned a B.A from Temple University, and my M.F.A. in Acting from the University of Georgia with a focus in voice, speech and dialects. I am a certified associate teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework®.

To learn more, contact Dianne Rosky at [email protected].