Michael Elliott

Areas of Research & Creative Activity

Michael Elliott is a Voice, Text and Dialect coach. He is the only North American to serve as resident Voice & Text Coach with the Royal Shakespeare Company at their base in Stratford-upon-Avon. He has also coached actors at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, and the Shaw Festival Theatre in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. In 2017 he was the Accent and Dialect Coach on the UK cast recordings of the video game Assassin’s Creed: Origins. He specializes in supporting actors in the interpretation of Shakespeare and classical texts, and regularly conducts workshops in Embodying Shakespeare’s Language at various institutions on both sides of the Atlantic.

Courses

THEA 223 Intro to Voice
THEA 323/324 Voice and Speech in Theatre I & II
THEA 423/424 Voice and Speech in Theatre III & IV

Brief Biography

Michael is the only Canadian trained as a voice teacher by the internationally renowned teacher and coach Patsy Rodenburg, and one of only nine graduates worldwide of the prestigious M.A. in Training Actors (Voice) at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he was a professional actor for 14 years before becoming a voice and speech trainer. Prior to his arrival at the University of Victoria, he taught at a variety of institutions including the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, the Actors’ Centre London, Florida State University, and the University of Northampton.

Selected Coaching Credits

• 2017 Assassin’s Creed: Origins (Ubisoft), London, UK
• 2017 Me and My Girl, by L. Arthur Rose and Douglas Furber, adapted by Stephen Fry, music by Noel Gay, Shaw Festival, directed by Ashlie Corcoran
• 2017 The Madness of George III, by Alan Bennett, Shaw Festival, directed by Kevin Bennett
• 2017 1837: the Farmer’s Revolt, by Rick Salutin, Shaw Festival, directed by Philip Akin
• 2017 - Voice and Text Coach, The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's Globe Playing Shakespeare Series, directed by Jacqueline Defferary
• 2016 Uncle Vanya, by Anton Chekhov, Shaw Festival, directed by Jackie Maxwell
• 2016 A Woman of No Importance, by Oscar Wilde, Shaw Festival, directed by Eda Holmes
• 2016 Mrs. Warren’s Profession, by George Bernard Shaw, Shaw Festival, directed by Eda Holmes
• 2016 Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray, Middle Temple Hall, London, directed by Hal Chambers
• 2015 Volpone, by Ben Jonson, Royal Shakespeare Company, directed by Sir Trevor Nunn
• 2015 Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, Royal Shakespeare Company, directed by Gregory Doran
• 2015 Oppenheimer, by Tom Morton-Smith, Royal Shakespeare Company, directed by Angus Jackson
• 2014-15 The Shoemaker’s Holiday, by Thomas Dekker, Royal Shakespeare Company, directed by Phillip Breen
• 2013 Clybourne Park, by Bruce Norris, Regent’s University, London, directed by Franko Figueiredo
• 2012 Richard III, by William Shakespeare, Globe Theatre Conservatory, Regina, directed by David Latham
• 2012 Our Town, UK premiere of the opera based on the play by Thornton Wilder; Ned Rorem, composer, librettist J.D. McClatchy, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, directed by Stephen Metcalfe, conducted by Clive Timms
• 2012 Les Liaisons Dangereuse, by Christopher Hampton, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, directed by Nick Bagnall
• 2011 Aces & Jacks, short plays by David Mamet, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, directed by Nadia Fall