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Pamela Vanderway is an American dialect coach and vocal consultant for the American film industry .  She has provided dialect coaching for both International film stars and professional stage actors; her clientele includes several Oscar, Emmy, and Tony winning performers. She is known for her mastery of dialect, having a discerning ear, and "unsparing" critique. 

Education and Training

Vanderway attended California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), where she obtained a Bachelors of Fine Arts Degree in Theatre perfomance. As there was no extant Master’s Program in the U.S. which focused on dialects, she worked with faculty at CalArts to design an MFA program in speech studies for actors. (LA Times, VO1)

After earning her MFA, Vanderway spent a semester coaching at University of North Carolina's PlayMakers Repertory Company, and later launched her career by giving lessons to actor friends for free. Her reputation grew and she became a sought-out resource in Hollywood. (LA Times)

In addition to her acting and dialect training, Vanderway has trained in voice and voiceover work,  Automated Dialogue Replacement, storytelling, marketing, and several movement modalities, including yoga, the Alexander technique, the Feldenkrais Method, and [Hellerwork] (VO1)

Methods

Vanderway uses traditional and innovative techniques to assist her clients in achieving clarity and authenticity, including breaking words down using the International Phonetic Alphabet and creating customized dialect recordings for her clients to prepare for intensive one-on-one coaching.(LA Times, VO2)

Vanderway also utilizes unique dialect training techniques for actors including ‘image integration’  -- a technique she developed based on the work of Stephen Pinker  --  which applies theories of cognitive science and language acquisition in order to assist the actor in learning a dialect that will stand up to the rigorous demands of performance.  

Vanderway provides a technique called 'shadowing,' which is an intensive immersion method of accent acquisition wherein the coach is available to the client in a continual, ongoing basis. (VO2)

Vanderway also utilizes a marketing technique designed to increase the actor's personal branding potential called  “dialect fitting.”  Using this approach, she helps actors choose and learn dialects which compliment their overall look and the types of roles they are most likely to play.  (IVC)

Professional Life

While she has been featured in the Los Angeles Times and on CNN, most of her work is performed away from the the public eye, cloaked under Non-Disclosure agreements to protect the privacy of her clients. (IVC cite)

Vanderway writes a blog, Dialect411.com (http://www.dialect411.com), which is a free resource where one can start learning about dialects and how to incorporate them into a professional acting career. (IVC)

Pamela Vanderway has been a member of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association since 1995. (LATimes)

References

• "Staged Accents" Los Angeles Times, March 30, 2003 http://articles.latimes.com/2003/mar/30/entertainment/ca-hart30
• "The Pamela Vanderway Interview: Anatomy of an Accent", Paul Strikwerda, Internet Voice Coach, 2011 http://www.internetvoicecoach.com/public/The_Pamela_Vanderway_Interview_Anatomy_Of_An_Accent.cfm
• Interview with Dialect Coach Pamela Vanderway, Part 1, VO Evolution, June 21, 2011 http://voevolution.com/2011/06/21/interview-with-dialect-coach-pamela-vanderway-part-1/
• Interview with Dialect Coach Pamela Vanderway, Part 2 , VO Evolution, June 21, 2011http://voevolution.com/2011/06/22/interview-with-dialect-coach-pamela-vanderway-part-2/

External Links

Bouffon Droppings (Blog): an Interview with Pamela Vanderway http://trilbyjeeves.com/category/filmmaking/

Pamela Vanderway's Blog: Dialect411 http://www.dialect411.com