MARCH 2010

I’m blushing while gushing because I was named by HOLLYWOOD WEEKLY MAGAZINE as one of the Top 5 Voice Coaches in Hollywood. Look for me in the March 2010 online issue, as well as on the newsstands.

http://www.jacksonpublishing.com/

And I was so thrilled to be included in the RTP.PT (a Portuguese website) interviews with director Jason Reitman and actresses Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick and Melanie Lynskey all of whom co-star opposite George Clooney in the brilliant film, UP IN THE AIR. I was invited to comment on accents in Hollywood, as Melanie Lynskey, who is from New Zealand, does a perfect American accent.

I am a member of…
VASTA (Voice and Speech Trainers Association)
SAG (Screen Actors Guild)
AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists)
ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Television and Radio Artists)

Hooray for Hollywood! Israeli actor and student, Ian Fisher, is thrilled with his film MACHETE JOE’s win at the 2010 SDBFF (San Diego Black Film Festival) Awards.

MACHETE JOE is about a group of out-of-work actors who decide to take their careers into their own hands by shooting a low-budget horror film based on an urban myth. With only 15 days to shoot their unfinished script at a remote castle in the desert (a castle in the desert?!), getting through the first night becomes a nightmare. Egos begin to surface as do the dead bodies.

Ian’s creates a stellar and hilarious performance as Vince, who is unhappy that his leading role in the film is given to another actor. Never take a role away from an actor!

The film is brilliantly directed by Sasha Krane, the nephew of Lee Strasberg, the legendary acting teacher. The film also stars Ernie Hudson and Erica Gimpel.

Most recently, Ian wrapped The Chosen One starring and directed by Rob Schneider. You can also see him in Addicts alongside Michael K. Williams (HBO’s The Wire), Don’t Look Up with Eli Roth, Love Equation winner of the Merit Award at the Indie Fest and Coffee Date with Academy Award Nominated Sally Kirkland.

Ian and I have been working on perfecting his American accent, making it as neutral as we can. Our goal is for him to blend seamlessly into the American acting pool.
Ian is most fortunate to speak four different languages: English, Hebrew, Romanian and Italian and he has the accents to accompany the language. Acquiring the American accent enables him to go up for so many roles that many Americans cannot.

Born in Transylvania, Romania, Ian moved to Israel when he was young. He later moved to Italy and it was during this period that his passion for film became apparent. At the age of fifteen he successfully wrote, directed and edited his first feature film resulting in distribution through local video establishments.



A creative dare-devil, Ian became the lead singer for Nezek (Damage) a popular rock band that toured Israel and Italy ranging from local venues to national stadiums seating thousands. They won numerous awards including ‘Band of the Year’.

Despite Nezek’s success, Ian’s love of acting led him to Los Angeles. With strong acting chops, Ian was awarded a full scholarship to attend the prestigious Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute.

Ian has performed in numerous theater performances including playing the lead role in John Patrick Shanley’s Savage in Limbo, directed by Howard Deutch. His television credits include: Curb your Enthusiasm for HBO, Dirt on the FX network and “THS Investigates: The Original Night StalkeR on E! Channel.

Ian Fisher, talented, handsome and a rock solid actor, is an incredible addition to Hollywood’s roster of young, powerful actors who are taking this town by storm.

Congratulations to my student, Savannah Lathem for her Best Guest Star nomination from the 31st Young Artist Awards. Savannah plays Young Rachel on Lost “The Incident” Season Finale Part II that was nominated for several Emmy Awards in 2009.  

I am most fortunate to be working with this young actress as her accent/dialect coach. We most recently worked on a London accent, of which she is quite brilliant, with more accents to follow.

Savannah is never one to rest and assume she’s done. She pursues her career with intelligence and passion. Her ear for accents is wonderful, as she’s also a singer which makes her ear acute to slight and not so slight vocal changes needed for different accents. Savannah is currently working on recording her first original song with a Grammy Award winning producer.  

Savannah hails from Hoover, Alabama and came into this business with instant success. Savannah heard a radio announcement about a Top Hollywood Talent Agency casting event and stood in line for 5 hours. It was there that Coast to Coast Talent Group discovered and signed her. This is one of the top children’s talent agencies in the country. She received National and International recognition ranking for the Top 10 Best Actresses and won 3rd place in International Dance at IPOP.  

2009 was Savannah’s first year to audition for TV and feature films. And due to her innate talent and charm, Lost was Savannah’s first speaking role audition and she nailed it. Criminal Minds was Savannah’s second audition and she booked that also.  No surprise!

For her devotion to her career and her love for helping people, Savannah received The Outstanding Young Actors Achievement Award at the CARE Awards in 2009. She is very involved in raising money for Breast Cancer Research and hopes to be able to raise awareness in young girls encouraging them to have self breast exams, awareness/education  of the disease.

This young lady has talent, support and momentum that will get her to her desired place in this business and one day, who knows, her dream of working alongside her favorite actress (and mine), Meryl Streep will come true.

This really is no surprise to me that my student, actor Anthony Debaeck, gets swept up by top reps in the city after having arrived in the United States only a short time ago. When this town discovers talent, they pounce.

Anthony has it all, strong acting skills, an incredible work ethic and charismatic leading man good looks, all of which make him a dynamic performer to watch.

Anthony recently signed with one of the top agencies, KSR (Kazarian, Spencer and Ruskin) for commercial representation, as well as joining the talent roster of the prestigious management company, Anonymous Content and DPN (Danis, Panaro and Nist) for Voice Over.

Anthony has lived in Antwerp, Paris, and London and now calls Los Angeles home. We are working on his Neutral American accent. The commercial and theatrical market is tight and having an American accent is key to landing more roles. Anthony is well aware of this and continues to work this new accent so he is versatile and cast-able.

Anthony is one of those rare performers, who not only is extremely talented but his repertoire of languages is extensive. He is fluent in Flemish, English, French and German which is an asset for him as many American film and TV roles are asking for foreign accents.

Anthony can be seen in the current release of The Wolfman with Benicio Del Torro and Emily Blunt, and was most fortunate to have performed in The Queen with the wonderful Helen Mirren.

His many other credits include the U.K. productions, Torchwood, 1066, Dr. Who and Clash of the Santas as well as a stunning performance in a 2 episode arc in Septième ciel Belgique, a popular Belgian TV series.

View his reel here. Be prepared, he’s great.

http://adebaeck.com/adebaeck/Anthony_DeBaeck.html/

Actress/Singer and student, Keke Palmer, wins the 2010 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Performance In A Youth/Children’s Program for her hit television show, True Jackson V.P., on the Nickelodeon Network.

Keke is one of those brilliant young actors who hones her craft and continues to improve and grow. Currently, we are working on a West African accent for an upcoming film project. I advocate to always be prepared and Keke is doing just that. When her first day of shooting will start, she will be 100% on her game and ready with a flawless accent. Her respect for the people of Uganda will be appreciated by her dedication to learning their native sounds.

Keke was the title character in the spectacular film, Akeelah and the Bee, opposite actor Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett. For this, Keke won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture as well as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture by the Black Movie Awards. She has also received nominations for Most Promising Newcomer by the Chicago Film Critics, Best Actress by the Black Reel Awards and Best Young Actress by the Broadcast Film Critics Association. 


She also starred opposite Sam Jackson and Eva Mendes in The Cleaner. In 2008, Keke received rave reviews for her performance in The Longshots, a true story about the first female to quarterback an all boys football team to Pop Warner Nationals.

Keke can be seen co-starring with Kevin Spacey and Robin Williams in the feature film Shrink, which was a crowd pleaser at Sundance.

She starred in the Emmy- nominated made for TV movie, The Wool Cap, opposite William H. Macy. Her performance earned her another NAACP Image Award as well as a coveted Screen Actors Guild nomination in the Best Leading Actress category.


Her many other film and TV credits include co-starring in the made for television movie Knights of the South Bronx with Ted Danson, a pilot for her own show on Disney Channel, Keke & Jamal, and the Lionsgate film Medea’s Family Reunion starring Tyler Perry, Cicely Tyson, and Dr. Maya Angelou.

And if all these accolades weren’t enough, Keke is nominated for the 2010 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards for Favorite Female Actress!

Needless to say, she is a busy and professional young actress with a very bright future ahead of her and I am happy to be a part of her team.

Visit her site.

http://www.kekepalmer.com/

Don Cherry was voted as the seventh greatest Canadian on the CBC’s (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) television special, THE GREATEST CANADIANS.

Many of you watched the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and witnessed the colorful and brash Canadian hockey icon, Don Cherry with his cherry red suit, Hockey Canada cufflinks and his Canadian Maple Leaf tie on NBC predicting that Team Canada would win over Team USA. Great drama on the ice ensued as Team Canada won Gold over Team USA 3 – 2. Not quite the 5 – 3 victory Don Cherry promised, however.

For those not in the know, Don Cherry is an ice hockey commentator for CBC Television. Cherry co-hosts the COACH’S CORNER intermission segment on the long running Canadian sports program HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA, and in addition occasionally adds commentary on ESPN during the latter stages of the Stanley Cup playoffs. He is known for his outspoken manner, flamboyant dress, and staunch Canadian patriotism.

Prior to his broadcast career, Cherry was an NHL player and coach. He played one game with the Boston Bruins and later coached them during the days of the great Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito.

On March 28th and 29th, the CBC will air their biggest and best production ever, KEEP YOUR HEAD UP, KID: THE DON CHERRY STORY. The 2 part mini-series, directed by director Jeff Woolnough and written by Cherry’s son, Tim, is a testament of Don Cherry’s love for his family and his love for hockey.

I was the dialect coach on this project working with stars, Jared Keeso and Sarah Manninen, assuring their accents were spot on. Jared also worked with vocal coach, Brad Gibson, to ensure he had Don Cherry’s vocal quality and tones.

I had to teach a Hershey, PA accent to Sarah Manninen who plays Rose, Don Cherry’s devoted and beloved wife, as well as the actors playing Rose’s family. I contacted a number of people in Hershey who were gracious enough to talk to me so I could hear their accents. Someone even directed me to Rose’s cousin, still living in Hershey, who spent an hour with me on the phone. When the accent must be this specific, this kind of research is mandatory. Sarah Manninen dove in and embodied Rose fully. She made me so proud. And Don Cherry was amazed how much Sarah sounded like his sweet wife.

Canada, watch this mini-series. It’s Mr. Canada as you’ve never seen him.

It’s a busy and an exciting time to be Freddy Roy! He just wrapped production on the pilot, Princess J and Kay. And he signed with Larry Goldhar at The Characters, the biggest talent agency in Canada. Freddy also landed great management, working with Korin Kaplan at Asylum Entertainment located on the famous Sunset Strip in Los Angeles.

Here in the United States for 5 months, Freddy came to me to work on perfecting his American accent, as he hails from Quebec with a few years spent in Colorado. His American accent is now so authentic, he auditions with it and no one detects his roots. He’s really that good. He puts in the time and effort gaining great results. Passion works wonders.

In Princess J and Kay, Freddy plays one of the leads, Mygone, a Royal Page. Mygone is a confident young man and every girl’s dream in the castle. Mygone will do anything to get what he wants and he wants the beautiful Kay, played by Kristen Leanne, the cutie who gets Justin Bieber’s full attention in his One Time music video.

Princess J and Kay’s Producer, Ben Daka and Director, Thomas Santiago, were instantly knocked over by Freddy’s audition and knew he was perfect. And it was important that Mygone have an American accent. Freddy completed this great cast of extremely talented fresh faces.

As a true Canadian, hockey is Freddy’s second passion. He played center for the Quebec Remparts in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Freddy’s father is the amazing Patrick Roy, retired goalie for the Montreal Canadiens.

Freddy’s dedication to hockey translates to his dedication to being the best actor he can be. He continues to study with me and stays fresh with scene study classes. An actor’s job is to do everything he or she can to be great and when they book a job, the job is their vacation period! And Freddy’s goal is to be on vacation as much as possible.

With Freddy’s drive, talent and his great look, this actor is truly one to follow. He better mention me when he wins his Oscar!

Student, Georgianna Dalaras, lands a commercial agent, books a lead role in a film and will star as Gianne in the grand spectacle, Fantôme.

Talk about talent, intelligence and beauty in one person. Triple threat performer (actress, singer and dancer), Georgianna hails from Greece and studied theatre arts at prestigious Brown University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. She is also a magnificent dancer of ballet and modern.

What is especially exciting for Georgianna is she is playing a British born Cypriot in the film, Poets Never Die. We had been working on her American accent, of which she has become exceptionally good, when she got the audition for a character that required her to speak with a British accent. Having a brilliant mind and a keen ear, within one hour of our working on her scenes, Georgianna’s British accent was flawless. Hence, she booked the role of Eleni. She had the right look, talent and accent. The package was perfect.

Georgianna will also star as Gianne in Fantôme, a magnificent film written and directed by Maximilian Jezo-Parovsky. Filming will be in Los Angeles and the Greek island of Syros. Fantôme is a romantic adventure about Gianne, a beautiful and edgy girl. By day, she is the sparkling new star of the fortified city of ManMae, at night, the feared Fantôme, a thief breaking into the homes of the rich and famous. This will certainly be an exciting role for Georgianna and a wonderful experience.

Also, Georgianna signed with Richard Ohanesian, a commercial agent at Cassell Levy Talent Agency. Having a perfect American accent is imperative for most commercials in the United States and Georgianna now has one. She is now extremely marketable, the world is her oyster.

Georgianna’s strong work ethic was handed down to her by her father, George Dalaras, one of the biggest names in contemporary Greek music. He has toured extensively throughout the world and was invited to sing for Nelson Mandela on his birthday. And Georgianna has been fortunate and talented enough to have sung with her father and the BBC Concert Orchestra and the Russian Ossipov Orchestra.

Continue to follow Gerogianna’s career. She will amaze you.

Applause for Clark for signing with CESD, one of Los Angeles’ top voice over agencies. They are extremely impressed with all the accents he has mastered working with me, plus the character voices he is able to do. The more varied he is, the more opportunities he has and the more money he makes for himself and for the agency.

Clark did ADR for his episode of NCIS where he plays a French flight attendant. For those who don’t know, ADR stands for Automated Dialogue Replacement. In film and television, dialogue that cannot be salvaged from production tracks due to technical malfunctions, unwanted ambient sound or other reasons, must be re-recorded in a studio.  

At the ADR session for NCIS, the sound engineers and dialogue editor were stunned when Clark arrived and spoke in his native Seattle accent. They had only seen and heard his performance as a Frenchman and they were convinced he was from France. Naturally, Clark was elated, as was I.

Also, listen for Clark in the animated Pop Secret Popcorn TV commercial. He plays a kernel of corn! It’s a national commercial which is wonderful.

As you can see, Clark’s accent classes with me and his voice over workshops with Tony Gonzales and Kalmenson and Kalmenson are truly paying off.

Visit Clark’s Website

http://clarkkoelsch.com/

I am so proud to announce that my student, Areva Martin Esq., will commence her second year as an on-camera legal expert for THE DR. PHIL SHOW.

After nearly 15 years of public speaking, Areva approached me to make her stage performances even better than they already were. After two classes, Areva told me that she felt her entire delivery had been transformed.

From that moment on Areva was on a fast track to success. Her next step…television. We worked together to translate all that we’d created for her stage performances to fit onto the small screen. And Areva excelled, as she is now known to audiences across the country from her regular appearances on THE DR. PHIL SHOW, as well as national stints on FOX NEWS, NPR, and COURT TV RADIO AND TELEVISION.

This is what Areva says, “ Working with Claudette has been an absolute pleasure. She is extremely accomplished and adept at helping you get to the top of your game. As a professional speaker and on-camera expert, I need to be able to deliver often complex information with the appropriate emotion and effect. Claudette helped me to find the perfect tone and rhythm for my voice and to connect with groups from 30 to 3,000. 

After working with her for a short period of time, I received standing ovations from diverse audiences where before I received polite applause.  I highly recommend Claudette to anyone looking to perfect their ability to deliver a riveting speech or to give spontaneous responses on camera.”

Areva is also an inspiring author. Her second book, The Everyday Advocate, is scheduled for release by Penguin Books in early 2010. About Areva’s book, Dr. Phil McGraw, author of six #1 New York Times bestsellers states, “If your family is facing special challenges, Areva Martin’s new book is the definitive guide for getting the best care for your child. Her personal and professional experience make her the GO TO expert on autism.”

The founding and managing partner of Martin & Martin, LLP, Areva is President and co-founder of Special Needs Network, Inc. (SNN), a non-profit launched specifically to support families with special needs children.

http://arevamartin.com/
http://martin-martin.net/
http://specialneedsnetwork.net/

Watch Areva on her first episode of The Dr. Phil Show here: