For those who will hire and evaluate the voice and speech professional:

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1 Voice And Speech Trainers Association, Inc. VASTA Promotion, Tenure and Hiring Resources INTRODUCTION The Voice and Speech Trainers Association (hereafter referred to as VASTA) offers a number of documents which can be used by its members and the institutions they serve to facilitate effective hiring and retention of the voice and speech professional. A career-long relationship represents a major investment for both the voice and speech professional and the institution: a commitment of knowledge, talent and energy on the part of the voice and speech professional and a commitment of financial support and protection of the voice and speech professional s academic freedom on the part of the institution. In order to facilitate the evaluation process, VASTA offers a range of documents and services focused on different needs : For those who wish to enter the voice and speech profession: Guidelines for the Preparation of Voice and Speech Teachers suggest a range of areas for study and personal development for the person who desires a career as a professional voice and speech teacher for performing artists For those who will hire and evaluate the voice and speech professional: Typical Job Responsibilities provides contexts and information to help identify the skilled voice and speech professional Evaluation Guidelines provides information about the sorts of teaching, creative and service activities in which a voice and speech professional might engage and how they might be measured Recommended Models for Evaluating Teaching, Creative and Service Activities of the Voice and Speech Teacher/Artist for Promotion and Tenure offers a checklist of procedures for evaluating the voice and speech professional for promotion and tenure VASTA s Professional Index lists VASTA members and describes their professional orientations. These voice and speech professionals might serve as additional resources in the evaluation or mentoring processes VASTA: Promotion, Tenure and Hiring Resources Revised

2 For the voice and speech professional seeking a successful promotion and tenure: VASTA Mentoring Program matches those willing to support the growth and development of new voice and speech trainers and those in need of a mentor Papers of Related Interest: Are You On the Promotion and Tenure Track? Documentation Suggestions on the Creation of a Teaching Dossier Some Questions to Consider Before Accepting a Tenure Track Position VASTA recognizes that a voice and speech educator might assume additional responsibilities (i.e., in the areas of movement, acting, directing, etc.) depending upon the individual s expertise and the department s size and particular needs. These guidelines and models apply only to the faculty member s responsibilities as voice and speech professional. It is expected that individual institutions, departments, and promotion and tenure committees will recognize that additional duties require the application of other specialized means of assessment. All institutions, departments and faculty members are urged to adapt these guidelines and models to serve their specific missions. Departments are urged to determine and record before promotion and tenure consideration and preferably at hire what shall constitute qualitative and quantitative achievement for the voice and speech professional. VASTA: Promotion, Tenure and Hiring Resources Revised

3 TYPICAL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES What are the qualifications of a voice and speech professional? Voice and speech related education and training include, but are not limited to: Fundamental knowledge of vocal anatomy and physiology, physical relaxation techniques, principles of sound production (such as dynamics and tonal quality), vocal health, acoustic and perceptual training. Fundamental knowledge of voice and speech systems as demonstrated through study with various recognized voice and speech practitioners and institutions devoted to the study of voice and speech. VASTA recognizes that familiarity with many systems can only aid the voice and speech professional. New and innovative approaches are developing even as another generation of voice and speech professionals becomes familiar with the established systems. Knowledge of other approaches to performance (including the stage acting, singing or performing in film, television or broadcast media), vocal approaches to character and style, textual analysis and interpretation, public address and interview skills, vocal design and its application to theatrical or musical production. Specialized skills may include phonetics systems and the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), dialect acquisition, accent modification, vocology, singing, verse drama, narration, voiceover and broadcast media, vocal extremes such as shouting and screaming, vocal direction for theatre, non-western vocal traditions such as keening, chanting, overtone singing. For more detailed information, please refer to VASTA s document, Guidelines for the Preparation of Voice and Speech Teachers, Adopted and Amended the Summer of What does the job of a voice and speech professional entail? The voice and speech trainer s job involves (but is not limited to) teaching student and/ or professional performers coaching students and/or professional actors for performance consultations with professional voice users in the public sectors. Teaching activities may involve (but are not limited to) the following topics: fundamentals and practice of voice production (vocal anatomy and physiology, physical relaxation and alignment, breath, pitch and resonance, tone and speech, dynamic control), VASTA: Typical Job Responsibilities Revised

4 singing technique textual analysis and interpretation public speaking and presentation skills group speaking techniques vocal extremes accent modification dialect acquisition voice and speech for stage, film or broadcast media creating character or style through voice and speech vocal health Coaching activities may involve (but are not limited to): working with director and production staff to design vocal elements of a production coaching performers (individuals or groups) to fulfill the vocal demands of the production - audibility and intelligibility as well as vocal dynamics, group speaking or other special demands of the production coaching performers in textual analysis and application to the performance providing dialect resources and coaching performers to speak with accents appropriate to the demands of the play coaching singing or musical demands of the production coaching performers in effective technique which maintains or develops the strength and stamina of the voice in the case of vocal extremes such as screaming and shouting providing a resource for pronunciation of unusual terms and names as well as textual and language analysis and research professional consultations with individual professional voice users (actors, singers, narrators, preachers, teachers, broadcasters, salespersons, lawyers, politicians, businesses seeking voice, speech or communication training for their employees, or professional organizations seeking training in specific voice or speech techniques VASTA: Typical Job Responsibilities Revised

5 EVALUATION GUIDELINES Teaching Activity, Creative/Research Activity, Service Activity Because VASTA regards Creative Activity as equal to Research Activity, this document provides ways of looking at each category. Often the voice and speech professional will engage in scholarly research in preparation for creative activity connected to production. In many cases, research and creative activity are combined. For evaluative purposes it can be problematic if a single activity is evaluated simultaneously for more than one category, so the teacher/artist, in consultation with the department, should designate the category under which the activity will be evaluated. The voice and speech professional s contribution to performance is not always obvious nor public because it involves skills which, when successfully incorporated, blend into the overall quality of the finished public presentation. Therefore VASTA offers, in the following guidelines, ways to observe and measure the voice and speech professional s successful Teaching, Creative/Research and Service Activity. In what sorts of Teaching Activity may the voice and speech professional engage? Refer to the document: Typical Job Responsibilities. How can the success of a voice and speech professional s Teaching Activity be observed and measured? Public performance (or class project) performers can fulfill the basic voice and speech demands of public performance (to be heard and understood), moreover that performers can effectively communicate the text and engage the audience in performance Strength of voice performers can sustain voice production over the length of the run of the production Application of skills former students and/or clients successfully apply voice and speech skills in professional venues such as theatre, film, television, broadcast media or other forms of public presentation VASTA: Evaluation Guidelines Revised

6 Documentation of Teaching Activity can be in the form of: audio, video or electronic recordings of performance written evaluations of the performance or of the voice and speech professional s teaching as evidenced in the performance critical notices or reviews (print or broadcast) in local, regional, national or international media letters of support by professional colleagues, students or former students student evaluations awards recognizing the teaching activity of the voice and speech professional regional, national, international recognition (such as invitations to speak or present work) evidence (in the voice and speech professional s curricular vita) of a substantial and established record of teaching In what sorts of Creative Activities may the voice and speech professional engage? The voice and speech professional will engage in a variety of creative activities, including (but not limited to) the following: coaching voice, speech, singing or dialects, vocal design or vocal direction for film, broadcast, electronic media or theatrical production narration, singing or voiceover performance or coaching for commercial, feature or documentary film, electronic media such as audiobooks, CDROM, instructional videos, etc. narration performance or coaching for live or recorded performance (i.e. dance, symphonic, choral concert, exhibition) acting for a professional film, broadcast, electronic media or theatrical production How can the success of the voice and speech professional s Creative Activity be observed and measured? Performers effectively communicate the text or musical score and engage the audience in the performance Performers effectively achieve speech, dialect or stylistic requirements of the production The vocal design successfully supports the production or film or other medium Documentation of Creative Activity can be in the form of: audio, video or electronic recordings of performance critical notices or reviews in local, regional, national or international media (print or broadcast) particularly those mentioning effective voice or speech in the performance VASTA: Evaluation Guidelines Revised

7 written evaluations of the performance or of the voice and speech professional s contribution as evidenced in the performance letters of evaluation by professional colleagues letters of support or testimonials awards conferred on the voice and speech professional regional, national, international recognition evidence (in the voice and speech professional s curricular vita) of a substantial and established record of activities such as coaching* In what sorts of Research Activities may the voice and speech professional engage? The voice and speech professional may engage in a variety of scholarly activities including (but not limited to): research of historical, literary and/or stylistic considerations in preparation for a vocal design or the coaching of a production scholarly investigation for the purpose of advancing the knowledge and practice of voice and speech activities related to pedagogy, performance or to voice production scholarly investigation in related areas such as textual analysis, voice and speech production, vocal health and voice disorders, linguistics, dialects, vocal extremes, vocal direction in film, video or theatrical production collaborations with voice and speech colleagues, speech scientists, technicians and performers in the research and development of new methodologies and technologies research, preparation and/or organization of recorded materials (such as samples of dialects, character voices, vocal styles) for film, television and electronic media How can the success of a voice and speech professional s Research Activity be observed and measured? invitations to present at regional, national, international meetings of voice and speech professionals, acceptance of research or scholarly materials for publication (in print, recorded and/or electronic forms such as those mentioned above); mention in recognized publications of the voice and speech professional s contributions to the development of methodologies and technologies. inclusion in program notes, program credits, film credits, mention in public notices which reflect the voice and speech professional s contribution to research and preparation of the production* * Evidence of significant and effective research activity for production or performance in which the voice and speech professional engages is not so readily demonstrated as scholarship which is published in conventional print forums. In these cases, while the actual contribution of the voice and speech coach might not be given special mention in VASTA: Evaluation Guidelines Revised

8 public notice, praise of the results of the work testifies to the contribution. Written reports from artistic or production staff or actors could also address the voice and speech professional s scholarly contribution to production. In what sorts of Service Activities may the voice and speech professional engage? While VASTA recognizes that an institution will have its own guidelines for evaluation of service, the following are types of service activities commonly performed by voice and speech professionals and recognized and valued by VASTA. Service to the Profession could include: leadership in professional organizations mentorship of novice voice and speech teacher/artists contributions to professional information collection and dissemination external evaluations (of other professionals seeking advancement), networking (of individuals seeking voice/speech assistance with available professionals), consultations (see below) Service to the General Public. The services of the voice and speech professional teachers/trainers are sought by professional, educational or community theatres, businesses, local media, community organizations or individuals (i.e., dignitaries, politicians, actors, singers or other performers, public speakers and professional voice users) and may include: voice/speech improvement accent modification or dialect training textual analysis and interpretation workshops on topics such as group dynamics, effective communication or public speaking Service to the Institution. In addition to ordinary committee and departmental service, the voice and speech professional may provide services to faculty, administrators or campus organizations as above. VASTA: Evaluation Guidelines Revised