Matt

My name is Matt Simandl and I am an Actor, Elocution Teacher and Accent Coach teaching elocution, accent softening/accent reduction and accents/dialects.

At the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, I received acting, voice and speech training. As well as actor training, I did a great deal of accent/dialect and elocution work. In addition to my own acting work, since leaving the school in 2008, I have been coaching people in acting and accents/dialects, and passing on what I have learnt myself.

I coach actors and those wanting to get into acting. I help with audition preparation for projects in TV, Film, Theatre and Radio or for drama schools.

Each person I coach goes away from my sessions feeling more confident in their acting and accent work and indeed achieving their goals of being proficient in a new accent or their performance for any upcoming auditions.

Tutoring Experience

• Teaching numerous global accents for auditions
• Teaching actors accents through the comparison of the phonetic sounds of RP and those of the new accent they are learning and seeing how they differ.
• Ensuring the actor can produce the newly learned sounds through repetition and correction until proficient
• Working on the intonation/tune of the accent to bring the accent work to completion
• Working on audition scripts in the new accent and ensuring all sounds and intonation/tune
Worked with actors preparing for drama schools as well work for the BBC, ITV, films and West End shows

Tutoring Approach

For acting pieces/script work: working on audition pieces using the Stanislavsky method; watching each piece performed and giving feedback/redirection;

Accent work: firstly tuning into the accent via accent videos etc; breaking down the accent via work on various scripts; use of tools such as a mirror to see how to shape the mouth and where to place the tongue for various sounds; creating voice recordings the script in the new accent to further identify issues and where to correct them