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 Pat Fletcher Chosen Back Stage Magazine's Best Dialect Coach in New York for 2008 - Read Story
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 Patricia is highly experienced in coaching dialects for individual actors or entire casts, and is eager to adjust to the needs of your particular production. After researching and designing the appropriate sounds for each character, she helps actors acquire the specific consonant/vowel sounds of the dialect, find and incorporate the rhythm and music of the specific dialect (supplemental materials and recordings provided), rehearse the dialect until it is integrated with the character, coach the dialogue (if desired), give on-set dialect warm-up, coach between takes, and/or visit the production on an as-needed basis (if preferred).
A short list of actors Patricia has coached includes: Harvey Keitel, Lynn Redgrave, Jean Reno, Drea De Matteo, Elias Koteas, Gina Gershon, Michael Esper, Oscar Isaac, Philip Goodwin, Heather Tom, Melina Lizette, Joshua Manning, Omar Rodriquez, Andrea Anders, Tiffany DuPont, Natane Boudreau, Rich Preshong, Sal Inzerillo, Will Toale, Carman Lacivita, Elizabeth Reitz, etc.
A sampling of plays Patricia has coached includes: GRACE, TRUE WEST, BETRAYAL, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, DEAD MAN WALKING, CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN, I KNOCK AT THE DOOR, PICTURES IN THE HALLWAY, THE TURN OF THE SCREW, SLAVS, OLD TIMES, TOP GIRLS, NORTH OF PROVIDENCE, SNOWANGEL, BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS, GRAPES OF WRATH, CAMINO REAL, AH WILDERNESS, ROSEMARY WITH GINGER, ONE FLEA SPARE, HELLO OUT THERE, and FOOL FOR LOVE.
Patricia has been resident dialect coach in the MFA programs of the New School for Drama, New School University (2005-present), the Actors Studio Drama School (2001 to 2005), and Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts (1998 to 2003).
Recent coaching includes: Harvey Keitel in a performance piece entitled RETAKE WITH EVIDENCE 2007 written and directed by the internationally acclaimed Irish artist, James Coleman (other Keitel coachings include: THE MINISTERS, Franc. Reys, director, with John Leguizamo, Diane Venora (2007); A CRIME, Manuel Pradal, dir. with Brian Tarantina, Emmanuelle Béart (2006); THE STONE MERCHANT, Renzo Martinelli, dir. with F. Murray Abraham (2006); THE PATH TO 911 (TV), David L. Cummingham, dir. (2006); BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY, Mary McGuckian, dir. with Robert DeNiro, F. Murray Abraham, Kathy Bates, (2004)). She has also coached Jean Reno for MARGARET, written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan, with Matt Damon, Anna Paquin, Mark Ruffalo (2007); Melina Lizette in THE NARROWS, Francois Velle, dir. with Roger Rees, Vincent D’Onofrio (2007); Elizabeth Reitz in HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE, Jim Logan, dir. Shadowland Theatre (2007) and THE TEMPEST (Long Wharf Theatre Workshop with Olympia Dukakis 2007); Joshua Manning in TALLADEGA NIGHTS, Adam McKay, dir. with Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly (2006); Gina Gershon in UGLY BETTY (TV, 2006); Tiffany DuPont in THE BEDFORD DIARIES (TV, 2006), Jerry Broome in HIRE A LIAR, written and directed by John N. Michaels (2006); Sam Shepard's FOOL FOR LOVE (2005), Christopher Martin, dir. (Off-Broadway), Sonia Hamlin, THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, Daniela Varon dir. Shakespeare & Company; Catherine Taylor-Williams, HENRY AND JUNE, Shakespeare & Company; DEAD MAN WALKING, Eva Patton, dir. (Fordham University); THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN, Daniela Varon, dir. (Dartmouth College); Natane Boudreau, CLOSER (off-Off Broadway); and Jun Kim for HEAVENLY BENTO in Singapore.
| TESTIMONIALS |
“I booked a role in TALLADEGA NIGHTS and had two days to create a solid French accent. Pat coached me over the phone and gave me the confidence I needed to deliver the goods.”
Josh Manning
TALLADEGA NIGHTS |
‘If you truly want to learn how to speak, with or without an accent, break down the text, or make an over-all study of your voice as an instrument, Pat Fletcher is the only person you will ever need. The confidence I gained from working with Pat is a big part of the reason that I work consistently in the craft that I love.”
Andrea Anders, actor
JOEY, THE CLASS |
“Pat Fletcher is a masterful instructor, whose clarity with dialects is unsurpassed. She is discerning and thorough to the smallest inflection. I am fortunate to have learned from her, and am thrilled to have her teaching methods in book format.”
Carman Lacivita, actor
Chicago Shakespeare Theatre
CYRANO DE BERGERAC, Broadway |
“Pat Fletcher is the ultimate language coach. The depth of her creating teaching technique is amazing. She turned me—a lifetime New Yorker—into Queen Elizabeth I, complete with the purest of English accents. I even fooled a true Brit. And she can do this with an endless array of accents and cultures.”
Sonya Hamlin, actor
Shakespeare & Company |
“I was always someone who found the idea of having to learn and use dialects very daunting. I knew I did not have the kind of ear that would allow me to simple pick them up through listening to films. By breaking down dialects phonetically, and then working through them with her in class, I feel comfortable using a variety of dialects and know how to go about learning new ones. I highly recommend her to any actor who wants dialects to be a part of their ‘tool box’.”
Kate Pomerant
NYC Actress |
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Patricia Fletcher on a production I directed at Fordham University at Lincoln Center, and most recently she came to my rescue by teaching me the Liverpool accent for a production I was in. On both occasions, Pat was everything I hoped for and more in a coach. The results she was able to achieve with me and my students in only a few sessions was nothing short of miraculous. So as a director and an actor, I felt she was a true collaborator in the rehearsal room; absolutely invaluable to me throughout the entire process.”
Eva Patton
Actor & Director, Associate Clinical Professor
Fordham University Theatre Program |
“I found Patricia Fletcher to be precise, patient, and persistent. Working with her on RP British accent for the role of Anna in CLOSER and Lee Krasner-Pollack’s 1950’s Brooklyn, she coached me on making authentic choices. I highly recommend Pat to anyone who is up for opening all their senses and getting the job done!”
Natane Boudreau
NYC Actress/Model |
“As an actor with dyslexia, I always become anxious when I am asked to prepare a dialect. I often have trouble hearing the sound changes and need to move at a much slower rate than most. The clarity and thoroughness with which Pat Fletcher teaches, allows me to walk into an audition or on stage with the confidence that I have done my homework and can just concentrate on telling the story of the character.”
Elizabeth Raetz
NYC Actress/Shakesperare & Company |
“Patricia Fletcher is my ‘go to’ dialect coach. I have worked with her on British, Russian, Romanian, New York Yiddish...I get fast, accurate results, and it is always more than just the dialect. It is her insistence on the acting choice informing the text. Pat illuminates the words and makes the experience informative and lots of fun. But she is also very tough; she wants the best work from me!”
Elena McGhee
NYC Actress & Teacher |
“Patricia is patient, knowledgeable, and really sweet. I walked in feeling uneasy about dialects, and I left comfortable and confident. She helped me find the perfect sound for my character in the film THE NARROWS.”
Melina Lizette
THE NARROWS |
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