Power of story/POWER OF VOICE
Our flagship experience
“The voice is the muscle of the soul.”
FIND YOUR VOICE!
This fully immersive experience will take you on a personal journey via the vehicle of your own voice.
Uncover your essential self immersed in the history, values, ethos, and care of our team of founding members of the Roy Hart Theatre, residents of the Château de Malérargues, and lifelong students and teachers of Alfred Wolfsohn and Roy Hart's work on personal expansion through vocal expression.
In this profoundly immersive, fully experiential program, learn what it feels like to embody your uninhibited potential and to lead with your voice!
Through a structured series of exercises and vocal improvisations, combining the disciplines of the Roy Hart Theatre voice, body, and imagination work, this workshop will draw out your inherent communication skills and serve as an introduction to the art of signature storytelling. Your will embark on a journey to explore your personal experience, uncover your origin stories, and embody them in order to tell them with presence and vocal confidence.
The mornings will be focused on voice and body work and the afternoons on stories and the art of storytelling.
“It was a magical experience and what had to happen from my end was to have no expectations but to say yes.
”
Portrait of Alfred Wolfson by Terry Schwarz from the Roy Hart Theatre Photographic Archives.
THE WORK: VOICE AS THE MUSCLE OF THE SOUL.
The embodiment of the inner self through the voice allows us to be alive in more aspects of ourselves.
This integrative theory and process began with Alfred Wolfsohn, a German Jew who served as a stretcher-bearer in the trenches of World War I and survived being buried alive under the bodies of countless dead and dying soldiers.
On returning from the war, Wolfsohn was haunted by debilitating flashbacks and hallucinations of the agonized, visceral screams of wounded soldiers. So profound was his trauma, Wolfsohn feared that he had lost his own soul and with it, his voice. Unresponsive to conventional treatments, Wolfsohn's healing journey began with voicing his trauma through spontaneous improvised singing.
Through his own experience and inspired by Jungian depth psychology, Wolfsohn initiated his theory and approach to voice in the 1940‘s and 50‘s. He believed that all archetypes are present within each human being. His ground-breaking work sought to reveal a way for full-range vocal embodiment not confined by gender or expectations. Wolfsohn worked with the premise that the more of these archetypes one expresses and embodies, the closer the connection with the authentic self.
The Roy Hart methodology explores the myriad expressive possibilities of the voice, irrespective of aesthetic norms.
Our Midderigh Vox coaches collaborate with the Roy Hart teachers to harness and channel discovery through the medium of storytelling.
At the core of this work is the synergistic art of active listening. To listen and to be listened to is the core purpose of all human communication, and the key to authentic presence.
““I learned that emotions are at the core of all human expression and connection. Art is one of the most powerful approaches to discover people’s emotions and beliefs.”
Sunrise at the Château de Malérargues. (Photo: Luis Bellon)
THE THEATRE
The Centre International Artistique Roy Hart is an active teaching, research, and study centre located at the Château de Malérargues, nestled in the Cévennes hills of southern France.
Named in honour of Roy Hart - a principal student of Alfred Wolfsohn for twenty years - it was here that the founding members of The Roy Hart Theatre continued the work of vocal exploration as a vehicle for self-development following Wolfsohn’s death in 1962.
Today the Roy Hart Centre remains an active hub of ground-breaking research and experimental study, welcoming people from all over the world, who come to find unique approaches to voice, body, movement, and psychology, applicable not only in the performing arts but also in everyday life. The work at the Centre is based on a history of more than 80 years of research, study and practice of the human voice without boundaries.
©2018, Clément Caudal. With permission.
“It was all about fresh air and a reset button. It was empowering and something so important for me - communicating properly and using my voice in all its explosions of meaning - connecting to my passions. I feel that I have recharged my energy while embracing my inner self and my passion to live and to share.”
THE PROCESS
VOCAL EXPLORATION
Every voice is as unique and individual as a fingerprint. Yet few people have an equally neutral relationship to their voice as to their fingerprint.
By focusing on listening from an open perspective, we learn to bypass judgement and follow our unique personal expression.
Our pedagogy is non-hierarchical and collaborative. Our coaches seek to open new perspectives rather than impose prescriptive direction.
A central component of the experience is individual work that acknowledges the unique personality of each voice.
We cultivate intuitive trust through active listening, questioning, reflecting, and describing our experience to unlearn self-imposed limitations and create a deeper awareness of potential in ourselves and others. Timbres, textures and emotional qualities become accessible and applicable to the form of expression desired.
““I established a new relationship with myself and the world; the deepest look inward, a connection to my soul, an exploration of physical and emotional expression that I’d never experienced before, and a connection to what is at my core, my deeply resonant voice. To share this experience, and watch others unfold, to hear the uniquely beautiful voices of our people come forward, was nothing other than transformational.””
BREATH AND BODY WORK
The voice is a part of the body that begins with breath and its energetic potential.
Throughout life, all of one’s states of being are related to breath. The movement of breathing persists automatically, whether we choose to notice it or not.
Breath is the primal connection between physical and vocal space. Vocal expression surfs the wave of the breath.
By opening the breath’s channel, we take the first important step toward releasing the voice. We connect our inner being directly with the outer world. Voice is the vehicle of manifestation and creative expression.
We use body work and breath work to release tension, express restricted energy, and to re-experience the simple joy of movement. This helps us begin to consciously embody expansion of the full voice and our own truly authentic presence.
“It was a magical experience. Not only it allowed me to find my voice (didn’t know I had such a strong voice by the way) it let me get out of my comfort zone and try new things. I learned so much about the connection between voice and psychology. I learned how important it is to relax and remove the tension on the body to have a clear voice.”
STORYTELLING
Stories bring ideas and experiences to life. The most memorable stories are punctuated with impeccable timing, emotional colour and flavour, and clear turning points.
Over six days our work together will enable you to uncover, explore, and give voice to your own stories.
It is a constantly shifting, inward-outward journey. In learning to listen deeply to ourselves, to others, and to the space between us and to what is being expressed on an embodied level, beyond words or language, we unveil the power of storytelling and understand the impact our stories can have in our professional and personal life.
“I learned about the voice as it connects directly through to your soul, and the processing that one must move through in order to express clearly, resiliently, resonantly.”
THE SHIFT
Gain access to a new world of communication where listening and expression take on new dimensions and carry unexpected power.
This program brings communication from the background to the foreground, giving you unlimited insight on the most powerful and useful tool available in this business of living: your voice. And it is already within, waiting to be revealed!
As a participant, you will:
embark on a personal journey over 6 intensive days;
orchestrate your own life-changing experience and connect with your deepest truths;
discover a new way of listening that allows you to communicate effectively in any conversation, with freedom and peace of mind regardless of the conversation’s content;
unveil the full expanse of your authentic self and experience dramatically improved performance confidence in your personal and professional life;
understand what it takes to invite others to engage with you in exploring new possibilities;
uncover your capacity to create or restore inner harmony;
experience the power of being completely free to be yourself in relation with other people;
learn to tell your story.
Power of Voice brings a new world of communication into being — one that moves people, and transforms both you and your audience.
“Coming out of the workshop my whole world seemed different. I took away how sensitive I am, how that has an effect to my reactions and behaviours and that there is so much hidden within the soul, voice, body and I have learned how to access that magic within me.”
participants of the program routinely experience:
In feedback surveys 100% of our participants have consistently indicated that the Power of Voice experience surpassed all expectations. We’re not exaggerating! We’re very proud of these statistics and work hard to ensure that 100% satisfaction endures!
Reduced stress
Renewed purpose
Regenerated energy
Regained confidence
Revitalized spirit
Increased focus
Clarified purpose
Higher emotional intelligence
Enhanced presence
Improved connections with others
Reconnection to personal values
OUR TEACHING FACULTY
Our program faculty speak English, French, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish, Slovenian, and some Hebrew and Georgian. There are no minimal language requirements for attendance. The Summer 2023 program will be led by Ivan Midderigh, and Siobhán McCann. Of course, we always reserve a few surprises!
“(The teachers) created a safe and accepting space where I felt free to explore and play with the range and colours and harmonies of my voice. I was invited to be myself, but challenged to take risks. I have learned to honour my own voice, thoughts and feelings despite other people’s thoughts or perceptions. I have more confidence in what I know and who I am.”
WHERE?
Fly in to Aéroport Montpellier Méditerranée or take a train to Gare de Nîmes. From there it’s a short trip to the Chateau de Malérargues, the home of the Roy Hart Theatre.
WHEN?
July 3-7, 2024. Please contact us for more information or sign up directly here.
CURIOUS?
The registration fee* includes:
36 hours of tuition and coaching with our diverse faculty of internationally certified voice and communications teachers and executive coaches;
evening activities, including presentations and performances;
a global network of leaders and change agents.
For an additional fee we will arrange:
ground transport from Montpellier-Méditerranée Airport airport or Gare de Nîmes railway station;
accommodation on-site at the château with an option for daily meals (please contact us directly to find out more)
on-site massage and shiatsu sessions, as well as the possibility of arranging evening meals offsite in local Michelin-starred restaurants.
FEES AND REGISTRATION
Basic fee: 540 € (registration now open for a maximum of 12 participants)
For details regarding transport, meals, and on-site accommodation options programs please contact info@midderighvox.com
PARTICIPANT PROFILES
Since launching this programme in 2016, we have welcomed participants from more than 20 countries across the globe to experienced the Power of Voice. Historically, groups have included senior managers and C-suite executives, entrepreneurs, consultants, coaches, teachers, and other training and development professionals as well as artists of all kinds. They are change makers from myriad industries with diverse professional experience, seeking a deeper understanding of their voices - both literally and figuratively - in order to manifest their best selves with greater confidence and authenticity.
Our youngest participants have been emergent leaders in their mid-twenties, with the highest concentration being in the 30-45 age bracket, and the most senior participants to date in their mid-fifties. We welcome couples as well as individuals and teams.
We embrace the richness of diversity in every sense of the word.
What are you waiting for? What if the changes you have been seeking were only a phone call away?