My Approach to Teaching:
The core principle of my teaching philosophy is to help students gain the skills necessary to excel as actors and people. Learning how to develop your voice and speech is an exciting undertaking. By teaching to the student’s needs and utilizing diverse and systematic training methods, students can find the thrill in learning more empowered ways to communicate. My goal is to create a teaching space where the work inspires joy and curiosity and where each student feels respected and a part of the experience.
My Perspective on Training for the Industry:
Acting is a skills-based industry so continued training is essential to develop a career. Training comes in the form of taking classes, viewing and analyzing great performances, and working independently in the areas you want to advance. It is also a relationship-based industry so cultivating and maintaining meaningful connections is important. Ask how can you support the work of your peers. Find a way to contribute your skills to the work of people you respect. Surrounding yourself with people who are caring, driven, and excited by the challenges will help keep your spirits up in the lean times and feel gratitude in the abundant times.
Meet Cliff Miller:
Cliff Miller is an actor, speech coach, and musician. He is a member of AEA and works in film and voiceover. He received his BA in Theatre from Southwestern University and his MFA in Acting from the Meadows School of the Arts at SMU. Stage work includes Hamlet (Hartford Stage); Long Day’s Journey into Night, The Importance of Being Earnest (Greenbrier Valley Theatre); Our Town, Red (New Stage Theatre); 39 Steps (Mount Gretna Theatre); Death of a Salesman, Henry IV, The Tempest (Dallas Theater Center); Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2 (Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey); House and Garden, A Texas Romance (Austin Playhouse). NYC credits include: Injunction Granted (Metropolitan Playhouse); Our God’s Brother (The Storm Theatre); The Last Seder by Allan Knee (WorkShop Theatre Company). Some of his most rewarding acting work has been with Only Make Believe in NYC where he performed interactive theatre for children in hospitals. He has studied Fitzmaurice Voicework and Knight-Thompson Speechwork. Recently, his co-authored research on speech, titled A Diachronic Study of Rhythm in Shakespeare Performance, was published in the Voice and Speech Review and received an Editor’s Choice distinction. He is a member of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA) and Pan-American Vocology Association (PAVA). Coming up, Cliff will be performing in the play Roe at Zachary Scott Theatre, running April 8-May 3, 2020.