Dysconscious racism in mainstream British voice pedagogy and its potential effects on students from pluralistic backgrounds in UK Drama Conservatoires

Abstract

Given the increasing diversity in UK actor training programs, it is imperative to recontextualize mainstream British voice pedagogy. Such pedagogy generally begins with the supposition that the voice is a representation of the sociocultural self and aims to improve the voice by undoing physical tensions that can impede usage. These tensions are usually attributed to negative societal influences that may induce feelings of fear, shame, or anger. For students with pluralistic backgrounds, racism may be such an influence that creates somatic tensions. This article will examine potential manifestations of dysconscious racism, an uncritical mindset that fails to challenge the norms of a dominant culture, within UK Drama Conservatoires. This includes: curriculum, liberal humanist assumptions in voice texts, standardized accents like Received Pronunciation, and the teacher-student relationship. By conducting semi-structured interviews and employing such methodological lenses as critical ethnography and embodied phenomenology to examine the resulting findings, this article aims to present ways that students from pluralistic backgrounds are potentially impacted by dysconscious racism in their voice training. Given British voice pedagogy’s emphasis on voice and identity, this article’s findings and analysis strongly recommend that voice teachers re-examine their practices with a critical consciousness to create an empowering environment for their students.

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