Joyce Griffen

French; Caribbean

The Turkish audiences in Istanbul would probably give you my best references; they always stared into my mouth in total amazement at my spot-on pronunciation of the traditional Turkish tunes I sang in the top cabarets and nightclubs during my year-long stint there. My second-best reference-givers would be the audiences of the play FROM THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA, in which I switched from young to old (and back), from male to female, from black to white, and from educated to country girl -- all within a breath's time, and with no costume changes. My voice control, voice qualities, and general voiceover technique come from years of working on the stage. First in professional theatrical productions, and for the past 12 years, also as a headline jazz vocalist. I've studied with vocal coaches running the gamut - - from classical training to vocal styling, to one coach who had me sing only vowels, keeping my mouth wide open for the entire lesson hour. My professionalism in the studio is the result of a year-long stint as writer/ producer for THE ACTION WOMAN syndicated radio show, which was produced by Kraft Foods at the time. During that time period I was also recording poetry on records (33 LP's, can you imagine?) for Harcourt Brace Jovanovich's children's division, Guidance Associates. I sometimes work as a NYC Tour Guide, most often for visitors from other countries. Excellent enunciation is a requisite when sharing facts and figures with clients who have a minimal, or nearly non-existent, grasp of the English language. Natives of the U.S. are accustomed to all sorts of speech aberrations and regional accents. But in most other countries, the slightest change in a vowel sound or even pitch, and you've said something completely different. That can be embarrassing at best, and at the worst, it could be downright dangerous. I stay clear of danger when giving my patter.