Behind-the-mic at the EWVS 2025:

Sarah Wigley (EMT) is a Clinical Associate Professor of Voice for the Lyric Theatre area at the University Illinois Urbana-Champaign (an Estill Educational Affiliate Institution), where she instructs Lyric Theatre Studio, BMA Senior Showcase, applied voice, and frequently stage directs both opera and musical theatre. Sarah enjoys continued collaboration with the departments of Dance and Theatre at UIUC, with gratitude for her co-presenter Allison Moody (Level 1 and 2 EVT Certified). Allison is the Teaching Assistant Professor of Voice and Speech for the BFA and MFA Acting Programs, teaching Acting, Voice, Dialects, Musical Theatre and Voice-Over. She is also a Designated Linklater Teacher and Guild Certified Feldenkreis Practitioner.

Merging of Two Masters: The Integration of Estill Voice Training and Linklater Voice

By integrating the physical and imaginative exercises of Linklater Voice with the science-based knowledge of Estill Voice Training®, this interactive talk empowers artists of all kinds to find new heights of freedom and agency in their speaking and singing voice. Linklater proposed that the actor’s greatest tools are their body, voice, intellect, and emotion, and the sequence of exercises known as the Linklater Progression aims to awaken and strengthen these four tools through embodied imaginative experience.

Session participants will discover how Estill Voice Training® Figures enhance clarity of the Linklater Progression while we share collaborative research explored at the University of Illinois. After integrating only three of the Estill Voice Figures into the Linklater progression, BFA and MFA acting students reported lessening vocal effort and fatigue during acting and staging rehearsals with a deeper understanding of care for their voices. Meanwhile, Lyric Theatre students familiar with EVT found that incorporating elements of the Linklater progression within the singing voice studio further enhanced somatic play and imagery turning craft into artistry.

★ Join us at the Estill World Voice Symposium 2025! Come experience inspiring presentations like this one — and so much more — live in Chicago from July 27–29, 2025. Get your tickets here and visit the official symposium page for all the details, including speakers, performers, and schedule. We can’t wait to welcome you!