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Stephen Cheng
Stephen Cheng has appeared on Broadway with William Shatner in The World of Suzy Wong, with Anthony Perkins in Harold, and Mary Tyler Moore and Richard Chamberlain in Holly Golightly. He has guested on Robert Sherman's famed radio show, The Listening Room, and has been featured on TV classics The Steve Allen Show and The Ed Sullivan Show. Cheng has also starred in the hit daytime series All My Children and Another World and has been seen in national television commercials for Kodak and General Electric.Some prestigious institutions that have hosted Professor Cheng's Tao of Voice workshops include: the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, The Royal Conservatory of Singing and The Royal Conservatory of Dramatic Art in Madrid, Espace Expression in Paris and The Juilliard School in New York City.
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Do, re chi The Tao of Voice Singing should be an act of joy for the singer and a gift for the audience. Obvious, right? Anyone who loves music, singing in particular, would think this simple precept should form the basis of all vocal instruction. However, there are a number of voice teachers whose regimens don't leave much room for joy. With a few exceptions, they tend toward a Cartesian world view expressed in Newtonian mechanics and motored by a Calvinist zeal for sacrifice and discomfort. With The Tao of Voice, Cheng offers an alternative to this tedious reductionist program. Describing exercises designed to integrate mind, body, and spirit, Cheng has written a how-to book which addresses the problems of memorization, terror, voice breaks, tonal color, stage presence, vocal identity, mental and physical health. He uses a blend of eastern and western disciplines and, most refreshingly, emphasizes a child-like openess and a sense of fun. The Chinese character for music, he writes, also means happiness; it's an intimate and potent relationship. Though his book is directed toward singers, Cheng says his techniques can be applied by anyone who wants to develop a more effective vocal instrument. It is probably most useful, however, in conjunction with lessons with Cheng himself; a reader with no training might have difficulty with many of the vocal exercises. The Taoist approach to the problems of performing should be assessible to just about anyone motivated to give it a try. As an introduction to a discipline, or a new way of looking at something you've been doing for awhile, his technique offers some very useful elements. Particularly useful, is his use of visualization. Visual imagery, which seems to have a profound physiologic effect, has proven to be a fine tool for bringing life to the rehearsal process. His suggestions have a simple, rich logic, consistent with the Taoist principles. Besides, the idea of practicing a high note while embracing someone you love sounds downright joyous. Singing well produces sonic vibrations which Cheng believes supports the health of the whole organism, body, mind, and spirit, and radiates beyond the individual experience. His exercises avoid the contortions and distortions that are so prevalent in Western teaching that underline the need to work the body, mind and spirit to achieve the desired result of fine tone and pleasing sound. Cheng aims at what he calls "continuous circular movement", which is developed and enhanced through visualization, feeling and body exercises. The Tao of Voice, will provide a welcome addition to the student eager for a new approach to singing, as well as to the seasoned pro willing to explore a fresh and possibly more viable method of using the human voice.
© Backstage, Performing Arts Weekly, NY and Woodstock Times
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