Lester Thomas Shane

About

To engage in possibility with compassion and integrity. In all of my experience as an actor, director, writer, teacher and even hospice volunteer, I constantly seek the ways to be present for my colleagues, clients, students and audience. I have worked in every kind of theatre, from Hamlet to Hedwig, having directed over fifty productions in New York, Regional Theatre and Europe. I have taught at many levels for all ages. From lecture, to workshop, to coaching, to ongoing faculty positions in Voice, Speech, Shakespeare, and Dialects at leading conservatories and universities. My dialect coaching has served theatres in NY including Lincoln Center, across the US, film and television (HBO). I have written for film, television, magazine and books. Documentaries ranging from Biography to Nazis and The Occult. My award-winning one-man show, Mortal Coil: Voices from the Hospice has performed across the country, in a Norwegian translation in Oslo, and the video has been used to train doctors, nurses, and volunteers in end-of-life care. Specialties: Skinner technique - IPA Shakespeare directing and coaching Dialect teaching and coaching Voice training Off-Broadway and regional theatre acting and directing.

Experience

• Associate Professor of Voice, Speech and Dialects at Sands College of Performing Arts / Pace Univesity
  Sep 2024 - Present · 1 yr 10 mos

• Voice and Speech Teacher at Pace University
  Aug 2010 - Present · 15 yrs 11 mos

  Fundamentals of Voice and Speech Skinner Technique Dialects

• Director/Actor/Writer/Teacher at Freelance
  Jan 1974 - Present · 52 yrs 6 mos

  Directed over 50 productions in NYC and Regional Theatre, from Classics to Contemporary Work. "From Hamlet to Hedwig". Dialect coach for NY Theatre companies, films, TV and private. Includes NBC's The Blacklist. Acted in major roles across the country with a primary focus on classical theatre. One man show, Mortal Coil:Voices From the Hospice toured nationally and was translated into Norwegian, as Livets Lenker. I directed the Oslo production. Written for TV, Film, and Magazines with a focus on documentary and non-fiction.

• Speech/ Shakespeare/ Voice and Movement Teacher at New York Film Academy
  Sep 2004 - Mar 2020 · 15 yrs 7 mos

  Basic Intro to General American Speech IPA Remedial Coaching for foreign students Integration of voice/speech/movement with text Shakespeare

• Shakespeare Teacher and Director at American Academy of Dramatic Arts
  Oct 1998 - Mar 2020 · 21 yrs 6 mos

  Teach Skinner technique, IPA, basic voice, application of voice and speech to text