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ACTORS' TESTIMONIALS

Yvonne Strahovski

"Jennifer White is the consummate professional in all areas of her work. She approaches her coaching with extreme detail and finesse and has an abundant knowledge of all things dialect coaching.

I have known Jennifer for many, many years and absolutely trust her to take on any dialect and relay the information with precision and ease. I have been lucky enough to have both been taught by Jennifer in dialects at drama school at the start of my career and worked with her professionally in the industry, and I highly recommend working with her."

* Emmy & Golden Globe Nominated Actor for The Handmaid's Tale. Coached for Cate Blanchett's multi award-winning Netflix drama series Stateless and taught at drama school.

Damon Herriman

"When I was cast in Clint Eastwood's film J. Edgar as a German who'd spent eight years in the Bronx, I knew I'd need a pretty amazing dialect coach to help me pull it off!

Jennifer came highly recommended and she did not disappoint. Not only does she make you feel completely at ease, but her attention to detail; her research; her ear for accents; her ability for not only hearing but speaking accents - are all second to none. Could not have done it without her."

* Also coached for: Russell Crowe's The Water Diviner, Steven Soderbergh's Tot Mom, Nash Edgerton's Mr InBetween, Brendon Cowell's The Outlaw Michael Howe

Heather Mitchell

"I worked with Jennifer White as my Dialect & Voice Coach on the one-woman play RBG: Of Many, One for Sydney Theatre Company. I had to play US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg from 13 to 87 years, as well as voice and embody up to 30 other characters, including three male US Presidents.

Jennifer transformed the way I thought about accent and character. Her detailed observation and knowledge of human behaviour, patterns of speech and character physicality is inspirational. She offers great exercises, insights and ultimately confidence in one's performance. Working with Jennifer on RBG was enormously rewarding and fun."

Susie Porter

"I worked with Jennifer White on creating a general American accent for my character on a feature film “Dirty Boy”. I adored working with Jennifer, she's an absolute Godsend! Not only is she incredibly knowledgeable about dialects and vocal orchestration but she also showed me how to integrate the dialect and character traits to create a fully formed individual that jumps off the page. Jennifer is a gifted teacher who truly understands the human condition. She is now my go to person for all dialect and vocal coaching!!"

* Film shot in Austria

Jeremy Lindsay Taylor

"The first thing I do when I land a gig or a screen test is pick up the phone and dial the masterful Jennifer White. Jennifer has a gift, and that gift is genuine love and passion for artists and their lifelong journey discovering their craft.

Be it a dialect session or discovering a character's voice, Jennifer brings an infectious joy and humility that cuts right through any self doubt, giving us the tools to be the best we can be ... and believe it!!!! I have grown as a man and as an actor since meeting this incredible woman and am honoured to call her a friend."

* Coached for: lead in TV series Playing For Keeps, two-part biopic Olivia Newton John: Hopelessly Devoted to You and for castings. Also known for: Underbelly, Offspring, Romper Stomper, The Dry, Barracuda

Mark Hill

"I've had the great privilege of working with Jennifer White over the last two decades. (God I'm old.) Our work together has covered musical theatre, stage and screen and explored dialects from Sweden to the Australian outback and everything in between.

Jennifer delivers the most extraordinary level of specificity - carefully tailored to the individual needs of each student and wrapped up in kindness, patience and love. On more than one occasion Jennifer's guidance has provided the crucial key to unlocking a difficult character or scene. A provocateur, trusted teacher and friend!"

* Coaching includes for varying Sydney Theatre Company roles and as Riff in Opera Australia's West Side Story (received a Helpmann Award nomination as Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical). Also coached in 3rd Year graduation show at National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA)

more actor testimonials

MAYA STANGE: A PLACE TO CALL HOME

"I worked with Jennifer on creating an English accent for my character on 'A Place To Call Home'. I absolutely loved Jennifer's approach, which not only helped me to perfect the dialect, but was key in creating, developing and fully inhabiting the voice of my character.

Because of her acting background, and her finely attuned intuition, Jennifer has an ability to organically guide you into the sounds, melody and feel of the dialect, so that it creeps up on you, until you suddenly find that you have it - no effort, no strain, almost by osmosis!

I would highly recommend Jennifer and look forward to working with her again."

HAYDEN TEE: MATILDA THE MUSICAL, TITANIC, JEKYLL & HYDE

Dialect Coach Jennifer White Hayden Tee Miss Trunchbull Matilda

"I have known Jennifer White both professionally and personally for over thirteen years.

She is always incredibly helpful on both big commercial productions when we have had detailed rehearsal periods and last minute sessions for auditions.

A number of roles I have booked are owed to my work with Jennifer. I cannot recommend her enough."

Hayden is known worldwide for: Javert in Les Miserables (Broadway, London's West End, Australia, New Zealand, Dubai), and as Miss Trunchbull in Matilda The Musical (London's West End)

ZOE VENTOURA: PACKED TO THE RAFTERS, FATAL HONEYMOON

Dialect Coach Jennifer White Paul Capsis Quentin Crisp

"Jennifer coached me in a standard English accent for several sessions prior to filming (TV show Packed to the Rafters), as well as being on-set coach for all of my shoot days.

I found her to be a very thorough and proficient teacher with a positive and friendly manner. She not only gives clear and constructive information and feedback, but also integrates the dialect with work on the character itself, which I found to be enormously helpful.

Feedback from the production team was very positive. They thought the accent was flawless and perfectly suited to the character.

As a dialect coach I can't recommend her highly enough, and have already done so to anyone who asks."

PAUL CAPSIS: ROCKY HORROR SHOW, CABARET, THE RESIDENT ALIEN

Dialect Coach Jennifer White Zoe Ventoura

"I have worked with Ms Jennifer White a few times over the years: on Rocky Horror Show in 2008, on Cabaret in 2017 and most recently on the voice and delivery of the iconic Englishman Quentin Crisp.

On this production of The Resident Alien, I worked with Ms White privately one on one. She not only helped me find the way into speaking like Mr Crisp, but also helped me into understanding the cultural delivery of a man who existed outside my living time frame.

Working with her was one of the most enjoyable and educational experiences of my long career. Playing such a known figure from history with such a specific way of speaking was totally daunting and challenging for me at the outset but Ms White gave me all the tools. The production was a success and has toured nationally to wide acclaim across Australia.

I owe Ms Jennifer White a huge debt of thanks for her patience, her wonderful teaching skills, her warmth, her humour and above all her generosity. I cannot recommend her enough!!!!!!!"

LINDEN WILKINSON: AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY

"Prepare to be amazed at the results. Dialect sessions with Jennifer White are way more than a few exercises on placing vowels and shaping consonants. Yes, those basics are part of the learning experience but her teaching practice subtly attunes you to the music of the vernacular, the energy of the spoken text and the cultural rhythms of the dialogue.

In terms of dialect, Jennifer teaches you the whole song not just the words. You leave the lesson truly empowered; trusting that the ground work has been done, knowing that you’ve now been given the tools to self-correct, as you begin to embody the character and let the language flow.

She is an enthusiastic and inspired teacher. I have no hesitation in recommending her. In fact, I’d be inclined to invent reasons to make an appointment."

Coached for: Sydney Theatre Company & Steppenwolf Theatre Company's co-production of August: Osage County

tyran parke: sunday in the park with george, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

"I first met Jennifer when she was a trainee voice teacher at WAAPA and have since worked with her on many productions and seen (or heard?) her work on many others.

She is now firmly established in the industry as a leading voice consultant and in my life as the oracle of all things voice related.

More than just a standard voice teacher, Jennifer is exceptional in both her understanding of established acting techniques and most importantly, in her ability to understand and express human behaviour.

I never prepare an accent without her, even those I believe to have a firm understanding of.

Jennifer’s attention to detail goes far beyond linguistic necessities to also inspire creative acting choices and inform character.

Her understanding of voice mechanics and use is always apparent and she makes what could be a flat, dry aspect to the work, humourous, inspiring and energizing.

Her understanding of the acting process and her respectful, gentle guidance means she is a necessary element to creating a character of spirit, detail and accuracy.

She’s also a hoot to hang out with!

Coached for: musicals Sunday in the Park with George, Sweeney Todd and play Much Ado About Nothing for Bell Shakespeare Company

JESSE RICHARDSON: A GODLESS COUNTRY

"Before working with Jennifer I had little confidence in taking on an accent. Within a few short sessions however, she had demystified the entire process whilst providing positive and supportive guidance every step of the way. This was fundamental.

Each tiny step was encouraged. My confidence grew rapidly as we progressed.

Jennifer not only assisted me with the accent, but with my character's speech patterns in general which lead to important cultural and thematic discoveries.

By the time cameras rolled, I felt so confident in my preparation I barely realised I was employing an accent at all. I was simply "being" - and that is the mark of being prepared by a great coach. Thanks Jennifer!"

Coached for: independent film A Godless Country (1800s Irish accent)

sarah jane kelly: cloud 9, sucking dublin, nida acting degree

"Jennifer is a whirlpool of information.

In 2010, she began coaching me in dialects (her knowledge in this field is amazing!) and the business side of this industry.

She then helped me prepare for my NIDA and WAAPA auditions, really pin-pointing details in my monologues that would have been overlooked.

I got callbacks for both and was offered a place at NIDA.

Seeing her has changed my life in a way I couldn't imagine.

I wish I could carry her around with me in my pocket - she is a valuable asset! I loved working with Jennifer. She is my mentor, a woman I look up to and a wonderful friend."

Coached for: plays Cloud 9 and Sucking Dublin for the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA)

PRESS REVIEWS

Sydney Theatre Company

Coached 11 plays for the company: directors include STC Artistic Director Kip Williams, Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh, Priscilla Jackman, Wesley Enoch, Jessica Arthur and more.

NEW YORK TIMES: "Flawless mannerisms and accent"
STAGE NOISE: "The varied US regional and class voices astonished visiting Americans ("How come you can bring in American actors?")"
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: "Heather Mitchell represents Ruth Bader Ginsburg across her life, from an excited 13 year old to a dying 87, and every atom of the actor seems to change in doing this. Her mimicry of President Bill Clinton is eerily and hilariously accurate. She also variously depicts RBG's husband Marty, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, President Barack Obama and a deliciously caricatured Trump"
TIME OUT: "On stage, Heather Mitchell makes the transformation seem easy. Her accent is almost faultless, and she inhabits the late justice (Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg) in her gesticulations, her hunched frame in later years, her gravelly voice."
TIME OUT: "When Julia Gillard’s distinctive voice first emerged from Justine Clarke’s mouth on Opening Night of Sydney Theatre Company’s production of Julia, the audience literally gasp-screamed. It was, without mincing words, pretty freaky"
CITY HUB: "Clarke slides seamlessly from one persona to another, absolutely nailing the idiosyncrasies and voices. Her imitation of Gillard’s unmistakable vocal intonation is spot on without being parody"
THEATRE TRAVELS: "Given that the American characters' accents did not have a hint of a put-on Aussie cadence, Voice & Accent Coach Jennifer White deserves special mention for her contribution. Tai Hara embodied the perfect American naval officer and it was with some surprise that this critic discovered after the show that he is, in fact, a ‘dinky di Aussie’."
3D WORLD MAGAZINE: "Triumphant work by dialect coach Jennifer White"

Belvoir Street Theatre

Coached 5 plays for the company: directors include Leticia Cáceres, Kate Champion and Jessica Arthur

BROADWAY WORLD: "The play was written with the well-known film and television actor, Colin Friels, in mind for the main roles, and he plays both Detective Grubbe and German drug baron Heinrich Barbie, as well as two smaller roles, Christos Limbious, a Greek ex-dealer, and Bratislav Ackervik, a Serbian-Australian. Friels switches between roles with such skill that it seems easy, which it definitely is not. Each time he switches, the character and the accent is totally consistent with the previous appearance, and all are thoroughly believable."
THE BAREFOOT REVIEW: "Colin Friels delivers a superb capsule of characters and cultures. No matter which character he plays, from Aussie cop to Serbian stonecutter or German villain, the work is sublime."
GLAM ADELAIDE: "a remarkable performance of vastly divergent characters ... rough detective, Australian-Greek and German king-pin"
DAILY REVIEW: "The dialect coach has clearly been hard at work on this group of Australian rising stars — their American twangs give nothing away."

more press reviews

VARYING: MELBOURNE THEATRE COMPANY, GRIFFIN THEATRE & MORE

Melbourne Theatre Company

AUSTRALIAN STAGE: "Her South African accent unfaltering"

Griffin Theatre Company

ARTS HUB: "Impeccable Polish accents"
CRIKEY: "Jennifer White’s voice coaching has resulted in overwhelmingly convincing accents"
ARTS HUB: "Meredith Penman plays Eva, a fabulously mysterious Polish woman (with an impeccable accent) ... Justin Cotta delivers his performance with passion (and another impeccable accent)"

Ensemble Theatre

SAMESAME.COM.AU: "Jennifer White has helped develop faultless accents. You close your eyes and you believe you are in New York experiencing the various dialects you hear walking down the street"
STAGE NOISE: "Dialect coach Jennifer White is the other star of the show: both Jamie Oxenbould and Sharon Millerchip maintain persuasive accents throughout"
TIME OUT: "Dialogue coach Jennifer White ensures that Jamie Oxenbould and Sharon Millerchip sustain convincing New York accents throughout"
SUN HERALD: "Excellent New York accents"
BRIZTIX: "The work of Voice and Dialect Coach extraordinaire, Jennifer White, was obvious not only in the accents and the occasional Yiddish uttered but also in Mitchell’s loss of articulation and vocal control, though not in his projection, as Morrie neared his death"

Redline Productions / Old Fitz Theatre

STAGE NOISE: "The dazzling choreography of the athletic interchanges and intertwined dialogue is seamless and brilliantly executed by the cast. ... The twists and loops of direction and language are adept and exhilarating to see and hear ... assisted by great work from dialect coach Jennifer White"

Seymour Theatre Centre

AUSTRALIAN STAGE: "Paul Capsis' portrayal of Quentin Crisp is quite compelling, the vocal and physical mannerisms marvellous"
SUZYGOESSEE: "the glorious essence that Capsis presents on stage, operatic in scale with his bodily and facial gestures, along with a bewitching voice that turns every syllable into song"

CDP Theatre Productions

GLAM ADELAIDE: "Dialect Coach Jennifer White, deserves a hearty pat on the back (at the very least) for the wonderfully authentic accents Millar and Maunder portray. More than being genuinely English, their accents are true to the era"

EXECUTIVES' TESTIMONIALS

Dialect Coach Jennifer White musical Wicked

Neil Gooding

Producer/Director: New York, Australia, London
His productions include Alan Cumming's Macbeth, play Holding The Man and musicals Wicked and Back To The Future

"Jennifer White has been a constant throughout my producing and directing career.

Almost every project that I have worked on has involved Jennifer, and benefited from her talents and dedication.

Jennifer is one of Australia’s leading dialect coaches, but she offers so much more than that. She is a gifted director and acting coach. With Jennifer, it is never just about accent – it is far more holistic, covering vocal placement, cultural rhythm and acting intention.

I can not recommend her highly enough … there is a reason that I go back to her show after show. She is the best!"

Coached his productions: musicals Assassins, Gutenberg!, Sweet Charity, Dogfight, The Bridges of Madison County, Wicked, The Phantom of the Opera, Mary Poppins, West Side Story, Miss Saigon, Shrek, Beauty and the Beast, Legally Blonde, Mamma Mia, Oliver, The Wizard of Oz, Hairspray, Annie; plays Stalking The Bogeyman; and cabarets Last of the Red Hot Mamas

more executive testimonials

KATERINA MORAITIS: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DRAMATIC ART (NIDA)

Head of Voice & Course Leader for MFA Voice
Hired Jennifer as a senior Voice, Dialects & Voice-Overs Lecturer for over 10 years to the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) 2nd and 3rd Year students, and Masters of Fine Arts (Voice) students. These include actors Rob Collins, Yerin Ha, Harry Greenwood, Bridie McKim, Joel Jackson and Chika Ikogwe

"Jennifer brings to NIDA and our students a wealth of professional experience and knowledge. Her training and career as both a performer and leading coach means she leads by example, coaches our students to industry standards, and knows what makes a great impact locally and internationally.

In her work at NIDA, Jennifer trains our Acting degree students in voice, performance and text skills through group tutorials, private feedback sessions and coaches their public performances and productions. She trains our MFA Voice students in vocal direction for the theatre and supervises their teaching practice to get the best results out of individuals and groups.

Jennifer’s passion for helping creatives to excel inspires a love of learning, discovery, growth and mastery. She allows the process, skills and technique to become organic, integrated and highly effective for the needs or event at hand. These are essential to elevate our students’ current learning, individual impact and their future career success.

I would highly recommend Jennifer to any training institute, organisation, production or individual needing high level coaching that will help you produce international results."

DR JANE MISKOVIC-WHEATLEY: NETBALL WORLD CUP

Creative Director, Opening Ceremony of 2015 Netball World Cup
Hired Jennifer as the Foreign Languages Coach (National Anthems). The role was to coach Australian choir Vox in the correct sung pronunciation for 7 non-English anthems and to supervise their recording session for accuracy. The anthems coached were Malawi, New Zealand, Samoa, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka & Wales

"The Netball World Cup is the largest netball tournament in the world, and Sydney hosted it in 2015 at Sydney Olympic Park for the first time in 25 years. The tournament broke the world record of the largest live and broadcast audience for the sport, and overall was an exceptional success.

We had the challenge of presenting the 16 national anthems on the first day of competition, and wanted to create a special moment for each and every competing team. We worked with VOX Youth Philharmonic Choir to perform each a capella anthem live, with musical direction by Elizabeth Scott and arrangements by Luke Byrne. It was a huge ask for the choir to perform the anthems in language, 11 in all, and they could not have done it without Jennifer White.

Jennifer was the foreign language coach and worked tirelessly to learn the anthems in each language, including Maori, Sri Lankan, Samoan, Chichewa, Welsh, Malay and isiZulu. She coached the choir in each sung language down to every syllable and intention. Every anthem was presented flawlessly, and the teams were so touched many were moved to tears.

I don't know anyone else in the industry that has the performance, vocal, musical, accent, language and dialect interest, knowledge and experience to have made this project so successful other than Jennifer White, and I am so grateful for her excellent contribution. As always, she was a delight to work with, a consummate professional, and her passion for her work is inspiring."

ANDREW BEE: OUT THERE PRODUCTIONS

Producer/Creative Director, Out There Productions

Hired Jennifer as the Voice and Presentations Coach for World Youth Day, Sydney 2008. Coached presenters of internationally televised events including the Opening Ceremony, Papal Arrival and Evening Vigil with Pope Benedict XVI.
Hired Jennifer as the Foreign Languages Coach (National Anthems) for the Netball World Cup Opening Ceremony at Sydney Olympic Park. Anthems coached: Malawi, New Zealand, Samoa, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka & Wales (7 anthems, 10 non-English languages)

"I have had the good fortune of working with Jennifer White on two occasions and have found her to be exceptional at what she does. Her attention to detail, research and preparation ensure that she delivers the highest possible outcomes.

Our company was engaged to produce all of the major events and masses for World Youth Day 2008 held at Barangaroo and Randwick in Sydney.

Jennifer was engaged as Presentation and Voice Coach for these events and worked with people from around the world. Public speaking was initially beyond their comfort zone.

As well as coaching the international speakers, Jennifer worked closely with the four Australians acting as MCs to the crowds at Barangaroo and Randwick. In that role, she worked with them on their live presentation and voice skills, voice-overs, crowd motivation, ad-libbing during live telecast, the pronunciation of international guests' and performers' names, script writing, microphone technique and more.

The event itself had limited time and the environment was highly stressful. Jennifer worked quietly and calmly and each of them made their presentations with passion and professionalism to the hundreds of thousands of people in the live audience and the many millions watching the broadcasts.

More recently we engaged Jennifer as the Foreign Languages Coach for the National Anthems at the 2015 Netball World Cup Opening Ceremony at Sydney Olympic Park. The 7 non-English anthems she coached had 10 languages in them. Jennifer's meticulous research, preparation and attention to detail meant that the choir achieved a level of pronunciation and authenticity well beyond my expectation.

Jennifer worked with the choir in the rehearsal room and also in the recording studio. Throughout the process she collaborated with the Creative Director, the Choral Director and the musical arranger. The resulting recordings and live performances were exceptional. So many of the organisers and representatives of the international netball teams asked me how the choir managed to pronounce their anthems so wonderfully. Jennifer White is the answer.

Jennifer is a wonderful coach and educator, a team player and a joy to work with. She brings passion and enthusiasm to her work and her results are world class."

JILL BROWN: UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN SYDNEY

Head of Voice, School of Performance
Jennifer worked as Voice & Dialects Lecturer for 3 years to the full-time Bachelor of Arts (Acting) degree students. This included Yvonne Strahovski, Celeste Barber, Nicole da Silva, Marika Aubrey, Lee Jones, Brendon McDonall and Nick Curnow

"Jennifer has been a valued colleague of the Performance staff and equally respected by her students.

She has a depth of embodied knowledge and pedagogy about voice and performance. Jennifer is a fine teacher, skilled in practice, and perhaps most importantly she effortlessly instils a joy of learning in her workplace.

Jennifer is a confident woman who constantly strives to learn more. She has made considerable and consistent contributions to the performing arts in this country as a voice specialist and performer. She will be an asset to any institution and ensemble fortunate enough to work with her. "

SANDRA BATES: ENSEMBLE THEATRE

Artistic Director (1986-2016), Ensemble Theatre
Coached dialects, voice & languages on 19 plays for the company including Death of a Salesman starring Jacki Weaver

"Jennifer White has an excellent understanding not only of dialects from around the world but an enviable ability to draw excellent results from the actors she works with.

She also recognises their strengths and weaknesses, in no way making any actor feel uncomfortable about their skills."

PETER COUSENS: KOOKABURRA MUSICAL THEATRE COMPANY

Former Artistic Director, Kookaburra Musical Theatre Company
Hired Jennifer as the Dialect & Voice Coach on Company directed by Gale Edwards & starring David Campbell, Simon Burke, James Millar & Christie Whelan-Browne, and pre-production on Floyd Collins

"Jennifer has shown herself to be a fine dialect resource for actors, directors and producers, and her commitment and expertise is a huge benefit to the industry as a whole.

She brings not only her grace and sense of humour but also the resources of an expert in accent and dialect and the sensibilities of an actor.

The understanding of process and the actor's needs are unique to Jennifer and an invaluable asset to a company."

GABI OVERTON: TML ENTERPRISES

Associate Producer, TML Enterprises
Jennifer worked as cast member of their production Fiddler on the Roof for 2 years, and as Dialect Coach on their productions of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Jekyll and Hyde

"She proved to be an invaluable company member, due to her professional and friendly work ethic.

Jennifer was well liked by the cast and production team as she was always dedicated, reliable and respectful. It would have been difficult to find someone else with all the qualities she brings to the team.

I follow Jennifer's career with pride and wish her great success in her personal and professional life."