What I Did Last Summer: Patricia Helsel

Our VPA Faculty are always up to something great!  Find out what they did with their summer vacations in our What I Did Last Summer series.

Photo by Joe Kirkish

Patricia Helsel, Assistant Professor of Theatre, attended the Voice and Speech Trainers Association national conference at George Washington University, in Washington, DC.  She will be applying many of the techniques and pedagogical approaches she learned to all of her classes. 

She submitted an article for publication to Teaching Theatre, a national journal for theatre educators.  Everyone knows that if they take part in a show she is directing, or in the Acting I class, they will engage in ball playing. Over the last few years she has developed exercises and games that integrate ball-play as a device to: strengthen concentration; build group cohesion; create awareness of physical space and movement; promote physical strength and flexibility; serve as a visual representation of energy.  All this with a 9" latex ball!

Trish and her students play ball!
Photo by Mark Riutta, www.definedvisuals.com 

This summer also saw the launching of Trish's voiceover recording business, onairvoices.com.  She is working with The Marketing Department to promote the business locally and nationally.  Her most recent client is the Philips-MedSage company.  She voices healthcare surveys for patients who use medical equipment in their homes.  She also completed a voiceover for the Michigan Public Health Institute recording a 50 minute learning module on Newborn Screening for healthcare professionals.

She was in the Pine Mountain Opera Chorus, singing among the Keweenaw's finest! 

She also began compiling media for future implementation of an online course in American Musical Theatre.