Brian Geraghty, 1923 (Yellowstone), The Hurt Locker
“I love working with mike!”
“He’s not only great at what he does, but he’s patient, efficient, and a lot of fun.”
“He was able to quickly get me in the place I needed to be with my Appalachian and Boston accents, so that I could show up on set confidently.”
Erica Spyres,
Carousel, Paradise Square, Once (Broadway)
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"After executing a difficult Polish dialect on stage, an audience member who heard me speak in the lobby said, “Wait, that’s how you actually talk?” I was so proud of the work I had done that Mike had facilitated. Rather than focusing on my lines, we honed in on the way the dialect felt in the body and how it changes the vocal timbre and tempo. It very much helped me develop the authenticity of my character."
John Brodsky
"I’ve had the pleasure of working with Mike over the course of two separate projects. Prior to his help I was terrified of inauthenticity with my accents, anxious of where to turn for help, and constantly scouring YouTube for examples that I thought were accurate to the dialect I was trying to learn. With Mike’s training I was able to see how each dialect is unique and specific, while not getting overwhelmed by the process. Mike possesses an innate ability to understand phonetics, which allows the student to quickly start the transition process away from their natural speech intonation and move, step by step towards familiarizing with the new dialect. Furthermore, Mike is extremely patient and thorough with his students. Never did I feel like I was in bad hands or worried of “not getting it right”. Mike lives and breathes language, along with all the different, fascinating, and beautiful ways that it is spoken through each and all of our voices."
"Mike is a thorough, thoughtful, kind and patient dialect coach. At the start of each process, he meets each actor at exactly the place they are at. If you have copious amounts of experience in an accent or maybe you are fluent in the language that the accent derives from, he will focus on technical details and how the accent affects nuanced acting moments and the overall story. If you are new to accents, he will walk you through each step, making you feel calm, confident and comfortable. Throughout the rehearsal process, Mike takes specific, helpful and supportive notes to help the actor incorporate a certain nuance or sound of an accent into a scene or a moment. Actors who were overwhelmed at the prospect of learning an accent felt like confident pros by the end of the process, and those who felt they were competent enough learned many new details that they felt heightened and specified their performance. Working with Mike is a breeze because he fits seamlessly into the rehearsal process, finding tiny moments to grab actors for one on ones and making himself available for quick questions and coachings."
"With a clear knowledge of his craft, he brings a calming energy to any rehearsal process. A truly collaborative artist. He takes the time to listen to the needs of the play. He enters with a detail oriented approach and clear understanding of the big picture goals. Mike is an absolute pleasure to work with. His ability to communicate effectively with actors and directors alike make him an asset in this field."