Louis Colaianni is a prominent voice, speech, dialect and text director in the professional theatre, and teacher of voice, speech, phonetics

Phonetics

Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech, or—in the case of sign languages—the equivalent aspects of sign. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds or signs : their physiological production, acoustic properties, auditory...

, acting and Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

 performance. He was dialect coach for Bill Murray

Bill Murray

William James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...

 in the film Hyde Park On Hudson and vocal coach for Will Ferrell

Will Ferrell

John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...

 in the Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 and HBO productions of You're Welcome America

You're Welcome America

You're Welcome America. A Final Night with George W Bush is a comedic Broadway play starring Will Ferrell as George W. Bush. It was broadcast live on the HBO cable channel, as well as in Canada, on March 14, 2009, at 9:00PM EST. Ferrell, who has famously depicted Bush on Saturday Night Live, also...

. He has taught in many actor-training programs and served as voice and text coach for productions at theatres throughout the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, including, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Westport Country Playhouse, The McCarter Theatre, The Labyrinth Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Shakespeare Festival of St Louis, Trinity Repertory Theatre, Utah Shakespearean Festival and Seattle Repertory Theatre. He is the author of several books including, The Joy of Phonetics and Accents, Shakespeare's Names: A New Pronouncing Dictionary, Bringing Speech to Life (with Claudia Anderson), and How to Speak Shakespeare (with Cal Pritner

Cal Pritner

Cal Pritner is an educator, writer, administrator, and actor. He chaired two university theatre departments and Illinois State University , and he was the founding artistic director of the Illinois Shakespeare Festival...

). He was a tenured, associate professor at University of Missouri–Kansas City

University of Missouri–Kansas City

The University of Missouri–Kansas City is a public university located in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. It is a branch of the University of Missouri System. Its main campus is in Kansas City's Rockhill neighborhood east of the Country Club Plaza...

. He teaches Acting Classics at The Actors Studio and formerly, at Vassar College

Vassar College

Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...

, as adjunct associate professor. Louis Colaianni has given workshops internationally. He invented the Phonetic Pillows approach to Phonetics and Stage Accents which is used by many actor training programs. He studied voice with Kristin Linklater

Kristin Linklater

Kristin Linklater is a Scottish vocal coach, dialect coach, acting teacher, actor, theatre director, and author. She is currently Head of Acting in the Theatre Arts Division of Columbia University.-Biography:...

 and is a Designated Linklater Teacher.

Louis Colaianni's father, James F. Colaianni

James F. Colaianni

James F. Colaianni is an American Catholic lay theologian, author, publisher, lawyer and activist.In 1939, Colaianni graduated from St. Joseph’s High School in Paterson, NJ and attended Seton Hall University...

, is an author, theologian and activist who wrote Married Priests and Married Nuns and The Catholic Left, and was editor of Ramparts

Ramparts (magazine)

Ramparts was an American political and literary magazine, published from 1962 through 1975.-History:Founded by Edward M. Keating as a Catholic literary quarterly, the magazine became closely associated with the New Left after executive editor Warren Hinckle hired Robert Scheer as managing editor...

.