"I thoroughly enjoyed and benefited greatly from Debra Hale's teaching of Kristin Linklater's voice technique. Deb's passion to help growing actors understand the importance of the connection between our voices and bodies made her classes incredibly engaging and memorable. Thanks to her detailed approach, I'm able to to go through my own personalized variation of a Linklater warm up before any of the projects I'm working on. It's had an amazing effect on my career and personal life since I now carry less tension on and off the stage. I found that the best part about training with Deb is that, during class, you're actually given the opportunity to be up on your feet applying the techniques to various monologue, scene and dialect work rather than sitting and retaining the information. You'll notice a drastic positive change in your work over time when you have the honor of working with such a wise and talented teacher."

"Debra Hale's influence in my artistic life was my basis of understanding my body as an instrument. The various attunements I must make to maintain it come from her tutelage. The concepts she has taught me have been instrumental and have held true throughout time. I would recommend anyone with the opportunity to study with her to do so."

“When I first entered Deb Hale's class I was ashamed of my voice--I'd struggled with ‘speech impediments’ as a child, not able to produce ending R sounds, so I was teased and sent to speech therapy. That led to shame which led to mental blocks when it came to my dream of being a professional actor. With Deb's expertise and guidance, I pushed through these blocks learning that breath and voice are the key to an honest and effective performance. Her sensitive and deeply personal approach allowed me to open up a new world of possibilities. Now, whether I'm a guest star on network TV or onstage at Lincoln Center, I always use these tools to ground myself and deepen my characters. I would recommend Deb's class to any actor who wants to get out of their head and into the real work of being an actor.”

"Deb is an incredibly gifted instructor and guide that I have had the privilege of being led by. Her gentleness and investment into you as an artist and human is so refreshing, especially in a learning space that is inherently vulnerable. In working with Deb, I have increased my connection to the breath and released tension that was blocking a lot of my expression. I highly recommend working with Deb. Her background in yoga instruction and voice technique is a perfect blend for anybody that is looking to free their voice, release, relax, and connect to themselves. "

“As Clerk of the Florida House of Representatives, it was my job to report election results. I sought Debra’s services because I was rushing through my words and needed clarity. When I learned to drop the breath down to mid-body, not only did my words come out more clearly, but when the court complimented me on my delivery, I felt my confidence boost 100%.”

“Debra Hale is a professor mentor and above all an amazing human who changed my life. Growing up with English as my second language I always found it more difficult than most students to join the world of theatre. However, after Hale’s classes and teachings about “releasing your natural voice” I found tremendous confidence as an actor and in the English language. Not only is she wise and extremely knowledgeable about Kristin Linklater’s technique, she is a wonderful teacher and friend. Her energy and kindness transcend in the classroom and you feel like she legitimately wants to help you grow as an artist. She has made such an impact in my life and there isn’t one day when I’m on set working where I don’t use the lessons she taught me. Her love for teaching and her passion for helping artists is undeniable. Even now, years later, I find myself longing to take one of her classes again.”

“Tension is the enemy of vibration.” This was the number one, most important lesson I’ve taken away from my time with Debra Hale in my four semesters of Linklater Voice training. From the minute I began classes with Deb, I began discovering what tensions I never knew I held in my body, and by the end of the first semester, it was as if someone switched on a light bulb. This was a sensation Deb had said would happen to us all at some point in our training. I suddenly was astutely aware of my body and my tension, but most importantly how to release it in a repeatable, consistent, and succinct method.

When this awareness clicked, I suddenly extended my vocal singing range by nearly two octaves, and I can now attribute almost of the professional work I’ve consistently landed across the United States and around the world, to my vocal range, control, Linklater training and dialect training. This training has been invaluable to me, as I continue to healthily negotiate my way through some difficult, professional, vocally exhaustive circumstances. The roll downs and “sighs of relief” never fail to audibly lengthen my spine, and beyond vocal preparation and warm ups, these techniques have been dependably grounding in many circumstances I’ve found stressful or burdensome. The Linklater techniques to release tension have an extremely vast use case. You’ll find yourself helping friends, massaging their tension away, lifting the weight of their heads off their muscles and stacking the weight freely on their spine, and every one of them will thank you for helping them feel like a brand new human after you’re done.

When I graduated I felt that the training I received in Deb’s class was by far the most beneficial to my abilities and as a paid professional, four continuous, successful years later, I still feel the same way. No challenge seems insurmountable, and I truly have Deb and of course Kristin Linklater to thank for my confidence in performing at and feeling my best, no matter what the circumstances."

“Deb is one of the strongest vocal teachers I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with. It is no exaggeration to say that her influence at the very beginning of my professional career is the reason I’ve found joy and success in my work onstage and behind the microphone. She is a fastidious coach, a disciplined instructor, and a compassionate mentor. While in undergrad, I took to Deb’s holistic approach to Voice and Dialect like a fish to water. She makes the Linklater-based methodology active - that is, deeply embodied - and
accessible, lifting the lessons off the page in memorable and engaging ways. She draws on text from all over pop culture and theatre canon, from song lyrics to Shakespeare sonnet to Gilbert and Sullivan to Dr. Seuss to Oscar acceptance speech, ensuring her students have an entry point for the work. As a dialect coach, Deb uses many tools - from IPA notation (complete with pillows!) to a vast library of dialect resources - to keep the work specific and alive. She helps actors add a layer of storytelling that goes beyond sound changes or cliché; with Deb’s guidance, I unlocked an entire other facet of my work that has led to personal fulfillment and professional success. Actors, singers, orators, or anyone interested in unlocking the power and joy of their voice will find value in Deb’s coaching.”

"Debra Hale promotes growth not only within the space of voice and breath, but in the transference of these tools to their application in life. Deb doesn't try to educate for a singular class or day but she aims you with tools for a lifetime. She establishes clear communication of expectations for the practice, and how to meet them. Deb creates an extremely nurturing environment that still never becomes indulgent, and is a productive space to learn the tools of Linklater. She has given me tools I will use for a lifetime, and regularly use daily. Debra Hale is a wonderful teacher!"

"I was lucky enough to be Deb's student from 2014-2018. Deb remains the best teacher I've ever had, and I find myself leaning on all of her training. She had such a great way of scaffolding exercises that built off one another, creating a learning environment where it's safe to take risks and be vulnerable, and providing valuable and relevant information. Deb is an excellent teacher and I am a notably better and different actor than I was before her classes."

“I’ve continued to apply Debra’s Kristin Linklater training to all aspects of my professional life years after our time together as student and teacher came to a close. From being able to pitch to large groups of unpredictable people, to stage performance, to other unexpected high pressure situations-the core of what she taught me remains engrained into my performance rituals and application. Of all its’ layers of skill, endurance has been the most valuable thing I have cultivated from her work.”

“I would’t have the life or career I have today without Deb’s influence. I studied voice and acting with Deb at FSU, and her teaching informed my entire career trajectory. Deb teaches what could be an overwhelming amount of technique with an ease that makes her students unaware of the lessons they ar absorbing until they take stock and look back on how far they have come as artists. Because of my time with Deb, I’ve decided to pursue Linklater designation and am currently a teacher trainee in New York.”

”Deb Hale is a consummate pro who elevates and inspires the actors she works with. When I played King Lear I leaned hard on her expertise and insight as I tackled the most difficult challenge I ever faced onstage. Like the breath she so brilliantly guides us to rely on as actors, her presence and wisdom is a breath that uplifts everyone in the room.”

"I was a student of Deb's from 2014-2018 and to this day I use what I learned in her class. Not only is she an expert on her specific area of knowledge, the voice, but is also a master acting teacher with a gentle approach who offers nuanced critique. Any student lucky enough to work with Debra Hale will become a notably better actor who gains a much deeper understanding of one of the essential parts of our craft, the voice."

"Delighted to hear that your talent and dedication have been recognized, congratulations!"
(referring to FSU's Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award)

"I was delighted by her ability to give very precise tiny observations about an actor and his/her voice and how these observations could be translated into revelations about the meaning of the text and thus contribute to the larger arc of the production... She is as good at what she does as the best in her field. I have worked with notable Voice Coaches in New York and on both coasts of the US and in my native England and Debra ranks alongside them."