Rebecca Simon
Voice, Text, Dialect & Acting Specialist
for One-on-One, Master Class,
Stage Productions & Film/TV
Professional Equity Actor & Director
Rebecca taught a series of Master Classes for Markus Flanagan online through his Westlake Acting Studio in Los Angeles. Some of his students were from his studio in the US and the others were from his class in London.
Rebecca taught the American students the Standard British/RP and the British students learned a General American accent at the same time, so they could listen to each other and be a resource of information for their classmates as each learned how to speak with their new accents.
It was a remarkable cultural experience for all of the students (and for Rebecca and Markus).
The students from "both sides of the pond" talk about how valuable the experience was for them. They also praise Rebecca's methods and ability to create such a rich, supportive, pragmatic learning environment.
" I worked with Rebecca Simon on The White Snake (directed by Mary Zimmerman) at the McCarter Theater in 2013 and I still remember how warm, insightful, and encouraging she was throughout the process. It was my first time performing in such a large theater and the show was entirely underscored with live music, but with Rebecca’s vocal coaching I was able to reach the back of the house with consistent ease. She also gave fantastic text notes which led to many light bulb moments for me. I was very lucky to work with Rebecca then and hope to again in the future!”
- Amy Kim Waschke, LA Based Actress
- Six-Season Oregon Shakespeare Festival company member
-work with Qui Nguyen and Vampire Cowboys,
“The world needs more people like Rebecca! I have been working with Rebecca for 9 months and I’ve seen a tremendous difference in the growth I’ve made. She made me super comfortable on our very first session. I appreciate the encouragement she offers her clients. Not only is Rebecca a good vocal coach, but she has also become a good friend of mine. I appreciate how hard she has pushed me and I look forward to progressing even more in my career with Rebecca by my side.”
-Holly Baker
Storm Team 9 Meteorologist
WNCT 9 On Your Side & Eastern North Carolina CW
“Rebecca Simon is hands down the BEST human and coach I have ever worked with. I have studied at The Atlantic Theatre, T-Schreiber Studios, worked with many other “top” acting coaches one-on-one in NYC/LA, and Rebecca outshines them ALL. She is everything you could possibly want in an instructor. Tough but fair, she doesn’t waste your time and money by telling you what you want to hear like so many in this industry. Instead, she gets right to the point; identifying the weak spots in your technique while providing the materials and information necessary to make adjustments and help you find your most authentic performance. She has elevated my technique by leaps and bounds. After just ONE session with her, I began to receive multiple callbacks and have since booked lead roles on ESPN+ and in a National Tour. I owe much of my current artistry and success to Rebecca, who not only helped me to enhance my skillset as an actor, but find confidence in myself (which is even more valuable). I can’t recommend her enough.”
-Jane Erickson, Professional Actor in Theatre, Commercials and Voiceovers
Peppa Pig in the eNational Tour
“As someone who learned English as a second language from teachers of various nationalities, I had a unique accent when I started my education in America. Rebecca quickly caught on to my habits and gave me amazing tips and pointers to implement in my daily and onstage speech, so that I could blend in more with my fellow artists. I think Rebecca's teachings contributed to my success as an actor since it has broadened the roles I can feel confident auditioning for, instead of limiting to just those with my native speech.”
-Resa Mishina, former student
“Studying with Rebecca has changed my life with my voice and body work as an actor. I was really shy as an actor to use my voice to the fullest and never knew how much potential my voice and body had until I studied with her. Rebecca not only taught me Linklater voice work but gave me so much confidence with how to breathe correctly, how to stand on my two feet correctly and roar with a vibrant voice. She is a fantastic teacher and a champion who has always been there for me as a voice teacher. In addition, she has helped me realize something remarkable in my religious and spiritual journey. I am a practicing Muslim, and as a Muslim we bow down on the floor 5 times a day. By working with her, I realized as a Muslim, I need to take my time with my prayers, use my voice and body to the fullest to read my prayers out loud with confidence and commitment. She has also helped me work on my accent skills. She taught me how to be confident in my own accent and how to easily use IPA to adapt to other accents. I use this skill in every single audition and my acting work. I highly recommend anyone who is struggling with their voice
or body work to work with Rebecca. She will support you, she will be your champion and she will help you to learn how to utilize your voice and body to the fullest!”
-Faizan Sheikh, LA based private client
Rebecca is one of the best teachers I’ve ever encountered. She easily commands respect, commitment and loyalty from her students and casts. As a director she sets a great tone: light and fun, but professional and efficient. And just as she has a deep knowledge of the hundreds of decisions and steps required to guide a show from preproduction to opening night, she also knows how to take young artists, just out of high school, and lovingly encourage and challenge them to grow farther and faster than they ever knew they could.
-Laurence O'Keefe, Award Winning Composer of
Heathers: The Musical, Legally Blonde & Bat Boy
"Rebecca Simon is a joy to collaborate with and work alongside. I’ve personally worked as a Music Director and accompanist with her as the vocal/acting coach and instructor, and the creative process from beginning to end has always been seamless. She executes her visions professionally while being excited and open-minded about what others bring to the table. She gives so naturally and freely to every person she works with and challenges them to become better at their craft as well as better people in the process. It is always obvious that she leads with kindness and warmth in every interaction and is extremely aware of how her words and actions affect others. I, personally, have experienced her encouragement and positivity and am grateful for every opportunity I get to work with her on a project."
- Andrea Yohe, Musical Director and accompanist (current MD for Tuacahn's A Christmas Story)
"I met Rebecca approximately 17 years ago in grad school, where Rebecca, Trent (her husband) and I co-taught and created a musical theatre workshop course. I’ve learned so much from them both and got to witness Rebecca in action both in the classroom and beyond. Rebecca has always been not only incredibly knowledgeable but also caring and giving. She always had the students best interests at heart and went above and beyond to provide them with the best education and opportunities to succeed. Her generosity of spirit and compassion allowed her to teach from a place of true empathy, which allowed the students to connect and benefit from her teaching style. In addition, Rebecca is an incredible actress who shines on stage! I’ve also had the privilege of collaborating with her when I music directed/conducted the musical Evita in which Rebecca played Eva Peron. In seeing Rebecca perform, it becomes clear how her performance experience informs her teaching. I’m sure that whatever the future holds for Rebecca will be nothing short of incredible opportunities for her to continue sharing her knowledge and talents with others.https://www.anaflaviazuim.com/
Dr. Ana Flavia Zuim, Steinhardt School, New York University
Award-Winning Musical Director and Forensic Vocologist
Rehearsal Pianist for Hamilton on Broadway
Keyboardist for Wicked on Broadway
Rebecca is a diligent, creative, and reputable artist and teacher, with remarkable knowledge and passion on the discipline she teaches. In addition to my positive discoveries and development in her Voice and Speech classes, I spent the final two years of my college career studying voice (both speaking and singing) privately with Rebecca. I’ve always enjoyed working with Rebecca, as she is a teacher who goes above and beyond to enable your success. Whether it is a last minute coaching before an audition/rehearsal, locating new material, or providing career advice, she was always a top supporter amongst the faculty throughout my time of study. After completing my undergraduate degree and entering the business in New York City, she has remained a present, supportive, and resourceful mentor. I still practice the effective tools she gave me in my years of study, and believe she is a major reason that I have worked professionally since graduating. My college mentors Trent Blanton and Rebecca Simon are my nearest and dearest theatrical heroes. I owe endless thanks to them for their artistic guidance.
Jillian Carucci, former student, Drama League Fellow Director
Associate Artistic Director, TheatreWorks USA
Faculty, CAP 21 at Molloy College
“My wife, Dr. Ireri Chavez-Barcenas is from Uruapan, Mexico. As a PhD candidate, from Princeton University in the Music Department, she needed desperately to work with someone like Rebecca. Rebecca prepared sessions with her to practice breathing, voice projection, pronunciation and overall presentation. It is thanks to Rebecca's work that a lot of my wife's presentations and public speaking was much more successful. This not only applied to scholar work but also to job interviews. Rebecca's experience in Theater as an actress and as a teacher prepared in vocal, speech, dialect made her a perfect consultant and coach. Rebecca trains students, teachers, professional actors and artists as a dialect/speech coach in a variety of roles, script periods and locations, she has such a great professional standard, clear instruction and effectiveness. I have seen Rebecca’s work doing Shakespeare plays, Musical Theater and a big variety of english speaking plays with scripts with different locations such as Russia, Greece, Chile, etc. It is impressive and admirable to observe her success considering the large pool of people and range of work.
-German Cardenas, professional Scenic Designer
and Professor of Theatre at Bowdoin College
“Rebecca Simon is consummate, clear and concise. Her ear is shockingly sharp and leaves no doubts as to what will make your chosen accent improve. She’s also a great spirit to be with so the learning is easy. After her two hour session with my acting class, every student thanked me for having her in as a guest teacher.
TV and film actor (Nickelodeon's Unfabulous, Blioxi Blues, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
and hundreds of televison and films roles.
Owner of Los Angeles' renowned Westlake Acting Studio
and student of Sanford Meisner
"Having Rebecca as a Dialect coach has been a tremendous and very rewarding experience.Not only is she a talented actress but she has years of experience and a wealth of knowledge. She is a superb coach and it's been a true honor working with Rebecca."
-Kimberlee Monroe, Equity and SAG/AFTRA Actor
Septima in Pure Theatre's production of SEPTIMA
A play about The Mother of The Civil Rights Movement
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5253587/
"I have seen, or heard rather, countless brilliant transformations Rebecca has facilitated with actors and singers on a spectrum of skill levels, from students to professionals. She has a really clear and seemingly-effortless way of bringing out the best in everyone, often far beyond anyone's expectations! I have referred countless student actors to Rebecca Simon for voice and projection. They always come back transformed, well beyond what seems possible.
on her work coaching for his company:
"Rebecca, once again you have outdone yourself. The entire cast, particularly the students you worked with individually, now exhibit a confidence and poise that allows them to command the stage. You are truly a sorceress, my friend, as the transformations you facilitate are like magic, seriously! THANK YOU!!!"
-Christopher Parks, Producing Artistic Director of Experiential Theater Company
and former Director of Education at McCarter Theatre
"She really gave us great applicable tools to lay a foundation to improve on. Thus, providing simple considerations and a mindset to go along with it. Things we can practice daily. In addition, there wasn’t much anyone put in front of her she didn’t have an answer for. I believed every accent I heard from her. In fact I was going to inquire as to whether or not she would teach from afar...”
-Sebastian Musso, LA-based actor and private client
“If you are looking for a stellar director and impeccable dialect coach, look no further than Rebecca Simon! Rebecca has worked at the Forestburgh Playhouse for over 6 years in varying capacities--as an actor, director and dialect coach for multiple productions. Rebecca's intelligence, enthusiasm and artistic insight have made her invaluable to our productions at the Playhouse. A favorite production of mine was "Shout the Mod Musical"--Rebecca's artful direction provided an experience our patrons are still talking about. Rebecca's dialect coaching truly transformed many of our productions, including "To Kill a Mockingbird", "Steel Magnolias", and "Oliver!"--just to name a few. Rebecca is an invaluable artist at the Forestburgh Playhouse!”
-Franklin Trapp, Producing Artistic Director of the Forestburgh Playhouse
“Voice and speech work is so important in the theatre and too often overlooked. The vocal work I did with Rebecca helped prepare me for this very demanding industry. With the tools she provided I was able to feel confident in auditions and find a sustainable performance when I was doing 8 shows a week. It is always apparent in the professional world who has studied these techniques, and Rebecca’s training helped put me in that category. The speech work we did allowed me to dive into characters very different from myself and not worry about how I sounded. She created simple and effective tools for her students as well as a community that learned to share knowledge when it came to the vast world of dialects. This allowed me to prepare quickly and efficiently for auditions when time was limited. These techniques are so important for every actor to study and Rebecca is a wonderful teacher to learn them from.”
-Colby Dezelick, former student on Broadway in Miss Saigon, Anastasia
and the current National Tour of Frozen
