The objective of this course is to reduce speech regionalisms while developing an ear for neutral American speech, which is achieved by learning the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). A primary element of the work is the utilization of highly physical exercises involving the entire body, to establish the actors' connection between movement and sound. Instruction focuses on body alignment, efficient muscular effort to produce discrete phonemes, extension of actors' pitch and range and use of melody to communicate ideas, actors' use of center pitch (optimum pitch) to find a presence of tone and the application of all of these skills in lifting literature off the page to performance.