Marymac, dialect coach - front of the class.mov.mp4 | Mary McDonald-Lewis Dialect Coach

Coaching the "dialect of Tourette Syndrome" Hallmark Hall of Fames' "Front of the Class" was a challenge and an honor. I studied the neurology and psychology; met with wonderful folks with Tourette Syndrome, including with Brad Cohen, the real-life teacher with Tourette Syndrome this production was about. Then I taught, not just the actors (Old and Young Brad, played by James Wolk and Dominic Scott Kay) but the director, producers and other above- and below-line crew what this syndrome is, and how it demonstrates itself in language and storytelling. What a wonderful experience it was. I've gone on to coach actors with deafness and actors who were playing deaf; actors who had to stutter; actors playing characters with mental illness, who's language was a manifestation of their state of mind. It is always a beautiful exploration: discovering how a character's circumstance is reflected in their sound.