ALISON BAGNALL
Founding Director - Voicecraft International Pty. Ltd.
Speech Pathologist
Voice Specialist
 Feldenkrais Practitioner
Churchill Fellow

Alison initially developed her private practice for voice professionalsover two decades ago and has taught Voicecraft, a physiologic/acousticmodel for the understanding of the voice, nationally and internationallyto voice professionals for 24 years. 

She is the Founding Director of Voicecraft International Pty. Ltd. andconducts public and specialist workshops of half a day to 6 days durationthroughout New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Greece, United Kingdom andIreland.  Alison has a private practice in Adelaide and took a leadingrole with the Australian CranioFacial Institute to establish and overseethe development of a speech therapy facility in a major hospital in KualaLumpur, Malaysia. 

Voicecraft has proved particularly relevant for those who rely on theirvoice to "perform well" in their professional and personal lives. Alisoncurrently works with a range of professional groups where voice qualityis a key component.  She assists singers, classical, choral and contemporary. She trains actors, auctioneers, public speakers, lecturers, teachers, politiciansand media presenters.  She assists managers to present convincinglyand powerfully when under stress. She educates undergraduate speech pathologists,has served as artist-in-residence at the University of Western Sydney,and has trained the cast of "Phantom".  Her restoration of voicesin difficulty, including that of the performer who went on to win "TheSinger of the World" competition in Wales in 1991, has established herreputation as "Voice Therapist" to those who perform on the internationalcircuit. She believes that anyone can develop the power, versatility andstamina of their voice. 

Voicecraft is not just an approach to singing.  The "Voicecraft"approach was developed by Alison to embrace a body of work relevant toboth speakers and singers.  Alison's educational background enables this complex technical area to be accessed by  anyone interestedin improving their voice.  Her training method combines precise taskanalysis, Feldenkrais-style body awareness and a therapeutic approach tothe development of every individual's voice. 

Voicecraft attends to both the mechanics and the psycho-dynamics ofthe voice. Her conviction is that overcoming voice difficulties inevitablyinvolves more than changing vocal techniques and participants are encouragedto empower themselves by addressing the emotional issues that are influencingthe impact of their voice. . 

Her unique approach has evolved from a career as a speech pathologistin the UK and Australia, including 18 years as Consultant Speech Pathologistto the Australian Craniofacial Unit in Adelaide, where she establishedin 1983, the first video-fibreoptic laryngoscopy clinic in Australia. She has trained extensively with Jo Estill, singer and voice researcherin US and more recently collaborated with John Warren, Psychotherapist. 

Alison was awarded her PhD in February 2008 for her research into Voicecraft which substantiated its effectiveness. 

A Brisbane Speech Pathologist at a recent training workshop describedVoicecraft in these terms: 
"This view is based on sound theoretical knowledge and, therefore,every aspect of it can be substantiated.  This gives us the POWERto do anything we wish with our voice.  It also means we can givevaluable, sound advice for specific problems and know exactly why we aredoing something."
 

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