3 Day Catskills Retreat - Exploring Communication Through Song, Breath, Voice & Mindset

Retreat Highlights

• Though this retreat is of particular interest to actors and singers and serves as professional development for them, it is beneficial to anyone 21 and over who is interested in exploring their relationship with their voice and vocal communication, and no prior musical or acting experience is needed in order to participate fully. The unique nature of these activities can also benefit couples who are looking for a unique approach to developing better emotional intimacy outside of a therapy environment.
• Using Meisner based acting exercises, Anthony Braxton’s improvisational Ghost Trance Music, inspiration from Kristin Linklater’s “Finding Shakespeare’s Voice,” and specially selected breath and vocal exercises, this is a three day retreat style workshop wherein different aspects of vocal and non-vocal communication are targeted by each activity:
• *Social conditioning (noticing and repatterning maladaptive beliefs and behaviors with regard to communicating one’s thoughts and feelings)
• *Maintaining connection to oneself while remaining present and responsive to another
• *The stability and flexibility of the vocal instrument (to maintain strength and responsiveness when in potentially intimidating, threatening or emotional circumstances) and
• *Learning to identify, trust, and act on one’s healthy instincts.
• Each retreat is small, with just 3 to 4 participants. The Lodge where it is held is a log home on over 53 acres of forest with a pond and waterfalls with two open lofts, each having two beds per loft for participants. This friendly, small scale allows for greater one-on-one training within the community learning environment, and gives each participant the time and attention needed to go very deeply into the work.
• It is my great pleasure to provide delicious, well planned meals for the unique dietary concerns of each group. One to two weeks prior to each retreat, I have that retreat’s participants share with me any dietary needs, restrictions, or preferences they may have. I then create and prepare a menu designed just for that small group. I am thrilled that participants regularly ask for the recipes, and many have said I should create a cookbook of my retreat recipes, which if I can ever get around to it, might happen!
• If you and up to three friends or you and your partner are interested in doing this workshop privately, you are welcome to reach out to me to ascertain if there a special session that can be reserved for you. Preference is given to workshops that can be scheduled Sunday evening to Wednesday morning, or if needed, the workshop can be condensed to begin Sunday and finish Tuesday at 3pm/4pm instead of Wednesday morning. The condensed workshop retains the 16+ hours of intensive training.
• Opportunities to explore the forest, pond, and waterfalls between sessions
• Opportunities for Archery training between sessions, facilitated to enhance the main workshop training
• Here are testimonials from retreats prior to its offering here:
• “Hats off to you for successfully (and so warmly!) creating not only an excellent retreat, but a true safe haven. I felt seen & heard in ways that I have yearned for my whole life…and in front of total strangers!! In the span of a few days, I was able to uncover and unsheath layers of myself which have long been tucked away”
• “Your knowledgeable and intuitive guidance is a balm for this scary, scary world. Please, please, please, keep holding this retreat!!”
• “I have always had an appreciation for words because words are so powerful. However, the workshop allowed me to connect with words and people in a way that was personal, and yet spiritual at the same time. For the first time I found connection and community through communication, and it wasn’t the number of words spoken but words borne of human experience that broke and united us."
• “I feel like a different person yet more myself than ever 🥹 I think the feeling is Grounded.”
• “I got called a ‘voice of reason’ for probably the first time ever during a family disagreement last night.”
• “I’m still delighted by the feeling of my breathing in my upper back.”
• “Elizabeth is an excellent teacher, and she created a warm and safe environment in which to learn and take risks."
• “Our work with the Meisner technique was especially fun and helpful and brought to life the challenges of staying embodied while communicating authentically.”
• “The lodge is a gorgeous, cozy and welcoming place on beautiful property surrounded by the Catskills. Our group enjoyed Elizabeth’s delicious meals, hiking on the surrounding wooded acres, and feeling well cared for.”
• “Our well-selected group effortlessly erased all sense of distance among us. Most telling, we had guidance from and unity with Elizabeth instead of the distancing of “this is the teacher and we are the students.” Rising to the challenge of Elizabeth’s guidance through readings and exercises, through thought and action, we were drawn to freeing that vibrating tissue-space of the voice – for whatever purpose we use it – by expanding it beyond that one physical and emotional place. I’m now finding, back in the day-to-day world, that the experience is informing my approach not just to the act of singing itself, but freeing it from a self-consciousness that has held me back. That’s the mark of a well-crafted experience – that it works in the real world!”
• “I left feeling renewed and eager to build on what I had learned!”
• “If you’ve ever thought you could use some type of support with your communication & this retreat piqued your interest…do not hesitate to take the leap of faith in yourself at the Lodge at Hidden Falls!”
• “Having returned to the real world after Elizabeth’s workshop, I can see how it’s already working for me, in one respect as a choral singer. By redirecting energy and focus – away from over-anticipating tough spots or exposure – and by erasing the wall between vocalizing and actually singing real music with words, the workshop has opened new pathways to singing and music’s challenges.”
• “Thank you very much for the special few days at your workshop!…I really enjoyed stepping out of my comfort zone and exploring concepts and vocalizations that were totally new to me. I realized it’s been quite a while since I’ve done something so new and adventurous. So, thank you for all of it — the delicious food, the special space, the interesting voice/body work, and the camaraderie.”
• “I wanted to express my sincere gratitude for the wonderful time I spent at your lodge in the Catskills recently. I was truly amazed by how much I learned from you in just a few days."
• "Your patience, passion, and wonderful sense of humor made the entire experience so enjoyable. I particularly appreciated your guidance as we worked through the breathing and communication techniques. Of course, the Braxton Trance music session was a definite highlight for me. Thank you again for your exceptional instruction and hospitality.”
• “The ‘Exploring Communication Through Song, Breath, Voice, and Mindset’ workshop brought together highly curious people in their 60’s, 70’s and 80’s with varied levels of [musical] experience. Each person was excited about daily accomplishments and looked forward to the exercises to be presented the following day. Changes were dramatic from the first day to the end of day four.”
• “Elizabeth is an excellent coach and presenter. She is knowledgeable, gives clear instructions, is open to questions, and is respectful and encouraging. She gently took the participants where they were and helped us each make adjustments to come closer to the goal. Elizabeth clearly loves what she has learned and desires to share her joy and knowledge with others.”
• “I was amazed by the bond of trust that formed within the group and with Elizabeth as we worked diligently to experience the exercises fully. Through plenty of laughter and happy tears, I became a better listener and better able to express myself. I found myself smiling while returning home on the last evening. Elizabeth provided an atmosphere of freedom to welcome these new skills and to apply them to daily life and our place in the community.”

About this Retreat

Your Guides

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Saunders, President, New York Singing Teachers Association

Elizabeth Saunders, award winning mezzo-soprano, trainer of singers and actors, and President of the New York Singing Teachers Association, grew up speaking with a stutter and came to singing as a means to become more comfortable with her voice and vocal communication skills. As a conservatory trained opera singer who sang internationally before retraining her voice for other singing styles and working as a non-singing actor as well, Elizabeth has a wealth of unique training, professional musical experiences, and sensitivities that help her meet students where they are and help them find their way out of what may be trapping them physically, vocally, and emotionally. This workshop was created at the behest of a colleague who exhorted her to create a workshop that shared how she became the type of artist and communicator that she is. Each of the 4 training elements in the workshop are pulled from the training and professional activities that made the biggest breakthroughs in her ability to communicate with greater ease and authenticity both onstage and in real life. Whether teaching private voice lessons or facilitating this workshop, the following ideas and thoughts guide her approach with each individual: “We are one, after all, you and I, together we suffer, together exist, and forever will recreate each other.” Teilhard de Chardin “The human voice is the organ of the soul.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow “To free the voice is to free the person.” Kristin Linklater "There is a Voice that Doesn’t Use Words. Listen” Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī “You were once wild here. Don't let them tame you.” Isadora Duncan

Details of this retreat