Elizabeth Loughran
Speech I
Elizabeth Loughran earned her B.F.A in Drama at Carnegie Mellon University, and an M.A. in Speech at Montclair State. While at Carnegie, she studied with both Edith Warman Skinner and Timothy Monich, the original author and current editor of Speak With Distinction, respectively. In addition to teaching at Circle in the Square, she has taught at Carnegie-Mellon, SUNY Purchase, Marymount and Mercy Colleges, and at Montclair State. A performer since a toddler, Loughran continues to work in commercials, industrials, and voiceovers, and has directed her students at Carnegie, SUNY Purchase and at Hudson Talent Workshop in Nyack, where she lives. Students she has coached appear on London’s West End, in national and international tours, and on Broadway, in shows like School of Rock, Shuffle Along, Book of Mormon, Wicked, Les Miz, On the Town, Mamma Mia, Catch Me If You Can, Bridges of Madison County, Scottsboro Boys, Mary Poppins, Wedding Singer, Hairspray, West Side Story and War Horse. They can be seen on TV in Blue Bloods, Gotham, Glee, Izombie, NCIS, Law & Order, Breakout Kings, and on many commercials.
“In any performance, the actor must be seen, heard, understood and believed by the audience. To that end, in Speech class, we work to overcome any regionalisms that may distract from complete belief in the character. We use the “Skinner Method”, from the text, “Speak With Distinction”, to learn a Mid-Atlantic dialect. And, to prepare for further dialect study in the second year, we learn the International Phonetic Alphabet.”