Claudette turned out to be the most hard-working, driven, compassionate teacher I have ever known, whose ear for accents is unparalleled and intuition for the personal blocks and fears of the student is incredible. She demanded a high level of professionalism from me whilst remaining sympathetic and patient with my nervousness and anxiety in the face of working in a new and unfamiliar accent.
Her extremely professional system and focused energy pushed me to make the extra effort to establish my own process to feel confident, capable and well prepared ahead of each audition or job.
Claudette has a very practical and applicable method of learning an accent, but also knows when to throw out the rules and guidelines to find an approach or an exercise that works for you as an individual. Furthermore, she has a finely honed sense of the psychology behind each accent, and knows how to summon the corresponding attitude from the student, without interfering with the actor’s choices.
Perhaps most unique to Claudette’s approach than any other accent coach I have encountered is the way in which she manages to instill a confidence in you that extends beyond the safe, comfortable environment of the classroom, and stays with you even during high pressure situations on a movie set or stage.
I went to Claudette looking for an accent coach, but instead found an acting/accent/voice and life coach all at once, and an amazingly talented and generous person who has shaped my growth as an actress in more ways than she knows.