Speak American!
Commercial Dialect Workshop
A Two-Day Intensive with
Kathleen Mayrs & Adam Henderson
The American commercial market is one of the most lucrative opportunities for Vancouver actors — and this two-day intensive gives you everything you need to walk into it with confidence.
Dialect work. Commercial technique. Real feedback. All in one room!
DAY 1
Tuesday, June 9th
9:30am - 12pm: Dialect with Adam Henderson
Vocal posture, placement, speech habits — building the physical foundation of the American accent.
12pm - 2:30pm: Commercial Acting with Kathleen Mayrs
Scripted commercial text, partner work, and real-time feedback from a commercial casting director.
DAY 2
Tuesday, June 16th
9:30am - 12pm: Dialect with Adam Henderson
Deepening the work — refining flexibility, character range, and unselfconscious accent use in performance.
12pm - 2:30pm: Commercial Acting with Kathleen Mayrs
Putting it all together — callbacks, bookings strategy, and performance that lands.
What you’ll work on:
Adjusting vocal posture, voice placement, and face muscle engagement to access a natural American accent
Identifying and shifting your individual speech habits
Building a more flexible voice and extended character range
Smarter script analysis and faster memorization techniques
Working with scripted commercial text — solo and with a partner
Receiving feedback and making real-time adjustments
Practical strategies that lead to more callbacks and bookings for commercials
Practicing working in pairs and groups
To Register:
Dates: Tuesday, June 9th & Tuesday, June 16th | 9:30am - 2:30pm
Location: GO Studios, 112 E 3rd Ave #210, Vancouver, BC V5T 0K8
Cost: $475.00 + GST
How to Register: Registration for this workshop is by application only. Please select the “apply now” button to apply, and Kathleen will be in touch with further instructions.
Pre-requisites: It is preferred that you’ve taken one of Kathleen’s Audition Workshops before, or have significant audition experience.
Important! Please read:
Registration is on a first come first serve basis.
You will receive footage of your work after the session. Please ensure you have sufficient space on your computer, as the files are large, and we are not able to store them on your behalf. The video footage will be emailed to you within 24 hours of the workshop ending. You will have 1 week to download your footage onto your own desk top or lap top. This format is not downloadable on cell phones. Please note, we CANNOT store everyones footage. If you do not download it yourself, your footage will be gone.
All sales are final. Refunds will not be issued, but credit can be given towards a future workshop if requested prior to 72hr before the start of your enrolled workshop.
Due to the limited number of seats in each workshop, I am not able to offer ‘make up’ classes or transfer your spot to another date if you are not available last minute.
Meet Your Coaches:
Kathleen Mayrs
Kathleen Mayrs is one of Vancouver's most respected commercial casting directors, with 30+ years of experience and thousands of commercials cast across the Lower Mainland and beyond. She has worked with principal talent, voiceover, short film, and episodic TV — and brings that full breadth of casting knowledge into the room with her.
As an educator, Kathleen has built a reputation for making the casting process transparent and actionable. In this workshop, she takes everything she sees from the other side of the table and puts it directly in your hands — real scripts, real feedback, and the practical strategies that turn commercial auditions into commercial bookings!
Adam Henderson
Adam is a senior instructor at Vancouver Film School and one of Canada's most in-demand onset dialect coaches — with credits including Shōgun, Arrow, Tomorrowland, Harry & Meghan, and productions at The Arts Club and theatres across the country.
His approach is practical, physical, and unselfconscious. Using a method that explores individual speech habits, vocal posture, voice placement, and face muscle engagement, Adam helps actors access a natural, confident American accent — not a performed one. Expect a more flexible voice, sharper script analysis, faster memorization, and a wider character range.