UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Barry Kur, professor emeritus, School of Theatre, was presented the Lessac Leadership Award at the 2014 Lessac Training and Research Institute Conference, Jan. 9 to 11 at Penn State.
“Through the Lessac Institute, I have a lifetime opportunity of teaching, mentoring and service,” said Kur. “I was deeply honored to receive this award from my institute peers. It was very special to receive it at Penn State. "
Kur has served the institute as a founding board member and past president. Currently, he is the director of certification and a member of the Master Teachers Council. Kur is a master teacher of the Lessac Voice and Body Work, which is a comprehensive and creative approach to developing the voice and the body in a holistic way, resulting in greater flexibility and power and improved expressiveness and communication.
While at Penn State, Kur taught all facets of voice/speech training to undergraduate and graduate students in School of Theatre performance programs. He led master classes in drama programs in New Zealand and London, and has been the voice, speech and dialect coach to more than 100 professional and academic productions. Kur has authored "Stage Dialect Studies: A Continuation of the Lessac Approach to Actor Voice and Speech Training." He was a recipient of Penn State’s George W. Atherton Award for Teaching Excellence, and was past-president of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association.