Dr. Petronilla Whitfield is Associate Professor in Voice and Acting at the Arts University Bournemouth, UK. She holds a PhD in Arts Pedagogy from Warwick University and an MA in Voice Studies from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Trained originally as an actor at Arts Educational Schools, she was a professional actor for twenty years. She has taught voice and acting at leading British actor training institutions and universities for eighteen years.
Teaching Strategies for Neurodiversity and Dyslexia by Dr. Petronilla Whitfield provides a valuable addition to the small but growing number of publications in the field of neurodiversity and actor training [...] the book works on several different levels. Not only does it provide an insight into teaching strategies for working with dyslexic students, it also provides teacher-researchers with an excellent model for a research methodology, and, for non-research based teachers, it provides a valuable case study of student-led learning with the teacher as collaborator [...] Whitfield advocates for an approach to actor training that is student-led and research-based and that is attentive to the diverse needs of students, and flexible and open to change. Whitfield's own work is a fine example of this approach and stands as a valuable model for future pedagogies of voice. - Daron Oram, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, London, UK Whitfield's book is so very valuable not only because she is one of a few focusing on dyslexia in actor training, but because this book contributes to a vastly underdeveloped research area in actor training overall. Throughout, her investigation is rigorous and her findings insightful. This book should be included on the reading list of every teacher-training program for theatre and drama. - Tara McAllister-Viel, Theatre Topics, UK