Coaching & Education

"Thank you for being an incredible addition to the room! Your work is already showing in our process!" - Jim Fagan, Director

Off the stage, I am deeply passionate about educational & coaching work. With a foundation rooted in the rigorous training at the Boston University College of Fine Arts, I specialize in bridging the gap between phonetic precision and character-driven storytelling. After completing Advanced Voice with Professor Ashleigh Reade, and serving as a teaching assistant for the sophomore-level Accents and Dialects curriculum at BU, I have transitioned into production-side coaching with a focus on immersive world-building.

Recent coaching credits include Sam Steiner’s YOU STUPID DARKNESS! (Manchester/Mancunian) and Adam Szymkowicz’s CLOWN BAR (1 & 2), where I developed a variety of Transatlantic and Film Noir-inspired clown dialects.

I am currently a Musical Theatre Instructor at The Secret Academy in Long Island City, teaching students ages 8-10! Additional educational credits include work at ArtsBridge Summer & BU Summer Theatre Institute. In both positions, I led warm-ups, coached performance techniques, and used student-centered feedback methods like to help students safely take creative risks. I have taught and assisted classes in Movement, Acting, Devised Theatre, Voice & Speech, Yoga, Musical Theatre, and Improvisation, and notably developed a lesson plan for a workshop in fundamentals of the Meisner technique for a students aged 14 - 16.

I was also the Co-Founder and Musical Theatre Instructor for the non-profit Crafters-4-Creativity, I designed and instructed engaging virtual programs that provided free arts education and a safe space for over 200 young students in our two years during the pandemic.

I have also worked with several actors privately to coach accents for auditions.

My students from the Boston University Summer Theatre Institute perform in a devised piece, which I helped facilitate and coach on.

Summer 2024.

Photo credits: Myself!

My Offerings

My approach to dialect coaching is defined by a blend of technical linguistic study and a deep commitment to the actor’s process. I am passionate about collaborating with both actors and directors to amplify creative vision through authenticity — to both themselves, and to the story they are bringing to life. I believe dialect and voice work should be a tool to help find the character rather, than an obstacle or hindrance.

Let’s make it feel easy! I am now offering private dialect coaching for actors as well as full production-side coaching and collaboration with directors.

And as a part-time fitness instructor, I’m also excited to offer one-on-one consultations on voice preservation and projection for fitness instructors looking to find more ease when coaching their classes.

Contact me at maireadssoneill@gmail.com for rates!

Testimonials

"Working with Mairéad as a dialect coach on You Stupid Darkness! was an absolute delight. She demonstrated a comprehensive understanding of the Manchester accent and was a wonderful presence to have in rehearsals. She provided us with a very detailed breakdown of the accent that included a brief history of the dialect, key features of the oral posture, distinct phonetic features, and links to more resources to help the cast.

Not only did Mairéad have a keen perception of the Manchester accent, she also had a strong understanding of how the accent and dialect could be used in the storytelling of the play, which she demonstrated by including character specific notes in her accent packet. She was always happy to answer any questions I had as an actor, and gave fabulous examples of pronunciation of specific words and lines from the show.

Mairéad has an especially impressive ear for phonetic details which was illustrated in all of her accent notes from rehearsals. Not only is her ear helpful in accent accuracy, but she was also always aware of intelligibility for the audience. She always brought an encouraging and kind spirit to the rehearsal room and helped us all feel comfortable and confident performing in a challenging accent.

Because of her, I was able to do my best work as an actor. Mairéad is a wonderful dialect coach and collaborator to have in any room, and I would be overjoyed if I got the privilege of working with her again."

- Keira Bertram, Actor

Education & Experiences

Bachelor of Fine Arts. Major: Acting. Focus: Musical Theatre/Voice. Boston University, Boston, MA.

Semester Programme in Classical Acting. London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art.

Summer Program in Physical Theatre/Dance. Accademia dell’Arte, Arezzo, Italy.

Arts Endorsed High School Diploma with Honors Distinction. Concentration: Drama. LaGuardia High School for Music and Art and the Performing Arts, Manhattan, NY

200-HR Yoga Alliance Certification. CorePower Yoga, 2026.

Teacher Certification in Yoga Sculpt (50hr) . CorePower Yoga, 2024.

Boundary Training for Educators. United Educators, 2024.

Spontaneous Combustion, Improv Comedy Troupe. Boston University, Boston, MA.

Advanced Voice

Boston University

Semester-long course with a focus on the advanced mechanics of the voice, Internation Phonetic Alphabet, lexical sets and linguistics. Special focus on developing skills and warm ups as a voice teacher, and giving notes/coaching actors.

Roy Hart

Accademia Dell'Arte

Two-week long intensive focusing on Roy Hart voicework; freeing the voice and finding a deeper richness to it in partnership with music and imagination.

2Teaching Assistant2010

Boston University & ArtsBridge Summer

Numerous teaching assistant positions held in sophomore-level Voice & Speech Accents/Dialects course, as well as High School-level Summer Theatre institute assisting courses in IPA and Musical Theatre vocal technique as well as Acting, Devising, Movement, Improvisation, and Yoga.

Preparing Freelancers

Voice & Speech Trainers Association

A member of the inaugural 9-week mentorship program pairing early career voice & speech freelancers with mentors. Focus on developing skills in voice coaching for theatre, film/tv, corporate settings, sustaining a portfolio career and developing a private practice.

Co-Founder & Instructor

Crafters-4-Creativity

I designed and instructed engaging virtual programs that provided free arts education and a safe space for over 200 young students during the pandemic. As part of my work, at the end of each semester I would edit together clips of students' works across various disciplines and create a 60-minute long video showcase that we would live stream on YouTube to families.