Actor, singer, and director Lauren Kennedy will receive the 2017 Patrick D. Kenan Award for Vocal Health and Wellness at Duke Voice Care Center’s 11th Annual World Voice Day Celebration Thursday, April 13 at the Cary Arts Center in Cary, NC.
Raleigh native Lauren Kennedy has appeared on Broadway in Spamalot, Sunset Boulevard, Sideshow and Les Miserables, as well as in productions at the New York City Opera, the Kennedy Center, and the Royal National Theatre in London, to name just a few. She originated the role of Cathy in Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years in its Chicago premiere. Kennedy played the role of Princess Nefertari in the film The Ten Commandments: The Musical opposite Val Kilmer. Her albums Here And Now and Songs Of Jason Robert Brown have received rave reviews. Lauren is the Artistic Director of Theatre Raleigh and has a long association with NC Theatre, where she most recently portrayed Diana Goodman in the 2015 production of Next to Normal.
World Voice Day is an international day of celebration of the human voice. Singers, actors, teachers, and preachers need healthy voices to do their jobs, but we all need our voices to connect us to the world. “Our voices inspire the storytellers in our communities,” says David Witsell, MD, Director of Duke Voice Care Center. “Our voices are intrinsically connected to those around us. They express our thoughts, our memories, our ideas, and even silently allow us to communicate with ourselves, creating our stories and our history.” Duke Voice Care Center has led the Triangle’s observation of World Voice Day since 2007.
Each year at World Voice Day, the vocal health experts of Duke Voice Care Center help people learn about how the voice works, how people can keep their voices healthy and strong, and what to do if they have a voice problem. This year, vocal health for actors and singers will be a special focus of the event. According to Lauren, vocal health “is the MOST important for performing artists, because it is our instrument! We express ourselves though our voices…to give your best you have to be in the best shape and you have to take total care of yourself. But,” she adds, “you don’t have to be a singer or an actor to care about vocal health! For all of us, communication starts with the voice.”
Tara Nixon, assistant director of DVCC’s World Voice Day, follows up on this message: “Singers and actors know that no matter what, the show must go on! But people from all walks of life must often ‘go on,’ even if they get sick or become hoarse. The theme of WVD 2017 is What’s your show? We’re inviting people to learn how to keep their voices in shape to make sure that their ‘show’ goes on.”
Duke Voice Care Center is a specialty practice in the Division of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences at Duke Health. The Duke Voice Care team includes laryngologists (ENT doctors with special training in caring for voices), speech-language pathologists and singing voice rehabilitation specialists (speech-language pathologists who are also performers and voice teachers) who work collaboratively to evaluate and treat voice problems. The Duke Voice Care Center also hosts a number of educational programs throughout the year, including presentations and workshops. The Duke Voice Care Center's annual World Voice Day Celebration is usually their biggest vocal health event of the year.
In 2010, the Duke Voice Care Center announced the establishment of the Patrick D. Kenan Award for Vocal Health and Wellness to be presented annually to individuals whose lives and careers increase awareness of the importance of the human voice. The award pays tribute to the legacy of a dynamic and ambitious Duke physician and performer, Patrick D. Kenan. Designated as a Duke Center for Excellence in 2006, the Duke Voice Care Center was formed in large part as a result of Dr. Kenan’s vision for vocal health. Lauren Kennedy will be the eighth recipient of the award. “We look forward to honoring the work of this renowned actor and singer,” says Leda Scearce, Director of DVCC’s Performing Voice Program. “Lauren has not only been the toast of Broadway and beyond, she has been a vivacious and dynamic advocate for theater in our community: an artist in our midst.”
Previous PDK Award honorees have been American Idol winner and country music sensation Scotty McCreery, Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon, international opera star bass-baritone Simon Estes, National Public Radio broadcaster Carl Kasell, Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Tift Merritt, the Triangle-based band Delta Rae, and Durham’s all-male chorus 100 Men In Black.
In addition to Ms. Kennedy’s appearance, the Duke Voice Care Center's 2017 World Voice Day Celebration will feature educational learning sessions, demonstrations, games, prizes, and a vocal health fair.
For more information on the Duke Voice Care Center, visit DukeHealth. Follow us on Twitter @DukeVoiceCare.
For more information on World Voice Day activities around the world, see https://worldvoiceday.org/.
Event Details:
Date: Thursday, April 13, 2017 7 pm
Location and address: Cary Arts Center, 101 Dry Avenue, Cary NC
Tickets (on sale beginning January 16, 2017): $12 Adults; $10 Students/Seniors in advance; $15 Adults; $12 Students/Seniors at the door; $9 Each for Groups of 5 or More
Ticket or Registration Location/Methods:
- Purchase tickets anytime online at www.etix.com
- Purchase tickets through the eTix Phone Center, 1-800-514-3849, M-Sat. 9 a.m.–8 p.m. or Sun 12–8 p.m.
- Purchase tickets in person at The Cary Theater, T-F 11 a.m.–6 p.m. and Sat 10 a.m. –1 p.m.
- Purchase tickets in person at the Cary Arts Center, Mon. 4–8 p.m.
Contact
Media Contact for Duke Voice Care Center: Leda Scearce, (919) 862-5739, leda.scearce@duke.edu
Media Contact for Cary Arts Center: Sarah Preston, (919) 469-4069, sarah.preston@townofcary.org