Frances Parkes MA, AGSM
Brincliffe School for Girls, Nottingham
Clarendon College, Nottingham
Guildhall School of Music and Drama AGSM, London
Goldsmiths College University of London, MA
Awards – Leonardo Da Vinci award to research Grotowski Voice Work
Memberships – Equity, British Voice Association.

Frances came to London when she was 20 to study acting at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She’s worked as an actor in theatre, film and television and has written stage plays performed in London and Edinburgh and as a Drama Consultant in the London Borough of Merton. She found her métier as a voice and dialect coach and went on to study for an MA in Theatre Arts at Goldsmiths. She received a Leonardo Da Vinci award to study the Grotowski technique at the Work Centre of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards in Italy, and incorporates the vocal techniques learned there into her work. Frances Works with people from the public and private sector on voice, speech, presentation, and interview skills and with actors on voice, dialect, casting and audio.

Frances researched, developed and wrote The Speak English Clearly course for people with English as a second language, which she teaches individually and in groups. She recorded the course in 2006. She has delivered the course over 12 years in London, Kerala, Shanghai, and Malta.

Frances formed the Max Your Voice – F Parkes Associates, (originally Make the Most of Your Voice) company in 2002 with voice coaches who went on to develop their careers and brands. She maintains and enjoys researching on all aspects of voice and speech and attends conferences and seminars on the subject.

Talks include the ITI Conference, University of Warwick, Visiting Lecturer at Westminster and London Metropolitan College University of London. Talks at NLP events, Toastmasters, Inset days for Tower Hamlet Schools’ teachers, Talks for Speakers’ Groups, at CASS, Regents Park University and other business schools Workshops at The Actors’ Centre. Workshops at The Factory in Berlin coaching young entrepreneurs on voice and presentation to pitch their start-ups. Google offices in London helping entrepreneurs with vocal skills. Worked at Voice and Presentation workshops in Shanghai for key figures Talks in the steel industry. Coaching company executives in the Cambridge Science Park in Voice and Presentation. Coaching individual scientists from UK companies in presenting their patented work. Coaching voice at the National Centre for Circus Arts.
TV and radio work includes voice analysis on Big Brother and other reality TV shows, voice analysis on documentaries for Endemol, accent coaching on a BBC documentary, accent coaching on Radio London. She has coached for the BBC, Granada, Disney and Company Pictures.

Frances coaches in Speaking English Clearly, Voice and Presentation, Interview Skills and Delivering Speeches.