Testimonials
YELP REVIEWS
SUCCESS STORY: 3/26/2019 Mr. Rustan is amazing what a pro! He helped my daughter to achieve a pretty flawless French Creole accent for her dramatic interpretation speech. I am happy to report that she most recently received a gold medal at the State Championships for that particular speech. The judges comments always include wonderful remarks about how great and believable her French Creole accent is. Thanks John and you will always be our go to dialect coach. -- June Sims UPDATE: 4/16/19 Nicole also won 4 gold medals at the Nationals, one for her performance of LaVeau, and including the Bovero-Tabor Award for Top Speaker. 
Marilyn Stacey, Portland OR 5/14/2019 John Rustan knows his stuff, and is great with actors under pressure. I had a big audition on short notice, and John provided me with dialect recordings and written materials that got me ready and confident. He also conferenced with me over the phone to do additional work. His materials were easy to work with, and thorough. He also helped me pin down a specific Scottish dialect needed (and provided some great Glasgow drinking expressions). Thanks so much, John. You're a pro. Mark L, La Crescenta CA 4/16/2019 Updated review I worked with John Rustan on two stage productions in Los Angeles-- one production required British and Irish, and the other German. John worked with the casts of each show face to face -- providing hand-outs and recordings which helped the actors to understand each sound change and all other aspects of each dialect. As a result, the actors felt confident and the performances sounded great. It was a worth-while investment. "John’s work with our casts of Fiddler on the Roof and Cabaret took both productions to that next level of professionalism. His instruction was clear and easy to understand and incorporate, and he left us with very helpful materials for further study. John contributed in no small measure to the artistic success of our productions."
- Elly Lichtenstein, Artistic Director, Cinnabar Theatre 
"John Rustan is an incredibly skilled, patient, and resourceful dialect coach. He helped me with both Canadian and Russian for a one woman show I had written and was performing in, and his tutelage/coaching was instrumental in me being able to pull off these two very different dialects. He provided audio examples and phonetic transcriptions, both of which were so helpful for me in rehearsal and in locking in the learning. I highly recommend John’s work and for any future dialect work I might need he would be the first person I call." -- Pidge Mead, Actress, San Francisco "I've worked with John on numerous shows at Santa Rosa Jr. College. He has a remarkable range of dialects along with clear instructions and a great ear. Students pick up the dialects quickly from day one after he works with them." -- John Shillington, PhD |
707-536-6276 rustan50@hotmail.com 189 Webster St. Petaluma, CA 94952 SUCCESS STORY: Audition Coaching Client, Caroline Edmundson has recently received acceptances to all four schools to which she applied: Marin School of the Arts in California, and three schools in London: Sylvia Young Theatre School , ArtsEd and Italia Conti. She chose to attend Arts Ed. Her mother writes: "My 13-year old daughter was applying to performing arts high schools and needed help with auditions. She went to John for several sessions. He helped her choose appropriate monologues and assisted her with accent, articulation, and character development. He also provided her with guidance on overall audition approach—what to wear and how to introduce herself. John was incredibly helpful; he had a deep knowledge of the monologues as well as the audition process. He was also very approachable and friendly. As my daughter was accepted to all the schools to which she was applying, I would say the sessions achieved their goal!" Thanks very much, John! Victoria Monfried Caroline's Mother “John has coached many of our student actors through the years on a wide variety of dialects. He works efficiently and effectively and the students respond well to his coaching. He instills the students with confidence in their dialects, and follows up with detailed note sessions. He is also highly skilled at dialect reduction.” -- Leslie McCauley, Department Chair/Artistic Director, Santa Rosa Junior College “An hour with John is so much more effective and fun than a recording! I learned so much in a short time.” -- Megan Sinclair, Actress "John Rustan served as dialect coach for a production of Translations that I directed . . . He worked with the company . . . making each person aware of the technical facility required and the vowel and consonant changes necessary to make the speech sound right. His rapport with the company aided what was a strong ensemble feeling among the cast. His work enhanced the artistic product . . . getting the actors to work with the dialect as part of their individual character rather than presenting a generic quality dialect pattern." - Joseph Gilg, University of Oregon “Whether serving as a production’s dialect coach or conducting a dialect workshop, John is always thoroughly prepared, providing students with excellent techniques, reference materials and timely examples from popular culture. His instructional approach serves many different learning styles, combining detailed instruction with playful exercises that allow students to relax and improve quickly, regardless of past experience or natural ability.” -- Laura Downing-Lee, Professor/Director Santa Rosa Junior College "John was dialect coach for my production of Tennessee Williams' THE ECCENTRICITIES OF A NIGHTINGALE at the University of Oregon, and was superb. I used him again to teach the South African dialect for a production of SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION at Bowling Green State University. I was very pleased by his meticulous attention to detail and his amazing preparation.” -- Dr. Janet Gupton, Linfield University "I've found his work on dialects and accents be to precise, meticulous, and tailored to the individual's needs. He takes the time to make sure the sounds are right, consistent, and easy to remember. I can't recommend him highly enough." -- Dave Sikula, Actor/Director, San Francisco |
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