author
Leland Todd Powers
1857–1920
A star lecturer and teacher of expression in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this American performer helped turn spoken-word training into a serious art. He founded a Boston school that shaped generations of students in public speaking, acting, and dramatic reading.
1 Audiobook
Practice Book, Leland Powers School
by Leland Todd Powers
About the author
Born in Pultneyville, New York, in 1857, Leland Todd Powers built a career as an actor, author, and influential teacher of expression. He became widely known on the lyceum circuit, where audiences came to hear dramatic readings and lectures delivered with the polished style that made him famous.
Powers is best remembered as the founder of the Leland Powers School in Boston, created with his wife, Carol Hoyt Powers. The school focused on spoken performance and communication, and it became an important part of performing-arts education at a time when elocution, interpretation, and public speaking were central cultural skills.
He also wrote instructional works on expression and speech, including books used in training and classroom practice. Although he died in 1920, his name remained closely tied to the teaching of voice, presence, and the art of speaking to an audience.