Accents

[aspiringactressx]

Hi,

It's been mentioned a lot of times to me rather recently that having some different accents to work with would definitely help me at the moment. I was thinking of maybe taking classes at the actors centre having done courses there before, but if anyone has any other idea of good places that offer this then I would definitely be interested to hear your suggestions.

Also, I'm really unsure as to which accents would be beneficial to learn! I've been told by agents that American won't really benefit me, so I'm leaning towards trying to get to grips with a northern accent. My natural accent is London, but probably quite a posh London accent! If anyone just has any advice or guidance as to which accents are desirable and useful then I would be really thankful for your input.

Thanks

[Flosmom]

This is not my specialist subject, but I do know that there are some pretty impressive dialect tutorials available on-line, free of charge, that you can access from the comfort of your own home. So - go google - and if you come across any good ones please share them back here.

I'm sure NAPMs who know more about this than I do will be happy to tell you whether the ones you find are delivering good advice.

Just from a common sense point of view, I'd suggest that you work outwards from the dialect you have naturally. So if you are 'posh London' move to 'East Enders London' and/or Estuary English then out to Home Counties and so on. That way, you'll develop your ear for the subtleties of difference between one and the next in a way that will serve you well when you seek to develop a broader range.

You can also work on dialects that you hear regularly. So if you have a Geordie best friend, or your granny is from Glasgow, spend more time with them and get them to coach you. As a native Black Country girl, I can spot a fake Brummie a mile off, and both my DDs can mimic my accent to a T (which isn't always very flattering!) They can also do a perfect Scottish 'och!' because their granny is from Glasgow and their dad has that in his vocabulary too.

But this is just my thoughts. I know nothing...so if others who are cleverer than I am have different advice, please ignore me

Let us know how you get on

Deb x

[pg]

I think Deb's advice is spot on.

If you don't have to study a specific accent for a production - and you are just doing this to increase your "skills" - then starting from a home base or learning from those you know well is really sensible.

What I do wonder though is who has advised you that having several accents at your disposal will help you - and why they have said this? Could you get some clarification from them? Do they work in the industry?

As ever, the following is only my opinion and others may not agree, but:

At the beginning of someone's career as an actor it is common/usual for someone to be employed using their native/natural accent. It is usually only if you already have a reputation as an actor that you will be employed and asked to use an accent that is not your native accent. I have been asked to learn accents by employers because they wanted to employ me (because they knew of me) - I have only ever been called in as an unknown to use either my accent of birthplace (Birmingham) or my normal accent (RP). That is despite having a number of accents/dialects I can "do" (which are on my Spotlight page). I guess an exception to this would be where you happen to have used one of the accents in your arsenal on screen and it is in your showreel - or possibly on your voice reel (though voice reels are rarely used to decide on whether to call someone in for an audition, unless it's radio/audio work).

I do know one or two actors with the most phenomenal facility for accent/dialect. Quite brilliant at picking up accents and reproducting them convincingly. They are still only likely to be asked to use this ability when they are already wanted as actors.

[whateverlife]

Hey- I happen to be the type of actress that takes a lot of pride in accents that I can do- and my american accent (generic/californian) is by far my best accent- and although being good at accents may not GET you more auditions or jobs- it certainly doesn't hurt. Especially, as there often are a lot of auditions for stuff in the states- and your agent will only put you up for that if you have a very strong accent.

Actors Centre classes will definitely be great and worth going to- but with accents its all about listening and practice, and doing that A LOT. Watch one of your fave american TV shows- and pick out some voices to try and mimic. The best way to start learning ANY accent- is to have a person in your mind that you are trying to mimic. That way you will learn the different ways your mouth moves and slowly will become more comfortable with the accent. Record yourself on your phone doing different voices and really listen to where it doesn't sound quite right- and try to pinpoint how the person in mind would say that. There are also heaps of resources out there for examples of accents- if you need something specific. I once had to nail a Mississippi accent- and listened to different versions of a Mississippi accent until I found one that suited my voice- and just practiced and practiced until i got it.

Anyway- I hope this helps in some small way!! Accents are great! Also - if you ever get into voice acting- they will come in extremely handy.