Preliminary Concerns about Accent Acting

WHEN SHOULD I (the actor) USE ACCENTS?

Here are a few guidelines I’ve put together after years of performing and coaching accents and dialects.

(1) If there are characters in the script who come from a different speech group than the rest of the cast, consider differentiating them with appropriate accents. (2) If the entire script is set in a country or region where a specific dialect of English is spoken, determine whether the whole cast can use that pattern while still creating complete, believable characters. (3) Avoid using foreign accents for translations of non-English scripts. For example, don’t play Chekhov with a Russian accent or Molière with a French accent. For such “classics,” try using an “elevated” style of American diction. (4) Elevated diction is also appropriate when American casts are doing Shakespeare, especially those plays that are not set in England. (5) Finally, DON’T USE ACCENTS UNLESS THEY ARE GOING TO BE PERFORMED WELL!

WHAT TECHNIQUES LEAD TO “GOOD” ACCENTS?

In my experience, relatively few actors have the skill to imitate the accents that they hear with a sense of accuracy and believability. Other actors must use a systematic approach in order to create authentic-sounding accents and dialects. Here is a brief discussion of the most important factors:

PRONUNCIATION: Just making the correct pronunciation changes is not enough to create an authentic-sounding accent. Most teachers, texts, and recorded programs drill students almost exclusively with the appropriate vowel and consonant substitutions for the target pattern. Although I believe that correct pronunciation is one essential component, these vowel and consonant changes will not sound authentic unless you combine them with several other important vocal features.

PITCH CHARACTERISTICS: “Pitch” can refer to any of several vocal traits—from how high or low a voice is to how much intonation or pitch variety is used. But the most important pitch traits that help characterize many accents and dialects are different kinds of upward and/or downward glides that take place during the sounding of vowels—especially vowels in stressed syllables. This trait, which I call INNER-VOWEL LILT, contributes significantly to the familiar, distinctive sounds of many accents and dialects.

STRESS PATTERNS: American English has a complex pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. Many dialects and languages have distinctly different patterns. Some have few, if any, unstressed syllables, while others have rather intricate staccato rhythms that must be present before a performance of that accent can sound authentic.

RESONANCE or MUSCULAR SPEECH IMPULSE: My research, teaching, and performing experiences have convinced me that the most important part of an accent’s aural essence comes from the specific way that the tongue, lips, soft palate, and larynx shape and position the resonance tract. Different tract configurations, in turn, give many unique resonances or “timbres” to the overall sound. Each specific “tone focus” is very noticeable throughout an accent, regardless of whether actual pronunciation changes are occurring on certain words. In fact, once an actor has mastered an accent’s muscularity and tone focus, many of the important new pronunciations can happen more easily and convincingly. Most of the programs in this series begin with a detailed lesson on resonance. Pronunciation drills then extend out of the new muscularity. As such, the speech sounds are now “organic,” and no longer a set of vowels and consonants you try to memorize in isolation.

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO PRACTICE?

Begin by drilling the mechanics of the new accent—the resonance, lilt, rhythm, and pronunciations. Go on to integrate the changes into phrases, sentences, and passages. Then try improvising and actually generating your own speech while using the new accent. Don’t limit your new accent to the target script. If you do, you are apt to be very mechanical and never create the sense that you are a real person who actually talks this way.

WHEN SHOULD I (the actor) USE ACCENTS?

WHAT TECHNIQUES LEAD TO “GOOD” ACCENTS?

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO PRACTICE?

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