What it’s like to teach actors an American accent?

What it’s like to teach actors an American accent?

As a seasoned cinephile with a penchant for unraveling the intricacies of accents and dialects, I can wholeheartedly endorse adding “Industry” to your watchlist. The meticulous work of American-dialect specialist Rebecca Gausnell, a voice coach who honed her craft at London’s Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, is evident in the series.


Add Industry to your watchlist.

American voice coach Rebecca Gausnell, who was born in the U.S., is an expert in American accents. She honed her skills at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She has worked with actors on shows like Emily in Paris, All the Light We Cannot See, and the third season of BBC drama Industry, which premieres this week.

Regular practice is the key to mastering something perfectly. If your goal is to perfect an accent, spend time listening to recordings by native speakers. Try to memorize a catchy phrase, then repeatedly play it back and imitate their pronunciation. Switch between this “magic phrase” and written text as you practice.

Which dialect do you find most frequently? It’s called General American, but I’ve likely worked with speakers from every corner of the United States – Wyoming, New Orleans, California, and the South. The sounds “R” and “L” are particularly challenging in American English for British speakers because they are pronounced quite differently.

MOUTH WORKOUT
You’ve got 43 muscles in your face. I always start with a vocal warm-up — some muscles need to be turned “on”, while others need to take a break. With an American accent, the tongue sits higher, so we might do exercises to get the tongue up. Americans stress the personal pronoun more. We say, “Well, I really feel…” and Brits might say, “Well, I really feel that…” Americans say “been” as “bin” — it’s my biggest pet peeve when that’s pronounced wrong on TV!

What it’s like to teach actors an American accent?

In some instances, dialect coaches are brought in as quick fixes and the call can be made at the last minute. Ideally, an actor would have ten hours of preparation time, but this is seldom the case. I often conduct sessions via Zoom, but if I’m on set, I can provide the actor with a suggestion or request another take if the accent isn’t satisfactory. It’s also my responsibility to inform the production team if the requested accent cannot be achieved. In some cases, the actor might be able to perform a different accent, or even use their own if it doesn’t significantly impact the plot.

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2024-09-26 18:35