how to speak an american accent for a play?

Question

im auditioning for a school play-high school musical. I have a stong backround in drama and i can sing..but for th play i need o have a slight american accent and im from ireland. I do speak and drama so i have a rounded voice but i dont no how to achieve an american accent. can anyone help me please!!!!!!..tanks!

Answer 1

It would have been helpful to have known what play it was.

If you're in theatre in America the standard American accent is taught which broadcasters try to use.

It might be easier to point out the differences. Most vowels in an English accent is elongated, American is shorter. "R"s are hard in MidWestern accents while nearly silent in some southern dialects and north eastern.

"O"s are flattened in soutern speech. Florida becomes Flaw-ee-duh with more of an "A" sound. "U"s often are flattened as well. Bury becomes berrie.

In southern English some letter drop off particularly the ending "G" of "ing". Going becomes goin'. Southern English is also famous for ya'll and a few other words. We don't just go to town. "We're fixing to go to town."

Southern English also suffers from a deteriorating dipthong. Violin becomes not vih-oh-lynn but vih-lynn.

The accent falls differently on different words. Cement is not ceMENT but CEment. MidWest says peCON with a long "O." The south says PEE-can.

Southern speech is lilting especially toward the end or with questions. The final word or two is raised up higher in pitch.

There are educated southern accects, aristrocratic southern accents and uneducated types.

You will have to adapt your accent to become consistant and adjust it to your audience. If you try to make an accent to literal, your audience will have trouble understanding some words.

Answer 2

Hearing the accent is the best way to learn it. You have to choose which american accent you want, and then I suggest renting a movie to hear it. I had to learn a Scottish accent for a production, so I rented Braveheart and listened to the children speaking rather then the adults. I knew most of the adults were "using an accent" but the kids were just speaking in their normal voice.

Answer 3

are you sure about "British" and "American" accent ? In Britain there are hundreds of accents! there are Cockney, RP, Yorkshire, Bristol etc! and they're all completely different! In the US, there's a standard form, which is called "General American' : many Hollywood films often use this accent? yip.... and there are more than 50 regional accents too. Southern, Californian, Boston, New Yorker, Mid-Western etc.... I think you only have your "Own Accent" a bit influence from "General American', "British" and your native language..... :)

Answer 4

Remember, there is no one American accent. There's the Midwestern accent, the Eastern seaboard accent, and , of course, that Southern Drawl. That one might be easiest of all. Think of the actresses in Gone with the Wind. As a matter of fact, rent the DVD. It's a classic and you'll be talking like a Southern belle in no time.

Answer 5

Best way to do an "American" accent is to watch American movies and try to emulate what you hear. One prime example I can think of is Cary Elwes in the movie "Twister." He did a pretty darned good American accent. He was also in "Liar, Liar" with Jim Carrey and pulled off an American accent in that movie quite well. Good luck!

Answer 6

Try using an accent tape/CD with book. This coaches you through the accent, sound by sound. Ask at your local library, that's where I found them, and if they don't have them then they should be able to tell you where to find them.

Otherwise, try this website: http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_maps/namerica.php and click on the flag for the area of the US that you want to hear the accent of, it's really useful.

Good luck!

Answer 7

If you're Irish, you're not so far off. You might want to flatten out your lilt a bit, since American speech is not as melodic as Irish, so a bit more centered around one tone. The sound or of such words as "car" and "park" tends to be closer to the "Ah" than the "ae". See if you can get hold of any American movies to watch. Then don't so much watch as listen to them.

Good luck

Answer 8

I say go to rent some movies that involve the area that has the accent that you need. It's the easiest way to do it.

Also you can probably use your computer to record your voice and play it back so you can hear yourself as you work on it.

Answer 9

Listen to Dr. House.

Answer 10

use lots of slang and mumble and mutter... you'll sound like everyone in america!