America Talks

Isn't It Romantic takes place in New York and our director has ambitiously decided that we will be using accents. Accents are a tricky thing because they must sound believable (you just know there will be a native New Yorker in the crowd and he/she has to think that you must be from their old neighbourhood), and they must not drop at any moment since that would ruin the effect for the audience.

At first, I felt lucky because my character isn't Jewish and doesn't come from Brooklyn. But then I realised that I wouldn't have it that easy after all. I mean, what the heck is a Standard American Accent with just a hint of New York suppose to be? I'm should to be getting tapes real soon.

Also, why do Americans seem to have such a problem with the letter O? In words like God, sorry and mommy, the O becomes an AW. So the words actually sound like Gawd, sawrry and mawmmy. Try repeating those words many times over and your jaw starts to feel weird and unatural. To make it feel more natural you actually have to go down deeper into your pelvis. Your whole body really feels like it needs to shift around a bit. It's hard to explain so I don't know if anyone understands what I'm talking about. Well, Kris probably does. Actually Kris, I'd love to take you for coffee sometime to discuss body position in relation to the voice.

Anyway, all this has really been helpful in discovering how my character walks and talks. And this is just the exploration I've done on my own. I can't wait until I get to implement it in rehearsals.