Drama Scholars Master the Art of AccentsÌý
Drama scholars inÌýFourth Y±ð²¹°ùÌýand above,Ìýgot to grips with accents. Ask almost any young performer if they can do an accent, and youÌýalmost inevitablyÌýget a very hesitant, ‘maybe… if I practice… IÌý»å´Ç²Ô’tÌý°ì²Ô´Ç·É…Ìý±õ’mÌýnot sure…’Ìý±õ³Ù’sÌýeasy to forget that, at its core, an accent is simply a change in how our mouths move and sounds are made. Working with a voice coach, the group soon got to grips with the basic mechanics before working on the key changes needed to deliver lines in heightened RP, American and Scottish accents. By breaking the words down into different vowel sounds and how simple switches make all the difference, the group were soon delivering monologues in their newly learned accents. Want to try it yourself? WhenÌýattemptingÌýa Scottish accent, replace the ‘ay’ sound in words like ‘face’,Ìý‘day’ and ‘against’ with an elongated ‘ee’ sound. AndÌý»å´Ç²Ô’tÌýforget that Scottish is a rhotic accent, meaning that if you see theÌýRÌýyou say the R! Have a go…! Ìý
