Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Why do accents so often let shows down?
Guardian Unlimited: "Maybe directors' priorities are being placed elsewhere, or else there's a general belief that everyone in America sounds as if they've stepped off the set of Goodfellas. But in a city that boasts no shortage of bracing American plays - or shows that have American characters in them - I've been hearing some mighty odd accents of late. Indeed, not since I first came to London nearly a quarter-century ago have I heard such a clumsy, generalised wash of so-called American sounds as in recent weeks. For a long time, things improved, and some performers (Clare Higgins, Ben Daniels, Julia McKenzie, Lloyd Owen) are unerringly spot on. But based on what I've seen of late, it's back to the dialect coach in some cases - unless, that is, the industry's finest are all elsewhere coaching the likes of Meryl Streep on their accent du jour."
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9 comments:
If an actor can't pull of an accent, the role is ruined. period. It's unforutnate how much of a difference it makes to a cohesive performance if everyone else is pulling off the perfect british accent except the leading lady - just because you're a star doesn't mean you can't ruin the show. When actors struggle with inflections and tonal qualities it reads in their entire body, and makes the performance that much less believeable and it makes the audience that much less willing to suspend their disbelief about what is happening on the stage.
On a completely random note, this article was really well written, the author clearly knew what they were talking about and were definitely up on their whos-who in theater. well done
Its often so easy to let something as obvious as a bad accent on stage to affect you, even though you don't mean to. You will be, because it stands out, it does not blend in with the rest, and it is not natural on stage when it is supposed to be natural.
It is unfortunate indeed!
Accents are something that are important in a charachter. It tells alot about them without them coming out and saying it. But accents in shows are something that most of the time goes underlooked. They are worked on, but to the to extent that they are perfect. And this is just the thing that can take away from a show. Not on purpose but when an accent is done incorrectly then the audience takes note of it. It will take the attention away from all other parts.
I definitely agree that accents oftentimes can ruin shows. In my opinion, one way to note a good accent is really if you don't notice it. If you don't notice it, then it appeared more natural, which is the key when trying to master the accent. If all you are doing is paying attention to the accent, then you are paying attention to the wrong part of the production, and it is thus being ruined for you.
I agree with joe, good accents you don't realize but when something sticks out like an accent it's really hard to pay attention to the show or like that show. I think that when people try to hard with accents that they are usually ruined as well as when people aren't used to it, for example when someone comes out at first with a really good accent than comes out later with a totally different accent.
i thought the accents in three sisters were done very well, because there weren't many accents at all. it allowed for the script to be heard clearly and presented without any major distraction.
An interesting thing was that I never have thought about a British actor doing an "American accent." It's not often that we need to change our voice but it seems that when people do they are either good or bad at it and if they slip up it kills the character instantly.
It's so true. Here you are watching this great show - but the accent of one or more actors is so awful that it's painful. It can really ruin an experience. An accent is just another part of the role - just as important as the other character traits. If you can't pull it off and end up ruining it, maybe it is best if you just don't even bother. Yet of course it would be better to work on perfecting it as you would work on any other part of your role or career.
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