Open Forum

Hello,

I considering doing an adaptation of Pride and Prejudice next year.  The show would be great because I several strong junior and senior girls who are sure to audition.  I am concerned, however, about how to handle the English accents traditionally associated with Jane Austen.  We're in Missouri (and sound like it).  I am not confident in my ability as an accent/dialect coach.  Right now, I am leaning toward directing the show with no accent or our natural midwestern accents.  How have others dealt with challenge or similar issues?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

Theresa

Have you tried the dialect-coaching materials by David Alan Stern? He offers quite a few dialect lessons, including "standard" British, and each comes with a CD and a booklet. Even if you are not confident as a dialect teacher, I've seen students use the Stern to train themselves in  passable British. My kids have self-taught British, Scottish, and Russian using his lessons.

Additional perk: If you find that you have a student who takes to it easily, you can 'hire' him or her as a dialect coach for the rest of the cast.

We used David Alan Stern's Acting with an English Accent (Received Pronunciation) for our production of Pride and Prejudice last fall. Since we are in GA, we were fighting the same issue. All students who were interested in auditioning were provided the information on the resource to purchase if they wanted to prepare over the summer, as dialect was part of the audition process. (I'm sure it's possible to get a site license of some sort as well)

It worked wonders for us, as his exercises really are practical and useful for a teenager to work with on their own.I can't recommend it enough (I used it in college for a production of Charley's Aunt, same results).

Best wishes on your production!

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Joseph Strickland
Athens GA