Hi,
As most directors do, I start with a giant pile of questions: How important is dialect work to the telling of this story? Do I want dialect in order to evoke a specific time, place or character that could not be made clear through any other means? Do the jokes work just as well in my actors' natural accents, or is there something in the way the words are spoken that is baked into the text? Are the nationalities of the characters mentioned specifically many times in the text? Will the audience have a greater enjoyment of the story if the actors are using accents? Will the story be clearer to the audience if accents are used? How many students in my audition pool have the ability and extra time to do the work to speak clearly and accurately in this accent? Is the choice of accents going to pose an extra hardship on my kids who speak English as a second or third language? What about my students with regional accents? Am I comfortable spending a lot of time correcting the pronunciation of my students, and can this group understand those corrections as technical and not personal? Will doing a show in R.P. dissuade kids from auditioning or joining the theatre in the future? Will the kids end up more internally focused on the technical aspect of pronunciations in rehearsals or will they be able to focus on their scene partners and the world of the play?
I almost always ask kids to use their own beautiful accents. I have actors from all over the states and the globe, and I celebrate it. Personally, I see braver, more exciting stage choices from students who are empowered to understand that their unique qualities are important and valuable. Not everyone likes my solution, and you have to do what makes sense for your students and community. Whatever you decide, you'll make it work for yourself and your lucky students!
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Meg O'Connor
Theatre Education Artist
oconnormainstage.com
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