Reading aloud in a "fake" accent

....given the number of pro actors who don't do UK regional accents well, I'd really stick with your own....:) (Spike in Buffy - when he was doing cockney he sounded Aussie to me)
 
Montero said:
....given the number of pro actors who don't do UK regional accents well, I'd really stick with your own....:) (Spike in Buffy - when he was doing cockney he sounded Aussie to me)
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He was copying Anthony Heads real accent, which funnily enough I thought sounded fake when he was being Ripper rather than Giles.
 
I hope you have fun reading tonight, HB! And as to how to speak, I agree with Juliana - just be yourself. Or be your book - it has a wonderful voice, and that's the one that will come over to your audience. :)
 
Vladd67 said:
He was copying Anthony Heads real accent, which funnily enough I thought sounded fake when he was being Ripper rather than Giles.
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I had heard that Anthony Head had coached him - but I still call it only a partial success.
In terms of English accents sounding fake - watch a 1950s documentary sometime - they sound terribly overdone upper class, but they were genuine for the period.
 
Slowing down is important, imo. Many people rush when they read aloud, which in turn tends to flatten out intonation. Reading aloud is a skill, worth a bit of practice. Accents are only for the naturally gifted and much experienced.

One other thing, though this comes too late for your reading. This isn't just a reading. You are telling part of your story. These are your characters, who are (or should be) clear and distinct in your own mind. To the extent that you can, inhabit the passage. Be there alongside your characters. Be in the moment. The audience wants to believe you are excited about your own writing. I compare it to a musician performing. One sort of artist will just stand there and strum the guitar. Another sort will throw himself into it. Guess which one gets talked about afterward.
 
There was a Swedish guy once... who came here, a musician, and he was learning beginner English, so we told him: 'Oh', we said, 'learn the real English, the English english, with the accent, to be accepted, and taken seriously.' And he believed, and he listened to Coronation Street and Fawlty Towers and whatnot, and he was filmed trying to talk this way, and the laughter went on for a few days, then he figured it out, and he now sounds like a lout amurican. True story.
 
Dan Jones said:
I get the distinct impression that this thread is solely here to goad me into volunteering my Geordie accent for the cause. But I shan’t do it!

HE’S FOOKIN’ BLINDED US! ME EYES, ME EYES!
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The serious student of writing accents would note the grammatical irregularities, which is the heart and soul of writing legible accents.

The serious student of speaking accents however would be grateful they've never heard this.

And the serious student of Chrons would wonder what horrible barsteward prompted Dan into posting this... sorry. Sorry.
 
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