Maybe it’s my acting training, or my having lived in three distinct parts of the United States: Chicago, LA and Atlanta, that has me fascinated with accents. No matter who you are, or where you come from, you have an accent. So how does that translate into performance?
I often see posts on the audio drama subreddit of people looking for shows with “real” British accents, no Americans, please! Does that mean Americans do a really crappy British accent? Well, probably some, yes. But what it really boils down to is two specific things:
Firstly, which kind of British accent are you doing? I think back to my college days and we were taught “R.P.” which means “Royal Pronunciation.” And from what I’ve learned since then, is that Americans define that as “Blue Blood” or “Upper Class” Brits. But in Britain, basically it’s an affected voice only used by newscasters. As an American, imagine if you heard a whole scene where someone had the cadence of your local newscaster. Then we’re taught “Cockney” as the “lower class” or “working man” British accent. Okay, well, that’s pretty generic, isn’t it? If you look at “working class” Americans, you would ask “Well, okay, where in America are they from?” Because the bulk of our population is working class. So in the U.S. or the U.K., where you are from will definitely affect the accent you perform. And it 100% should. Otherwise you are a very generic and uninteresting character.
Secondly, is all about how the accent is performed. As an actor, when you add an accent to your character, your character should come first. His or her desires, goals, emotions, reactions… those need to be the most important part of your performance. But if you are so fixated on the accent you’ve added, the accent will overrun anything else you try to bring to the performance. The accent needs to be present, but not dominating your dialogue. We want the audience to remember the character, not the voice of the character.
How you can accomplish all of this is research. I did an upper class British accent in a show in college. I was an alien visiting Earth, so I didn’t have to pick a specific region where I was from, but I worked with my voice teacher on all of my lines to make sure each and every word serviced the accent without overwhelming the content of what I was saying. It’s wise as an actor to look at the words you are set to say and make sure you know how your chosen accent would speak them.
This goes back to my having lived in different parts of the United States. We’re all Americans all speaking English, but when you’re around someone from an area different than you are, every now and then a word in the conversation will bump you. Did you hear that right? Did he mean “water” because it sounded like “wudder” (that’s Jeremy 😉 ) If you are versed in the accent you are performing, you will get that word correct. Don’t assume you can guess or you know. Acting means homework. Do yours.
So it’s not that audiences hate when Americans do British accents. They are just tired of lazy actors not doing the work, and giving a poor representation of the accent. And hey, it goes both ways. I watched a BBC show with a character flown in from Chicago. Try as he might to be “American” he was NOT “Chicagoan.” And, yes, I judged his performance harshly based on that!
-Chrisi (aka Madison)
