ACTING with an ACCENT ********************* COCKNEY (London Working Class) - Second Edition - by DAVID ALAN STERN, PhD Copyright ©1979, 2003, 2012 DIALECT ACCENT SPECIALISTS, Inc. P.O. Box 44, Lyndonville, VT 05851 (802) 626-3121 www.LearnAccent.com No part of this manual or the accompanying audio CD may be reproduced or otherwise transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or audio dubbing, without permission in writing from Dialect Accent Specialists, Inc. 2 The ACTING WITH AN ACCENT series New York City Standard British French American Southern Cockney German Texas British North Russian Boston Irish Yiddish "Down East" Scottish Polish "Kennedyesque" Australian Norw./Swed. Chicago Spanish Arabic Mid-West Farm Italian Farsi West Indian/Black African Programs are Also Available for REDUCING Foreign Accents and American Regional Dialects Other Programs Include AMERICAN ACCENTS FOR ENGLISH ACTORS AMERICAN ACCENT FOR CANADIAN ACTORS THE SPEAKER'S VOICE ABOUT THE AUTHOR David Alan Stern received a Ph.D. in Speech from Temple University and served on the faculties of both Wichita State and Penn State before founding Dialect Accent Specialists, Inc. in Hollywood in 1980—working there exclusively as an acting and dialect coach for professional actors. Since 1993, he’s kept his foot in the industry while serving as Professor of Dramatic Arts at his alma mater, the University of Connecticut. Among the many actors he has helped to prepare for stage, television, and film roles are Geena Davis (The Accidental Tourist), Julie Harris (Carried Away), Jennifer Jason Leigh (Fast Times at Ridgemont High), Shelley Long (Outrageous Fortune), Terrence Mann (My Fair Lady), Liam Neeson (Next of Kin), Lynn Regrave (Sweet Sue), Pat Sajak (The Boys in Autumn), Forest Whitaker (Byrd and The Crying Game), and Julia Roberts, Sally Field, Olympia Dukakis, and Daryl Hannah (Steel Magnolias). David also served for many seasons as the resident dialect coach at the Berkshire Theatre Festival in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. For further information on recordings, coaching, and campus seminars or residencies, contact: DIALECT ACCENT SPECIALISTS, INC. P.O. Box 44, Lyndonville, VT 05851 (800) 753-1016 www.LearnAccent.com 3 SOME PRELIMINARY CONCERNS When should I use dialects & accents? Here are a few guidelines I've put together after years of performing and coaching dialects. (1) If there are characters in the script that come from a different speech group than the rest of the cast, consider differentiating them with appropriate dialects. (2) If the entire script is set in a country or region where a specific dialect of English is spoken, determine whether the whole cast can use that pattern while still creating complete, believable characters. (3) Avoid using foreign accents for translations of non-English scripts. For example, don't play Chekhov with a Russian accent or Moliѐre with a French accent. For such "classics," try using an "elevated" style of American diction. (4) Elevated diction is also appropriate when American casts are doing Shakespeare, especially those plays that are not set in England. (5) Finally, DON'T USE ACCENTS UNLESS THEY ARE GOING TO BE PERFORMED WELL! What techniques lead to good dialects? In my experience, relatively few actors have the skill to imitate the accents that they hear with a sense of accuracy and believability. Other actors must use a systematic approach in order to create authentic-sounding accents and dialects. Here is a brief discussion of the most important factors: PRONUNCIATION: Just making the correct pronunciation changes is not enough to create an authentic-sounding dialect. Most teachers, texts, and recorded programs drill students almost exclusively with the appropriate vowel and consonant substitutions for the target pattern. Although I believe that correct pronunciation is one essential component, these vowel and consonant changes will not sound authentic unless you combine them with several other important vocal features. PITCH CHARACTERISTICS: "Pitch" can refer to any of several vocal traits— from how high or low a voice is to how much intonation or pitch variety is used. But, the most important pitch traits that help characterize many accents and dia- lects are different kinds of upward and/or downward glides that take place during the sounding of vowels—especially vowels in stressed syllables. This trait, which 4 I call INNER-VOWEL LILT, contributes significantly to the familiar, distinctive sound of many accents and dialects. STRESS PATTERNS: American English has a complex pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. Many dialects and languages have distinctly different patterns. Some have few, if any, unstressed syllables, while others have rather intricate staccato rhythms that must be present before a performance of that dialect can sound authentic. RESONANCE or MUSCULAR SPEECH IMPULSE: My research, teaching, and performing experiences have taught me that the most important part of a dialect's aural essence comes from the specific way that the tongue, lips, soft palate, and larynx shape and position the resonance tract. Different tract configurations, in turn, give many unique resonances or "timbres" to the overall sound. Each specific "tone focus" is very noticeable throughout a dialect, regardless of whether actual pronunciation changes are occurring on certain words. In fact, once an actor has mastered a dialect's muscularity and tone focus, many of the important new pronunciations can happen more easily and convincingly. Most of the CD's in this series begin with a detailed lesson on resonance. Pronunciation drills then extend out of the new muscularity. As such, the speech sounds are now "organic," and no longer a set of vowels and consonants you try to memorize in isolation. What is the best way to practice? Begin by drilling the mechanics of the new dialect—the resonance, lilt, rhythm, and pronunciations. Go on to integrate the changes into phrases, sentences, and passages. Then try improvising and actually generating your own speech while using the new dialect. Don't limit your new accent to the target script. If you do, you are apt to be very mechanical and never create the sense that you are a real person who actually talks this way. 5 ACTING with an ACCENT COCKNE Y - London Working Class - (Second Edition) LESSON ONE: COCKNEY RESONANCE or MUSCULAR SPEECH IMPULSE The first step in creating a Cockney dialect is to make an overall change in the resonance features of the voice. As I explain on the CD, Cockney speech focuses its tone or resonance in the high-back part of the mouth—between the rear tongue and the soft palate. A complete change in speech muscularity causes this resonance shift. Standard American speech locates most of its muscle work in the middle part of the tongue. Cockney, by contrast, requires a wider opening in the back of the mouth and much more work in the middle and back of the tongue. Follow the CD through the series of exercises for moving the new resonance away from the mid-mouth focus of American speech and toward the Cockney high-back muscularity by: 1. imagining or visualizing the change in tone focus and feeling a difference in the tissue vibration. [TRACK 2] 2. opening your mouth wider in back and lowering the mid- and rear tongue. [TRACK 3] 3. pretending that you are "about to swallow" the sound, just as you would swallow a pill with water. [TRACK 4] WARNINGS: (1) While doing the exercises to create the new muscularity/resonance, be careful not to put tension in your throat or pull your larynx down to a lower position. All of the new muscle behaviors take place inside the mouth, not the throat. (2) Don't create an actual nasality, i.e., don't let any sounds other than M, N, and NG consonants pass wholly or partially through the nose. "Cockney through the nose" is the core of the Australian sound. A WORD ABOUT INFLECTION: Though the "classic" or "music hall" Cockney style uses a great deal of upward pitch movement, especially at the ends of phrases and sentences, neither that nor any kind of pitch change is absolutely necessary for creating a general Cockney impression. However, the style and the amount of intonation can vary greatly from character to character. Follow the CD as I demonstrate the sentence that's printed below with different intonation traits. [TRACK 5] - We traveled along the motorway and went off to get a bite to eat. 6 VOWELS THAT CHANGE IN MUSCULARITY/RESONANCE ONLY [TRACK 6] The new muscularity creates a different resonance and aural impression even on syllables with no overt pronunciation differences between the dialects. Those who use a "narrow" approach to phonetics still see these as pronunciation changes, but I find it easier to create the effect on these six vowels by shooting for the same pronunciation while changing to the new muscularity. Try it on the following vowels. 1. "SHORT I" as in SIT STILL - This is it. Sister is sitting inside. * Fill it in. fixing this chicken 2. "SHORT E" as in GET READY - Esther said, excellent credit * extended credit, extra effort 3. "UH" as in MOTHER'S LOVE (Do not use as is done in Ireland and the British North Country.) - such trouble, coming up * mother's love, up and coming 4. "SHORT OO" as in GOOD LOOKING - I should have stood. butcher's hook * took a look, push and pull 5. "AH-OO" as in OUT OF TOWN - mountain sounds, the proud count * loud sounds, clown around 6. "AW-EE" as in JOYFUL NOISE - noisy boy, enjoy the toy * moist cloisters, the joys of soybeans The following sentences contain the vowels you just practiced. Each results from a refocusing of the resonance but does not require an overt pronunciation change. - The book is in the desk.