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monologue Selection

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Topic: monologue Selection

Posted By: sparf
Subject: monologue Selection
Date Posted: 4/20/05 at 12:24am

So, I'm building my repertoire of monologues. So far I have:
"Hang an Actor" from Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead
"Mark me, how I will undo myself" - Richard II
"Canker in a Hedge" - Much Ado About Nothing
"What happened in Boston, Willy?" - Death of a Salesman
"Who liked JP Morgan" - Death of a Salesman
"I'm just a peasant" - The Cherry Orchard

Anyway, that's a start to my collection. My real question is that I did the Lopahin monologue today from Cherry Orchard. "Lyuboff Andreevna has been living abroad five years...". I am told that for the first bit I was slipping into a british accent, sort of Kelsey Grammar-ish. Any ideas as to how to prevent that sort of thing?

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That is not dead which can eternal lie / and with strange aeons even Death may die.

Replies:

Posted By: Linda S
Date Posted: 4/20/05 at 9:07am

I used to live in London, so I occasionaly will slip in to an accent without realizing it. It is odd because it just certain words at certain times depending on the speech. I use to tape myself, listen back, mark my script and do it again. My clever husband set me up with a mic and a set of head phones. I can hear myself and correct immediately. I can record if I want to listen to the whole speech. It has been very useful. Although, I think he was getting tired of listening to me. He set up my little studio in the basement.

Posted By: Topper
Date Posted: 4/20/05 at 2:31pm

One of the distinguishing sounds of the RP dialect
(Received Pronunciation or Upper Class British) is
their dedication to pronouncing every consonant
clearly. In a word like "strength" for example, the
N-G-TH consonant combination is clearly
enunciated.

To "Americanize" your accent you need to speak
more casually. The word "strength" would then
sound more like "strenth."

Americans have a peculiar habit of dropping
consonant sounds, especially in combinations.

The RP has a peculiar habit of dropping only the "R"
sound at the ends of words. If you're pronouncing
the word "here" as "he-ah", then that's another issue.
(And then sometimes they add it back on words like
"draw" which then become "drawer")

I could go on for days about vowel sounds --
especially the "o" sounds in words like "cloak," but I
think I've said enough.

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"None of us really grow up. All we ever do is learn how to behave in public." -- Keith Johnstone

Posted By: hepbura
Date Posted: 4/27/05 at 6:30pm

Part of the problem can come from the translation you use. All dialects have their own rhythm and if you use a British translation, you get British speech patterns. Try the Mamet version or one of the newer American translations.
Also - the old story - focus on the meaning of the words, not on how they sound (sometimes easier said than done)

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Angus Hepburn, New York
www.angushepburn.com

Posted By: Theatre13
Date Posted: 4/28/05 at 4:19pm

I teach dialects across the country and the best I can say to you is this.

I agree with hepbura the translation can be part of the problem. the other issue is that in the translation they would not of americanized it anyway from the russian. It would be written in a proper manner and that is one of the things british people very much pride themselves on and that is there ability to sound and be proper which in return makes them sound very intelligent and from my time there many are.

One of the things you are probably doing is tightening us not realizing it. When speaking properly and I don't mean gramatically correct I just mean proper/clrearly etc. is you tend to tighten your upper lip and also when your posture changes to a more erect status etc. you begin to increase your pitch which is also very common amongst the British RP stage dialact.

To fix all of this relax and don't get caught up in the speech partern of the script you are using. Americans trail off at the end as where British dialect lift up and is more melodic.

Hope that helps a little.

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Jeff
Freelance Director/Designer/Dialect Coach