I've Just Worked On...

God's Ear

by Jenny Schwartz

Pursued by a Bear's  production of Jenny Schwartz's stunning play God's Ear at the Reginald Theatre (the old Seymour Downstairs space). A darkly funny and profoundly moving theatrical vision by a brilliant new American playwright. When Mel and Ted’s son dies, the couple discover the ways in which language sometimes is inadequate when dealing with loss.

I was called in to perfect their American accents. The cast were all very talented and dedicated, meaning I could get very specific - which is great to do, not just for me but for the actors as well. Their hard work on every aspect, and the director's detailed guidance, really paid off.

Directed by Jonathan Wald, produced by Jocelyn Brewer, and with an amazing cast comprised of Natasha Beaumont, Julian Garner, Victoria Greiner, Helen O'Leary, Kieran Foster, Cam Knight and Gael Ballantyne. The season ran Thursday 10 Nov to Saturday 3 Dec with previews Thursday 10 and Friday 11 Nov.  

Victoria Greiner, Gael Ballantyne, Kieran Foster and Natasha Beaumont. Photo Bob Seary

I was very proud to have rated a mention for my work in one review which said "Nick Curnow as dialect coach has done an absolutely superb job - you almost believe the cast is American, which is a massive achievement." Stage Whispers by Whitney Fitzsimmons

Other reivews for the show were resoundingly positive:

Jason Blake in the Sydney Morning Herald

Aussie Theatre by Felicity Burke

Primate Perspective by Steve McGrathCrikey.com by Lloyd Bradford Skye

FBi Radio by Nick Hose

Kevin Jackson's Theatre Diary

I've just worked on...

Four Flat Whites in Italy
by Roger Hall


Ensemble Theatre in Kirribilli's premiere of Four Flat Whites in Italy by New Zealand's answer to David Williamson, Roger Hall. Directed by Sandra Bates, with the cast Sara Bovolenta, Adriano Cappelletta, Sharon Flanagan, Mary Regan, Michael Ross & Henri Szeps. I gave the cast some pointers on the distinctive New Zealand sound. Challenges here as always are keeping it real - here in Oz we invariably send the Kiwi accent up to the extreme, so it's often good to differentiate the stereotype from the extreme which gives rise to it, and then start to pull back to find the real. Strange though it may seem the relatively simple transposition of TRAP, DRESS, and KIT (what amounts to a chain shift) can be hard to accurately realise - couple with this a cast including a UK native and a Kiwi native who's ironed out their NZ vowels through living in Australia and we had a few challenges to have fun with!
I had three sessions and the cast were all lovely people and both very receptive and perceptive.All managed to realise the sound to varying degrees of consistency. Michael Ross, who had the most to say as the play's narrator, did an especially good job maintaining the accent. 
I attended the opening night with the playwright, my father (a Kiwi himself) and mother - so no pressure. But I had some lovely compliments. Roger himself said the best compliment he could give was that he "didn't notice" and was very pleased.

A review from AustralianStage says "If you like a good kiwi accent, then this is the play you have been waiting for!" 

Sharon Flanagan and Michael Ross from Four Flat Whites in Italy. 

Four Flat Whites... opened on Friday 16th September 2011 and continues until Saturday 22nd October at the Ensemble Theatre, Kirribilli.

I've just worked on...

Drake the Amazing.
by Andy Hyman

Drake the Amazing at Sydney's vibrant Darlinghurst Theatre, as part of their double bill of plays by Andy Hyman with La Dispute, directed by John Kachoyan. Cast was Andrew Johnston, Nicholas Papademetriou, Scott Sheridan and Kate Skinner.

Set in a traveling circus in the America of 1911, I kept an eye in rehearsals on the actors' American dialects, watching out for dark L's, yod-coalescenses, and the always interesting tomORrow vs tomAHrrow.

I've just worked on...

At Any Cost? 
by David Williamson & Mohamed Khadra

Ensemble Theatre in Kirribilli's premiere of David Williamson's new collaboration with Mohamed Khadra entitled At Any Cost? I helped cast member Tyler Coppin smooth out the creases in his Australian accent - even after living here for a few decades his native American still pokes through. A consummate professional and award winning talent - a privilege to work with! 

The cast of At Any Cost?, directed by Sandra Bates.

As a general rule (and please note this is completely separate from my private sessions with Tyler) Americans seem to have difficulty with the Australian GOAT diphthong - especially before nasal consonants as in words like only, own, or home. Aussies use much less lip rounding and the first part of this diphthong tends to be much lower and more fronted than the round American sounds - closer to a TRAP vowel. Also final plosive consonants can be a challenge - we don't tend to give them a lot of release, and especially in connected speech they are either voiced or run together with following consonants. 

Also DRESS vowels need less space, especially before voiced consonants - as in bed, when, them, well.

One of the most useful images I have found to use with any non-Australian attempting our General Australian accent is to imagine a plate in the mouth, keeping the lips spread and the jaw close.

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