Actors from across the Commonwealth are often lauded for their ability to shift chameleon-like across dialects. Let’s break down why this myth persists, some reasons why Commonwealth actors actually do have a cultural and linguistic advantage when it comes to accent work, and why every actor regardless of nationality can build a strong foundation of accent tools for their personal toolbox.

For an actor or dialect coach, one of the first steps to create a compelling accent performance is research. But how do we know we’re looking in the right place, and listening to the right sounds? If we aren’t able to source useful accent samples, our final accent performance will inevitably suffer.

Last year, I graduated from my MFA in Voice Studies from the Central School of Speech and Drama. The capstone work of that degree was a thesis on intimate voice (vocalisations in scenes of sexual intimacy). I interviewed voice teachers, intimacy co-ordinators and voice actors about their experience working with intimate voice to get a picture of the current landscape, and the ways in which we might be able to integrate the consent and skills-based foundations of intimacy co-ordination into the voice sphere.

I feel vulnerable and exposed at the idea of sharing my process. I find it hard to get past this deer-in-the-headlights feeling when it comes to sharing my work publicly, which, as an actor, is kind of an issue.