Dear readers,
We have a special treat for you today: Annarose would like to share some thoughts about using accents in creating characters. Enjoy!
"As a character Actor, I can safely say that if the opportunity arises to use an accent different to my own, then I will grab it with both hands.
We character performers love nothing more than to hide behind the mask of voice and costume. However, working on Ten Faces of Anna, I was challenged, courtesy of Laura Hypponen, to strip down to the bare bones and brave the waters by using my own voice. Not for all the pieces, mind, but for the majority.
For me, this was initially something I felt very strongly against. How could I truly step into someone else's shoes if I wasn't permitted to step into someone else's voice?
The answer, I found, is much more simple than I had at first appreciated. How can I possibly step into anyone else's shoes, if I haven't really walked far enough in my own first?
I realised I had to take this time to explore my own voice qualities and discover a way to bring the truth of these fictional characters to life through ME, rather than through a previously planned out character.
I still prefer to go as far a way from me as possible in my performances but one thing I have learnt through this process is to trust that I, alone, am enough to bring a piece to life. That in fact the work is much more authentic this way, and that when I choose to use an accent in the future, I will think long and hard about whether it serves the piece well before diving into Australian, Russian or Irish.
The beauty of a great performance comes from honesty and there's nothing more beautiful and more honest, than bringing to a performance a little bit of yourself."
Anna
x
We have a special treat for you today: Annarose would like to share some thoughts about using accents in creating characters. Enjoy!
"As a character Actor, I can safely say that if the opportunity arises to use an accent different to my own, then I will grab it with both hands.
We character performers love nothing more than to hide behind the mask of voice and costume. However, working on Ten Faces of Anna, I was challenged, courtesy of Laura Hypponen, to strip down to the bare bones and brave the waters by using my own voice. Not for all the pieces, mind, but for the majority.
For me, this was initially something I felt very strongly against. How could I truly step into someone else's shoes if I wasn't permitted to step into someone else's voice?
The answer, I found, is much more simple than I had at first appreciated. How can I possibly step into anyone else's shoes, if I haven't really walked far enough in my own first?
I realised I had to take this time to explore my own voice qualities and discover a way to bring the truth of these fictional characters to life through ME, rather than through a previously planned out character.
I still prefer to go as far a way from me as possible in my performances but one thing I have learnt through this process is to trust that I, alone, am enough to bring a piece to life. That in fact the work is much more authentic this way, and that when I choose to use an accent in the future, I will think long and hard about whether it serves the piece well before diving into Australian, Russian or Irish.
The beauty of a great performance comes from honesty and there's nothing more beautiful and more honest, than bringing to a performance a little bit of yourself."
Anna
x
