STAY TUNED FOR UPCOMING DATES

SEPTEMBER 24, 2016 - 10:00AM till 6:00PM

You can purchase a complete recording of this workshop, along with all supporting materials, by clicking here.

A ONE DAY WORKSHOP IN:

Learn how to find the perfect model for your 'General' American accent 

Learn techniques for making accent adjustments organically and with ease

Leave with solid skills in a 'General' American Accent

Leave with a clear understanding of how to continue to work on the accent

TAKE THE COURSE ONLINE!  

A fully interactive online version from the comfort of your home is also available. 

DESCRIPTION

This intensive one-day workshop, for actors, voice and speech teachers, dialect coaches, and other professional voice users†† will apply the innovative techniques of Knight Thompson Speechwork to the acquisition of (so-called) ‘General’ American accents**. The focus of this workshop will be on serving the needs of non-native speakers of English, though native speakers of other varieties of English who wish to perfect a ‘General’ American accent are welcome as well.

• **'General’ American is a bit of a myth—there’s no one such accent. There are American accents that are received by a majority of Americans as lacking in regionally identifiable features, and this is usually what is meant by ‘General’ American. This presents something of a problem for the actor who desires to learn such an accent—which one to learn? We will address this problem in the workshop, but most of the instruction time will be devoted to learning one possible, broadly useful, version of ‘General’ American, with some attention paid to possible variations, and the whos, whens, and hows, of their use.
• ††Professional voice users who are not actors don’t necessarily need to perfect a native-sounding American actors, but instead should focus on the skills of intelligibility in American English. This workshop will provide a valuable foundation in these skills, and so is perfectly appropriate for non-actors as well as actors.

The physical focus of Knight Thompson Speechwork allows actors and other professional voice users to learn accents much faster than with older techniques. Speakers using this approach can speak skillfully in the target accent, without exaggeration or self-consciousness.

This workshop will be focused exclusively on gaining proficiency in the target accent, and will include time for individual instruction. Participants (in-person only) should be prepared with a short monologues or text appropriate for the accent. Extensive resources on the target accents—encompassing primary source audio files, an interactive breakdown and exercises—will be provided to all participants