I’ve spent the past six weeks working with a wonderful group of actors in a weekly accent class, hosted by Genesian Theatre Company in the heart of Sydney’s CBD. Genesian is such an historic Sydney institution, currently in its eighth decade of creating theatre for the community!
The British Accents short course introduced the actors to three different dialects across the six weeks, spending two weeks looking into and learning about each accent.
Over the weeks, we covered Received Pronunciation (RP), Southern Irish, and Scottish, breaking each accent down, looking for similarities and contrasts, and practising on various texts and in some improvisation activities (just to throw them in the deep end and give them a chance to give their accents a red-hot go!).
I’ve enjoyed each and every session of working with these actors, and I’m sad that the course has now finished! However, there are whispers of a another course potentially running further down the track, so keep an eye out for updates …
Here are what some of the participants had to say about the course!
Benjamin, you were absolutely great to work with. You explained things clearly and with detail. You provided me with a strong foundation to keep building on for each accent. Your kindness and attention to every student was wonderful. It was a pleasure working with you.
-Student, British Accents short course, Genesian Theatre Company (2020)
Benjamin is approachable, clear, and delivers his lessons in an interesting and effective manner. I thoroughly enjoyed the classes and would not only do more, but also recommend him to anyone seeking a dialect coach.
-Student, British Accents short course, Genesian Theatre Company (2020)