The Voice Cafe Blog

Take 2 Stools – How self-tape auditions are changing the face of the casting process

Take 2 stools, a pile of hard backed books, a table, a cuddly toy, and a big wad of blu tack: what have you got? You guessed: the beginnings of a rather shaky, somewhat lopsided, and rather unconvincing self-tape.

Parallel Effect – The effect of /r/ in the American Accent

In the general American accent, the retroflex /r/ has such a pronounced effect on the vowels adjacent to it, particularly when in the case of a final ‘rhotic’ /r/ closing a syllable, it dramatically changes their quality. Whatever the preceding vowel, the ‘r-colouring’ effect seems to end up pushing the vowel parallel and close to the top of the hard palate. Literally.

In the zone? In or out? Changing shape

Learning a new accent can mean stepping way out of the comfort zone - initially a new voice placement can feel counter-intuitive and unfamiliar.

Uh huh. The schwa / ə /. Great starting point for learning accents

Ever watched a film or play where the accent is really good but somehow not quite right? Often it&rs

How not to typecast an accent

What is typecasting? So you are learning a new accent for a role, audition, or to help with clear communication. The process of picking up an accent is ...

Stepping West – the story of the General American accent

When asked, “What is the General American accent?” some Americans might reply “Sorry? Is there such a thing?”. Others might reply “Well, the accent with no

RP: A popular British accent with very few native speakers

So what is it about RP? It is the British accent that is most commonly taught to non-native speakers, as well as being considered a ‘must have’ accent on any actor's

The Brazilian Accent of English

Going from the north to the south of the biggest nation in South America, you really

The ‘oldest’ English dialect?

With it’s singing, swinging upbeat rhythm and distinctive sound patters, the Geordie accent and dialect owes much of its uniqueness to