OT - How can you get a NY accent?

[judiaci]

Thanks for the tips. I think they will be very useful. If he can just get a few NY accented words in, it will be OK. They will work with the students to get it right over the next few months. The auditions will mainly be singing, but he was told that having a bit of a NY accent would help for some of the line reading.

We are so far removed from NY here, so every little bit helps. I think Guys And Dolls will be a fun production. I wish I could watch the auditions. Now wouldn't my 16 year old son hate that? LOL! [img]eek.gif[/img]

[mandasmom]

Judi-is he going out for a specific part? My son played Big Jule (it was pronounced like Julie) in our high school production of G&D. His character was supposto be visiting from East Ciscero, IL, and they had him pronounce Illinois ill-a-noize. As someone born and raised in IL, I never heard anyone pronounce our state with the final s sound. Adam can't sing, but at 6'7", he was perfect for the part, and luckily that character didn't have any solos. He just sang with everyone else. I would have your son watch the Sinatra version to get an idea of the accents.

It is a wonderful play, and it was so much fun seeing our kids in it. I really miss that, now that our two oldest have graduated. Hopefully, Nicki will also be interested in acting.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for your son to get a fun part.

[judiaci]

That's so fun that your son was in it. DS is hoping to get Benny Streetwalker - a secondary character but with a good amount of lines. The director has the guys learn all 11 songs that the men sing so they are prepared to try out for any role she sees fit for them.

He watched the Sinatra/Brando DVD several times. Auditions are tomorrow! He has his costume all ready. I got him a cool brown bolero 1940s style hat from e-Bay, a brown suit from Goodwill ($9.99!), an art deco tie and wing tips from DH's closet. They have to audition in costume. I will let you know how it turns out.

[only1genevieve]

Are they specifically asking for an accent? In my experience auditioning for musicals, I've done better doing it accent-less. If I were your son, I would give the director the option of hearing it with or without an accent. The director will likely want to hear him sing it once through without an accent and then a short sample with the accent. I auditioned for Little Shop of Horror's with Adeleide's Lament and wound up shooting myself in the foot by doing the accent because the director, as it turned out, didn't want Audrey to have an accent and he also didn't want to hold call backs so I never got a chance to "show my stuff" with a normal voice.

[judiaci]

They asked for an accent for the lines - not the music.

[only1genevieve]

Ok, cool! Then everyone's suggestions sound like good ones [img]smile.gif[/img]

[jrtmom3274]

My first thoughts were Tony Danza, Matt LeBlanc (Joey on Friends) and John Travolta in the 70s & early 80s. For good female examples, there are tons and tons of comediennes who would fit the bill. Michelle on the recent episodes of Last Comic Standing has a really great accent. The best sit-com I can think of to watch is King of Queens.

[bigtree8]

Saturday Night Fever has good Brooklyn (Bensonhurst accent)!

[Dancing_Queen]

Ironically Tony Danza does have a real Brooklyn accent. He sounds just like some of my family. He was born in Brooklyn I believe. I am not too fond of him though! lol

Someone mentioned my second favorite movie
NEWSIES!!!! Yes I love that move only second to Titanic, but it had so much fake accents it was funny! Racetrack Higgins was pretty accurate but then again he was from NY.

I never thought I had an accent until I went on Vacation to Florida. LOL

Umm
We dont say water and drawl out the a like some states. we say watuh. haha

umm in NY you dont pronounce every letter of the word.

There is no "Y'all" sometimes there is a "Yous Guys" I say that a lot [img]redface.gif[/img] lol

HTH

[judiaci]

Originally posted by Dancing_Queen:
I never thought I had an accent until I went on Vacation to Florida. LOL

Umm
We dont say water and drawl out the a like some states. we say watuh. haha

umm in NY you dont pronounce every letter of the word.

There is no "Y'all" sometimes there is a "Yous Guys" I say that a lot [img]redface.gif[/img] lol

HTH

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Isn't that funny about accents? You don't think you have one until someone else points it out. Sometimes, I have placed phone orders and the customer service rep will know that I am from Wisconsin. Apparently, people in Wisconsin pronounce "Wisconsin" differently. [img]confused.gif[/img]

I am going to have to check out the Newsie movie.

I like the "Yous guys." That is too funny. [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

I always enjoy hearing people with accents. My favorite accents are ones from England. We have a family from London as neighbors for a few years while they are on transfer for their jobs. I could listen to that English accent forever.

Auditions are over. DS was very pleased with his performance and is now sleeping on the couch. I don't think he got much sleep last night, and we had to be up at 6 AM. He will find out tommorrow if he gets a bigger part or will be in the chorus. He thought watching the Frank Sinatra/Marlon Brando DVD helped him with the accent and acting. If he gets a speaking role, he will have to keep working on his accent so I really appreciate all your tips. [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]