Is it important to know several accents as an actor?

YES! 

And that is a big YES! 

One of the hardest things as an actor is getting yourself out there and getting noticed! But how can you get yourself to as many auditions as possible? 

1. Have a good agency representing you. 

2. Look clean, well presented and smart.

3. Be polite

4. Do your research into what you are auditioning for (as I have mentioned before!)

5. Be flexible in your skill!

The last one is very important if you want to get yourself out there! It's no use if you are a one trick pony that can't transform from a quiet Irish girl to a mouthy Southerner. Yes there are cases when actors and actresses have got a part as one thing but then can't exactly break out of it again yet they do pretty well for themselves but to be honest, that's pretty boring. 

The best actors in the business are those that can transform themselves into any character ever written. Take Johnny Depp for example; the range of characters he can transform himself into is extraordinary. From the timid Edward Scissorhands to the drunk ramblings of Captain Jack Sparrow, there's not a role in the world that this man hasn't done! And that's important. 

However, you don't have to be as flexible as Johnny, the most simple thing you can do to make yourself a little more malliable by learning different accents. Take this video for example. This is a good idea to get yourself noticed online. Learn a few, or even more, accents than this lady has done, record yourself, and put it online as a showreel. This way, directors, producers and agencies can see your capabilities, and you never know, you might be what they are looking for - and now they know you can change your accent to suit their needs :D Happy days! 

Obviously, this won't guarantee you getting more auditions than what you were getting before, but it sure helps!

If you have any more tips and tricks for auditions either comment below, send me an email at sophiimaria@gmail.com or tweet me at @SophiiMaria. Also you can contact me about any question you may have and I will email you personally and even maybe cover it on here :D

Voice of an Angel

The voice is the primary tool for the human being; it allows us to communicate to let others know how we are feeling and to give commands etc. It is essential for us in day to day life but we are able to extend the voice to beyond its natural boundaries for entertainment purposes, whether it's singing or vocal techniques in acting. The voice includes the whole body! So make sure you warm up your body as well as your voice before you try any speech!

To be able to be good at acting, or singing, or being a good public speaker, you need to have a good vocal range. This means you must be able to work through all the different scales in your voice, and try to extend them if you feel you are quite monotone. If you constantly talk on one level, it becomes boring, and it's not entertaining for anyone watching you. The voice should be fluid and interesting, so changing pitch naturally is a good way to keep people interested in what you are saying. And the chances are that if you are interesting to listen to and sound fluid in what you are saying, you are more likely to be believable and the character and the text show through rather than your process.


You also need to have good resonance in your voice. This is the volume of what you are saying. A lot of inexperienced actors fall into the trap of shouting their lines rather than projecting them. Sometimes you need to say something quietly, but loud enough so the audience can hear; using resonance exercises can help you with this. There are a lot of exercises out there to try, so have a look at a few that deal with resonance. If you have problems with being too loud, however, you may frighten or annoy people in the audience because, although they can hear what you are saying, the way you say it won't be very natural and will start to look amateurist. It's good to be loud sometimes, but if there is no change in your voice, the piece will become very boring.


You also need to be able to breathe. Sounds stupid, but there's a reason for this. If you learn to breathe between the thoughts of the text you are performing, you will be more believable because unfortunately, a lot of the time we breathe at the end of a line (especially in Shakespeare) rather than at the end of a thought. You breathe between the thoughts in real life without even thinking. Try to break down the thoughts, and keep reading through the text slowly. Eventually, piece together everything that you are saying so it is fluid, is believable and the audience is more likely to see the character, not you.


Always take care with any exercises you find on the internet to do with your voice. Only do what you are comfortable doing and make sure you drink LOTS of water when you do. If you find your voice is getting sore, drink hot honey and lemonade, it tastes gorgeous and is very helpful for sore throats! Also, it is known that pineapple juice is good for the voice (I forget why). Avoid drinks like tea and coffee when practising your voice and don't eat a lot of chocolate either (but you can as a reward afterwards ;D). 


Sorry this is a short post but I have been very busy today! :( Bad times... But I will do more on the voice at a later date! Put comments below with any sort of exercises you know or any tips and tricks you could tell us all! Thanks for reading 


:D