Mastering an American Accent: The Compact Guide

This step-by-step guide to learning and practising an American accent is for anyone who wants to use a General American accent with confidence in auditions and performance.

Inside, you'll find an easy-to-follow breakdown of the fundamentals required for the accent – including the shape and position of the mouth; vowels and consonants; rhythm; stressing; pitch; pace and more – as well as structured drills and exercises to build on and consolidate what you've learned, using extracts from contemporary American plays.

The book is supplemented by dozens of online audio clips of General American voices, recorded by native speakers, so you can listen to the target sounds and repeat for practice (you'll find examples of these lower down this page). Also included are tips on fully integrating the accent into your performance, as well as a series of vocal warm-ups.

The Compact Guides are pocket-sized introductions for actors and theatremakers, each tackling a key topic in a clear and comprehensive way. Written by industry professionals with extensive hands-on experience of their subject, they provide you with maximum information in minimum time.

Blog Post: 'Think of a new accent as choreography for the mouth. By working on foundational movements, the dance becomes easier to the dancer. Speech is equally physical.' Read Rebecca Gausnell on the foundations of learning an accent, over on our blog>>.

Sample audio clips

See below for some of the dozens of audio clips that supplement Mastering an American Accent: The Compact Guide.