As an actor who does a lot of voice work, I’m often asked to do a “Mid Atlantic” or “Trans-Atlantic” accent. Oh, that elusive country somewhere between N.Y. and London that just does not exist. What my clients really mean, of course, if that they want me to not to speak in a “twangy” voice (which I don’t anyway). They want a neutral, or standard, American accent. The Mid Atlantic accent is a now-abandoned affectation from the period that saw the rise of matinee idols and Hitchcock’s blonde bombshells. If you were to talk like that today, people would think you had serious delusions of grandeur. But in the films and newsreels of the 1930’s and 1940’s all you heard was this fake British elocution. That’s because it was taught not only in finishing schools but also by the Hollywood studio system.
So, even though the country of Midatlantia doesn’t exist, the mid Atlantic accent does (or at least it did). It was made famous by actors like Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Eleanor Parker, and Grace Kelly, just to name a few. It represented an upper class upbringing from somewhere in the Northeastern region of the United States. Its instantly identifiable to anyone who’s ever watched a classic movie. And, as with so much of pop culture, it trickled down to the masses who wanted to emulate their idols. This style of speaking was epitomized in the 1930’s and 1940’s but rapidly began to disappear after World War II. I don’t know if it was the rise of actors like John Wayne and Humphrey Bogart or the surge in American pride, but by the 1960’s this accent had all but vanished. The video Wings Over the Golden Gate is an excellent example of this style as is this clip from Philadelphia Story starring Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart.
For this session of the Weekly Workout we’re working on two plays. The first is Iron, which is a Scottish play by Rona Munro and the second is called The Violet Hour by Richard Greenburg. The Violet Hour is set in 1930’s New York and centers around 5 characters who all either are, or strive to be, upper class Americans. That means this accent comes into play big time.
Our dedicated group of actors really like to be challenged. So even though each week is really a continuation of the rehearsal process as opposed to a performance, we like to be as authentic as possible in our characterizations. That means actors will research the styles and social circumstances surrounding their characters and that includes speaking with the correct accent. The 1930″s really was a different time. Things seemed much more “affected” but it can be a trap to act affected. Actors will have to find the truth of their characters within the parameters of the times they live in. This can be extremely challenging but its definitely also very rewarding.