Acting With an Accent Irish [Paperback]

David Stern (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1988

Self-instructional program with step-by-step lessons to learn the Southern Irish dialect. CD w/book.

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Alan Stern founded Dialect Accent Specialists in Hollywood in 1980. Among the students he has coached are: Mike Farrell, Jack Klugman, Liam Neeson, Edward James Olmos, Bronson Pinchot, Lynn Redgrave, and Michael York, as well as Oscar winners Forest Whitaker, Geena Davis, Olympia Dukakis, and Sally Field. He is now Professor of Dramatic Arts at the University of Connecticut. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Meriwether Pub; Bk&Cassett edition (June 1988)
• ISBN-10: 9992806958
• ISBN-13: 978-9992806951
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,329,908 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great In-Depth Instruction, April 5, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Acting With an Accent Irish (Paperback)

I found this book and cassette very useful in learning an Irish accent. As someone who completely lacks any natural gift for mimicry, I needed the detailed information and numerous techniques that Stern offers. The only drawback was that the extensive focus on technique left relatively little room on the tape for examples of Irish speech. I would have liked to hear more monologues.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine tool for learnin' the brogue., February 20, 2009

By 

Poe Fitzgerald - See all my reviews

This review is from: Acting With an Accent/Irish (Audio CD)

Listening to Irish music for quite some time, I'd been able to reproduce the Irish brogue well enough, but this book and CD helped hone and polish the subtleties and sneaky little nuances that dance through the Irish accent.

The instruction on the CD is delightfully thorough, not too overwhelming, and simple enough to follow along. Lesson examples are spoken with both an American accent and the Irish to get the ear and tongue used to the change, and the lesson exercises are a pleasure to repeat. David Alan Stern walks us through the steps confidently, with a brogue of his own, and helps us steer clear of stereotypes.

I highly recommend this book and CD to any actor needing to brush up, or begin, their authentic sounding Irish character.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hate to be the critic..., June 17, 2011

By 

Western Fronts "J" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Acting With an Accent Irish (Paperback)

Having extensively traveled throughout the UK and Ireland, and having a lot of family over there, I can't take Stern's accent seriously.

It's entirely inauthentic. Now, I've seen the expansive collection of accent teaching cds he has out, so I imagine that, after learning that many accents, you are bound to have trouble making any one of them sound genuine. Still, his accent sounds very forced on all of these tapes. The trick to having a good accent is to realize that when you use it, you have to speak it comfortably. You have to sound casual and relaxed.
It's much like the difference between singing, and just trying to sound like a singer - with the opera singer clearly manipulating his voice, while the folk singer might just sing in whatever way comes natural. Sterns sounds like he's manipulating his voice like an opera singer, with the pronunciation sounding inauthentic, whereas you (in my opinion) ought to sound like a folk singer, to use the analogy.

Anyway, he does a good job identifying all the elements of the accent you need to be aware of, so this CD definitely has some value in that sense (hence the 3 stars) but if you want to sound authentic make sure you try speaking along with native speakers to develop the smooth, effortless quality you need.