There’s a possibility that I shall be obliged to play a role in some amateur dramatic production.
It’s a small role but the character is Italian. I am English and have never quite gotten how some people can mimic accents so well.
So what I need are instructions, or a cheat-sheet “How to speak English with an Italian accent?”
One thing is that words almost always end with a vowel sound in Italian. So native Italian speakers often add -a or -e or -o to the ends of words that end with a consonant.
Is this a comedic role or are you playing it straight? Is it a native Italian character that barely knows English, or someone born outside of Italy with a slight accent? I would ask the director for some advice.
All good questions…
Specifically the character is Felix from Cowerd’s comedy Come Into The Garden, Maud
I believe he is a native Italian who has a good mastery of English. While it is a comedy I think the character should not be too “over the top”.
Iya thinka Iya knowa whata youa meana. See, I told you I couldn’t do accents (hence the request for help).
Muchas gracias, I mean, molte grazie.
Atsa some joke, eh boss?
Make sure you sign the Sanity Clause.
Regards,
Shodan
Call up sone old video/audio of Father Guido Sarducci.
If it’s a straight role don’t overplay it. Italians in real life don’t go around saying “That’s-uh spece-ih spice-ih meat-uh-ball”, you’re trying for something that meets the audience’s expectation of how Italians would speak, but without making it sound comically exagerrated . Add facial and other gestures as you speak, that’s just good acting. Dye your hair and eyebrows black, get your skin to an olive tone. It satisfies people’s pre-conceived notions of what Italians look like. Start with a slightly exagerrated “Bon giorno!” or some other commonly recognized phrase to prime the pump, then tone it down a little so the audience pays more attention to what you say then how you say it.
You nota foola me, evera body no there ain’t no sanity claws.
Well, you win the white carnation.
Precisamente!
Just watch The Godfather over and over and over.
I’m afraid Brad Pitt produced the definitive work on “how to fake an Italian accent” in Inglourious Basterds.
Read the “Italian or Latin” chapter in Feynman’s Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman for some advice on fake Italian.
That sort of testimony we can eliminate.
Hand gestures.
Lots and lots of hand gestures.