Regardless of what type of actor you are, most actors will need the help of a private dialect coach at some stage. Building a working relationship with an excellent dialect coach in Los Angeles on whom you can depend is a career step worth the time and effort you invest.
So, what makes a good dialect coach? The answer to this question will, in the end, be personal, but usually refers to somebody who’s professionally qualified and who’s a perfect fit your learning style and personality.
Trained dialect coaches come to their career from several diverse backgrounds. Some get into the profession through a dialectology education, whereas others enter through actor training programs or real world experience. While it is critical to consider the educational background of a coach, what they do after their primary training is equally important in deciding their fittingness.
The best dialect coaches are lifelong learners. They continuously look to integrate new knowledge and to take their tutoring skills to another level. It is also advised to ask prospective coaches about what they have been studying or researching of late.
Besides identifying a continuous leaner, you will need a dialect coach in Los Angeles who possess knowledge about vocal & respiratory anatomy (both academically & experientially), is accustomed in phonetics (including broad experience in transliterating spoken language employing the international phonetic alphabet – even if you don’t wish to learn how to make use of the IPA for accent acquirement yourself), has a deep insight of the skill of acting (whether or not they’ve ever been a pro actor, and is keen to work in a way that matches your learning style and won’t inhibit with your acting process.
A qualified coach is all of the above – an expert who can balance on a tightrope between art and science and understands how to educate you to perform the same. Once you’ve determined that each coach on your shortlist is qualified, the last step is to let your gut instinct to kick in as you answer the questions: Who inspires you? Who puts you the most at ease? And who, when you land your own series, will you wish on set with you every day?
If you are looking for a foreign language dialect coach in Los Angeles, look no further than Strommen! Our dialect coaches make speaking a foreign language or executing an accent with confidence easy. Feel free to get in touch with us now if you need on-set dialect and accent coaching.
