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. Also included are tips on fully integrating the accent into your performance, as well as a series of vocal warm-ups.

Rebecca Gausnell is a voice and dialect coach, who has worked internationally in theatre, film and television. Born and raised in the United States, she studied acting in Chicago, before completing an MFA in Voice Studies in London.

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.

Rebecca Gausnell is a freelance voice and dialect coach. She born and raised in the United States and studied acting at Northwestern University in Chicago before completing her MFA in Voice Studies at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

As a voice and dialect coach, Rebecca has worked in theatre, film and television in the UK, USA and around the world, with actors including Richard Armitage, Zawe Ashton, Orlando Bloom, Jerome Flynn, Johnny Flynn, Caroline Goodall, Kit Harington, Rhys Ifans, Thomas Kretschmann, Jack McBrayer, Mikael Persbrandt, Noomi Rapace, Clive Rowe, Noah Schnapp, Ed Skrein and Lydia Wilson.

She has also worked with directors across all mediums including Gemma Bodinetz, Stephen Daldry, Matthew Dunster, Simon Evans, Yaël Farber, Neil Jordan, Diane Paulus, Lindsay Posner, Guy Ritchie, Michael Roskam, Melly Still and Mike Tweddle.