By Steve Leblanc, an actor
One of the fun things about preparing for a musical set in a certain time and place is immersing yourself in that culture (and often, dialect). The production staff and cast of ‘A Man of No Importance’ understands the importance of making the characters as authentic as possible, and we have spent a great deal of time and effort to do so.
Adam Kee, our dialect coach, has been an invaluable resource. He has spent time with the entire cast, as well as time with each individual cast member, to help us create genuine Irish accents. He provided us with a textbook on the Irish dialect, explained the fundamentals of the dialect’s vocal placement and unique sounds, and spent time listening to and critiquing our attempts. We began working on our dialects before rehearsals even started. Personally, I can say that I have spent a lot of time trying to get the accent “just right”. To be honest, a good amount of the work I did was easy and enjoyable: I spent hours listening to native speakers. I have listened to traditional Irish storytellers, an Irish history podcast, interviews with various people living in Dublin, and (my favorite) a podcast titled ‘Publin’, which is about Dublin pubs. My listening began just as an attempt to get the accent, but I ended up learning a lot about Ireland and Irish culture. If I don’t finish it by the end of our run, I think I’ll keep listening to ‘Publin’ even after our show has closed (it is very interesting).
Speaking of Irish culture, our wonderful Assistant Director Amanda Rafuse put together a dramaturgy for ‘A Man of No Importance’. A dramaturgy is a study/resource that involves understanding the structure, context, characters, language, and themes of a theatrical piece. Her document includes pictures, bits of information, and links to resources pertaining to Dublin in the 1960s, the role of the Catholic Church in Ireland in the 1960s, and Oscar Wilde (amongst other things). She also recommends a variety of Irish movies to help us “get a sense of how people really talk to each other: the humor, the grit, and wit”. I’ve heard personal reviews of the famous Irish movie ‘The Commitments’ from several cast members.
Most of us who participate in theater greatly enjoy the imaginative play aspect; pretending you are a different person, living somewhere else, in a different time, under different circumstances. Being a member of the cast of A Man of No Importance has allowed us to do that to a degree unusual even in theater. I hope you can come to see the show and experience with us this special time and place.
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