Voice Actor Client Max Simshauser On Getting Her First Audio Book Contract Using An English Accent.

SO PROUD of client Max Simshauser - she auditioned for her first audiobook contract with an English voice while still on my programme and got the gig!

Here she reflects on the journey. Enjoy!

I. Love. Accents. Love them. Especially those of our friends across The Pond. As a Midwesterner, nothing was more enthralling than the curious accents and madness of Monty Python, Benny Hill, Fawlty Towers, and Absolutely Fabulous (AbFab for us insiders). Except Bond. Don’t get me started on James Bond. Who doesn’t want to be or be friends (we’ll leave it at that) with James Bond? So smooth, so cool, so. . . Bond. Definitely want to be 007 when I grow up. 

Anyway, after years of informally employing a variety of accents, I thought I had a decent grasp. Yeah, no. Okay, it wasn’t SO bad. People generally knew what accent I was attempting, unlike a friend whose Australian sounds like his Southern…and his Russian…and, well, really everything. Let’s just say accents are not his thing. No OO7 designation for him anytime soon. 

When I decided to get serious about mastering accents, I thought it would be breeze. I had been practicing for years, after all. Yeah, no. It seems we Americans really do have an accent (huh, who knew?) and it can be a tough little bugger to shake. And it is sneaky. Creeping in when you least expect it, going unnoticed. Until playback. And then, BAM! There it is again.

After a few weeks of coaching and practice, lots and lots of practice (my poor dog wasn’t sure who she was living with on any given day), I brazenly auditioned for an audiobook with my refined accents in tow, knowing full well I would not get the job. Oops! But a good “oops” :-)

It seemed incredibly daunting to narrate a 5-hour book in a neutral British accent. But I hunkered down, placed a mildly panicked call to my coach for moral support, and got to work. Turns out, my coach is pretty awesome. She not only taught me the “how” but the “why” of the accent, allowing me to assess my characters and make them believable. Understanding the subtleties of the various accents and the people who wield them let me quickly get into character and stay there, accent intact. 

Don’t get me wrong, it was a challenge. Using an accent to talk to your dog randomly throughout the day is one thing. Come on, we all do it. Okay, maybe it’s your cat, or ferret, or whatever trips your fancy, but we all do it. And our little friends do not judge. A far different proposition than narrating a book with words you may never have said in your native accent. There was much research, many questions, and lots of takes. Playbacks revealed my weak spots, but they also revealed all I have learned. I began to immediately recognize my mistakes and adjust on the fly. And, when I was done for the day, it was tough to shake my character’s voice. In other words, it was an absolute blast!

There’s more to refine and practice. More EastEnders and Bonds to watch. More tips and tricks to learn. But, if I learned anything (besides how to speak a much more believable accent) it is sometimes you must leap and embrace. Or, just be foolish and dive in head first. Regardless, you do you, and do whatever tickles your fancy.

https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/maxsimshauser/