A history of the reception of Shakespeare on the English stage focusing on the vocal dimensions of theatrical performance.

(Limelight). Are you doing a play by Tennessee Williams? Or one of David Mamet's plays set in Chicago? Need to learn a Southern or Boston or New York or Caribbean Islands accent quickly, or do you have plenty of time? Then Teach Yourself Accents North America: A Handbook for Young Actors and Speakers is for you: an easy-to-use manual full of clear, cogent advice and fascinating information. Contemporary monologues and scenes for two are included, and audio tracks feature extensive practice exercises. Perfect for the young acting student, the book will help anyone beginning a study of accents to get a rapid handle on the subject and use any accent immediately, with an authentic sound. More experienced actors who need an authoritative quick guide for an audition or for role preparation will find it equally useful, as will speakers who want to improve a specific accent or liven up a presentation with an apt anecdote. This second volume of the new Teach Yourself Accents series by Robert Blumenfeld, author of the best-selling Accents: A Manual for Actors , covers General American, the most widely used accent of Standard American English, as well as Northern and Southern regional accents, AAVE (African-American Vernacular English), Hispanic, Caribbean Islands, and Canadian English and French accents.

The third volume in dialect coach Robert Blumenfeld's new series on accents, Teach Yourself Accents: Europe, A Handbook for Young Actors and Speakers covers the European accents most useful for the stage and screen: French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and Yiddish. The most important features of each accent are detailed, enabling the actor to begin immediately to sound authentic, and Mr. Blumenfeld's unique approach makes the accents easily comprehensible. The incisive, succinct introduction to studying any accent is useful above and beyond the specific details of the accents covered here. The book provides a wealth of references to films where the reader can listen to authentic examples of the accents, and information as to what roles require the accents. There are extensive practice exercises, included in the accompanying audio, as well as a selection of monologues and scenes. All of this makes the book not only a perfect guide for the young acting student but also an authoritative reference for more experienced actors and for speakers of all levels.

What impact do accents have on our lives as we interact with one another? Are accents more than simple sets of phonetic features that allow us to differentiate from one dialect, variety or style, to the other? What power relationships are at work when we speak with what those around us perceive as an 'accent'? In the 12 chapters of this volume, an international group of sociolinguists, applied linguists, anthropologists, and scholars in media studies, develop an innovative approach that we describe as the ‘pragmatics of accents’. In this volume, we present a variety of languages and go beyond the traditional structural description of accents. From ideologies in national contexts, to L2 education, to accent discrimination in the media and the workplace, this volume embraces a new perspective that focuses on the use of accents as symbolic resources, and emphasizes the importance of context in the human experience of accents.

Bring the outdoors in with this fresh look at home design and decorating. Whether you want to evoke the bright colors of a day at the beach, the soothing textures of a woodland walk, or the familiar comfort of your own backyard, these do-it-yourself projects and tips will turn your home into the nature-inspired oasis you've always wanted it to be.

A monthly journal for the musician, the music student, and all music lovers.