Oopsie

[ladysprite]

Perhaps I should have remembered that all of Katherine's lines in 'Henry V' are in French before I agreed to play the part....

Well.

I've got 5 months to learn two scenes. I can do that. The fact that I don't know a blessed word of the language means I have no bad habits to unlearn. Right?

Anyone want to coach me on my accent? I warn you, it's likely to be beastly.....

Comments

[z-gryphon.livejournal.com]

I think the best course of action here - and certainly the most authentically French in the time of Shakespeare - is to get ripsnorting drunk just before each performance.

[glinda-w.livejournal.com]

You'll do fine.

(I sang in a chorus that did many things in original language (usually Latin or German), and it really wasn't that difficult, just a lot of drilling. (Well, aside from the confusion Monday mornings when I'd go into Latin class using ecclesiastical Latin pronunciations instead of classical...) )

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

I've heard that Quebec french is, actually closer in accent to French from that period than "modern" french from France is.

My accent isn't great, but doing it by phone might be tricky. If nobody else volunteers, though, I'd be happy to try and work with you on pronunciation and accent.

[siderea]

Oh! ladysprite, if you care about 16th/17th cen accent, the Quire did extensive work on this under desireearmfeldt and Gwendolyn. (The nice madrigalists from Quebec sent us a quite complementary email after our Perigord set!) Either one should be able to help you, and hand you copies of the relevant pages on Renaissance French pronunciation from McGee.

[antoniseb.livejournal.com]

Be giggly, and try to extend your lips as though to kiss someone when you speak... except when you are trying to say English words like foingres (fingers).

n.b. the English word 'foot' sounds naughty to the french.

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

And the French word "fuque" (seal) sounds naughty to the English.

[flaviarassen.livejournal.com]

Isn't it the point for your accent to be bad?

[ferretd.livejournal.com]

Why? i don't understand why it would be the point at all?

[flaviarassen.livejournal.com]

Because it's a comedy!
Originally, the whole part would have been played by
some Cockney boy - how accurate do you think he was?
Shakespeare wrote his women's parts w/that in mind -
that's why there are so many x-dressing females in
Shakespeare.

'En-er-y the Fifth Oi yam Oi yam!

[ferretd.livejournal.com]

Um...No. For the COMEDIES, yes I will give you that, and that's why they had many crossdressers, yes.

However, Henry V is *not* (repeat, NOT) a comedy. It is a HISTORY. Yes, they were still men playing the women, but (just like Ophelia or Lady MacBeth) they were playing them SERIOUSLY, to be women. They were very GOOD cross-dressers in these cases. Recall that (hopefully) some of their audience would have descended from those in the histories and that many of those same descendants also had the ability to make life very difficult for those who mocked great-granddaddy. Willy knew who buttered his bread.

Beyond that, I doubt that many of the players had what we considered to be cockney accents and (more than that) whatever low-class accent they may have started with, they were ACTORS and used a more uppercrust one when playing royalty (Princess Katherine of France included). After all, you wouldn't expect Harry to go around saying "'Ello!"

Re: 'En-er-y the Fifth Oi yam Oi yam!

[flaviarassen.livejournal.com]

I blame the medicine I'm on.
I knew it wasn't a comedy - but I'm pretty sure the
bits with her are like the porter scene in Macbeth;
the comic relief.

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

Advice: Learn what your lines mean in English, and which words mean which concepts. That will help you to speak them with the right kind of emphasis and intonation.

[deguspice.livejournal.com]

If all of your lines are in French, and your audience is primarily English speakers, I wouldn't worry too much about getting words wrong, just as long as you get the emotions right.

[sjo.livejournal.com]

To speak French... pretend you are going to "hock a loogie." There. You've mastered the French "r" sound. Mission accomplished!

Okay, not really, but it is a start. That's how my high school French teacher taught us anyway.

Granted, he also taught us R-E verbs using "futre" (to fuck) but hey.

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

When I was in high school, I got the role of Henri, Emile du Bec's manservant in our community theatre production of South Pacific, so I have faced this exact problem. Luckily, one of my fellow cast members, another student at school, was quite good at French and helped me learn all my lines phonetically. I did ok with it, but I never did learn to actually speak French at all.

Break a leg, hon. And remember to have a great time!

[hugh-mannity.livejournal.com]

I might be able to help, though my French accent is rather 1960s English Public School.

[mermaidlady]

I don't believe I can help you with the accent, but I'd be glad to help you run lines. I think I practically have that scene memorized.

D'elbow!!

[ferretd.livejournal.com]

D'elbow!! One of my favorite lines ever!!

I have a big chunk memorized and can assist. And then there is a scene where she speaks stilted English as well...

Lucky you! Wonderful show!

[gyzki.livejournal.com]

I'd be glad to help. Pro: I learned French by going to school in France, in what would have been 4th grade. Con: that was almost 45 years ago. Pro: but I still know how to pronounce it. Con: not necessarily the way a 15th-c. princess would.

Let me know if the pro's outweigh the con's.

[divalion.livejournal.com]

I did the Katharine/Alice scene in acting school way back when...it was always one of my favorites.

Apparently my French accent is pretty good. If help over the phone works, I can help.

My Shakespeare teacher in acting school also clued me in that when she flips out over trying to say "gown" it's because it sounds like a naughty girly bits word to her.

[jducoeur]

My French was quite some while ago, but I did spend four years on it. My accent was pretty good at the time, and is the one thing that's mostly stuck with me. (I've always been much better at accents than vocabulary.) So feel free to tap me for running lines and working on accent -- my evenings aren't insanely busy these days, and I'm happy to help.

(Same caveat as for others: I know the modern French accent, not the period one. But I'm happy to help as I can, and my guess is that it's not too far off.)