Red leather...

I often read about the production of films in more than just the technical aspects. What interests me is the creative elements. I'm referring namely to the things actors do to prepare for their roles.

Some actors lose or gain a lot of weight for their roles. Others learn new skills altogether. And some are so fiercely dedicated that they lose friends, their mind, and greatly endanger their health. In these categories, you find the likes of Daniel Day-Lewis, Dustin Hoffman, and Robert DeNiro, many among others.

I am nowhere near their level right now. I won't rule out the possibility of stepping it up in the future because a declarative statement will most likely come back and bite me in the ass. So for now I say something unintelligible and vague. And start this entry.

In preparation for an upcoming play, I've been watching Trainspotting a lot lately. Why? Because my director is requiring us to use accents. As such, this particular film is serving as an educational film of some sort.

At the auditions, I was asked to read with a British accent (which I took as: "English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and/or anything in between"). I can't do English (Cockney, posh, et al) properly, unless my goal is to sound like an idiot. My Irish accent flat out sucks. I have no idea what a Welsh accent actually sounds like. I played to my "strengths" and went with the only remaining choice of that brief list... a bad Scottish accent. How bad? It started off vaguely Scottish (or more accurately: a poor imitation of an amalgamation of Chibs from Sons of Anarchy and a young Sean Connery). I then slipped into German and into Swedish, then, I just stopped in embarrassment.

Needless to say, I got cast. (Note: I'm a bad judge of my own abilities. What I deem to be a shite execution of a particular accent could in fact be passable. A mystery to me.)

Funny thing is I was reading for a different piece altogether.

When discussion came as to how to approach the play, my director said she'd require accents. My castmembers picked Irish and English. I went with the accent that may have set the stage for me to prove myself as adequate: Scottish.

So far so good.