Kathleen S. Dunn

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Kathleen S. Dunn is a certified Dialect Coach, Accent reduction Coach, Voice & Body Movement Instructor and professional actress.

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[edit] Background

Dunn assisted Casting Director Mali Finn on numerous feature films, as well as apprenticing in the capacity of screen test reader directly with Russell Crowe, Matthew McConaughey, Billy Crystal and Carl Franklin. Kathleen S. Dunn at the Internet Movie Database is a professional TV/film/stage actress starting in 1987. Her credits include leading roles in the films Cold Intelligence[1] with Michael Denney, The JoyRiders[2] with Martin Landau and Fish, a Project Greenlight film. Theatre companies in Los Angeles where Kathy Dunn performed since 1987 include: The Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company; Evidence Room; Odyssey Theatre; Workshop 360 and Los Angeles Theatre Company. TV credits: Ford National Commercial 2005, ER, Sons & Daughters and Scrubs. Her stage performances have won her numerous awards in the Los Angeles Area. Actors such as Robert Easton (past) and Kathleen S Dunn (current) have had their career start in Dialect Coaching & Accent Reduction at the School of Theatre at the University of Southern California (USC)[3]. Actors to come out of the School of Theatre at the University of Southern California(USC) include: Forest Whitaker, Will Ferrell, Kyra Sedgwick, LeVar Burton, Sophia Bush, Eric Stoltz, and John Wayne[4].

[edit] Dialects Theory

Kathleen Dunn is most known for "uniting voice, body and imagination" in coaching and her Dialects Theory of providing the "Ears of the Actor". Kathleen Dunn's Dialect Training theory is unique in that she applies actor training; utilizing her experience as an actress and acting coach for over twenty years [5]. A good Dialect Coach (AKA Dialogue Coach) provides the techniques to learn British Received Pronunciation, Irish, Russian, German, French, Southern, USA, American, Australian and more by mastering the accents of these languages. There are dialect differences even within 10-15 miles of where native Regional accents are spoken[6]. And where English is the second language, speakers will tend to carry over their native accents which results in Non-native pronunciations of English[7].

[edit] Dialect Coaching for Film

Dunn's approach as a Dialect Coach considers all regional and non-regional accent needs as well as the integration of Voice/Body Movement and Lessac theories into Accent and Dialect training [8]. In the stage and screen business Screenwriting often calls for various accents within the Dialogue of the Screenplay [9]. Dialect coaches provide actors with a technique from which to integrate their accented performances. As part of Ms Dunn's technique she stresses breathing. "Breathing needs to match the circumstances of the story, whether it’s a quick radiant breath of being startled or surprised, breath of buoyancy in order to recover a sense of calm or a powerful breath in order to fortify your position, to stand your ground" [10]. Recent Dialect and Dialogue Coaching credits include: Life (US TV series), an American television drama for Universal Media Studios (2007) on NBC; The Oaks (TV series) a American paranormal drama television series starring Michael Rispoli on FOX (2008); the movie Laundry Warrior (2008) starring Korean actor Jang Dong-gun as an Asian warrior, who is forced to hide in a small town in the American badlands; in Los Angeles and on location in London, UK for the The Weinstein Company feature film Shanghai[11] directed by Mikael Håfström for Ken Watanabe, the Academy Award-nominated[12] Japanese film actor, to be released in December 2008 [13] set in China 1941.[14]. Additionally Ken Watanabe utilized Dialogue coach Kathleen S Dunn to further enhance his performance as the circus barker in Cirque_du_Freak_(film).

[edit] See also

Regional accents of English speakers Non-native pronunciations of English

[edit] References

  1. ^ Cold Intelligence (2004)
  2. ^ The Joyriders (1999)
  3. ^ Kathleen Dunn
  4. ^ Alumni
  5. ^ http://www.lessacinstitute.com/newsletter_may_2004.pdf
  6. ^ Do You Speak American . For Educators . Curriculum . College . Regional | PBS
  7. ^ English pronunciation for the ESL learner - English Language - Helium - by Mary Red
  8. ^ Dunn, Kathleen
  9. ^ Some actors have knack for accents, others don't
  10. ^ http://www.lessacinstitute.com/newsletter_may_2004.pdf
  11. ^ Shanghai (2008)
  12. ^ 76th Academy Awards Nominees and Winners | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
  13. ^ Weinsteins Talk "Shanghai" & "Samurai" (April 16th 2008)
  14. ^ Kathleen S. Dunn

[edit] External links