Acting in English: The best way to practice American rhythm

Have you ever wanted to act in English?

If the answer is 'yes', then today is your opportunity to do that.

Because you and I are going to act in a scene from a play in English.

As some of you may already know, I have a theater background.

Back in 2003, I moved to New York to study acting.

I'm a non native speaker of English and the work that I did in those two

years of my studies really contributed to my pronunciation, because that's

where I acquired the American accent, my speech overall, prosody, but also

confidence and fluency in English.

And this is why I wanted to incorporate that here as well.

Because I believe that role playing, but also acting is a really great way

to own your voice, practice sounds, practice English, practice the melody

of English, and it's just so much fun.

So this is why I wanted to do that today.

So close the door and let's act.

Now, here's how it's going to work.

I'm going to first read a scene between two characters.

Then I'm going to explain some things and give you some context

about some of the terms used.

And then, I'm going to read it again, but this time I'm going to do one part

and you're going to do the other part.

And then we're going to switch.

So, you get to play both roles today.

The play is called Rabbit Hole.

Rabbit Hole is a Pulitzer Prize winning play by David Lindsay-Abaire,

that was first produced in 2006.

It's a play about grief, loss, and healing, and it tells the story

of a couple, Becca and Howie, who are struggling to cope with the

death of their young son, Danny, who died in a tragic accident.

Now, the scene we're going to play is from the beginning of the

play, before everything happens.

The scene is between Becca and Howie, right after the first scene that was

between Becca and her sister Izzy.

In that scene, in the first scene, Izzy tells Becca about a bar fight that she

got into and also that she's pregnant.

So, the scene we are going to do happens right after.

And they discuss what had happened in the previous scene.

Okay?

So, like I said, I'm first going to read it or act it out, and then

I'm going to explain some terms.

So, if something is unclear, I'll probably explain it later, and then

we're going to do the scene together.

All right, let's get started.

Ridiculous, right?

Nine weeks pregnant.

In a bar.

Drinking.

You said she wasn't drinking.

No, she said.

But, you know Izzy.

Plus, the place was probably clogged with cigarette smoke.

Not anymore.

Clean Indoor Air Act.

She was in Yonkers.

Do you think they enforce that in Yonkers?

I wouldn't worry about it.

If the babies in France turn out okay, I'm sure this one will be fine too.

You think this is funny, Howie?

Of course not.

But you need to relax about it.

Izzy could be right.

About what?

The baby, getting her on track.

It can wake a person up.

It did us.

She was bragging about a bar fight.

It wasn't a bar fight.

They were in a bar!

Fighting!

Izzy hit someone.

She didn't get into a fight.

Blows were never exchanged.

What's your point?

It's okay for a pregnant woman to be punching people?

Well, so long as they don't punch her back, it's probably alright.

Why are you defending her?

I'm not.

I just think it's silly to get worked up about it.

I'm not worked up.

I'm just saying.

You're right.

It's a mess.

But what can we do?

Maybe it'll be fine.

Izzy's not a moron.

Okay, she acts like one sometimes but...

A baby can be good for a person.

I know that, Howie.

Alright then.

All right, so now let's explain some terms in case it wasn't clear.

At the beginning, Becca says, "Plus the place was probably

clogged with cigarette smoke".

So in this case, 'clogged' means blocked or filled, and probably that's

implying that the air in the bar was very, very thick with cigarette smoke.

And then Howie says, "Not anymore.

Clean Indoor Air Act".

So if this was not clear to you, let me explain.

So the Clear Indoor Air Act refers to a law that prohibits or limits

smoking in indoor public places.

So, I know it feels hard to think about it, but back in the day not too many

years ago, it was okay for people to smoke everywhere, including hospitals,

airplanes, and definitely bars.

I used to work at a bar in New York City in 2001, and people

smoked there inside all the time.

I always smelled like an ashtray.

And then she says, "She was in Yonkers".

So Yonkers is a place right outside of New York City.

And she says, "Do you think they enforce that in Yonkers?"

She says that because she means that probably outside of the

city, they're not enforcing it.

So, probably everyone was smoking.

Because he tried to calm her down and to say, okay, they're not

allowed to smoke, but then she said, "but they're not enforcing it".

So this is just to give you a little bit of the context about what was

happening there in the scene, because there is a little bit of tension.

He's trying to, you know, to be in her sister's favor.

And then, she's angry about her sister, as you can see.

So, this is just to explain the tension between the two characters.

So, we need to understand that so we can put our best acting into that.

Okay, a few more words that I'd like to explain.

Howie says, "Izzy hit someone.

She didn't get into a fight.

Blows were never exchanged".

In case that was not clear, so a blow is a punch or a physical strike during a fight.

And when you say "blows were never exchanged", means that it wasn't

like a back and forth fight.

It meant that Izzy probably just hit someone, but that person did not hit back.

Blows were never exchanged.

It wasn't like a back and forth fight.

And then there is a part where Becca says, "Why are you defending her?"

And Howie says, "I'm not.

I just think it's silly to get worked up about it".

So first of all, that's a phrasal verb, 'worked up', stress is on

the second part of the phrase - worked UP, on the word 'up'.

And in the context, worked up means to get upset.

So in other words, he could have said, "I don't understand why

you need to get upset about it".

And she says, "I'm not worked up" – I'm not upset.

And then Howie says later, "You're right, it's a mess, but what can we do?

Maybe it'll be fine.

Izzy's not a moron".

Now, a moron is not a phrase that I would recommend for you to use, but just

for you to understand if you don't know this word: a 'moron' is a derogatory

term used to describe someone as being very foolish or lacking intelligence.

So, basically, it's an insult.

And what he says is that she's, she doesn't lack intelligence,

she's not that foolish.

Okay?

Because he is trying to protect her.

All right.

Now we're going to play the scene.

And the first time we're going to read it, I'm going to be Becca

and you are going to be Howie.

Let's try to do it in the most natural way.

So as soon as I'm done saying a sentence, you can come in with your sentence.

Just read what's on the screen out loud.

If you need another practice, go back to the beginning of the video,

watch me read the two parts, practice along, and then come back here.

Ridiculous, right?

Nine weeks pregnant.

In a bar.

Drinking.

No, she said.

But you know Izzy.

Plus, the place was probably clogged with cigarette smoke.

She was in Yonkers.

You think they enforce that in Yonkers?

You think this is funny, Howie?

About what?

She was bragging about a bar fight.

They were in a bar!

Fighting!

What is your point?

It's okay for a pregnant woman to be punching people?

What are you...

why are you defending her?

I'm not worked up.

I'm just saying.

I know that, Howie.

Okay, how was it?

Good?

If you feel like you couldn't keep up, or it was too quick, then you can just

go back and play it again, and the more you do it, the easier it becomes.

Okay?

Now, let's do it again.

This time, you are going to be Becca, and I'm going to be Howie.

Okay?

You start.

You said she wasn't drinking.

Not anymore.

Clean Indoor Air Act.

I wouldn't worry about it.

If the babies in France turn out okay, I'm sure this one will be fine too.

Of course not.

But you need to relax about it.

Izzy could be right.

The baby, getting her on track.

It can wake a person up.

It did us.

It wasn't a bar fight.

Izzy hit someone.

She didn't get into a fight.

Blows were never exchanged.

Well, so long as they don't punch her back, it's probably all right.

I'm not.

I just think it's silly to get worked up about it.

You're right, it's a mess, but what can we do?

Maybe it'll be fine.

Izzy's not a moron.

Okay, she acts like one sometimes, but a baby can be good for a person.

All right, then.

All right then, you did it!

Well done!

I hope this was fun for you as much as it was for me.

Now, I know that the first time you're just like trying to get the words right

and the intonation and the pronunciation.

So you could use this video to practice again and again.

Go back to the beginning, listen to me reading both texts, try to shadow me,

and then go back to the part where we play the scenes, choose your favorite

character, and then do that a few times.

And each time, try to incorporate more emotion, to be more playful with your

intonation, to try different things.

Even though I'm not there with you, there's a lot that you can do on

your own, and I hope this helps.

All right, if you liked it, let me know in the chat.

If you'd like the script, I put the link below so you can get the

script, so go ahead and download it.

And I also linked to a couple of other resources where you can find similar

scripts and practice along with them.

Now, if you'd like more of these videos or podcasts, let me know

in the chat or send me a DM.

I'm always at @hadar.accentsway on Instagram.

And definitely check out my website hadarshemesh.com for a ton of additional

resources and exercises to help you speak English clearly, confidently, and freely.

Thank you so much for doing this with me.

And don't forget, learning English can be fun.

Have a beautiful, beautiful rest of the day.

And I will see you next week in the next video.

Bye.