2 Elisa Carlson SOUTHERN DIALECT COACH Helps actors master the subtle nuances of accents, especially the tricky intonations unique to the American South. I worked on a movie prepping actors for Southern dialect, and the producer told the director, “Oh, they can’t sound too Southern, or people won’t like them.” People have a stereotype around it. My family’s from all over Georgia, so growing up I started to pick out the little differences between the accents. But I studied classical theater and realized if I sounded like a Southerner, that wasn’t always going to serve me, so I learned the International Phonetic Alphabet and worked on a variety of dialects—Irish, Scottish, French. One of the nice things is when you’re working on a Southern dialect in Atlanta, it’s all around you. I’ll tell an actor, “You need to have lunch with this guy from electrics,” or “Go to a service at Ebenezer Baptist.” I’ve worked with actors who said, “I grew up in Australia; I never thought I’d be doing a Southern dialect in America!” November 2024 • Atlanta 71
Atlanta Magazine Atlanta Magazine November 2024: Page 71
