Hila Melamed
Mivta Beshlita
Being the best version of yourself in any language
Turn language from an obstacle to a tool by improving your accent in Hebrew and English.
Mivta Beshlita is providing private lessons, workshops and on-set dialect coaching.
Contact us for more information or to book an introduction class.
The importance of improving our accent
Our voice and our speech can reveal a lot about us and about our perception of ourselves in the world. Unfortunately, many times our intentions are lost in translation and our character is lost in the accent. The joke we wrote at the beginning of our speech is misinterpreted, because we have not emphasized the right word or we pronounced the words wrong. Now our speech, monologue or deal has far less chance of success.
Control of our accent, language and voice will enhance the success of expressing our ideas, connecting with our target audience, and of course improving our self-confidence and our connections to our inner strength.
ABOUT HILA MELAMED
At the age of 24, while completing a degree in Business Management and International Relations, I realized my real dream was not among the notebooks, books, and summaries that lay before me. I always dreamed of flying to New York and becoming a successful actress. With this realization, I decided to change my life. After two years of work and saving enough money (including completing my degree), I found myself on a plane to New York with a letter of acceptance from the school I had always dreamed of attending. My dream had come true! Now, after spending five extraordinary years in the US, I want to help others realize their dreams.
The struggle I did not expect when I moved to the US was the American accent. In Israel I was always told I had an American accent, but suddenly at acting school they did not always understand me or what I was trying to say. To my surprise, I discovered our ears are not used to hearing certain sounds and there are so many differences in the way we use our muscles. I knew my accent would not improve without learning and practicing. For five years I studied all of the secrets of the American accent. With practice came the job offers, auditions went well, good work relations were formed and many were surprised when they discovered I wasn't American.
Today, I am an actress, a dialect coach and a writer. I have a BA in Business Management and International Relations from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and I'm a graduate of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in NYC.
Services
ACTORS
I've been where you are,
My goal is to save you time and money before you move to the US or as you prepare for your big audition. The sessions will help you improve your accent, use of English and your readiness for an audition or a desired job. Being a part of an industry also means understanding its norms and perception of professionalism, my knowledge and experience in the American entertainment industry on the East and West coast will enable me to prepare you for that as well.
GROUPS
Your vocal presence or lack of it can be the small difference between tremendous success and failure.
Group workshops will focus on the basics of the American accent and how to best prepare for a speech or pitch.
For groups of actors, I offer in depth workshops to perfect the American accent and its implementation on text in English.
From an Israeli accent to an American accent
Cultural differences inform our approach and use of language which directly affects our accent.
The Hebrew language was developed in a desert climate and therefore is carried out with a relatively closed jaw, short and direct sentences; it’s an "economical" language. In contrast, the English language has undergone many transformations and is spoken differently in different countries. American English is "luxurious" and relaxed just like the American lifestyle. Therefore the jaw would be loose and dropped and instead of the five basic vowels of Hebrew we will have over 20 combinations of vowels.
From a foreign accent to an Israeli accent
As I returned to Israel I had the privilege of working with very talented actors who recently immigrated to Israel. They of course had foreign accents in Hebrew. Some of them told me about the difficulties they had with learning the Israeli accent and I soon discovered that with my experience I could immediately identify the problems and teach them how the mouth muscles work in the Hebrew language. I decided to develop a method to learning the Israeli accent. The process of learning the Israeli accent is similar to the American one. Recognizing the sounds you struggle with and then going through the three stages: Training the mouth muscles, sharpening our ears to the differences in the languages and the ability to recognize the sounds within text. The essential differences are the length of the sounds, the pronunciation of some Hebrew consonants and simplifying the vowels.
The real secret to success is practicing
As with any obstacle in life, even in accents, there is no magic solution. The most important thing in the process is practicing. In class you will gain a lot of new knowledge and you will receive worksheets and exercises. However, most of the meaningful and transformative work will happen at home. You must be willing to invest time between classes to practice in order to advance and make the most of the process.
Contact us
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