Today we’d like to introduce you to Scott Alan Moffitt.
Hi Scott Alan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My journey as a dialect coach really started when I was 12 years old. I was auditioning to get into my middle school theatre class, and the piece they provided was from “Forrest Gump”. I went all-out doing my best impression of the character. I guess I did an OK job, because I got in. After that I kind of became the dialect guy, the directors I worked with knew I could be relied upon to deliver an authentic performance with an accent.
While at college at TCU in Fort Worth, TX, I had an incredible professor of Voice & Speech, Krista Scott–I basically clung to her and made her teach me everything she knew. I did independent studies, took senior level voice classes as a sophomore, was her TA for several classes…and all of that was really just because I thought having strong dialect and accent training would set me up for my future career as an actor.
Post-college, I moved to Los Angeles, where I’ve been chasing the acting dream ever since…and that’s not something that will ever go away. But after a few years, it was important that I find a way to make a living while remaining creatively fulfilled. For a few years I worked at a wonderful acting school called Young Actors Space. Patrick Day, who was my boss and mentor there, allowed me to serve as the in-house dialect coach during my time there, which has since blossomed into a full-time career.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all. There’s no clear road-map to becoming an independent dialect coach. For years the income was inconsistent, and at certain moments I questioned whether it was worth it.
I remember my first big on-set coaching gig was for a TV show a few years ago. There were big name actors on set, and I was hired to work with helping a young actress with her Southern accent due to my reputation of working with kids at YAS. I was so thankful for my time on-set, and thought to myself, “This will really open doors for more on-set coaching opportunities.”
And then the pandemic hit.
That easily could have been the thing that ended my career. However, that period of time shaped what my future as a dialect coach would look like. I was forced to reevaluate my business plan, my website, advertising…the whole package. I found that actors were suddenly home all day with nothing to do but seek training, and my business slowly but steadily became self-sustaining within the next year. As my confidence grew, I was also able to branch out into Accent Modification, or Accent Reduction, which opened up new possibilities for my career.
It’s still not always easy. I never know what my schedule is going to look like day-to-day, or how many clients I will have in a week, if it will be a good month or a bad month financially. But the joy I get from the work and the confidence I’m able to bring to my clients makes it all worth it.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I call my business “The Actor’s Dialect Coach”, both because I service actors and their dialect and accent needs, but also because my own training as an actor very much informs my teaching style. I don’t offer a one-sized-fits-all, cookie-cutter approach when I coach. No two individuals are coming from the same point of view, have the same natural ability, or learn in the same way. So if I had to define a specialty, I would say it lies in my ability to adapt my teaching style to the individual in front of me.
For example, am I working with a well trained actor who only need a spot-check for your audition? Or someone who’s never acted before and wants to spend months building up their special skills section with various dialects and accents? Or perhaps someone who has already booked a role and really want to marry the dialect to your performance choices? No two circumstances are exactly the same, and I’m constantly having to think on my feet and adapt in the moment–which is part of what keeps the work exciting.
In addition, a large part of my business is working with ESL speakers or heavily accented individuals who are seeking to neutralize their natural accent. This has exposed me to people from all walks of life from across the globe, and my ear training has become immaculate because of it–which at the end of the day is one of the most important skills any dialect coach can have, and the thing I’m most proud of.
What are your plans for the future?
I’ve been working with my colleague Krista Scott (the same professor who taught me) to develop an online course that will teach actors a technique to teach themselves any dialect or accent they wish. We shot the instructional videos, built out an entire curriculum, and are in the process of having a learning platform built from scratch to provide it directly to our clients without any kind of middleman. The initial offering focuses on a British “Received Pronunciation” dialect of English as an example–and if it proves successful we hope to film more modules and cover a wide variety of dialects and accents of English.
In addition, due to popular demand from my clients, I’ve begun offering general actor training as a part of my slate of services.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ActorsDialectCoach.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scottalanmoffitt
Image Credits
Headshot: David Muller
Lemon Shirt: Pam Thomas
On-set Blue Button-down: Taylor Staniforth
Classroom: Self
