Student Actors Take on English Accents in Workshop [VIDEO]

Playing the part of Henry Higgins, from "My Fair Lady," TV, stage and movie actor Tom Bloom gave Watchung Hills Regional's Script and Cue Club members a brief lesson in proper British diction, Thursday.

With nary a Cockney "blimey" or northern brogue to be heard, the students tried out their best Queen's English on lines from Oscar Wilde, after some coaching from Bloom. 

The school's theater director, Doug Eaton, contacted Bloom, who has appeared in NBC's "Law and Order" series, as well as movies such as 1999's "The Thomas Crown Affair," and asked if he could present a workshop on accents.

The club is preparing for this fall's production of "George Washington Slept Here," which won't make use of the training—but Eaton said Thursday's event is just the first of what he hopes will be a series of similar workshops aimed at giving the students real training to encourage their theatrical ambitions. The fall production will be Eaton's second at Watchung Hills, following the spring staging of "Little Women." 

With encouragement from Bloom, the students practiced delivering their lines with the classic "dart," a verbal jab added to the delivery for impact—and most faired better than Eliza Doolittle.