This company out of the UK is one I’ve formed a great relationship with over the past few years. Check out their site, you’ll see me as one of their featured VO actors! Working with agencies outside of North America is always fun but can be a little challenging thanks to time zone differences. We always manage to make it work and I appreciate the opportunities the world wide web has given to people like me! 20 years ago, this likely wouldn’t have been a possibility or we could have just extended projects for months thanks to shipping reel to reel back and forth!
Actually, there is no art in auditioning. You do your very best, turn the copy upside down and sideways to find a unique approach that will help you stand out amongst the myriad of other auditionees and then, forget about it. Once in a while, something will stick and you’ll get hired based on your audition but most of the time, basically, 95% of the time, you will not be hired. It’s not because you didn’t do a great job, it’s not because you suck as a voice actor, it’s likely because you just don’t have the voice that the producer envisioned for his or her project. It’s a tough one to accept but it really is not about you. It’s about him or her and his or her vision. Or you could just sound exactly like their Mother in Law, ex husband/wife, or the neighbor down the street that annoys the heck out of them. I think this is probably the most difficult part of doing vo or any kind of acting for that matter. Wrapping your head around the fact that no matter how hard you work or want the gig, it really isn’t up to you and that it has no reflection on how talented or deserving you are. The great thing about doing VO and auditioning day in and day out is that it teaches you resilience. Dust yourself off and get back on that damn horse (or in front of the mic).
This SUCKS! I knew I wasn’t feeling 100% over the weekend but I certainly wasn’t prepared for no sound to come out when I tried to talk Monday morning. I mean, there was a sound but it was far from pleasant. More like Brenda Vaccaro after a night of chain smoking and whiskey drinking. Brutal. Sadly, I had a gig for 2 commercials booked and a last minute emergency call from my agent, that I had to turn down. I don’t think I have ever told a client that I couldn’t make it and have certainly never said no to my agent. I suppose that’s the silver lining in all of this, it was bound to happen sooner or later and thankfully, it hasn’t happened until now. I googled home remedies for laryngitis, started drinking hot water with honey, lemon, cayenne pepper and ginger but it didn’t help. I heard from another VO gal on facebook that her laryngitis lasted 3 days. 3 days? Nope, can’t have that. A script for antibiotics and a puffer have already started working. Let’s see if I can fake my way through today.
I am a full time voice actor. I don’t dabble in voice acting as a part time job or as a hobby, I work every day as an actor and I love it. Today, I tried to convince some people that it was time to pay their bills via an interactive voice recording, I played a bovine in heat (a lot of sexy Moo’s) for an online video and I portrayed a Mom selling others on the idea that taking their kids to the Toronto International Film Festival is a really exciting thing to do. All of this in the day of a voice actor and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I bring passion and creativity to every project I work on. I’ll say it again, I love what I do and it shows.
Andrea Rooz was the perfect Voice Over Talent I needed for an interactive online demo. With each step of the process, Andrea displayed a very enthusiastic and professional attitude. Even when urgencies came up, she was consistent with her work while meeting our tight deadlines. I would definitely hire Andrea again for her services and most certainly recommend her services.