A Successful Call-Back!

Last time, I talked about an audition I went on for an upcoming production of Jekyll & Hyde. Well I got a call-back!

I arrived about 7:30 today and signed in. I sat around and waited, making small talk with the other nervous actors there. As my nerves started kicking in and I began pacing around. I looked around for other guys in my age category and surreptitiously tried to see what sides they were reading. Where any of them competing with me for the role of the Bishop? I couldn't really tell. It was a nerve-wracking 10 minutes.

Then they started calling people into the theater by role. "Lucy's! Any Lucy's out here? They want you inside". "OK, Emmas, you, your an Emma? OK, go inside now"

And on it went. I sat and waited, paced and waited, fretted and waited.

In the meantime, the musical director came out, set up a piano and started going over musical sides by roles as well. First this group, then that one. I asked about my role. "Any music for The Bishop?" I asked. "Oh, uh . . . wait a second, I'll be right back" and off she went.

My nerves started affecting my stomach, so I went to the bathroom, sat on a throne and rehearsed the 3 lines in the acting sides I'd been given. As I am sitting there, I hear the door open and three people chatting excitedly enter the bathroom only the voices are . . . female! Holy crap, I went into the wrong bathroom!

You ever go out in your backyard and see a rabbit? When they spot you, they stop and stay very, very still, trying their damnedest to become invisible. When I heard those three girls enter the bathroom, one of them in the stall next to mine, I immediately did the best rabbit act I could. I froze solid and remained silent and still. Thankfully, the rabbit tactic worked and they didn't notice me. After a short while, which to me seemed an eternity, they left, all giggles and enthusiasm. Needless to say, I then employed rabbit tactic #2 - I bolted!

Back in the waiting area, I tried to calm down and look professional. I'd survived the bathroom faux pas and now all I had to do was read my 3 lines and sing the song that I'd not yet received any music for. Piece of cake!

As I sat there, I watched the other actors. Many of them had apparently worked together on other shows so there was a quite a bit of gossip and camaraderie going on. I felt a little excluded since this would be my first real show. Oh, I did a show about two years ago called "Little Shop of Horrors", but that was mostly just my voice. I played the voice of the plant. If I land the role of the Bishop in this show, I stand a pretty good chance of actually getting on stage!

So I set myself to the task of waiting again. The musical director was at this point working out a four part harmony with about eight people who I assume had already been cast. The director comes out of the theater and wants to hear how the harmony practice is going. He's listening carefully to all the singers then suddenly he points at me and says "You're in this piece too you know".

SAY WHAT! "She never told me" I spluttered, "I didn't know, I've been waiting for her to get to me" and so on. The director smiles and says "I know, I know. It's fine"

After listening to the results of the harmony practice, the director looks around the waiting area. He points at certain people around the room and says "OK, you're done, and you and let's see . . ." He then turns to me and says "and you, you're done for tonight." He turns away and goes off to smoke a cigarette. I stand there for a moment with what I can only imagine to be a most bewildered expression on my face.

Well I was somewhat confused to say the least. After all, I hadn't read my 3 lines yet nor sang my as yet to be located musical piece yet. How can I be done?

So I stood there looking around rather stupidly and then I notice the director outside the glass doors, smoking his cigarette and pointing in my general direction. Several people around me are pointing at their chests mouthing "me? . . . who me?". Suddenly I realize it's me he's pointing at, so I go outside to see if perhaps he wants me to speak or sing or something, after all.

"I told you that you were done for the night because I've already decided to cast you . . . you're my Bishop". I stared at him uncomprehendingly. "When you came in the other day and sang, I was so thrilled that I decided right then" he said. "Oh, uh . . . thank you" as the realization slowly dawned on me, "Thank you so much!" I replied. Holy cow, I've been cast! I've just had my first successful call-back! And to think, all I'd had to do was wait, and wait, and wait a bit more. That wasn't so tough! What have I been so afraid of all these years?

So I have been cast in the role of The Bishop in the upcoming production of the The Villagers Theater production of Jekyll and Hyde. The show dates are November 7 - 23, 2008 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. I hope if you are in the area, you'll come by and see the show.

I get killed at the end of the first act! Hoo haaaa!

Non-VO Acting Stuff

So I decided on a lark to go and audition for a regional production of "Jekyll and Hyde" today. I saw the audition notice earlier in the week and toyed with the idea but I never really prepared anything for an audition. I missed yesterdays auditions and today was the last day of auditions and they started at 7:30. At around 7:50 I figured what the hell, I'll do it for the experience.

When I arrived, all these beautiful young people where sitting around limbering up for the dance part of the audition, the part that I was blissfully unaware of. Had I known there was a dance audition, I'd probably have stayed home. Other people where reviewing sheet music and again, I thought to myself, what am I doing here? I don't have any sheet music, I don't have any dance shoes, I'm not ready for this!

So they call everyone in for the dance part of the audition. Twenty four poor souls learning a routine that I'm certain would be cake for a professionally trained dancer but which for us double-left-footed types, was tantamount to a space walk. I got in line with the rest and bravely turned left when everyone else turned right and I shuffled when I should have kicked, all the while maintaining an attitude of joyous good fun. And it was good fun. How could I not laugh at my own glaringly untrained dancing. At any rate, we all got through the dance part and were asked to wait outside.

They called us in in groups of 3 or 4. A couple of times I could hear angelic voices sailing through theater doors, both male and female. There was some real, heavy duty talent in there. At last, came my turn along with two lovely young ladies with voices of such beauty that they could make you cry. Finally the musical director called my name.

"Hi Joe, what are you going to do for us today?" said he, "well I have to apologize because I just saw the audition notice today and I didn't have time to prepare anything." says I. "Well, what do you know?" said he. "I was going to try 'I've gotta be me'" I said, at which he responded to the pianist, "what do you know?" Apparently the musical director was not a big Sammy Davis Jr. fan. The Pianist holds up a fake book of Broadway show tunes and hands it to me. I peer into the book whose type is of the microscopic variety and me, having left my reading glasses at home, merely pretended to peruse the selections.

After auditioning another two singers, the musical director turns back to me and says "so, how we doing Joe?" "I'd be doing much better if I had my reading glasses" I replied, at which the director and various other theatrical flunkies chuckled heartily. "Well, do you know any songs? I just want to hear you sing. It says here your a tenor. I want to hear something tenor-ish" he said. "Do you know 'Oh Holy Night?'" Sure I replied. "Ok, let's hear it from the fall on your knees party" So the pianist tries bravely to play the song but she doesn't really know it but she hit a nice chord and I jumped in with my rendition of Oh Holy Night from the fall on your knees party. The Musical Director turnes to the person beside him and says "That's what I was hoping to hear"

I got a call-back!

So Wednesday I go back for the role of the Bishop. I am not really familiar with the show so I don't know how big or small a part it is but apparently, the guy is a tenor so there should be at least some singing involved.

It just goes to show you, you never know, unless you try.

What have you tried today?

So, how do I get started in voiceovers?

This is the inevitable question that comes up whenever people find out that I do voiceovers. I'm not even a full-time voiceover and I still get the question. Maybe one day I can give someone some real solid advice of my own but for now, I rely mostly on the wisdom of others.

Dave Houston is one of those wise guys I steal from. Dave is a professional voiceover guy based in Austin Texas and he was kind enough to share some of his wisdon in a recent article, currently highlighted on the home page of Helium.com

So now you can stop bugging ME and go read some REAL advice on the subject.

My new friend Bobby

So I just made a new friend online at Voiceover Universe, Mr. Bobby Rivers. The brother has got class, that's all I can say. He extended the hand of friendship by offering me a hook-up with a nice connection (I can't really go into the details) and all I can say is I really, really appreciate the gesture. Thanks Bobby!

Tons of Fun in the VO World

So lots of people are getting ready to attend the biggest VO shindig of the year, V.O.I.C.E 2008. I really, really wanted to go this year but it looks like I'll be missing it again this year. All you people out there who attend, please take lots of pictures and videos and share all your notes and experiences with those of use who will be deprived.

The only way I might be able to attend is if I book a really nice eLearning job. Everybody keep your fingers crossed for me, ok?

By the way, I started another blog at http://www.serenitebiz.com which deals with my non VO related pursuits. You might want to check it out.

Peace!

New Yorker Turns on the Juice for Texas Power Company

My friend Peter O'Connell has been selected as the voice of one of Texas' largest energy providers First Choice Power.

audio’connell Voice Over Talent is a worldwide voice over talent service featuring professional English speaking and foreign language male and female voice talents.

Irving, Texas-based First Choice Power secured O’Connell to provide the voice over for a series of commercials that highlighted the company’s price protection options to combat rising energy costs. The campaign included :15, :30 and :60 second radio commercials.

I am happy to be associated with Peter's company and I congratulate him on this latest victory!

La Vida Te Da Sorpresas

Which means Life brings you surprises.

I'm sorry that I haven't written in a while. I simply haven't been inspired to write anything about anything pertinent to my subject matter or of any use to people who like me are still pursuing the VO dream. I've been running my own personal gauntlet and it's taken it's toll on me.

But I'm still here.

My parents have been married for over 40 years. They've had their ups and downs and a couple of times they almost threw in the towel, but in the end they stuck it out. I figured my marriage would be the same. We'd have our ups and downs, but as long as we remained committed to sticking together, we'd eventually find our way through. We'd come out the other side, perhaps a bit bruised and battered, but in the end, together.

I was wrong.

So I've been a single man again for about two weeks and so far it's been a quite a jarring experience. I haven't thought seriously about another woman for almost twenty years. Oh sure, I've had my random fantasies and flirtations. Perhaps even a dalliance or two, but always from the perspective of the safely married man. From the perspective of a newly single, fat, middle-aged, graying, balding and in general falling swiftly into a state of advanced decrepitude man, it's completely different. Actually, it's friggin terrifying.

If suffering and life experience make one a better actor, I should be getting an Oscar shortly. I actually hope it's true so that once I get back in gear, I get to booking work like nobodies business.

I know it will get better. I just hope it gets better soon.

La vida te da sorpresas, sorpresas te da la vida, Ay Dios!

Do you know DB?

One of the coolest people you'll ever want to meet in the world of voiceover actors is Dierdre Williams a.k.a. DB Cooper.

Voiceover Extra just posted an article about DB and it's a great read. You should definitely check it out.


I've known (well . . . eKnown) DB through her voiceover bulletin board, The VO-BB. The community she founded and patiently nurtured into easily one of best communities of voice actors in the world and one of the best sources of free information on how to become a successful voice actor available.

Just sign-up and take about a week or three to go through the archives. You'll find a virtual treasure trove of information on such voiceover related topics as "What Microphone should I buy?", or "How much should I charge for that 300 page audiobook?" and just tons of other stuff as well.

Many of the people I've come to know on the The VO-BB I consider real friends who support one another in this elusive pursuit to voice actor greatness.

Congratulations DB, on this fantastic article and I wish you much luck and success in your planned move to the Left coast. You truly ROCK!

Audioconnell Unveils New International Talent Roster

I just saw the news that my friend Peter O'Connell has launched his new International Talent roster. Here is an excerpt from his Media Release:

It was announced today that professional voice talent company audio’connell Voice Over Talent has launched its international voice casting service via the web at www.internationalvoicetalents.com.

“We’ve been offering this service for years through a select group of international voice talents we’ve gathered based on client requests but we’d never sat down and organized it for the web until now,” said audio’connell Voice Over Talent president and voice talent Peter K. O’Connell. more . . .

I am very proud to be listed on Peter's roster in the Spanish Male category.

Peter, my heartfelt congratulations to you and all the talented folks on your roster. I wish you (and me) much success!!

A Peek behind the scenes

I love it when I come across a video like this. Here is a peek behind the scenes of a working voice actor doing his thing on YouTube.

Doing a voiceover session.

The Power of Commitment

I came across a fantastic quote and thought I'd share my thoughts about it here.

“The moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decisions, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.”
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I got bitten by the acting bug when I was in the 4th grade. It was the annual Christmas pagent and I had 1 line. I still remember it. "Gee grandpa!" I was 8 or 9 years old. I've been half-heartedly pursuing the dream of becoming an actor ever since, but there was always something missing. Commitment.

In high school, I was in the choir, the band, the track team and the gymnastics team. Yep, at at 17 years of age and 250lbs, I was the fattest gymnast in the conference. In the track team, I threw shot put and I sucked at it. The only place I had any real talent was in the performing arts. In the band, I played trumpet and I was pretty darn good. In the choir I was a soloist and the music teachers pet. I had tons of potential, but I lacked one thing. Commitment.

When I was in my twenties, I tried my hand at stand-up comedy with some local "open-mic" success. I told jokes, sang songs and did impressions but I never figured out how to get paid for it. Audience members and other performers complimented me on my versatility and talent yet there was still something missing. Commitment

Now I'm 46 years old and I have been pursuing voiceover and acting for almost 3 years. It's the longest I've ever been committed to actually doing the things necessary to succeed, and I am seeing some positive results. Am I a superstar voice actor? Not by a long-shot. At least not yet, but I do have something now that I hadn't had before. Commitment.

When you think about what you are pursuing, be it voice acting or anything else, remember one thing. If you are ever going to achieve any degree of success in your chosen pursuit, there is something you'll need to make first.

A Commitment

How to get a job doing voiceovers

This is a question that most voice actors get on a pretty regular basis. When people find out what we do for a living, this inevitable question bubbles to the surface.

"People tell me I have a great voice, so how do I get a job doing voiceovers?".

The next time someone asks or emails you this question, send them to this link, provided by those fabby people at VOICES.COM

How to get a job doing voiceovers

101 Useful Resources for Online Entrepreneurs

I found this on a non-vo site for internet Entrepreneurs and in today's environment, isn't that what most of us are? Anyway, here is a great list of resources entitled: 101 Useful Resources for Online Entrepreneurs

Over a 180 Resources for Voice Actors

The good people at Voices.com have compiled an amazing list of Over 100 Resources that every voice actor should know about. There is a ton of great stuff here!

They also put together a fantastic list of over 80 Online Marketing resources for voice actors as well.

My thanks go out to Stephanie Ciccarelli and the people at Voices.com. You just gotta love people who share the wealth, huh!

Jimmy Hears a Who

OK, I have been a huge fan of Jim Carrey since his "In Living Color" days.

The man is one of the most amazing comic talents ever. His elastic face and voice have brought me many an hour of explosive laughter. One time, I laughed so hard at his antics that I literally burst a blood vessel in my eye.

Anyway, Jim is starring in the animated version of the Dr. Seuss classic "Horton Hears a Who", opening this weekend at a theatre near you (I've always wanted to say that!).

Here is a link to a Jim Carrey interview about the film on the Dark Horizons website.

When I saw on Oprah (my wife makes me watch it I tell you!) that Jim was co-starring with none other than the legendary Carol Burnett and another of my favorites, Steve Carrell I was thrilled!

Speaking of Steve Carrell, did you catch him as Hammy, the fastest Squirrel on earth in "Over the Hedge"? He was fabulous in that role! But I digress.

The movie opens this weekend which just so happens to be my Birthday weekend (I was born on the Ides of March for you Shakespeare fans) and although I am on the downhill side of my 40s, I am looking forward to this movie and what are sure to be some amazing voiceover performances from these three incredibly talented people.

In a missive from James Alburger and Penny Abshire, they share with us the following:

Meet the VOICE Headliners!

Susan Berkley - What a Great Voice!!

Friday Morning Keynote Speaker,Susan Berkley, is a top voice-over artist whose voice has sold millions of dollars worth of products and services on TV and radio commercials. She is the telephone voice of many Fortune 100 companies. Susan is CEO of Berkley Productions, Inc., a company that provides voice mastery training for aspiring voice artists, and well as performance coaching for business and sales professionals. She is the author of Speak to Influence - How to Unlock the Hidden Power of Your Voice. Visit The Great Voice Company to learn more about this dynamic lady! Susan is a master marketer and a darn good voice coach!!

Pat Fraley - Our Special Guest Star!

Keynote Speaker Monday Morning
Winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Voicey Awards in 2008, Patrick Fraley has created voices for more than 4,000 characters, placing him among the top ten performers of all time to be cast in animation. Pat teaches 700+ students a year in events, workshops, and seminars on various aspects of voiceover. His unique character voice cirriculum is the only one accredited at the university level. He has taught voice for 35 years, is a member of the Voice and Speech Trainers of American and holds a Master's of Fine Arts degree in Professional Acting from Cornell University.

Pat Fraley is the "Voiceover King" of working outside the box! During his special guest appearance at VOICE 2008, he will reveal his "Secret Dialect System" created for voiceover. You'll be amazed at how Pat's dialect secrets will change the way you work with your characters! All that and even more. . . Pat is one of the nicest people we know!
Learn more at www.patfraleyteaches.com


Marc Cashman - Looking for a Muse!

Keynote Speaker on Sunday.
Marc Cashman is one of the few voice-acting instructors in the U.S. who is on "both sides of the glass"
as a Clio-winning Radio and TV commercial copywriter, producer, and casting director, and as a working voice actor. As a voice actor, he has been heard locally, regionally, nationally and internationally on radio, TV, film, documentaries, radio plays, video games and audio books. Marc has voiced thousands of commerials, dubbed foreign films, narrated dozens of audio books, and created the voices of many CD-Rom, online and video game characters. Oh, and did we mention. . . he's a really funny guy! Find out why at www.cashmancommercials.com



We're very excited about the caliber of all the speakers who will be presenting at VOICE 2008. In the coming weeks you'll learn more about:

Beverly Bremers Warm up that Voice!
Bob Bergen The official Warner Brothers Voice of Porky Pig
Nancy Wolfson Brain Tracks
Richard Horvitz Character Crazies!
Steve Hudson (UK) Creator of the PSR Method
Randy Thomas Voice of The Academy Awards
Dan Balestrero Voice Over Mastery
Karly Rothenberg Improv Maddness
Julie Williams Voiceover Chocolate
Deb Munro (Canada) Winner of Best Female Voice 2008 Voicey Awards
Chris Allport Mastering Self-Direction
Raleigh Pinksey Shameless Self-Promotion
Gabrielle Nistico (Voice Hunters)
Lee Marshall The Voice of Tony the Tiger
Marc Graue Fix in the Mix
Joe Klein The Podcast VO Guy
Stefan Kinell (Sweden) VO with an international flair
MJ Lallo Characters that move!
Joyce Castellanos Promo and Trailer Expert

And even more big names will be announced as they get closer to the event!!

O.T. - Am I working too hard??

This is way off-topic but I just had to share this.

I read an article recently about a woman by the name of Ailin Graef who created a character in an online game called Second Life. The character's name is Anshe Chung. Anshe / Ailin has become the world's first Virtual Millionaire while playing the game! Furthermore, it only took her 2 years to do it! Here is a link to the press release: Anshe Chung became the world's first Virtual World Millionaire.

I mean this is amazing! This is an early step toward "The Matrix" when we will all be living our lives in virtual worlds! It is also very exciting because the possibilities are endless.

Now I've been working my day job and trying to build my voiceover business over the last 2 years and I have yet to get anywhere near millionaire status, so now I'm wondering, should I stop working so hard . . . and start playing games?

Learning to Fish

I've been learning how to fish lately but so far, I haven't been able to land the big one.

I put the worm on the hook. There is some interest. I start getting a number of queries about voiceover work. Some interesting things are popping up for Spanish language voiceovers.

The fish start to nibble. I've responded to the queries and we start going back and forth. A couple of times, it looks like I'm going to book the job.

The fish are circling. I can see a dark shadow beneath the surface of the water. He looks HUGE! Man oh man I hope he bites!

There is a tremendous tug on the line! Oh baby I'm about to pull in a whopper! They ask if I can run into the New York City today! DRAT! I'm already booked for something else. Can I do it tomorrow?

Suddenly my line goes slack. The big one has gotten away. Man I hate that!

Truth be told, he wasn't that big, maybe just a Bluefish, but I wanted him, and I didn't get him.

But guess what. Tomorrow, I'll start all over again. I'll bait the hook, throw it in and see what bites. And if I get a great big tug on the line again, I'm going to finesse it gently, until I sink that hook in good and deep. I'm not going to let one get away that easily next time, that's for sure. And if he tries to get away, I'm going to fight him like a 300lb Marlin until I land that sucker and mount him on my wall.

Oh yes . . . it's just a matter of time.

V.O.I.C.E. 2008 Update

Well, James Alburger has confirmed that VOICE 2008 will in fact be happening this year in Los Angeles and has provided a short list of the speakers who have been confirmed to date. So far we have:

Here's a short list of some of our confirmed VOICE 2008 presenters:

Susan Berkley
Deb Munro (Canada)
Marc Cashman
Pat Fraley
Bob Bergen
Raleigh Pinsky (author of "101 Ways to Promote Yourself")
Marc Graue (Hollywood studio owner - Marc Graue Voice Over Recording Studios, Burbank. Los Angeles' Premiere Voice Over Studios with ISDN Voice Over Studios and More
Stefan Kinell (Sweden's top VO talent - international VO)
Randy Thomas (VO for Academy Awards for many years)
Chris Allport

So for those of you who were wondering, it's a go and it appears that it's gonna be a good'un!

For the latest updates and information, check out their site at http://www.voice-international.com/

Casting begins for this season's "America's Got Talent"

Casting Call: Casting for NBC's America's Got Talent begins immediately in 13 cities: Orlando, Nashville, Charlotte, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, New Orleans, Brandon, Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.

Producers are looking for specialty acts such as dance groups, opera singers, acrobats, impersonators, kids groups and more.

All talent who would like to audition should visit the website to register: NBC.com - America's Got Talent - Casting.

V.O.I.C.E. 2008

I hadn't heard from the organizers of the Voice Over International Creative Experience in a while and there was even some speculation that after a spectactular debut last year, there would be no follow up to the V.O.I.C.E conference. Well, it appears that those speculators were wrong. The "Official Announcement" for this years event landed in my mailbox a couple of days ago and I share the information here with you all. Here is a quote from the email . . .

VOICE 2007 was such an incredible event, you may be wondering how we plan to top the first event of its kind. But we can promise you that the 2008

VoiceOver International Creative Experience

Will be even more amazing!

You're not going to believe what (and who)is coming to VOICE 2008!
Check out our brand new website at www.voice-international.com

The Entertainment Industry Expo

The Entertainment Industry Expo, billed as "the ultimate networking opportunity for anyone in or around the entertainment industry.", will take place Jan. 17 2008 at the Times Square Westin Hotel. It is FREE if you pre-register, or a $10 at the door.

Attendees will be given the chance to take part in casting calls, attend seminars and learn about new products or services that may advance their career.

Among the confirmed casting calls will be Telsey & Company, who handle casting for such notable Broadway shows as Wicked, Legally Blonde, Rent, Hairspray and The Color Purple, and MMG Model Management Group for all you model types.

In addition, many areas of the entertainment industry will be represented, including photographers, talent agencies, schools, casting directors, printing services, vocal coaches, casting websites, industry guilds and associations and many others.

Visit eienyc.com to pre-register.

Crappy Holidays

I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday season and I hope 2008 brings each of you the most incredible, unimaginable success ever!

As for my own Holiday season, well . . . let's just say, I'm glad it's over.

Here is something you may enjoy. These people have attained levels of success that I aspire to. I hope you find this inspirational.

A "Note from the Universe"

I subscribe to a free daily email titled Notes from the Universe. I really enjoy these daily bits of inspiration and perhaps you will too. Here is the one I received recently.

By the simple act of thinking, Joe, vortexes are created, invisible energies are applied, and circumstances begin creeping to make real what was previously just imagined. This supernatural pull of your thoughts continues long after you think them, whenever there follows intent, expectation and action; moving mountains, parting rivers, and doing the "impossible" until there is the inevitable manifestation.

This is how your "thoughts becoming things." How they physically become things in a dimension that already exists, with billions of players and massive momentum. Not by appearing out of thin air, but through a manipulation of such forces in the unseen that literally begin shifting, morphing, and arranging all of the elements in your life so as to deliver to you the nearest equivalent of what you've been thinking. In other words, the "law of attraction."

"Thoughts becoming things" explains the law of attraction. It's why there is a law of attraction. And unlike any other 3 words in all the vocabularies of all the languages in the world, "thoughts become things" tells you exactly where you fit into the picture, as the thinker, the decision maker over what you will think about, revealing your power as a supernatural, all powerful, unlimited, CREATOR.

But, of course, many prefer not to think of themselves as so phenomenally powerful.

The Universe

Airwave Talent

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am extremely proud to announce that I am now represented by (drumroll please . . .) Airwave Talent!



Airwave Talent is based in Cleveland Ohio and is a full service talent agency representing professional voice talents from all over the USA and beyond. We are also listed on VoiceBank.Net.

Airwave Talent is the brain child of Vic Harris, an experienced voice actor and producer. Vic is a no B.S. kind of guy and I can really appreciate that. I am confident that Vic will make Airwave Talent a major player in the industry and I am looking forward to a long and mutually prosperous relationship.

My heartfelt congratulations go to Vic and everyone at Airwave Talent, including ME! Hoo HAAAAAA!!!

Some educational resources

I came across some great educational stuff on Youtube that I thought you might be interested in. Brought to us by the fine folks at Voice123, there are some very interesting and educational pieces here. I especially enjoyed the one on Branding by Nancy Wolfson of Break Into Voiceovers and the one on Auditions by Susan Berkeley of The Great Voice Company.

WARNING: They seemed to have quite a few technical glitches while recording the Nancy Wolfson one so you may have some trouble listening to that one but if you get through it, it's fantastic information. I hope you enjoy!

An Education in Anime Voice Acting

I came across this piece on Youtube about the actors who do the Dragonball Z shows and games. It's about a half hour long and I found it very educational. I hope you enjoy.

The Do Not Miss Event of 2008!

Everyone who is anyone in the world of voiceover, has at least heard about VOICE 2007. This was the 1st event of it's kind, bringing together top voice talent, producers, coaches and others, from all over the world in an event of learning, sharing and networking.

The list of presenters included such voiceover luminaries as Rodney Saulsberry, Pat Fraley, Bob Bergen and Don La Fontaine! I can't wait to find out who will be presenting in 2008!

The location and dates for the 2008 Voice Over International Creative Experience (a.k.a. VOICE) were announced recently. For those of you who want to start planning, here's the scoop:

Dates: Friday, August 8th - Monday August 11th
(There will be a reception on the evening of Thursday, Aug. 7th)
Location: Hyatt Regency Century Plaza - just south of Beverly Hills in Los Angeles
Registration Opens: January 1, 2008

The organizers are still working on the information & registration website but as soon as I find out the URL, I'll let you know.

I am definitely going to start saving my pennies because I missed this event in 2007 and I DO NOT want to miss it in 2008.

I hope to see you there!

Making your own way.

Bryan Cox is a stand-up comic and voice actor. He is also one of the bravest, most creative, guys I know.

So what did Bryan do you ask? He wrote a book. When he tried to get his book published, the response was . . . well . . . less than enthusiastic.

Now at this point, most people would just toss the book up on a shelf and settle down in front of the TV, but not Bryan. No! He figured heck, nobody wants to publish my book so . . . I'll publish it myself, as an audio book!

Where others would have seen no way, Bryan Cox made his own way!

An all this, after surviving a broken neck, a heart attack and Cancer all within 3 years! Is this a brave, creative guy? Uh . . .HECK YEAH!!

His book is titled Road Stories of the Real Highway Comics and is filled with stories from Bryan's 18 plus years as a stand-up comic. Sometimes funny, sometimes sad but always personal, this highly entertaining audiobook is a must-listen for anyone interested in the worlds of Stand-up Comedy and Voiceover. Click here for a little sample.

Go visit his site at http://www.comicroadstories.com/ and pick up a copy for yourself.

I fought The Law . . . and The Law won!

Hey Everybody

I just had an amazing conversation with a guy who is opening up a brand spanking new talent agency. Now while nothing has been finalized yet, it looks like he wants to add ME to his roster of talent! Man oh man am I excited!

Let's see now, that would bring the number of agents representing me to . . . drumroll please . . . 1!! That's right, my first agent! HOOOO HAAAA!!!!!

How did I get this agent interested in representing me? I can't be 100% sure, but I firmly believe that the Law of Attraction, A.K.A. "The Secret" had a lot to do with it.

So what the heck is this Law of Attraction stuff about anyway?

Well, unless you've been under a rock for the last several months, there has been quite a lot of hullabaloo about a program called "The Secret". In "The Secret", a long list of prominent people including the likes of best selling authors John Gray (Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus) and Jack Canfield (The Chicken Soup books), teach about the Law of Attraction and how they've used it in their own lives. The DVDs and Books have become runaway best-sellers and been featured on many talk shows including Larry King Live and Oprah!

A while back, I received some information about a two hour audio program (and full transcript) describing a rather practical approach to learning about the Law of Attraction. This program only costs 7 bucks, heck, I spend more than that on lunch!

So, if you're interested in finding out what The Law Of Attraction is, how it works, and how to get it working in your own life, this may be pretty good place to start.

To get the $7 Law of Attraction Program, click here.

As far as my new agent goes, I am hoping to hear from him very soon so we can finalize the deal. It's my intention that nothing will prevent that from happening (that's LOA stuff), but keep your fingers crossed anyway. I can use all the good vibes I can get.

The Internet Marketing Plan for Voice Actors

In order to achieve massive success in the voice over business, there are a number things we all need:

1 - Oodles of talent
2 - One or more killer, and I do mean KILLER demos
3 - a killer MARKETING PLAN!

OK, there's probably a bunch more stuff you need, but these 3 items are certainly among the top 10.

Having number 1 and number 2 doesn't mean much if the voiceover buyers out there are oblivious to your existence. That's where the new "Internet Marketing Plan for Voice Actors" comes in.

Created by the fine folks at Voices.com, Internet Marketing Plan for Voice Actors is timely and necessary information for all of you who are working diligently to move from voiceover "wanna-be" to voiceover "professional".

The Authors have provided a clear, comprehensive and actionable plan for enhancing your visibility among those critical voiceover service buyers out there.

The plan includes information on Advertising, Internet Marketing, Branding, search engine optimization and even such cutting-edge topics as Social Media Marketing.

I read through this guide from cover to cover and found it to be chock-full of useful information and I think you guys will too. To learn more, please visit http://www.voices.com/ebook/internet-marketing-plan-for-voice-actors.html

Are you taking care of business?

If we are to succeed in the voice acting business, we must pay just as much, if not more, attention to the "business" part of the equation.

Yeah, there's voice, most of us in this business have one, and yeah, there's acting, most of us are pretty OK in this area too, but the business part, that's where we "creative" types, fall on our faces.

I must confess, I haven't been doing a very good job of keeping track of my business. I have basically been working on the honor system. I do a job, and I wait (and hope) for a check to arrive . . . eventually.

Oh yeah, periodically I might jot down a client name and some dates on a napkin somewhere, but when the checks come in, do I carefully match up my check stubs with my napkins? Am I sure that all my napkins have been paid? Uh . . . not really.

So how do we keep track of the constant, never ending, avalanche of clients that want to send us sacks of cash for our services (man, oh man, talk about wishful thinking!)? Good question, I'm glad you asked.

I just recently learned that Intuit, the makers of Quickbooks, a respected name in accounting software, has made their QuickBooks Simplestart 2008 accounting software available for FREE!

Hey Joe! Did you say FREE??

That's right, FREE. It's not a 30-day trial, it's a full-blown accounting package that you can download and install for free and you can use for as long as you like to keep track of your business.

I am so glad the people at Intuit have done this because frankly, I caught a cold recently and most of my napkins . . . well, that's another story.

I recently did a voiceover job for a local ad agency that I had auditioned for many months ago but never heard from. The guy I'd auditioned for left the company and a new guy took over. He sent me a query to see if I was available to do two 60-second pitch scripts for them.

uh . . . HECK YEAH!

While the money wasn't all that great, this is a new client with the possibility of repeat business, and they prefer that I do the jobs from home!

So I did the job from my tiny home studio and received the following feedback:

It sounds like you have a lot of reflections happening in the space where you recorded these.

CRAP! I need a sound booth!

While I would love, love, love to be able to plunk down a couple grand and have the people at Whisperroom or GK Acoustics send me their top of the line Vocal Booth, the day when I will be able to do that has not yet arrived, so . . .

I cranked up Google and started searching for ways to improve my sound. Since I, like most actors I know, am on a very limited budget, my aim is to produce professional quality sounds, at dollar-store prices.

I start searching for DIY voice-booth designs. There are several available on the internet for free or for a small fee. In addition, if you search through the various VO message boards, you will find many talented, generous people who willingly share what they have done and what has worked for them.

One of the designs I came across during my explorations, was created by a musician named Tim O'Brien. His design is clever, portable and most important, cheap!

Now although Mr. O'Brien is not a voiceover guy, I thought that some of you guys might find his design of interest, so here it is, Tim O'Brien's DIY SoundBooth / SoundWall.

Ladle Rat Rotten Hut

A quote from Don LaFontaine: "Devote yourself to the service of the words and you're halfway there."

The Service of the Words. . .

But what if they are the wrong words? Can you still serve them?

Arthur Godfrey read a story on his TV show back in the 1950s titled "Ladle Rat Rotten Hut" which when read aloud and with the right emphasis, reveals itself to be the epic tale, "Little Red Riding Hood". Although the words themselves may be wrong, the meaning remains intact if you a) read them aloud, b) emphasize them correctly and c) "Devote yourself to the service of the words".

There is an audio file of "Ladle Rat Rotten Hut" on this page which you can listen to. You can find the complete text of the original book "Anguish Languish" by Howard Chace on Kevin Rice's site.

Why don't you try one of these "Furry Tells" as an exercise?

Speaking of Games

D.B. Cooper and Pat Fraley, two of my voiceover heroes, recently made a fabulous presentation at the Game Developers Conference in Austin Texas. This is great stuff folks. Go check it out. You can even download an audio file of their presentation!

What's up in the world of Cartoons?

Many people who go into voiceover secretly desire to get into animation. I mean let's face it folks, are the people who voice "The Simpsons" some of the luckiest actors around or what! Anyway, I recently came across Cartoon Brew which is a fantastic site for people who want to know what's happening in the world of animation. Why not take a look?

Voice acting is hard work

Man oh man did I have a tough day at the office. Well the studio.

I reported to Everest Productions for an ADR session and went into the studio as I've done countless times before ready to give it my acting all.

Everest handles production for EBRU TV, a Turkish TV company in New Jersey. I've been doing ADR work there off and on for over almost two years.

For those of you unfamiliar with ADR or Automatic Dialog Replacement work, that's when you have a movie or TV program that has already been completed but one reason or another, some or all of the dialog of the on-screen actors needs to be replaced. A voiceover actor is hired to record the new and hopefully improved, replacement dialog. Sometimes, they do this to remove cuss words for distribution on regular network TV and such.

The stuff I've been doing is replacing stuff that was originally recorded in one language and has been translated into another language. In this case, it was a Turkish TV show entitled "The Teacher" which we were dubbing into English.

You still with me? OK.

So we get through the first several sets of dubs and all is well. Then my director suddenly realizes that the character I am voicing has some very long, wordy speeches in this episode and the guy who did the script translation did'nt do such a good job matching the translated dialog to the lip-flap.

In ADR work, the dialog and the voiceover actor try to match the lip-flap or mouth movements, of the actor on-screen as perfectly as possible. Otherwise you get that really bad Kung-Fu movie effect where you see the actors lips moving but there are no words coming out or you can hear the actors voice but the on-screen actor's lips don't move until 2 or 3 seconds later.

OK, so now the fun begins.

Most of the speeches this particular character has in the show are approximately the length of the Manhattan yellow pages. Undaunted, my director says to me, "here's what you're going to say". I snatch up my pen and we furiously try to re-write the dialog to better match the lip flaps.

So here are the ingredients for this particularly tasty stew:

Two - episodes that need to be completed tonight in order to meet the scheduled deadlines.

One - actor who never took a class in speed-writing or stenography. My handwriting is at best chicken scratch and at worst heiroglyphics.

One - director / recording engineer who has had a long day and is short on patience.

One - gaggle of kids running around the office, just outside the studio door, due to a Turkish Holiday!

Yummy Yum Yum!!

Needless to say, we got through it and while there were a few cuts and bruises, nobody got seriously injured . . . not even the kids.

If anybody ever tells you that voiceover work is easy, tell him he clearly doesn't know what he's talking about.

Hispanic American Urban Cool

These words describe my friend and colleague Anthony Mendez, a NY-based voiceover pro who was recently interviewed by Radio and Production Magazine about how to become successful in this business. As a fellow Hispanic-American, I was really inspired by this article and I hope you will be as well.

Getting started in voiceovers

This is a question that comes up quite a bit. My online colleague Dave Houston wrote a really great article addressing this very question. Take a look, you might learn something!

Accents and Dialects - Upcoming class!

Hey! I just came across an upcoming Accents and Dialects class being taught by the one and only Mr. Pat Fraley!. Mr. Fraley is arguably America's #1 voiceover teacher. The class will be in November in Buffalo NY so if you can make it, do it baby, do it!

Accents and Dialects, that is the question.

It has never been more important for voiceover actors to learn to do accents and dialects. Why? audiobooks and computer games. These industries have literally exploded in the last couple of years!

I was at Barnes & Noble last night browsing the audiobook section and I must say I was absolutely floored! It looked to me like every single book published these days is done in both print and audiobook formats. That's a lot of voiceover work for a lot of actors doing a lot of voices.

What about video games? They have become as important, if not more important, a part of the entertainment industry as movies! The current release of Halo 3 is, according to Microsoft, the biggest entertainment launch in history selling over $170 Million on it's opening-day! That's more than double the the 1st-day earnings of Spiderman 3, the biggest movie opening in history thus far.

These two increasingly important industries will continue to need more and more talented voiceover actors who are versatile and can do many characters, accents and dialects.

I don't know about you, but I think I'd like to get in on some of this action. Here is a resource that might help you (and me) get started.

MTV Gives you Legally Blond: the Musical

I just read on another blog that MTV will be airing the entire Broadway production of Legally Blonde the Musical! The first of at least 3 airings is supposed to be on Saturday, September 29th at 1:00 but I would check local listings to verify that. For those of you who love broadway shows, here is a chance to see one that I've heard is pretty darn good, for free!

A couple of cool tools for your voiceover arsenal.

While browing the VO-BB, a voiceover industry bulletin board which I cannot recommend highly enough to anyone working, or wanting to work, in any aspect of this business. I recently came across a couple products I found quite interesting.

1. The CEntrance Microport Pro. Now I haven't gotten hold of one of these babies myself, but it was given a rather good review by a very respected voiceover pro, Mr. Frank Frederick and when it comes to VO technology, Frank's word is as good as gold as far as I'm concerned. You can read what Frank had to say about it here.

2. Adobe SoundBooth CS3. When it comes to recording software, there's a new kid in town! This product brings advanced recording functionality to the novice / intermediate crowd and boy does that include me! After going through the features videos on their site, I can honestly say that I can't wait want to get a copy of this for myself.

Marketing yourself as an actor / voiceover

So I've been giving this subject a lot of thought lately though I haven't really come up with anything good. What are the techniques you use to market yourself as an actor / voiceover? What has been effective and what hasn't? Is it the internet site? Business cards? Post Cards?

I'd love to hear from you on your favorite marketing techniques. Let me hear from you.

Books and Stuff again

Here is a list of books I highly recommend having read each and every one personally. I hope you find some of these useful.

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A most amazing display of power.

This is a somewhat off topic but I wanted to share this with my readers (assuming of course that I actually have some!) Is it real? I guess you will have to judge for yourself.

I came across this video of a man who, through a daily practice of meditation, has been able to harness an energy within himself that those in the East call "Chi". He uses this power to heal people and only reluctantly allowed himself to be filmed.

I believe it is in fact quite real and I believe it is an amazing example of the power that we each possess but which we often never develop. If this man can develop these abilities and do these things using only the power of his mind, what then can we do in our own lives through the judicious application of our own minds?

On acting and aging.

There is so much hullabaloo on all the actor message boards about acting and growing old. Here are some words of wisdom from people much wiser than myself about the whole aging thing. I hope you find some wisdom here.

********************************************************

Age is something that doesn't matter, unless you are cheese.
~ Billie Burke ~

Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
~Mark Twain

A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.
~John Barrymore

The key to successful aging is to pay as little attention to it as possible.
~Judith Regan

How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?
~Satchel Paige

By the time you're eighty years old you've learned everything. You only have to remember it.
~ George Burns ~

Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. ~Samuel Ullman


You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair. ~Douglas MacArthur

Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional. ~Chili Davis

To me -- old age is always ten years older than I am.
~ Andre B. Buruch ~

Old age isn't so bad when you consider the alternatives.
~ Maurice Chevalier ~

Age is a matter of feeling, not of years.
~ George William Curtis ~

It is not how old you are, but how you are old.
~ Marie Dressler ~

Those who love deeply never grow old; they may die of old age, but they die young.
~ Benjamin Franklin ~

If wrinkles must be written upon our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should never grow old.
~ James A. Garfield ~

Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes ~

To be 70 years young is sometimes far more cheerful and hopeful than to be 40 years old.
~ Oliver Wendel Holmes ~

From the middle of life onward, only he remains vitally alive who is ready to die with life.
~ Carl Jung ~

Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art.
~ Garson Kanin ~

When I was young I was amazed at Plutarch's statement that the elder Cato began at the age of eighty to learn Greek. I am amazed no longer. Old age is ready to undertake tasks that youth shirked because they would take too long.
~ W. Somerset Maugham ~

Old age is like flying through a storm. Once you're aboard, there's nothing you can do.
~ Golda Meir ~

Don't just count your years, make your years count.
~ Ernest Meyers ~

We are not limited by our old ages; we are liberate by it.
~ Stu Mittleman ~

The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.
~ Jean Paul ~

Live your life and forget your age.
~ Norman Vincent Peale ~

The older the fiddler, the sweeter the tune.
~ English Proverb

Old age is the most unexpected of all the things that can happen to a man.
~ Leon Trotsky ~

The person of wisdom is the person of years.
~ Young ~

Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many.
~Author Unknown

It's a wrap!

Well, I am back home in NJ. The shoot ended Friday night around 1:00 a.m. and Tyler Martinolich (The Producer) and Patrick Griffin (The Director), seemed well pleased.

The final scenes involved another NY actor who flew in Thursday for the shoot on Friday. He played a grizzled old security guard who Clint idolizes but slowly comes to realize is mad as a hatter. Rich from NY had a scene by himself and then a scene with me inside a car where he reveals to me his true nuttiness.

It was great to have someone to work off of. The scenes we shot on Tuesday with the kid were great fun as well but it's a little different working with a kid than with an adult actor. These were actually the first two scenes in the movie, but they were shot last.

I must say this was an absolutely amazing experience for me. My thanks go out to Tyler and Patrick for casting me in what I am confident will be a really great short. I can't wait to see the final product. I am hope it turns out incredibly well and that it gets these guys (and me!) some well-deserved attention.

My worst night on set by far

Tonight was the worst yet. No lines, just walking, stalking, pointing and not shooting. It was so hot and humid I was drenched in sweat and we just kept doing it over and over take after take. First it was just me just walking off into the distance. Easy, right? Wrong! My walking was fine but they were having trouble with the angles and elevation and speed and zoom etc . . . on the friggin crane shot.

Then I had to stalk around the building, turn the corner and aim and . . . yes! No! Nothing to shoot. Disappointed, I re-holster the gun and stalk off. Do that shot again, and again, and again. My legs were starting to tremble from crouching and stalking my imaginary foe so many times. Then we change the camera angle and do it all over again, and again, and again.

By the end of the night, I was exhausted and soaked in sweat. Did I mention the bugs in Savannah? I think this must be where they all come to spend their summers.

Am I loving it? DAMN RIGHT I AM! Loving every second of it.

Tomorrow we shoot the final scene and wrap the movie. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Turns out I'm a crack-shot!

We finally got out to the range today. We informed the proprietor that I'd never touched a gun before. He started me on a .22 at 20 feet. I was consistently hitting that sucker right in the center. Then we went to a .38 at 30 feet. I hit it dead center twice and close to center more often than not. Then we went to a .357 at 40 feet. I got 4 out of 6 pretty close to center. The proprietor was impressed. That was good enough for the director.

When we got to the set, I had to shoot a .357 Magnum with an 8 inch barrel like the one they used in Dirty Harry. I was only shooting blanks so after shooting the live .357 rounds on the range, the blanks where nothing! Even a full fire round only had a slight kick comparable to the .22 I shot on the range. So we did the scene where I blow the crap out of a candy machine and then storm off into the darkness. There was an armorer on set to provide the guns and ammo and a local law officer to check the gun and rounds between every take. At the end of each take I had to walk to the armorer so she could confiscate the gun between takes. Presumably this is so nobody puts a live round in the thing between takes.

It is amazing how much stuff is involved in the making of even a short film! As the actor, I felt like such a tiny part of the process even though I am the lead! I am having such a blast though. We did the scenes and wrapped early so I guess everything went well. Tomorrow we do the dramatic walking off into the distance scene with a crane pulling up and back as I walk away. Remember the end of Dirty Harry? That's the scene.

That's all for now. More tomorrow.

More on Clint

Monday nights shoot went well. We did many takes of me saying such classic Clint Eastwood lines as "being as this is a .44 magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world . . ." It was a lot of fun. The guys were very complimentary about my acting.

Today we were supposed to go to a shooting range for me to learn how to shoot an actual .44 Magnum but the range was closed. We'll try again tomorrow.

Tonight we shoot a scene with a kid actor who has been in a few major things. It's a short but complex scene that they want to cover from many angles so it should be fun. I'll let you guys know more as things continue to develop.

By the way, Savannah is indeed a beautiful city but it is unmercifully hot and humid and the bugs are relentless. At one point last night I was saying my lines into a mirror for the umpteenth take and a virtual cloud of mosquitoes was hovering between me and my image in the mirror. Them suckers don't play! Well, I guess that's why its called paying your dues. I was also warned to stay at least 6 feet from the waters edge because there's an alligator in there that doesn't take kindly to northerners. They don't have to worry about me getting to close to him, I can assure you.

That's all for now. I'll post more when more happens.

Being Clint Eastwood - Day 2

The first night of shooting is over. We did many takes of me talking to myself in the mirror saying lines from Dirty Harry. The heat and humidity were oppressive and the insects were relentless. I guess that's why they call it paying your dues. At any rate, both the director and producer felt good at the end of the shoot and were very complimentary about my acting. Tomorrow they are taking me to a shooting range to learn how to handle a .44 Magnum! Hoo HAA!! I can't wait.

Being Clint Eastwood - Day 1

Here I am in Savannah GA waiting for my first night of filming. They will be picking me up shortly and taking us to a fort on Tybee Island where I understand you have to stay 6 feet from the shore because of an alligator who is particularly ornery who lives there. The heat down here is pretty bad and the humidity is a killer. Patrick (the Director) and I just spent a couple of hours rehearsing tonights shots. Based on some other work I've seen from these guys, this film should come out pretty amazing. I can't wait to see the finished product.

Last night they took me out to dinner at a local eatery and we talked and talked about movies and Clint Eastwood and their vision for the film. Then we went to a Karaoke bar near my hotel. I sang a song, Tyler (the Producer) sang a song and then an honest to god bar fight broke out! You just gotta love them Southern boys.

Anyway, I will keep you all posted on things as they progress.

2/30 a.k.a. The Narrator

OK, so I just finished doing some voiceover work for the very talented John Rhee of Fretboard Pictures
for his latest short film 2/30. I thought it turned out fantastically. Check it out for yourselves http://www.fretboardpictures.com/.

One for the Troops

My good friend Robert Gavila (on Guitar) wrote this song in support of our troops in Iraq. This is a true Renaissance man. He is a genius programmer, writer, artist and musician. I hope you enjoy.

http://www.gavila.com/artist/Music/Music1.html

By the way, I believe that's his daughter on vocals. She's a cutie!

Clint Eastwood

I just got offered a role in a short film playing none other than Clint Eastwood!

Well, not quite. I play a guy who was named after the man who is arguably America's greatest living actor / director / producer and not too shabby a singer (remember Honky Tonk Man?) but who in reality is everything that the real Clint is not. Despite being a real loser, my Clint gets to have his Dirty Harry moment in the movie and I can't wait to have it! Look for it at a film festival near you!

Lit Between the Ears

I recently had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of the good people at Lit Between the Ears and Two Plus Plus Productions LLC who gave me a very warm welcome on their blog.

From their site: "Two Plus Plus Productions LLC is an entertainment company located in Clinton, New Jersey USA. We write, publish, and produce radio drama. We also publish and edit Lit Between the Ears - Celebrating the Power and People of Radio Drama."

A big thanks to William Spears, President of Two Plus for the warm welcome. I hope you guys have enormous success in the coming years, and don't forget, I'm a voice-actor !

Books and stuff

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Taking Steps to Become a VO Actor

Here's some of the stuff I have done or am doing to move forward as a voice actor.

OK, I took a class with Pamela Lewis Pamela Lewis for Cartoon Character / ADR in 2005. She's the author of Talking Funny for Money : An Introduction to the Cartoon/Character/Looping Area of Voice-Overs. I highly recommend her book and class if Cartoon Character work is of interest to you. I also have taken the cartoon/character intensive class at the Edge studio with Paul Liberti which was very good. I am currently taking the Advanced Voiceovers class at Actor's Connection with J.J. Adler which starts ends week.

Harlan Hogan has some fantastic information regarding VO coaches on his site.

Some of the people on this list that have been recommended to me are Joan Baker Author of Secrets of Voice-Over Success: Top Voice-Over Actors Reveal How They Did It (which I am currently reading) , Wendy Dillon and of course, the Edge Studio.

Harlan also has a fantastic list of books that you may want to take a look at. The books written by him are really great and very funny. I highly recommend Pamela Lewis' book which I mentioned above, and The Art of Voice Acting, The Craft and Business of Performing for Voice-Over by James R. Alburger. You can take a look at my list of books a couple of posts down from this one.

There is a wonderful message board called the VO-BB which is run by a professional VO people and has many, many full-time professional voiceover people on board who love to share tips, information and bust each others chops. It's a great group of people that you should get to know.

There is an acting podcast you should listen to created by Darbi Worley and Roz Coleman at EverythingActingPodcast.com where they interview people from all areas of the entertainment business including voiceover casting people and actors. In Episode 22 bonus is an they interview with Joan Baker, In episode 18 they interview Johnna Gottlieb, a VO coach and consultant, In episode 6 they interview J.J. Adler, an agent at Abrams Artists and VO teacher. This is all great stuff too.

I hope the information I've provided is helpful to you. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of any additional help and good luck!

Masterful Minimalist Acting

I've just come from seeing a most amazing film called "The Lives of Others". The film is in German with English sub-titles but that does not take away from the dramatic impact of this piece at all. This film has no shootouts, no wild chases and no explosions but kept me completely engrossed for the entire 137 minutes.

I was absolutely blown away by Ulrich Mühe who plays the role of Captain Wiesler, a state interrogator, teacher and surveillance expert. Watching this gifted actor's performance is truly an education. To witness the character arc as he goes from loyal Police Captain to what is essentially a disloyal criminal of the state, is an incredible minimalist masterpiece. Every emotion, every nuance, comes across on his face and that is were the all the magic happens. One reviewer said "it's like watching someone being born".

OK, it's not really voiceover related, but I highly recommend this movie for any serious student of film acting. You will definitely learn something watching this man perform.

Pay to Play

So I've enrolled in an "Advanced Voiceover Class" at the Actor's Connection with J.J. Adler who is also an agent at Abrams Associates. I am really looking forward to it.

The class was recommended to me by Darbi Worley of EverythingActingPodcast.com. I have to tell you, if you haven't heard of this Podcast, you are missing something good brudda! Darbi and Roz Coleman do a fantastic job of enlightening us on the ins and outs of the acting profession. They interview actors, directors, casting people, voiceover people and many other people in the industry, who share their stories candidly and entertainingly. I highly (is that too many "ly" words in a row?) recommend you crank up your iTunes, go to the iTunes store and do a search on "Acting". They should come up as the #1 podcast on the subject and with good reason. Subscribe today people, you'll thank me!

Happy Birthday to Me!

So another year has gone by. Born on the Ides of March, I have been doomed to desire a life full of creativity yet have a life full of the mundane. Mortgages, fence repairs, gutter cleaning, dogs and flat tires and car accidents oh my. Yet there is so much creativity in dealing with these mundane things, isn't there? At any rate, this year will be my most creative ever. I've already made that my determination. I WILL make this year my most creative ever, no matter what! There, I've said it. I've asked. I will believe. I will receive.

Academy Awards Recap

My thoughts about The Oscars.

Don LaFontaine did a great job as one of the Live Announcers. Kudos to Don!

Ellen Degeneres as the host - I love Ellen. I don't care what anybody says, I love Ellen. Is she the funniest person on earth? Maybe not, but I love Ellen.

Best Motion Picture: "The Departed" - Not my favorite picture but still a really great film. The end of the movie was a bit of a letdown for most of the people who I've spoken with but the consensus, a great film! I was rooting for Babel.

Lead Actor: Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland" - Forrest Whitaker is one of my heroes. Here is a guy who is not classically handsome, not thin, not this, that or the other, yet here he is, one of our most respected and talented actors. I love this dude! One of my goals is to work with Forest someday. In a way though, I was really rooting for Peter O'Toole since I don't know if he'll ever get another nomination and I'm pretty sure Forest will.

Lead Actress: Helen Mirren, "The Queen" - I didn't see this film but I love Helen Mirren. Early in the show there was a song done by Jack Black, John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell where they made reference to Helen Mirren being "hot"! I must agree. For a more "mature" actress, Helen is a real hottie and I mean that in the best possible way. I really loved Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada" and Judi Dench in "Notes on a Scandal".

Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine" - I have been a fan of Alan Arkin's since "The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming" in 1967 (for which he also won an Oscar!) and one of my all time favorites, "Popi" in 1969 (I was 7 when I saw that movie and I still remember loving it!). What an amazing actor and another of my heroes!

Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls" - Jennifer is the embodiment of what can happen when we move courageously in the direction of our dreams. I am so happy for her though I think that Cate Blanchett was amazing in "Notes on a Scandal", Jennifer did an amazing job for a rookie actress in this role. I wish her much success in the future.

Directing: Martin Scorsese, "The Departed" - What can anyone say about Martin Scorsese? The man is a bona fide genius and I really can't wait to work with him someday.

Adapted Screenplay: William Monahan, "The Departed" - Best Picture should have the best screenplay, no?

Original Screenplay: Michael Arndt, "Little Miss Sunshine" - I heard an interview with the screenwriters of this film on the Creative Screenwriting Podcast. My wife and I really loved this movie and I'm glad they won.

Animated Feature Film: "Happy Feet" - Loved it, but I also loved Cars and Monster House. I love animated features. I can't wait to work to do voice-work on some of them!

Art Direction: "Pan's Labyrinth"
Cinematography: "Pan's Labyrinth"- I really liked this movie a lot. It was rather dark, but an amazing film.

The rest of the categories went to well-deserved winners as well. Overall I thought it was a great show.

I'm glad I got it on Tivo and I'm glad that we had the forsight to record the two programs scheduled after the Awards so I was able to see it all, commercial free! Don't you just love technology!

Guilty Pleasures

Someone asked a question on another forum and I thought I'd like to share my response here.

Question: I just don’t get it! WHAT is the big fascination with American Idol?? Has TV gotten so bad that THIS is what passes for entertainment? Can someone please explain why this show is such a phenomenon??

American Idol is the number one show in the U.S. because it is a show about dreams. Young people working as clerks, laborers, bank tellers, waitresses or burger flippers, can step up and make a grab for the brass ring. We watch this process and we root for those people because we secretly wish that we had the balls to do it ourselves. And when someone wins, we are thrilled because it reinforces in us the conviction that dreams really can come true.

Ultimately, the people who have won American Idol (and many who didn't win) have had their lives changed forever! Kelly Clarkson was a cocktail waitress and now she is a multi-platinum recording, grammy winning superstar! Reuben Studdard was a college student in Alabama and now has had a number one album and a number one single. Fantasia Barrino went from an illiterate single mother to the star of "The Color Purple" on Broadway. Carrie Underwood's first album went 5 times platinum and she won the Best Female Vocalist award at the 2006 CMAs and Best Breakthrough Artist at the 2006 American Music awards. Taylor Hicks was a second rate performer in small venues in the South and now he's had a number one single and his star continues to rise. Clay Aiken (who didn't even win!) was nerdy special-ed teacher, now he's a star.

Why are we fascinated with American Idol? Because if it can happen for these people, these nobodies from nowhere, then it can still happen for us. It shows us that dreams can and do, still come true. And that's what we all want, isn't it? Isn't that why we are all here chasing our own dreams?

More Turkish

The people at EBRU TV have been keeping me busy. My friend and director Tom Wayland has booked me for another 10 hours of work next week! Keep the VO work coming guys! I love it!

Soap Star

So I booked a soap opera gig with EBRU TV, a Turkish TV company where I've been doing ADR work for over a year now. They hired a new director for this new prison drama soap opera. He auditioned me during a session for another show and hired me as one of the series regulars. HOO HAAA!!

While they don't pay what American TV companies pay, it's still pretty sweet to be a working professional voiceover actor, which is extremely cool and great experience.

Now if I can get some of that American work, things would really start swinging!

THE Event for voiceover people

Just wanted to let you guys know, in case you haven't already heard, that there is going to be a conference in Las Vegas during the last week of March and if you are involved in voiceovers in any way, you will want to be at this event. It's the Voiceover International Creative Experience (V.O.I.C.E.) . This will be the first of what promises to be an important annual event for us all. For more information, visit their site at http://voice-international.com/

How do I Become a Voiceover Actor?

I was listening to Episode 3 of Avi Melman's Voice-Over podcast. By the way, if you don't already subscribe to this podcast, you should. Great stuff. Anyway, the guest, Rikki Simons mentioned that his friend Crispin Freeman has a great article on how to become a voiceover actor on his site so I thought I'd share the article with you so here it is.

How do I Become a Voiceover Actor?

It's going to be a very good year!

So far, my 2007 has been great vo-wise. Here's an update.

Yesterday I auditioned for Coca-Cola to do a voice for a Mexican penguin who works inside a Coke machine! I had to do a Cheech and Chong type Mexican character for the piece. Keep your fingers crossed.

Earlier this month I booked a narration for a DVD Extra on the upcoming release of "Pokemon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea" being released this April. I also got to do a character for one of the DVD shorts, "Pikachu's Mysterious Island" where I played the voice of Exploud. I basically had to yell "EEEEXXXXXXPLLOOOOOOUUUUUUUDDDDD" several times, but it was fun. Actually quite a bit more challenging than I would have thought.

I also continue to work regularly for my Turkish ADR clients. It was my director on the Turkish spots that got me the Pokemon job. It pays to network and it's nice to be nice!

Well, so far my year has begun with a bang. I'm hoping to keep the energy flowing in the right direction and I hope you all will do the same!

Booked one!

I just booked a job for Pokemon. No, I am not going to be one of the little creatures. I am doing a narration for one of the DVD Extras about the making of the movie. It's a nice gig and another step along the path to Voiceover greatness!

Merry Christmas

This year I've had a lot to give thanks for. My life and career continue to move forward and I hope that yours has too. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year!

Playing games.

My friend Dave Gilbert of of Wadjet Eye Games is an up and coming independent game developer. He asked me to voice the part of Dr. Quentin in his latest game The Blackwell Legacy. Before that, I voiced the part of Rabbi Zelig in his earlier game The Shivah. You should check out his site and try out the games. Big fun is guaranteed!

Studio 60 Picked up!

Good news! Studio 60 has been picked up for at least a full season. Someone at the studio must have recognized that the show deserves a shot. NBC took a big chance on The Office and it paid off for them big time. I hope Studio 60 wins the audience it deserves.

Save Studio 60

Dear Friends,

This is a bit off topic but . . .

Studio 60 is in danger of getting canceled by NBC. Sign this petition and tell NBC to keep Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip!

It's a genuinely good show. The writing is smart and compelling. It deserves a shot.

http://studio60.bluestatedigital.com/page/petition/main/kvigc

Thanks!

New Podcast for VO Guys (and Gals)!

Hey folks! There is a cool new podcast targeting those of us who dream of being voiceover gods and godesses. Avi Melman is the host and you can find the podcast here. The first episode features an interview with Steve Staley who has extensive cartoon credits. I gave it a listen and it was good people, real good! I'm looking forward to upcoming episodes.