As first a junior agent at a voice acting talent agency, and then as a commercial voiceover Casting Director at a production company, a lot has informed the way I coach voice over in Portland now. Living in the cultural utopia that is NYC brings a broad spectrum of people and personalities your way. This can open your eyes in the most beautiful ways. First there were the producers that called with casting jobs. These guys taught me the inner workings of the clients quirks and needs and timelines and all sorts of other stuff. Then getting passed off to have a conversation with the copywriter got me to the heart of the script, the emotional tone, the actual essence of what they wanted in a voice. This to me was the heartbeat of the job. If I could inform the actors that came in to audition in the right way, the job was a success. That meant constantly drilling in direction that went not only to what the writer SAID he wanted, but to what he wanted subconsciously based on the script he wrote. Surprisingly the two did not always go hand in hand. Learning to balance the audition intention with these two things is the absolute key to winning jobs. Find the place on the scale that balances what the writer says they want from a performance with what the writing FEELS like intuitively and you’ll probably be in a smart place.
Going to the theatre and comedy clubs and improv shows all taught me the differences between performing and acting, between being entertaining and being authentic. I learned to differentiate the two and find ways to encourage actors to discover the difference as well. You need to be compelling, interesting, AND authentic in your voice acting efforts. Bring the YOU into the script, while making sure you are honoring the emotional direction the script is written in. Balance achieved.
