I’m in a really weird situation with them and was hoping to chat with some FL based actors to see if this normal/worth the hassle.
Hey NYC actors! I have a request for a voiceover self-tape and am still in the process of compiling my materials/equipment for voiceover things. I was wondering if anyone knows of any studios in the city that have cheap-ish rental rates for voiceover recordings, or if I could rent from someone on here and possibly use their equipment. Thanks!
I'm wanting to go into Voice Acting/youtubing/streaming/ and i plan on making a game which i definitely wont be able to afford voice actors for. I wondering what Microphone to get, all I know is the AVOID blue yeti's Yes there's YouTube videos on this, but that's One guys opinions that might be getting swayed by sponsors and stuff, and every video is saying different microphones. So first, What's a good budget one like <$150, and then what's a good one at a more normal price >$150<$800?
To be clear, I’ve got a BFA, and an agent and a manager. I live in NYC. I’m doing okay as an actor, getting some jobs here and there. I really just want to be in a war movie so bad tho you got no idea. like I just want to be in a ww1 or ww2 movie- what stuff can I do to pivot my way into a room where they audition for that stuff? Is there a particular CD in nyc that specializes in that kinda stuff?
Since it’s the digital age, it seems that nowadays you can land a role just by applying to roles through casting apps. I’ve heard of people get roles this way, but would having an agent be better for landing roles than not having an agent and just using apps?
My complete failure at getting paid work in this 'self-tape' era has now metastasized into depression over my career in general...and it started off so well. However, I now have a new lens through which to see it. In the Summer of 2017, having been back in 'the biz' for a year, got two theatre plays on my resume, a couple of Indies and being repped by one of the bigger names in Vancouver, I got three Hallmark/TV Movie gigs within 6 weeks of each other. I realized that the second one was Union, so asked for details of the other 2. They all were, so I had enough credits for Union membership, even though my Agent tried to discourage me. 5 years later and I have worked 3 days on set and in the last 2 years I haven't even had a callback. I have now heard anecdotally that Agents are getting kickbacks from Production outside of their usual commission for casting non-U actors in U productions (Damn Hollywood). It is clear to me, now, that the only reason I got that busy 2017 Summer was because of this reason. So, I have no skill, right? However, there are another 20 credits on my CV of Indie, theatre (some leads here, too.), web projects, etc. so I CAN offer something to someone. Just not anything that pays. Just something that is more than '1 line, 1 scene' appearances for a fee on a larger project. No appearances, hardly any CV entries of 'note', no career progression, just paying Union fees and doing passion projects. Perhaps it's all been a waste of time?
I'm looking for a voice actor that can do a male, seedy, criminal-like voice acting gig over the phone preferably a native English speaker. Most accents are welcome and accepted it's under 100 words. I don't have much to pay <$20 (If it's reasonable I can negotiate). Send me your Fiverr Links to ensure fair pay and etc. (context for the gig: A local drug dealer has lost his bosses stash and is reporting what was lost(in a defeated tone).) ​ Thank you to all who submit I plan on doing an entire series of this so future work may be available. Thank you again.
I need to do a pantomime in front of my classmates tomorrow for school. My pantomime outline is basically a skit where I kill a guy with a shovel and bury the body using the shovel. I’m a pretty decent actor so I decided to challenge myself but this is too much. I have already performed this in front of my class once and I hated my story and got a bad score for rushing through it. I need a new story that is between 1-3 minutes long and some actions to spice things up a bit. I have already tried doing many different kinds of stories, but because my outline is so specific I end up making it way too long and my audience (my sister) said it was hard to understand and keep track of everything going on. I only have one last chance, so I’ve decided to go to Reddit. If you decide to lend me a helping hand, then thank you so much!
I have local agents that submit me for local commercials and stuff, but I really want a NYC agent or someone who can get me co-star roles in TV shows. I am SAG-eligible and had a recurring role on a SAG series, a co-star role in two nonunion shows, and have had speaking roles in 5 feature-length films and some commercials. I have professional and updated headshots and a reel, and I always write a brief but professional cover letters the times I have submitted to agencies. I also tried to NYsubmit feature on Actors Access maybe 10 times but never heard anything. Does anyone have any advice? edit: title should have been high level agent
I read that I need to get a letter from my school saying I’m in good health and have good grades to get an acting permit. I have a couple questions for that. Can I ask my school therapist or does it have to be a principle or someone from the school district? Does mental health count or are they only talking about physical health? I’m in a smaller class for social anxiety, panic attacks, and cptsd and I’m worried if that would damage my application. There are only about 4-5 other students and a couple adults. I also have independent study so I don’t get to see my grades. Would that affect it? Thank you!
Recently, one of my cast mates and an actor who I’ve been in several shows with commented that I’m a very “technical actor.” He’s said this a couple times in the past. I don’t remember for sure if he said I’m the most technical actor he knows, but it wouldn’t surprise me if did. This one time, I said to one of my directors that I think I’d be good at stage combat, which she agreed to, saying that stage combat is very technical, which she said is what I am. Anyway, what does “technical” mean in this context? What does being a “technical actor” mean? Is it bad? Does it have any advantages over being any other kind of actor?
I am starting a full-time role at a remote company to help finance my life in LA. While looking over the offer contract, I noticed that they have a part about not being able to work/do business with any other entity unless there is written consent from this company I'm about to join--do you think I would need to disclose that I am signed with a talent agent and will be working when I can? I was not going to disclose my acting career at all because currently, I don't see it being an issue with the work being fully remote and fairly flexible hours. I would bring that up if and when it actually becomes an issue such as if I book a series regular role on a series and would not be able to work at all. ​ Actors with full-time jobs at companies, did you disclose your acting pursuit to the company your working for?
I really want to pursue acting (screen specifically) but I'm super lost. Some things I read say not to waste money on schooling, then other things I read say you'll struggle to find work without schooling. I've tried to have a look at casting calls but I have no clue what I'm reading. Then I see some people saying you can't get work without an agent but you also can't get an agent with no experience? Long story short - I am TOTALLY lost. I've been looking at courses at AFTT and Sydney Actors School... Is one school better than the other? Should I be looking at other schools? Should I look at schools in the USA? I feel so jumbled. Just thought I would reach out on here to get some insight and advice from the people who know way more about this stuff than me and actually have experience. There's no one else I can really talk to about my options. Family hasn't been that supportive as I'm in my mid-20s and I know in their heart they would prefer if I was already settled in a "traditional career". I've really tried to find a "traditional career" that makes my heart sing as much as acting and singing (I'm a BMus graduate and post covers online that do semi-decent, but nothing major) and I can't. And I think I would be really silly not to give it a real shot before accepting otherwise.
Ok this question is always in my mind , jogia played leon s Kennedy in resident evil welcome to raccoon city And received lots of negative opinion from people , some said no matter how much of a good actor you are, atleast you must look like the character So my question is how much ethnicity plays a role in acting such characters or comic characters do you think a white character can be played by another ethnicity ( important: this question is based on to get only logical feedback from you guys , this is not to create hate or something ) Thank you !
One thing I’ve realized is that I’m very good at unscripted scenes. I really don’t wanna sound like I’m bragging here, rather get you to understand me, but in my Meisner beginning and intermediate I was without a doubt the teachers favorite. Until scripted scenes came around, in which I dropped out for other reasons but my last two weeks was rough. Anywhere I’ve gone where I don’t need to worry about any lines to remember and can just live in the moment I essay at. But as soon a script with lines come in…I feel like I’m mediocre. I murder the scenes by rehearsing, rehearsing, rehearsing and then rehearsing a little more. The words are now nothing but robotic words memorized and the living has died. If I do cold reading of any type, such as table read where I’ve had time to work on the character, completely free from having to memorize, I’m great. I even got a role in a big movie off of that. But I would change all of that to be great at learning lines, trusting it and just live it out without overthinking or have murdered the scenes. When I improv, I don’t think about “okay next line is”. I’m more just truly in the scene, it’s the best feeling. I don’t need to think “oh that actor is gonna say something now that’s gonna break your heart, be prepared”-ish. Even if I know the improve scene is leaning that way, I’m still free and never worry about planning anything ahead. I take it second by second, taking everything in without any stress. I’ve done acting a while so it’s not a “with time you’ll get better” (which I do believe it’ll get better, but it’s been way too many years waiting for Godot). I manage to get away with it somehow when I get roles. But I feel like an imposter.
I am a teenager (M14) who is gonna start theater even though people tell me i dont need it because i am talented, i have a nice face and love acting so i decided to do it to get better at it, but in my country ac4ing isnt very popular and wont get me far, what should i do? (Excuse me for any grammatical mistakes i may have made since English isnt my first language)
I am 21, almost 22, and I’m looking to stray away from the typical 5-day work week and do something different, unique, and impactful. Two of the major ideas that I brainstormed were acting and voice acting. I would love to become an actor, but quite frankly I don’t feel that I have the confidence to appear on screen (plus I am in a very rural area that does not have many opportunities). This brought me to research voice acting and I fell down a bit of a rabbit hole lol. To keep from rambling on too long, I was wondering if some of the more experienced voice actors could list their primary pros and cons to the industry and what makes it such a difficult industry to be successful in. If anyone wants to leave some beginner tips for me as well I would be very grateful. I’ve not had any prior theatre or drama courses, but I am in no way opposed to taking classes/courses that do not cost a fortune. Thank you all in advance!!
Relatively new actor here, just got on TalentLink / Actors Access this morning and got a couple of messages from agents and managers about representation. I set up a few meetings for later this week, but what should I expect from these? How do I vet agencies to make sure they're legit? What should I be looking out for when choosing my first agent or manager? For context, I'm 22yo and non-union - just graduated from college, only have a couple of theatre credits and one student film. I look young (range is 16-22) and am a minority. Currently training at a two-year Meisner conservatory in NYC, but don't know that many other working actors yet so not sure what to expect.
​ Howdy, sorry if this breaks the rules. I am an Australian Animator who is wanting to work with an Australian voice actor with is familiar with the AFL. I want to pay for this work but I’m unsure how to calculate the rates. I read the rules which say *PAID Work posts MUST include specific pay rates and terms. You must include the amount being paid, the currency, and terms under which you will be paying.* However I don't know what pay rates & terms are standard/ acceptable. I don't want to offer somebody 10% of what they are worth out of ignorance My script will be around 3 minutes, with 3 or 4 characters. Is there a rate calculator that I can use?
i feel like i just don’t have it “in me” to be a great actor no matter how much i try and train :( feeling dissatisfied with all my audition tapes and never hopeful they’re good enough to book a role. the more i tape and try to perfect it, the less organic it looks and the worse the tape gets. yet even my best tries aren’t good enough and I know there’s a spark missing in my performance
i'm a junior in high school and ive been thinking about the classes i might wanna take for senior year, and i was wondering if i should bother with any AP classes. im taking ap psychology and ap csp this year, was thinking about ap calc or ap physics for next year, but idk why i would stress myself out if i won't need it in my career as an actor? do i even take a math class next year? i don't have to if i don't want to since i have enough math credits already. i guess im just preparing myself for the chance that i change my mind and want to go a different career, even tho ive been set on being an actor since i was like 12
I know some actors have 1 legit agent and 1 commercial. Is it possible to have 1 legit in LA and another legit in NY?
My name is David Wenzel! I am an Award winning Actor/Producer/Director. I’ve been in the industry for 30 years working with the likes of Brad Pitt etc… as well as appearing networks TV shows for ABC NBC and CBS to name a few! Of all the agencies that I’ve worked with in the past 30 years, W Talent NYC and Kelli are one of the most honest and transparent agents in the industry to this day! Wish Kelli and W talent all the best in their future endeavors truly one of the best agents in New York City! David Wenzel www.davidwenzelactor.com
Shes an l.a. actress who moved back home. She always has tons of new scenes to do. She doesn't say shes a teacher but only a coach. Shes usually very nice and accommodating... I asked if she does self tapes. She said yes. I go. She even invites me to do a free class on her. She ends class early to help me shoot. I say its no big deal i can wait or come back later. She offers it no problem. I get set up. I say i need to get my mic. She said phone will pick it up. She seems kinda like shes rushing me. We begin doing takes. Im having trouble connecting..she tells her friend, whos waiting for her (im guessing?)to be my person im talking to. Do a great two takes (as requested) and thank everyone and leave. I look at it later- The reader, another friend/actor, read it too loud and all you can hear is him. I email her explaining everything. Asking to pay half. Get an email two weeks later. She emailed back offering to record on her iphone.. I responded its fine. I ended up doing a new version at home. Can we meet in middle for payment? She said ok but i ended my class early for you and you were in it. So you owe me for class and taping session plus three people helped you..something close to 90. Right now im offering 30 because the friend who helped, wasnt part of the deal, the reader read really loud on camera, she obviously has no interest in actually setting up proper recording session. She seems like a well connected person and usually nice and very accommodating but this whole reaction from her is weird. Thoughts?
Some background been acting seriously for about 3 years in the LA market and been lucky to book and I’ve slowly been dissatisfied with my work and performances. I feel disconnected from my lines and really am craving those truthful moments in my work but never seem to achieve that. So reaching out to other fellow actors for any advice or exercises you find helpful that improved your craft. Thx in advance!
Basically the above question. I (20 NB) just wanted to get the general scope of things. Emma D'arcy and Mason Alexander Park are probably the only prominent NB actors I know as of the moment and they both can pass off as cis characters of their AGAB. I'm currently in Uni and I want to act in the future but I also want to get top surgery and I was wondering how that would affect my prospects of booking jobs and etc. given that NB characters are pretty rare and I might need chest stuff to pass as my AGAB. Would appreciate anything you can share w me. Thanks in advance :)
Who are some young actors who tend to play eccentric/character roles and agents always playing the straight man/lead?
My plan is to star in a few movies, and have acting as a hobby. Nothing more. I don’t want fame, or money, I just want it as a hobby. That’s possible, right?
Been working for several months on a full cast audio drama. All the major roles are recorded and are being edited at this time. However, I have a few minor roles that have not been cast. Most are just a few lines or paragraphs. Pay is negotiable but per the rules of this sub, I will offer $10 a line. Please message me if you are interested in one of the following roles: Agent Brittany (Female) - Soft tempered, office manager of a secret time traveling agency. She has a few paragraphs of dialog explaining how time travel works and a few one off lines outside that scene. Bao (young male) - He's a young Vietnamese kid with slightly broken english. Comparable to Short Round from Indiana Jones. Would be good to get a female voice actor who likes to play young boys and isn't afraid to cuss. Has about 6-8 lines of dialog. Professor Bao (Male) - Young Bao grows up and becomes a college professor. Only 2-3 lines of dialog. No need for broken english. Hotel Manager (Male) - Has a slight Appalachian accent. 4-5 lines of dialog. Explains to the main character how currency works in his timeline (2200s). Virtual Hotel Assistant (Sensual Female) - She just appears on a screen in a futuristic hotel. Has a sultry/seductive tone, but doesn't say anything NSFW. 5-6 lines of dialog. Cheerful Flight Coordinator (Cheery Female) - Has an overly cheerful personality. Leads the main characters to their flight while explaining the destination. 4-5 lines of dialog. Potbelly Martial Artist (Male) - Sounds like a tough guy. Not in the best shape, but enters a major fighting tournament and over confident. 2 lines of dialog. Dr. Tambora (Male) - Indonesian Archaeologiest. No accent needed. He's in charge of excavating an ancient Egyotian tomb. Has 2-3 paragraphs of dialog give or take.
so I was cast in an indie project in April, the director was a friend of a friend, and I worked with him before as he was the DP on a project I was in. we met for about 6 Rehearsal over the months and I ws set to film last Friday. Rehearsals where going good, he's was not an actors director so some of the notes were hard to decipher but I feel like im still figured them out and took them, then a week before shooting he asked if I could film that week not the next, I couldn't as I was booked on another film. so we where set for the original date. the day before that date I heard nothing, so I asked he said they had to moved it and he was figuring out things and making determinations and he would let me know in two weeks. so I just flat out asked if I was in the film still. he said he wanted to wait to tell but as of not they are changing the character or replacing. im just wonder what could have happened, im not a great actor but I have been doing and working for awhile and in classes and coaching so im not that bad, and if I was why wasn't I dropped early.
Looking for someone with a really nice voice to narrate love/romance movie recaps (Faults in our stars, the beauty inside). The narrator's voice should grab the viewer's attention til the end of the video to keep average watch time high Examples: [https://youtu.be/E5tZL\_S4h50](https://youtu.be/E5tZL_S4h50) [https://youtu.be/g38dOWno6uA](https://youtu.be/g38dOWno6uA) Pls dm if interested, and add your samples if possible. $20 per video (around 2000 words per script), open to negotiation.
I’m a freshman in college and have acted for the past few years but think I wanna take it seriously now. What would be a good starter agency that’s known to take chances on young actors in the New York City area?
Hello to all voice actors, I would like to know **what are some channels or platform that you guys use to post your voice over work or demo?** I know there are a lot of different ways to get your work published these days. I don't know if you guys have any other channels besides YouTube or not. If you do have, please kindly share yours. It would be really great help to me and others. Thank you.
I’m a freshman in college and I have this Gen-Ed theatre class that requires me to act out a scene of the Professor’s choosing for the final. It’s in a few weeks, but we received our scenes yesterday. Upon reading mine, I was shocked. He said that he picked pieces that he felt “fit our character”. My character, throughout the play, uses many swear words and talks about sexually explicit things. My scene partner, however, does not. I feel deeply uncomfortable with having to say these things in front of my class, considering that I do not speak like this around strangers or freely in public. I’m more on the reserved side, but not shy. This is making me really upset. My professor did preface that everything is “just acting” before giving us our scripts, but after seeing mine I don’t know how I can possibly separate myself from this vulgar content seeing as I’m not a professional actor and I do not plan on acting anytime soon (just a Gen-Ed class, I’m a film major with a concentration in cinematography). Any advice helps. Thanks.
Hi all, Shooting a SAG micro budget short and we have a party scene. We'd like to populate with non-union actors - I'm curious how much it would typically cost? These would essentially be 'Day Players' for a couple hours in the scene.
Apologies and delete if not allowed, but is anyone able to identify the voice actor in this video? Or maybe a very similar one? Thanks and sorry again if not allowed. I can repost tomorrow in anything goes :) [Faust Wine](https://youtu.be/tvGFvLzOONE)
Do you think people just have this talent hidden inside of them to act? I’m 27 now (m). And since about 8 I was really intrigued by actors I was seeing on movies and tv. I would look them up to see where they were from and how they started. Throughout middle school and high school that’s all I would think about. I’m not sure why. I kept telling everyone it’s what I wanted to do but for some reason I was scared to do theater in HS cause being on the football team I didn’t want to be made fun of. I didn’t go to college after HS and I’ve always worked off dead end jobs.I’m not sure if the universe works in a way to make you meet people for a reason just I would often bump into people who in somewhat involved with acting or that’s what they want to do. I ended up joining the Navy reserves a few years ago. I’m thinking about going active and not too long ago after giving up on chasing that dream for a long time I had a co worker who has her own business in production and I told her about my life story and she said go for it. Is this the universe telling me something? Are acting classes worth or better to go to an acting college? How do I find out if this is really what I want to do?
I'm about to be 30. I started taking acting classes about a year ago and I feel like I can compete with the best of them. Unfortunately I don't have a reel but have clips from my acting class. How do I get in front of representation without any credits? I don't want to sit here cranking out a bunch of backstage student film auditions.
I have a scene with 2 other actresses who play my best friends in a film that I have the lead in. They were cast a while ago when another actress had my part, and cast around her I guess. Now that I have the role I do not mesh well with these women. They’re low key bullies and kind of mean, they mocked me during a club scene we had together because I didn’t want to twerk (wouldn’t make sense for my character). I genuinely just do not like their personalities and I’m not looking forward to working with them for our final scene together. How can I deal with this? I barely want to be in the same room as them. I know I need to get over it but I just need some advice.
Hello everyone I am a beginner actor and I am having a hard time getting out of my own head when rehearsing lines. I feel like my delivery is the same their no dimension behind it just bland. I’ve been working with an acting coach and we are working on finding the visceral reaction to a line. But no matter how many times I repeat it all sounds artificial. Would love some help
i've been in a rut for way too long. not being able to afford quality / consistent classes in many years to improve / network obviously has an affect as well. I just feel like i've been pursuing this for so long, I still feel so empty, like i'm missing something fundamental in terms of finding work / booking jobs, etc. etc. im in sag, i read for co-stars about 1-2x a week usually, on average, once in a while i'll get a tape for something bigger, but it's so sporadic, and i've been pinned a bunch last year, lots of repeats from casting, but it's just taking absolutely forever, like enough to make you go crazy, and i'm just not happy at all with this journey. frankly, it completely fucking sucks. I need WAY more fulfillment and i just want to fucking book a job, or I need to completely restructure my life and adjust how much time i even think about acting, let alone pursuing it, because it's just driving me absolutely crazy. somebody that hasn't put 1/100th of the work in that I have can get "lucky" and book a job faster than me, even after the years i have put into this. it just infuriates me, and i dont want to feel this way anymore. anyway, i'm based in brooklyn. I'd love to buy you a coffee and ask you some questions / share my materials, if anybody has time today (sunday) or one day this week. Thanks guys!
I live in Canada and while waiting for a booking as an actor, I mainly do extra/background work so I drive a LOT. I am considering getting QuickBooks or Self-employed and I know the subscription fee can be written off but im checking if there are better options out there. Thank you!
As you guys can tell by todays and future movies, Latinos are slowly but surely making it into the main stream entertainment industry. I feel motivated and inspired seeing my own people make an example to be an actor. My girlfriend who is part of the industry, books regular BG principles but nothing too crazy. She told me I can break into it giving my background and looks. I appreciate her kind words but which girlfriend wouldn’t motivate their boyfriend to get into their hobbies? Anyway, she told me to get into BG work to see how it feels on set and to see how everything works. She helped me sign up with a random agency and got into work. The first month of working was so fantastic. The first bookings were fun mainly because I was with 5 or less BG and when that happens, everyone gets used to work, talk to camera crew, directors and basically gets to meet everyone. If it’s something I noticed, I would get pulled out of BG and get bumped up to photo doubles and stand-ins. It happened so fast I got my sag same month of working for the first time. In addition to that, I would regularly get photographed for stock photos for the movie/tv-show I would work for. I would ask my other BG co-workers how great it’s been-everyone would say I’m lucky to be getting my opportunities which is true. But I also got the conclusion I look different than everyone which is why I would get asked to do these bumps. What my point is, my luck isn’t getting me anywhere, it’s the fact that I’m brown and have a unique look to myself that appeals the production crew. I don’t mean to brag. I just need to take advantage of this. So far my agency signed me up for their stand-in department but I don’t want to used as an accessory anymore and would like to go further. Any pointers?
So I applied, auditioned for, and got cast in this student film about a month or so ago. Filming doesn't happen until Nov. 11th, but as far as I thought, I got the role in it. Got a message from the director I auditioned with, gave her my number, the works. Well, this morning I saw the same project on Actors Access, with the role I booked available to submit for (And no, this isn't an old listing, it was posted yesterday) I can't imagine this is a good thing, but I would think (or at least hope) that if they changed their mind on me, they would tell me? Does anyone know what this is about? (And I'm sure this probably wasn't a good idea in hindsight, but I was just so annoyed that I submitted myself again lol)
Hello! I'm a student from Thailand and I'm researching about voice acting/voice over hobbies and jobs for my university assignment. I got assigned to making a tutorial video about getting started as a voice actor. This video purpose was assigned as a guide way to make good use of free time. And I find voice acting to be one of the most interesting leisure activities, and it can also lead to career development in the future. For those of you who see this poll, I would like to ask you to press the option that matches yours. And I would really appreciate it if you could share your voiceover experience of what you're doing or how you started your voiceover. Whether you work in this line or just try it for fun, I would love to hear from you. Thank you in advance. **(Some comments may be included in the video, if you disagree please let me know.)** [View Poll](https://www.reddit.com/poll/y9wlry)
Hi! I’m currently living in NYC and have done basically all of the service industry jobs as a side hustle. HOWEVER, I want a job that involves acting and I’m not sure where to start. It doesn’t have to pay the rent, just anything that might pay a little so I can afford acting classes. Thanks!
For those wanting some basics in Voice My voice teacher was brutal and picked every nit he could find. Students (including me) stood in front while interrupted about every third word to give a "line reading" We had to parrot his intonations back to him perfectly. It was borderline abusive but it paid off, as I've had people come up to me and tell me that I have a pleasing voice and I am not the least intimidated by public speaking. This preamble so you won't think I'm being mean. How to avoid "mush mouth" and the lack of articulation. Every day practice alone where no one can hear you and say, "the lips, the teeth, the tip of the tongue" and over-articulate every single solitary consonant. Hit them like a hammer so that you think you sound ridiculous, and then push it even farther. Everyone who does this exercise faithfully and gets into the spirit of it never ends up being told they are over doing it. I promise. Don’t believe me? How about Butler Daws, the voice of Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound and about a gazillion other voices. He has some audio books at [audible.com](https://audible.com) I recommend them highly. He says you should “make love” to every single solitary syllable. And he is right. As to the above exercise, I’ve watched actors feeling very uncomfortable about over articulation. That was until the teacher yelled at them to make fun of the exercise and dared them to go over the top if they thought it was silly. Each time they tried to over do it, the teacher said, good, you’re getting the hang of it. Manipulate the mask. Make faces when warming up Yes it will feel silly, do it any way. Push your cheeks, roll your eyes, push your mouth out into a puck as far as it will go. Make a kissing noise with your lips stick your tongue out as far as it will go. Make bbbbbbbubbbbba noises making your lips vibrate, like a baby. Only MORE so. Stick tongue out and roll eyes back into head. Make noises in every way you can think of. Gutta Butta over and over. La la la la like you don’t want to hear what someone says. And you are about three years old. Then take all the consonants in the alphabet in order Bah, Bay, Bee, Bo, Boo. Cha Chay Chee cho Choo. Etc push it, push it, push it. Over and over again. Not in volume but in moving your whole face (A.K.A. your “Mask”) as much as possible. At first it will.feel like you are cracking a wall nut open. GOOD! It means you are limbering up the muscles in your face. Push it, push it, push it! More, more, more. You can not over do it. Work this for 1/2 hour a day not great volume just normal voice. Then Hum and let the sound move from deep in your chest and all the way up to the top of your head. I am not kidding with any of this. I had to do all of it in front of 20 other students and in a theater that sat 5,000 people and someone was in the top balcony in the back to make sure I was heard up there. Don’t go for volume until later. For now, articulate, articulate, articulate. Then move on to the humming and don’t move the hum out of your chest until you feel it there and you are thoroughly convinced that the humming is literally rumbling in your chest. Once you establish that, move the sound slowly slowly slowly up to below your throat. And hold it there until you feel it settling in place as if you could hold it there comfortably for as long as you want. Then move on up into your throat. It might feel the most familiar. Everything here is going to feel strange embarrassing, humiliating weird and childish. Just be glad you can do it alone in a secluded space with no one watching and not in a drafty theater with all the stage hands actively ignoring you and shaking their heads making fun of those weird drama-mama people who are always being bizarre just to get attention. You are not doing this for others, you do it for yourself, in private like playing scales on a musical instrument, which is exactly what you are doing. All music aspires to the sound of the human voice. Wars have been started, love has been made words have shaken the world, rights have been engendered all starting with a well trained human voice. You are striving to be a virtuoso on your given instrument. Second critique of your piece, SLOW DOWN. I know as you read every fiber of your being is telling you to not lose the attention of the audience. But by not going slower you do exactly that. If you read fast, you will bore people. Instead imagine (and I swear all the best advice on voice training, sounds exactly like something stupid and ridiculous) so be it. Imagine (I kid you not) that each word is a sausage, and you must give each link the worth attention that it deserves. At first, treat each word as if it were of equal value. And each sausage is coming out of the machine at exactly one word per link. Slow down, go slower than you think is possible. Because if you hurry the words you will eventually slam them alltogetheranditwillbeimppossibletounderstandanything. You can’t later give particular words emphasis until you know how to treat all words equally. If you don’t respect each word and give it equal emphasis at first you have no where to go. It’s like someone who starts out shouting and then has to sound excited. They have no ability to draw a contrast. Everything they say is up to 11, so no one can tell when something is really important. You need to start at a base, and then build on the variety of sounds. As to variety, yes Vocal variety is necessary, and you will get there. But first you have to address the words individually. As to vocal variety that’s another ridiculous exercise where you take an unsuspecting sentence from your deepest voice all the way up to your highest comfortable pitch. But that takes warm up and mastering the basics first. Happy monkey faces and spitting out sausages.
Does that make sense to anyone else ?? My passion is acting, it’s all I’ve ever really seen myself doing fully. However dry spells honestly make me question if it is worth it in the long run. It’s almost like it’s never meant to be and sometimes I wonder if it might be time to throw in towel and get a “normal” job and actual have a solid income lol. I do have a part time job in between but it sucks lol
Sometimes it's hard to breathe through one's nose when voice acting. But there are many advantages to doing so whenever possible. It encourages deeper, more relaxed breathing, and it aspirates your nose and throat which lessens mouth noise. [Nose Breathing for Voiceover - American Voice Over Actor Lance Blair (lanceblairvo.com)](https://lanceblairvo.com/2022/06/06/nose-breathing-voiceover/)
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