When I was young, my mom taught me how to be engaging and to draw others to come out and play with me. She would challenge me to have fun by myself until someone came to join me. I was amazed at the results because it was such an easy thing to do. As a voice-artist, I have found this wisdom serves me well.
We spend a lot of time alone as voice-artists: looking for auditions, analyzing scripts, doing the books, practicing, recording, and editing. The list goes on. I wasnʼt enjoying all the hours alone. If you’re like me, being alone too long can stunt your acting abilities, and as a result, Iʼve recorded myself sounding stale with a side of bored. Not only are more social or community-based events fun and rewarding for me creatively, but they’ve also been a great avenue for finding paid work.
Be present with the folks around you! You never know what it might lead to.
Since my training with Such A Voice, I’ve had the chance to work with a local radio station, KSVR, for five years. This has been a great way to meet others who work in the audio field but also to network with people and get a chance to do other projects, many of which I can do from home if I choose. When possible, though, I like to work in-person – I feed off the energy of others, and it helps me have fun with my reads.
At KSVR, I produce interviews about local businesses and organizations, which allows me to meet new people and learn about interesting things going on in my community. I also voice, direct, and co-produce the Radio Theatre Project, which is a monthly radio play that gets broadcast across 10 states. Collaborative projects like this give me the chance to meet other voice actors and producers, which is great for networking, but even better for keeping your creative skills sharp.
In addition to doing as many collaborative projects as you can get your hands on, I highly recommend having a group to practice with. There are many groups on platforms like meetup.com: theatre troupes, community radio stations, and local voice-over radio theatre projects. The chance to work on new and different types of projects could be helpful for expanding your repertoire in voice-over.
People can be fun. They can boost your enthusiasm level and bring out the color in your world, and that comes out in your voice. Surround yourself with vibrant people When you’re with them, do you get a little burst of energy? I know I do. That effervescence draws people to you, so by all means, be engaging, have fun and remember, be there!
