When it comes to the arts some people must spend hours and hours practicing, while others are naturals. For our talent spotlight, Denise Nadeau, hailing from Houston but you wouldn’t know it from her work, it is certainly the later. Denise found a passion for voice-over in the form of an eight-track recorder at a young age, and kept that passion with her throughout a secretarial career in the technology sector. Companies that she worked for received the bonus of an entrepreneurial voice-artist, from voicemails to actually writing scripts and narrations. Denise always strove to work her passion into her life.
When she was laid-off she took it as a sign and truly committed herself to voice-over.
Its rare that we get someone booking jobs before they have completed their demos, but that just shows the passion and talent she has. We are absolutely thrilled to have aided Denise on her road to harnessing her talent!
SAV: What about voice-over drew you in?
Its fun! It’s an engaging challenge, but I really fell in love with the creative aspect. It’s thrilling for me to take a rather abstract idea and bring it to life! What were once words on a page transforms into an important or informative “message”. How I interpret and communicate this message totally depends upon how I use my voice. Even the slightest variance of tone, pitch, speed, inflection etc. will influence how the intent of the message is captured.
SAV: Do you have a niche or type of voice-over you are most suited for? Say Audiobooks vs Commercials?
That’s really hard to say at this point as I feel I am still discovering what I can and can’t do well. I can say this, I do love storytelling and that seems to fall into narration and audiobooks thus far. That may change further down the line, who knows?
SAV: You’ve already booked 2 jobs before your demo was complete! How does that feel? How did it go?
In a word…shocking! I just took the advice from my coach and dove right in. I had zero expectations and my intention was to practice. I selected 7 auditions to record and submit on a Sunday evening, and I nearly hit the floor when I had 2 offers waiting in my inbox the next morning. It was confirmation that I was headed down the right path.
SAV: You have such a passion about voice-over, is it ever difficult? Or do you breeze through every aspect of it?
No way! It is an extremely challenging and difficult road to travel, there’s nothing breezy about it! I have so much to learn. But that’s what is so fun about it for me. I am continually learning, practicing, gaining knowledge, and adding to my skill set. Fortunately I am passionate about it, otherwise, it would be too much work! My passion keeps me motivated to stretch my boundaries and keep going.
SAV: Were you hesitant to go from dreaming to reality for a voice-over career? If so, what was the final push that made you take the leap?
Absolutely! I spent many years dabbling, but I never had the confidence required to take the plunge. To be honest, the final push was joining the SAV program. I began researching coaching lessons, and thankfully it didn’t take long before I discovered Such A Voice. It was above and beyond what I was looking for and I was driven by an overcoming force to sign-up right away. As I began working with my awesome (and patient) coach, Nancy Wilson, I gradually developed more confidence and soon I was asking myself “why not me?” The full package that SAV offers was simply too hard to resist. Everything I needed to be successful was provided. It wasn’t just some coaching lessons and off you go – best of luck. It’s the online training, teleconferences, and valuable resources to ensure your success. I was able to relax because I felt like SAV had my back!
SAV: We certainly do! What was the most important piece of information or training you received from your coach?
It’s really hard to narrow it down to just one, but some advice truly stuck with me.
Strive to sound natural and find a way to make the script very personal and specific to you. My performance is remarkably improved when I develop and verbalize a back story to my scripts. It gets me out of my head and into the scenario. That alone seems to breathe life and emotion into my delivery.
And it’s hard not to mention this gem: Your job is to audition – period. You will win some and you will lose some, and will most likely never know exactly why things went one way or the other. Accept that and keep moving, learning, trying and pushing boundaries. That’s the key to success in this industry.
SAV: How would you describe your voice?
That’s a question I like to ask others! I describe it as warm, friendly, engaging, smooth, natural, calming and articulate.
SAV: Finally, what is your dream voice-job?
Gosh – I feel like I’m already living the dream! As a listener, I feel captivated by and gravitate toward narration of biographies, non-fiction, true mysteries and such. What I wouldn’t give to have a job like Paul Winfield on City Confidential. Who knows what the future holds. For today, I remain extremely grateful for the opportunity to be where I am right now.
Would you like to hear more of Denise? Contact her at dee13tx@gmail.com Or check out her YouTube channel!
