Voice Acting Mastery Field Report: Up to Date Information from the Ever Changing World of Voice Over

VAMFR 021 | Theme Park Voice Over, Part 3 Welcome to episode 21 of the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report podcast! You can listen to the podcast using the player above, or download the mp3 using the link at the bottom of this blog post. The podcast is also available via the iTunes Store online. Just follow this link to view the podcast in iTunes: http://www.vamfieldreport.com/podcast This is the third and final part of a special report on Theme Park Voice Over jobs by our special correspondent, Tom Bauer! If you haven’t listened to the first two parts of this series, we highly recommend that you do so first. In this episode Tom will be referencing many of the ideas and concepts he covered in part 1 and part 2. In the previous episode, Tom discussed at length the auditioning and casting process for voice over work in theme parks. He started by telling the story of how he broke into working as a voice actor at Disney California Adventure on the “Turtle Talk with Crush” interactive show. He shared his experiences of what the auditioning process was like and how it took him a total of six attempts over multiple years before he finally landed the role of Crush. He also talked about the different ways Voice Actors can look for theme park VO auditions in the previous episode. In this episode, Tom will be discussing some of the challenges one may face as a theme park voice actor. He’ll also be focusing on the importance of maintaining a sense of professionalism in a Theme Park setting. We’ll be using the term ‘professionalism’ as a way to describe what is commonly understood in the entertainment industry as ethical and responsible behavior. An actor who is able to maintain a sense of professionalism will inspire confidence in their collaborators, whether they’re working with booth directors to create pre-recorded narration or with fellow cast members bringing characters to life in front of an audience. Conversely, if an actor behaves unprofessionally, their negative attitude can end up reflecting badly on them, damaging their relationships with collaborators and any prospects for future work. If you’ve been following this special report so far, you’ll be delighted to hear that Tom’s five special guests have returned to share with me their thoughts on overcoming challenges and maintaining one’s professionalism in a theme park environment. We’ll be hearing from Rebecca Lumianski, who is an experienced actor and Consulting Director at Disneyland for shows like “Turtle Talk with Crush”. We’ll also hear from Joe Hernandez, who is the head talent and show trainer for Turtle Talk and a gifted voice actor who was recently featured as the character of Daruk from the video game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Later, Tom will speak with the husband and wife team of Bill Rogers and Camille Dixon, who provide the official announcement voices for Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, respectively. Finally, Isaac Robinson Smith will also be joining us in our discussion. Isaac is a versatile performer for Universal Studios Hollywood and a former Turtle Talk actor.

VAMFR 020 | Theme Park Voice Over, Part 2 Welcome to episode 20 of the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report podcast! You can listen to the podcast using the player above, or download the mp3 using the link at the bottom of this blog post. The podcast is also available via the iTunes Store online. Just follow this link to view the podcast in iTunes: http://www.vamfieldreport.com/podcast This is the second part of a special report on Theme Park Voice Over jobs by our special correspondent, Tom Bauer! In the previous episode, he began exploring the differences between the two main categories most commonly found in Voice Over for Theme Parks: Pre-recorded Voice Over and Live Voice Acting Performances. In this episode, Tom will be discussing at length the casting process involved in Theme Park Voice Over. He’ll be diving deep into what the audition experience is like and what it might take to get hired to do voices at your favorite park. He’ll also be sharing with you where to find these opportunities to audition. Tom’s five special guests from the previous episode are back again to share their insights into the casting experience. We’ll be hearing from Rebecca Lumianski, who is a talented actor and Consulting Director at Disneyland for shows like “Turtle Talk with Crush”, and Joe Hernandez, who Tom mentioned previously as the head talent and show trainer for Turtle Talk and a talented voice actor, recently featured as the character of Daruk from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Tom will also talk with the husband and wife team of Bill Rogers and Camille Dixon, who provide the official announcement voices for Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, respectively. Last, but not least, Isaac Robinson Smith will be also joining. Isaac is a versatile performer for Universal Studios Hollywood and a former Turtle Talk actor. He provides the voice of Megatron and Optimus Prime from the Transformers film franchise as part of a character meet and greet that Universal Studios guests can interact with. It was really interesting hearing their perspectives on the audition experience for Theme Parks and Tom can’t wait to share with you what he learned! The VAM Field Report will be released on the 1st Wednesday of every month so stay on the look out for it! Download VAM Field Report Episode #20 Here (MP3)  

VAMFR 019 | Theme Park Voice Over, Part 1 Welcome to episode 19 of the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report podcast! You can listen to the podcast using the player above, or download the mp3 using the link at the bottom of this blog post. The podcast is also available via the iTunes Store online. Just follow this link to view the podcast in iTunes: http://www.vamfieldreport.com/podcast This is the first part of a special report on Theme Park Voice Over jobs by our special correspondent, Tom Bauer! Tom is very excited to explore with you a subject that’s near and dear to his heart, Voice Over for Theme Parks. This particular field of the voice over industry often goes unnoticed by most people because when it’s done well it blends so seamlessly into the experience of the visitor. It recently dawned on Tom that voice over actors are the hidden artists who provide the audio atmosphere and essential back stories that help bring theme parks to life. From ride narration and live interactive shows, to park-wide announcements and parking lot tram spiels, voice actors help guide and entertain everyone who visits. In fact, making sure the audience is having the best possible experience is exactly what Tom gets called on to do as a theme park voice actor! Tom’s been fortunate enough to be cast as the voice of Crush the Turtle in a show called “Turtle Talk with Crush” at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. You may remember the character of Crush as the laid-back, surfer-dude sea turtle from the 2003 Disney/Pixar Film, “Finding Nemo” and its 2016 sequel ”Finding Dory”. If you’ve been a Voice Acting Mastery listener for a while, you may have heard Tom mention his work as Crush in previous episodes of the Field Report. “Turtle Talk with Crush” is a live, interactive experience located in the Hollywood Land area of Disney California Adventure. Many people ask Tom what it’s like to portray Crush in this sort of interactive experience. They’re also curious how he was able to book this unique job in the first place! As it became clear to Tom that people were genuinely fascinated by this type of theme park voice over work, he had a feeling it might make a great topic for a special report. Tom quickly realized that even though he worked in a theme park, he didn’t know much about the different types of voice over work that were involved in running it, outside of his experiences on Turtle Talk. As he explored, he soon discovered there were many areas of the resort that utilized talent from voice actors in interesting ways, so he decided that theme park voice acting would be an excellent subject for all of us to learn more about together! To help Tom unlock the secrets behind this enigmatic topic, he spoke with five distinguished and talented individuals currently involved in the realm of Theme Park Voice Over including: * Rebecca Lumianski, a Consulting Director at Disneyland for shows like “Turtle Talk with Crush”. * Joe Hernandez, a professional Voice Over Artist and the head talent and Show Trainer for Turtle Talk. * Bill Rogers & Camille Dixon, the husband-and-wife VO team who provide the official announcement voices for Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, respectively. * Isaac Robinson Smith, a versatile performer who provides the voice of Megatron and Optimus Prime from the Transformers film franchise as part of a character meet and greet at Universal Studios. Tom would like to thank all five of these talented individuals for taking the time to sit down with him and share their wisdom on the subject of Theme Park Voice Over. He learned quite a bit from each of them as they talked ...

VAMFR 018 | Interview with Mela Lee, Part 3 Welcome to episode 18 of the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report podcast! You can listen to the podcast using the player above, or download the mp3 using the link at the bottom of this blog post. The podcast is also available via the iTunes Store online. Just follow this link to view the podcast in iTunes: http://www.vamfieldreport.com/podcast In this episode our newest correspondent, Maureen Price shares with us the third and final part of her interview with the multi-talented voice actress, vocalist, and songwriter, Mela Lee. Mela’s work as a voice actor spans anime, video games, film, and television. She is also the vocalist and songwriter for her band Magnolia Memoir. We’re very grateful to Mela for taking time out of her incredibly busy schedule to sit down with Maureen for this interview. In the previous episode, Maureen and Mela talked about the importance of music in Mela’s life and how it enhances and informs her performances as a voice actor. They also discussed Mela’s foray into producing with the anime Skip Beat! and how her perspective as a voice actor was broadened by that experience. They wrapped up the previous segment by chatting about Mela’s web series and how important she believes it is for us to uphold passion and authenticity as guiding principles when we’re creating our own content. In the final part of this interview, Maureen asks Mela a few of her favorite questions such as “What’s a piece of advice someone gave you about your career that you’ve never forgotten?” This inspires Mela to discuss how her childhood dreams have manifested in her life. She also shares her advice on how we can all get out of our own way creatively in order to remove self-imposed limitations. Mela concludes by recounting the time she jumped far out of her comfort zone by taking an on-camera acting class and how this led her to an important realization about her identity as an actress. Mela would love to hear from her fans online! You can find her different projects at: www.MagnoliaMemoir.com @MagnoliaMemoir on Twitter mela@magnoliamemoir.com @themelalee on Twitter and Instagram @LindbeckAndLee on Twitter The VAM Field Report will be released on the 1st Wednesday of every month so stay on the look out for it! Download VAM Field Report Episode #18 Here (MP3)  

VAMFR 017 | Interview with Mela Lee, Part 2 Welcome to episode 17 of the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report podcast! You can listen to the podcast using the player above, or download the mp3 using the link at the bottom of this blog post. The podcast is also available via the iTunes Store online. Just follow this link to view the podcast in iTunes: http://www.vamfieldreport.com/podcast In this episode our newest correspondent, Maureen Price is thrilled to share the second part of her interview with the multi-talented voice actress, vocalist, and songwriter, Mela Lee. Mela’s work as a voice actor spans anime, video games, film, and television. She is also the vocalist and songwriter for her band Magnolia Memoir. We’re very grateful to Mela for taking time out of her incredibly busy schedule to sit down with Maureen for this interview. In the previous episode, Mela discussed her entry into the entertainment industry and the ups and downs that came along with balancing multiple careers. She also shared her thoughts on the power of a supportive community and the excellence that comes from immersion in your craft. Finally, Mela provided insight into her evolution as a vocalist and a songwriter. In this episode Maureen and Mela discuss the connection between voice acting and music and how they feed into one another. They also talk about how voice acting has enhanced Mela’s experience as a musician and vice versa. They then discuss Mela’s experience producing the anime Skip Beat! and how being on the production team broadened her perspective as a voice actor. Lastly, Mela and Maureen chat about her web series and the importance of passion and authenticity when creating your own content. The VAM Field Report will be released on the 1st Wednesday of every month so stay on the look out for it! Download VAM Field Report Episode #17 Here (MP3)  

VAMFR 016 | Interview with Mela Lee, Part 1 Welcome to episode 16 of the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report podcast! You can listen to the podcast using the player above, or download the mp3 using the link at the bottom of this blog post. The podcast is also available via the iTunes Store online. Just follow this link to view the podcast in iTunes: http://www.vamfieldreport.com/podcast In this episode our newest correspondent, Maureen Price is thrilled to share her interview with the multi-talented voice actress, vocalist, and songwriter, Mela Lee. Mela’s roles in anime include Rin Tohsaka in Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works, Yuki Cross in Vampire Knight, and Erika Karisawa in Durarara!! Mela also plays Tikki in Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir. She has provided background voices on shows like Gotham, True Detective, and The Good Wife. Mela is also the vocalist and songwriter for her band Magnolia Memoir. Maureen is so grateful to Mela for taking the time to share her insights on her voice acting journey. In this episode, Mela talks about her entry into the entertainment industry. She had many ups and downs along the way as as she did her best to balance her voice over pursuits with her career as a financial analyst. Maureen and Mela also discuss the importance of cultivating a community of support and the power of being your own advocate. Lastly, Mela shares the evolution of her work as a vocalist and songwriter and how all of her many passions found a way to coalesce into a career path she molded for herself. This first section of the interview is full of great insights! The VAM Field Report will be released on the 1st Wednesday of every month so stay on the look out for it! Download VAM Field Report Episode #16 Here (MP3)  

VAMFR 015 | Introducing the New Lineup of Field Report Correspondents Welcome to episode 15 of the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report podcast! You can listen to the podcast using the player above, or download the mp3 using the link at the bottom of this blog post. The podcast is also available via the iTunes Store online. Just follow this link to view the podcast in iTunes: http://www.vamfieldreport.com/podcast Greetings everyone! This is Crispin Freeman, voice actor and host of the Voice Acting Mastery Podcast. For this episode of our sister podcast, the Voice Acting Mastery Field Report, I’d like to start out by thanking all of our listeners who’ve been following this new show so far. For those of you just tuning in, in October 2015, we at Voice Acting Mastery launched the Field Report in order to give our audience some valuable new perspectives on the world of voice acting. Since the industry is constantly evolving and much has changed since I personally entered the field, I was eager to bring in some talented correspondents who could share with us their experiences building voice acting careers in today’s environment. For the past 14 episodes, we’ve been fortunate enough to have Tom Bauer, DanWill McCann and Ashley Huyge bring us valuable insights on what challenges aspiring voice actors currently face in the entertainment industry. We’ve heard interviews from both seasoned industry professionals and up-and-coming talent, as well as special reports on relevant subjects designed to help you be successful in your own voice acting career! I hope you’ve enjoyed what Tom, DanWill and Ashley have shared so far. In this episode, we’ll be bidding a fond and grateful farewell to one of our correspondents, and we’ll also be welcoming a new one! Recently, Ashley Huyge’s career has taken her in a different direction. She’s been busy both with her own voice over work as well as expanding her vocal coaching services for employees at corporations. While this is of course wonderful, it also means that she will no longer have the time to devote to being a correspondent for the Field Report. While we will miss her contributions to this podcast, we are happy for her success and we wish her the best in all her endeavors! Fortunately for us, and for our listeners, we’ve been lucky enough to meet a wonderful new voice actress who has agreed to team up with us! Please join me in welcoming our newest Field Report correspondent, Maureen Price! Maureen has years of experience acting both on stage and on camera and is currently in the early stages of building her voice acting career. She’s eager to share with you her insights and experiences as she explores the world of voice over, and I for one am looking forward to hearing them. In this episode of the Field Report, I decided to bring all three correspondents together for a round table interview, much like I did in the first episode. I wanted to spend some time introducing Maureen and give our listeners a preview of the unique perspective she’ll be bringing to the podcast. I also wanted to check in with both DanWill and Tom about how their voice acting journeys have been unfolding over the last year. There have been some exciting developments which I’m sure they’re eager to share with all of you! So please welcome our new lineup of Field Report Correspondents, Maureen, DanWill, and Tom! The VAM Field Report will be released on the 1st Wednesday o...

VAMFR 014 | Interview with Tony Oliver, Part 3 Welcome to episode 14 of the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report podcast! In this episode, our correspondent, Tom Bauer concludes his interview one of his personal voice over mentors: Tony Oliver. Tom first met Tony while taking class with him in November of 2012 and Tom has had the good pleasure of working with Tony since as a voice actor. Tony‘s voice over roles in anime include Rick Hunter in Robotech and Lupin in the Lupin the Third TV series. Tony also worked for many years as a writer and producer on the famous Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers television series for Saban Entertainment. He is also a talented director and teacher, directing such popular anime titles as Gurren Lagann and Hunter X Hunter. In part 2 of this interview, we learned about Tony’s personal methodology when directing his actors and teaching his students. He stressed the importance of focusing on a character’s feelings and emotions in order to deliver a more believable and natural performance. Tony also gave advice on how to handle rejection and the importance of staying positive and finding joy in your craft to sustain your momentum and maintain your stamina while pursuing your voice acting career. In this final episode, Tom asks Tony about the differences between directing veteran and younger voice actors. Tony also talks at length about how he became a teacher and how he helps his students ‘get out of their head’ when performing in the booth. If you are interested in taking class with Tony, make sure to visit the Workshops Page of the Adventures in Voice Acting Website. The VAM Field Report will be released on the 1st Wednesday of every month so stay on the look out for it!   Download VAM Field Report Episode #14 Here (MP3)  

VAMFR 013 | Interview with Tony Oliver, Part 2 Welcome to episode 13 of the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report podcast! In this episode, our correspondent, Tom Bauer continues his interview one of his personal voice over mentors: Tony Oliver. Tom first met Tony taking a class with him in November of 2012 and he’s been fortunate enough to work with him as an actor on a few anime shows. Tony is probably most famous for his voice acting work in anime, taking on such roles as Rick Hunter in Robotech and Lupin in the Lupin the Third TV series. Tony also worked for many years as a writer and producer on the famous Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers television series for Saban Entertainment. If that wasn’t enough, Tony is also a talented director and teacher, directing such popular anime titles as Gurren Lagann and Hunter X Hunter. In part 1 of this interview, Tony was telling us in detail how his personal life experiences led him to where he is today as a voice over director. He also emphasized how important it is for an actor to be training constantly so that they’re ready for anything when it comes time to perform. In this episode, Tony talks about what he learned in the early days of his voice over career and how he applies his personal acting methodology both as a director, when he’s guiding the performances of other actors, and as a teacher, when he’s working with his students. Tom and Tony also talk about what it takes to succeed as a voice actor and how to thrive in an industry where you constantly face rejection. They begin this part of their chat with Tom asking Tony about the kinds of challenges he faced while he was developing his skills as a voice actor. The VAM Field Report will be released on the 1st Wednesday of every month so stay on the look out for it!   Download VAM Field Report Episode #13 Here (MP3)  

VAMFR 012 | Interview with Tony Oliver, Part 1 Welcome to episode 12 of the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report podcast! In this episode our correspondent, Tom Bauer is honored to interview one of his personal voice over mentors: Tony Oliver. Tony’s résumé runs the gamut in the entertainment and voice over industry. He is probably most famous for his voice acting work as Rick Hunter in the ever-popular anime series Robotech. He’s also played the voice of the mischevious Lupin in the Lupin the Third anime TV series. Tony worked for many years as a writer and producer on the famous Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers television series for Saban Entertainment. If that wasn’t enough, Tony is also a talented director and teacher, directing such popular anime titles as Gurren Lagann and Hunter X Hunter. Tom first met Tony when he took one of his voice acting classes in November of 2012. Soon after, Tom had the good fortune of getting to know Tony as a director when they worked together on the anime series, Magi: The Kingdom of Magic, where Tom was cast as Nero and Ren Hakuyu. In this first episode, Tom focuses on Tony’s early career. Tony explains how he got his start as a voice actor and how his breadth of experiences and the challenges he faced led him to where he is today as a voice over director. He also stresses the importance of continually training yourself as an actor so that you’re prepared for anything when it comes time to perform. But Tom is happy to let Tony tell you more about that! The VAM Field Report will be released on the 1st Wednesday of every month so stay on the look out for it!   Download VAM Field Report Episode #12 Here (MP3)  

VAMFR 011 | Marketing and Self-Promotion for Voice Actors, Part 3 Welcome to episode 11 of the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report podcast! In this episode our correspondent, DanWill McCann, concludes his special report on how to market and promote yourself as a voice actor! As was mentioned in parts 1 and 2 of this report, while attending a Los Angeles area convention called Wondercon, DanWill was able to ask several talented and successful voice actors about how they approach these topics. They were generous enough to share their insights, and DanWill found their methods and stories very valuable. In part 1 of this report, DanWill discussed business cards, websites, and the importance of both acting training and diligent participation in the industry. In part 2, he discussed social media, its rising impact on the voice over world, and some best practices for how to use it. In part 3, DanWill would like to address the subject of agents and their role in getting your name out there, as well as what kinds of self-promotion and networking can be done at conventions like WonderCon. He’s also going to talk about demos, which are a major component of every successful voice actor’s marketing strategy. Once again we’re lucky to hear from five impressive voice acting talents, including Dino Andrade, who recently announced he’ll be voicing the Scarecrow once again in Batman: Arkham Underworld, and Rikki Simons, who played the lovable Gir from Invader Zim. David Sobolov lends his voice to Draxx in Marvel’s animated series, Guardians of the Galaxy, and he was kind enough to speak with us as well. DanWill will also share advice from Sandy Fox, the voice of the Black Lady and Sailor Chibi Moon from Sailor Moon Crystal, and Lex Lang, an ADR expert on voice matching and creature noises whom you may have heard in recent movies like Jurrasic World and Deadpool. So here we go! The VAM Field Report will be released on the 1st Wednesday of every month so stay on the look out for it!   Download VAM Field Report Episode #11 Here (MP3)  

VAMFR 010 | Marketing and Self-Promotion for Voice Actors, Part 2 Welcome to episode 10 of the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report podcast! In this episode our correspondent, DanWill McCann, shares with us the second part of his special report on how to market and promote yourself as a voice actor! In the previous episode, DanWill began his discussion on marketing and self-promotion by looking at voice acting first and foremost as a business. While becoming a successful voice actor is a personal passion for many, it is always important to remember that your acting abilities and your vocal skills are the products you’re marketing to potential employers. DanWill discussed what marketing tools are most helpful in today’s market including business cards, demos and good old-fashioned face-to-face networking. In addition, he talked with some established professional voice actors about how they applied those techniques to market themselves. In this episode, DanWill will be exploring how to use social media as a tool for self-promotion in the voice over industry. One thing DanWill’s noticed is that the more he develops his relationships with fellow voice actors, the broader his professional network becomes. This may be due to the fact that the voice acting community is, for the most part, made up of very friendly and congenial people. It’s easy to feel right at home with such generous peers. However, while it’s always good to develop friendships with your professional colleagues, it is also important to know when to adopt a more business-like attitude so that you don’t come off as being too intimate or familiar. This can be quite a challenge when you’re interacting over social media. Some sites have different cultures and traditions that you have to learn how to navigate in order to strike the right balance when communicating with industry professionals. What complicates the situation even further is the fact that social media platforms are constantly changing and expanding. It seems like there are new ones being created almost every month! DanWill has found it challenging to know the best ways to interact with voice over professionals online. So he went out and asked some well-known voice actors how they manage their own social media presence and marketing efforts. Once again DanWill will be sharing advice from the same five talented and established performers who were kind enough to chat with him in the last episode. He met them at a Los Angeles area convention called WonderCon, and they were gracious enough to share their insights and experience. We’ll be hearing from David Sobolov, who specializes in deep voiced villains like Grodd in the TV show The Flash. We’ll also talk with the talented husband and wife team of Lex Lang and Sandy Fox. You may know Sandy from her bubbly performances in Sailor Moon Crystal and Lex may sound familiar to you as the voice of Dr. Doom from the Marvel Heroes video game. Dino Andrade will join us as well, a voice actor who has played numerous characters in the World of Warcraft video game franchise. Also speaking with us will be Rikki Simons, the voice of Gir in the animated series Invader Zim. DanWill found it very interesting to address the same topics with several different actors and see how each one of them had a different approach to social media. DanWill really appreciated their insights and he can’t wait to share with you what he learned, so let’s get started! The VAM Field Report will be released on the 1st Wednesday of every month so stay on the look out for it!

VAMFR 009 | Marketing and Self-Promotion for Voice Actors, Part 1 Welcome to episode 9 of the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report podcast! In this episode our correspondent, DanWill McCann, shares with us the first part of his special report on how to market and promote yourself as a voice actor! Chances are that if you’re listening to this podcast, voice acting is as much a passion for you as it is for DanWill. His goal, as I’m sure yours is too, is to turn that passion into a satisfying and lucrative career. So far, DanWill has learned that it’s important to approach voice acting like one would approach building any business. If you want your business to grow, you need to learn how to market and promote your product. In voice acting, the product you have to offer is you! Once DanWill understood that, he quickly realized how important marketing was going to be. It became one of his top subjects to focus on, behind improving his acting abilities and mastering microphone technique. To research this topic more thoroughly, DanWill decided to head out to WonderCon, a convention presented by the same company that produces the famous San Diego Comic-Con. WonderCon takes place every year in March, so armed with his trusty recorder, he ventured forth to learn how professional voice actors approach marketing and self-promotion. Every major pop culture convention has an area where you can get autographs from guests of the event. The Autograph area is usually populated with talented visual artists, on-camera celebrities, and some amazing voice actors. These performers are there to autograph items, sell merchandise, and interact with fans. If they have time and are approached politely, they’re often willing to talk shop about the industry. This year, WonderCon had several famous voice actors attending the event, and many of them were kind enough to take a moment to talk with DanWill about how they approach Marketing and Self-Promotion. These performers were well established in the industry and each of them had recognizable and beloved characters on their resume. They were grateful that their work was appreciated and were happy to share their experience and insight to help aspiring voice actors just like you and DanWill learn to market themselves better. DanWill collected tips and advice from 5 actors. He spoke with Lex Lang, known for voices on Lego Star Wars, Skylanders, and Rurouni Kenshin, which happens to be one of DanWill’s personal favorites. DanWill also spoke with Lex’s wife, Sandy Fox, who has voiced characters for Disney and Universal, including the iconic Betty Boop whom she has been performing since 1991. DanWill sat down with Dino Andrade, who voiced the Gnome Death Knight in World of Warcraft and the Scarecrow in Batman: Arkham Asylum. He also chatted with Rikki Simons, who gave voice to the ever popular Gir from Invader Zim. DanWill even had a great talk with David Sobolov, whose voice you may recognize as Drax from Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy animated series and as Grodd from the popular TV Series, The Flash. It was very kind of these 5 accomplished voice actors to take the time to share their experience and knowledge with us, and we at Voice Acting Mastery can’t thank them enough. DanWill personally found some gems of advice from each of them and he thinks you will too. With their help, DanWill hopes to shed some light on some of the different methods of approaching marketing and self promotion as well as explore the various tools at our disposal. There’s so much to cover,

VAMFR 008 | Interview with Erika Harlacher, Part 2 Welcome to episode 8 of the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report podcast! In this episode our correspondent, Tom Bauer, concludes his interview with the prolific and mult-talented Erika Harlacher. Erika has been featured in a number of Anime titles, including roles such as Princess Asseylum Vers Allusia in Aldnoah.Zero and  Sadira in Killer Instinct. In the previous episode, Erika and Tom talked about how she got her start in voice acting and some of the struggles she had coping with her self-doubt. Erika has found that being patient with herself and developing a strong, emotional support system of friends and colleagues has helped give her the confidence she needs when performing in the booth. In this episode, Tom and Erika discuss the importance of taking classes as well as practicing on your own in order to develop and expand your skill set as an actor. If you are pursuing a professional voice acting career, it is vitally important for you to have faith in your acting abilities, especially when you are called on to perform in the different realms of Voice Over such as Anime and Video games. Erika also talks about her plans for the future as well as giving some practical advice for those wanting to get into Voice Over. Let’s hear what she has to share! The VAM Field Report will be released on the 1st Wednesday of every month so stay on the look out for it!   Download VAM Field Report Episode #8 Here (MP3)  

VAMFR 007 | Interview with Erika Harlacher, Part 1 Welcome to episode 7 of the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report podcast! In this episode our correspondent, Tom Bauer, begins his interview with the prolific and mult-talented Erika Harlacher. Since this is Tom’s first episode for the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report, he wanted to interview a very gifted voice actor who is just starting her voice acting journey and making leaps and bounds in her career. Erika has been featured in a number of Anime titles, including roles such as Princess Asseylum Vers Allusia in Aldnoah.Zero and Ami Kawashima in Toradora! She’s also performed in video games, playing characters like Kyoko Kirigiri in Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Sadira in Killer Instinct. In this episode, Erika talks about how she embraced the creative side of her personality and the steps she took to break into voice acting. Tom and Erika discuss at length the struggles she continues to face as an artist as well the importance she places on finding a support system to help her stay true to herself and pursue her dreams. We’re very grateful to Erika for sitting down with Tom and sharing her experience as an up and coming voice actor. As you listen to their interview, I think you’ll agree that her positivity and energy are infectious! The VAM Field Report will be released on the 1st Wednesday of every month so stay on the look out for it!   Download VAM Field Report Episode #7 Here (MP3)