Wearing The Director’s Hat

Without a doubt, voice actors have more work opportunities today than five years ago. The down side is that we have to wear more hats. In addition to performing, we need a basic understanding of technology and acoustics to set-up a home studio, audio engineering capabilities to record and edit our auditions, email auditions to agents, upload custom demos on  pay-to-play sites, and know how to write professional job proposals. One of the most difficult new tasks in this record-at-home environment, is interpreting written direction without the benefit of a discerning ear. In other words, we need to learn to direct ourselves.

The good news is that the more we audition from home and listen back to our reads, the more efficient we become at auditioning. As we identify our issues (lack of energy, lack of opinion, mouth noises, energy fades, breathing issues, etc.) we can work to correct these issues. But it all starts with interpretation of the specs, script analysis, and moving the story forward so the listener feels and takes action. The only way to get better at self direction is by understanding your instrument, commitment to the process, and repetition.

In recognition of these new challenges, we’ve added a couple new classes to help actors understand how to better audition from home. Beginning March 9, Tom Chantler will be teaching a 4-week advanced class called Copy Intensive. Billie Shepard’s 4-week intermediate/advanced Directing Yourself class, beginning on Feb. 9, helps build confidence, believability, and trust in yourself.

Remember, it’s not practice makes perfect… it’s “perfect” practice makes perfect. Develop the tools to move your career forward, and you will succeed!

For more information, contact Voice One   email voiceone@aol.com or call 415-974-1103