One part of the business that still remains a relative mystery to me is voiceover work. The idea sounds fantastic! No worries about hair, make-up, wardrobe or whether or not I'm having a fat day. It seems to be the one area of show business where talent is in fact, the winning factor in who gets the job. Unless of course, that voice comes from a name who is up for the same role. That name is, as a rule, the universal winning factor. Oh, to have a name!
So how do you get into voiceover work? The short answer is, I have no idea. Many friends who have a voiceover agent "fell into it" while pursuing in a smaller market, such as Chicago, San Francisco or even New York. Well, no such fall for me to date. I did however attempt to send off a voiceover audition to a casting director recently. Failure ensued. Not in the performance, but in my technology crisis. Turns out the sound recorder on my Blackberry saves it as a file that can't be opened on anything other than a Blackberry. Also learned that the microphone for my PC is a joke. And not a funny one.
Lessons learned! So, any tips out there on getting into voiceover work? Do you really need a V.O. reel? And if I do, couldn't I just get some copy and record it myself? Anyone have a PC microphone that they recommend? I'm listening!
Have a great weekend!!
I very often say something far too few actors ever say. I LOVE MY MANAGER! I'm represented by the wonderful Joy Stevenson at Stevenson Talent Management. She's been in business... well, longer than anyone I know (we'll leave it at that!). She has an outstanding reputation and every casting director I meet and/or audition for, knows and loves her.
Her clients are never just someone on a list they remember meeting that one time. She welcomes my questions, concerns, and comments all the time, often returning even my late night emails with little delay. And more importantly than anything, she gets me. She consistently sends me out for roles that I'm right for and I can say without a doubt, works solely in my best interest. I feel SO blessed to have her working for me. My fear? That she'll retire! How could I possibly find another manager who would come close to matching up? I try not to think about it and I just look forward to making her rich before that dreadful day!
Oh my acting career! To say it's been a dry spell for me the past few months would be quite the understatement. Not just in terms of booking bupkis, but also in terms of auditions. Or rather complete lack of auditions! So, I've stewed about this long enough. Time to take some action! Earlier this week I shot off this email to my reps:
I've been wondering... do you think changing my look might help me out? I'm really open to almost anything at this point: short hair, change hair color, become a scientologist, anything! Let me know if you have any thoughts on that.
But I'd also like your two cents. What if I cut my hair? Say chin length? Shorter (keep in mind my ears REALLY stick out)? Blonder? Are there just a few too many blondes out here? What if I went brunette? A redhead? I'm open!
Here are some more pics of what I look like now, that I just happened to have online:
http://resumes.actorsaccess.com/bethshea
Thanks and Happy Tuesday!!!
