I’ve long been fascinated with the British accent and since taking dialect workshops with Doug Honorof at Voice One, I’ve worked to develop a Modern RP (Received Pronunciation) dialect. I’ve been told my voice in that dialect most closely resembles Emma Thompson. Fortunately or unfortunately, I started watching Tim Roth on Lie to Me (when it was still on television–I’m not happy it was canceled after season 3!) and he’s got a very London-y estuary accent. So lately, my nice clean Modern RP is getting a little sploshy and some Estuary is creeping in. Either way, I’ve got the mechanics of the dialect down very well and I sound quite believable, if I do say so myself. My second take was definitely on the Estuary side, but it had that British, well-traveled, I-know-more-and-have-seen-more-than-you-Yanks-because-your-country-is-only-200-years-old kind of feel to it. I sent my audition in to my agent and promptly stopped thinking about it.

Until 3 days later, when the audition request came back with added direction asking for more exotic accents, like maybe Australia, or Nigeria. Uhhhh… hmmm… Well, I understand the basic rules of an Australian accent, but I haven’t worked on it as hard as I’ve worked on Modern RP and West Irish. I don’t trust myself to hold on to an Australian accent through an entire commercial read. And as for other accents, well, I’m still working my way through the English speaking countries. I haven’t even started exploring the rest of the world, accent-wise. (Although, I do a great imitation of my Japanese grandmother. I have her accent down cold.)

I don’t mind it when I send an audition and it comes back with new directions or specs. I welcome ANY opportunity to show off my abilities and win over the client. But in this instance, I had to let it go. I’d given it my best shot with my natural accent and with my Estuary. If that didn’t win the job, then I wasn’t the girl for the job. I’m not gonna lie, Marge, it hurts not being the girl, but I know my strengths and I also know my crappy Australian accent ain’t winning me any jobs. I did not send in a follow up audition and I figured this was one job I wasn’t going to book.

2 days later, my agent calls me to tell me I booked the job. WHAT?! That’s awesome! I was really confused about how I booked the job, but who cares! I booked the job!!

The client had me record the spots in my natural accent and I figured they scrapped the whole exotic-world-feel thing. After the recording was complete, the client told me they loved my audition. They told me they liked my fake accent better than some of the genuine accents they heard. And they told me that that’s what won me the job. They thought my audition showed versatility and they really liked that about me. They didn’t come out and say this, but I get the idea the “world feel” isn’t entirely scrapped and I may get to bust out an accent at some point in the future. I’ll be boning up on my Australian now.

However, the real moral of this story? PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS. If I had been desperate to book the job, I might have attempted an accent that I hadn’t mastered and then the client would think I was a complete idiot. Not only would I not book this job, I might never book ANY job with this client. In this case, I sent in my best audition and I stood by it. And my audition was enough to impress the client. That’s a good day’s work right there.

The audition was for a radio commercial. The specs asked for a male or female and they wanted a voice with friendly, good energy. My submission was very conversational, as though I were telling a friend over a cup of coffee about this wonderful product and where they could find it. A couple of weeks later, I was thrilled to discover that I booked the job.

I arrived at the studio and the client explained the premise of the radio campaign and my part in it. I was basically your standard announcer with an intro and an outro to the body of the commercial. The commercials had a sense of humor to them, but I was more of the “straight man”. Okay, no problem. We do a couple of takes and I start off with similar energy to the audition. Then, they start ramping up the energy. A little more… a little more… the next thing I know, my energy is so high, I’m clearly very excited about the product. If my audition was two friends over a cup of coffee, I was now shouting to a rally of spectators. The client explained that the body of the commercial has some fun, high energy and they want my voice to match so the transition isn’t a complete trainwreck. No problem, I do high energy very well! In a short time, the client got the takes they wanted and I went on my way.

After the session was over, I thought about how different the actual recording was from the audition I submitted. The energy of my audition was so mellow compared to the excitement I conveyed in the recording. There’s nothing wrong with that, I just wondered what it was they heard in my audition that led them to choose me for the job. I have no idea, and I’m done trying to figure it out. I’m realizing that I can’t analyze a pattern or a formula to this. As I’ve stated in previous posts, casting is subjective. The client heard something they liked and they picked me. Once they have me in the recording booth, the client gets to direct me however they like. And I think the lesson for me here, is that I can’t get hung up on what the audition sounded like. I wasn’t booked to re-create the audition. The audition got me in the room. Now I need to earn my right to stay in the room by giving the client exactly what they are asking for in that moment. That means I need to remain flexible, open, and ready for anything.

It’s funny, I knew this before going into this recording session. It’s just been awhile since the lesson has been put in front of my face like this. It’s a good reminder. The recording session was a success and I look forward to recording updates for this client in the future. And when I do, I’ll be ready to give them high energy or low, to be the comedian or the straight man. Whichever direction the client wants to go, I’ll be happy to take them there!

In a recent post

Over the years, I developed a good relationship with my agent. One of the benefits of her agency is that she is a smaller, boutique agency. Whenever I went in for an audition, we’d chat about her grandkids or exchange recipes. But over time, I began to feel that I’d outgrown my agent. I no longer felt challenged by the audition material and I wasn’t booking the kinds of jobs I was interested in. Maybe it was time to look for a new agent. What to do? First step: research how to shop for a new agent. Does that surprise you? I’d already gotten two agents in my career so far, why would I need to research how to get another one? Many reasons–times and trends change and I wanted to stay current but most importantly, in both previous instances, I signed agents without really researching who they were and whether they were a good fit for me. When you’re hungry for work, it’s not easy to believe that no agent is better than an agent who is not a good fit. I no longer felt that way and I wanted to make the best possible decision when choosing my next agent.

I attended two webinars about getting an agent. The first came from Ben Hopkin, author of the blog Acting without the Drama. In addition to the how-to’s of shopping for a new agent, he suggested I speak with my current agent about why I was unhappy rather than leave her without an explanation. It’s sort of like your annual job performance evaluation. There should be no surprises at that yearly meeting. Any problem areas should have been discussed beforehand. Ben recommended I speak with my agent about what I’m looking for (and not getting) in our relationship and in my career. By speaking with her, not only does she become aware of my concerns, she has the opportunity to address them. If she addresses them to my satisfaction, then I don’t have to bother finding a new agent! What could be better than that? If she doesn’t address my concerns, well then, I know it’s time to find a new agent and it won’t be a surprise to her when I do. I thought Ben’s advice was excellent and I took it.

About a year ago, I recorded my animation demo. I gave it to my agent and repeated my desire to do more video game and animation work. She assured me that my new demo would bring in more opportunities in those fields. I made sure she knew that character work was a priority for me in my career. Almost a year went by. I saw a few character auditions, but not nearly as many as I would like. And I didn’t book any of them. Was it me? Or was it my agent?

The next webinar I attended happened in the spring of this year. Dallas Travers is an acting and marketing coach out of LA. I get the feeling she focuses more on on-camera actors but her advice works for voiceover too. In her webinar, she described how to research the right talent agent for you and where you want to go in your career. Basically, the idea is to find actors who are doing the work you want to do, then find out who represents them. So simple and yet so brilliant! You work backwards by finding the work you want to do then follow the breadcrumbs to the agents who can get that work!

After hearing this advice, I felt so empowered! I used the tools that Ben and Dallas had given me and I hired a new talent agent. In our first meeting, I clearly laid out my career goals and what I was looking for in an agent. We had a great conversation and by the end of it I was absolutely assured that they would help me achieve the goals I set for myself and that we would have a good working relationship. Now, I had a hard conversation ahead of me. I had to speak to my former agent and let her know that I was moving on. Thank goodness I had made her aware of my concerns! I knew she wouldn’t be happy with my decision, but hopefully she would understand my motivation. I met with her in person and our conversation went as well as I could have hoped. I expressed how grateful I was for the opportunities she had given me and the work she had done on my behalf. I made sure she knew my decision was not personal but motivated by my own career development and that I wished her well; we left on friendly terms.

It’s been nearly a month and I am thrilled with my new agent. I’m auditioning more and I’ve booked two new clients, one of them for a video game! I want to make it clear, this is by no means an indictment of my former agent. She’s a good agent who knows the business. I think that at the time I signed with her, she was perfect for me. I was able to develop my skills and grow my career. I think I just grew in a different direction than the opportunities she had to offer and it was time to move on. It wasn’t an easy decision, but I had to make the best choice for my career, and for me. Growing pains are never easy, but I am so happy that I’m growing!

During Comic-Con, I got to see two panels back-to-back, one with Patrick Warburton and the next with H. Jon Benjamin and it got me thinking–here are two talented voice actors who voice multiple characters, but they’ve really just got the one voice.

Among voice actors, Frank Welker is legendary for his ability to become a vocal chameleon. Listen to the opening of Rob Paulsen’s Talkin’ Toons Podcast and you’ll hear just a small sample of some of his different voices and characters. Tara Strong explores the full range of her voice, from the throaty, gravelly Raven to squeaky, high-pitched Bubbles. In his acting workshop, Bob Bergen stresses that there is a lot more to voice acting than just making with the funny voices. He teaches that the voice is nothing without a fully realized character behind it to bring the voice to life. So what does that mean for Patrick Warburton and H. Jon Benjamin? Is it okay that they don’t have a different voice for each of the characters they portray? Are they good enough actors to make their one voice work for a wide array of different characters?

I found a few samples of Patrick Warburton and H. Jon Benjamin in action so you can listen and decide for yourself. Do you think one of them is a better actor than the other?

First up: Patrick Warburton:

Family Guy – Joe Swanson

The Emperor’s New Groove – Kronk (Jump to 1:25)

The Venture Bros. – Brock Samson

Happily N’Ever After – Prince Humperdink

And now, H. Jon Benjamin:

Bob’s Burgers – Bob

Archer – Sterling Archer

Lucy: Daughter of the Devil – Satan

Dr. Katz – Ben Katz

So what do you think?

I have to admit, up to this point, I never gave PW a lot of thought. I kind of discounted him because he’s just got “the one voice.” I figured he was just doing the same thing over and over again under a different character name. Then I took a closer look at PW and his body of work. I gotta admit, while he tends to voice characters that are of a similar type (you know, big muscles, tiny brain), he finds a way to lend something different to each one so that it’s not just the same voice with a new name and a new face. I find each character unique and believable.

H. Jon Benjamin first came to my attention as Sterling Archer in the FX animated series “Archer.” He’s brilliant. The show is brilliant. I can’t get enough. Then I found out HJB was also on “Bob’s Burgers.” Whaaaa? Two primetime animated shows on two different networks simultaneously?? Wow, that’s impressive. So I watch “Bob’s Burgers.” I’m ready to fall in love with HJB all over again. Bob speaks and… wait a second… why is Archer’s voice coming out of that guy’s mouth?? It was weird, it was wrong, it just didn’t work for me. I was utterly disappointed. I’m not saying HJB is a bad actor, but I’m finding that I don’t love his voice acting outside of Archer. Maybe that’s just because Archer is such a great character and HJB has interpreted him perfectly.

So what do you think? Does one of these actors do a better job using their one voice for all their different characters? Can you think of any other actors who have one voice yet portray different roles? What’s more important to you: one really good voice or many great voices? Leave some comments and get the conversation rolling!

I recently hired a new talent agent and as a result, I’m getting submitted on more and more character work. (It’s won-derful!) One video game audition only had 6 lines. 6 lines. The specs said the client hadn’t decided on a character yet but they wanted something young, cute, and excited. So I made with the young, cute, excitement and sent off my audition. (It was actually a really fun audition. If I did anything “right”, I would say it was just having a blast playing around and saying the lines for the sheer fun of it.) A couple days later, I find out I’ve been cast! Woohoo!

Today I went in to the recording session and I was so overwhelmed by what the creative director and producer told me. They said that they listened to all the auditions and that my voice really stood out as exactly what they were looking for. They said that my voice helped them visualize the character and that they started writing lines based on the character that I created. I was grateful that they were calling in to the session and weren’t there in person ’cause they probably would have been worried when I started tearing up a little bit. If you knew how often I’ve watched the DVD extras of animators talking about how such-and-such voice actor brought a character to life and inspired the animator’s work… and now someone was saying that about me! Talk about living my dreams!

The session was a lot of work. I had to maintain a pretty high-energy character for an hour. I was sweating by the time we were done. There were very few retakes and the clients were happy. I felt great. I was literally grinning from ear-to-ear as I walked out to my car. I felt so happy! I thought about how much I love my job, how much I love my new agent, how hard I’ve worked to get to this point, about all the jobs I’ve had in my life up to this point… NONE of them made me smile the way this job does. I am so, so, so grateful that I get to do something I love. I can’t wait to do more!

Of course, the nature of my job being what it is, I can’t tell you which game I worked on. At least not right now, but when it’s out, I’ll be shouting it from the rooftops and sharing it with you! For now, I’m just basking in the glow of a job well done.

I know we all start off at different levels of knowledge and that it’s good, brave even, to ask questions and expand our level of intelligence, but when it comes to those new to voiceover, there are a few questions I could never hear again and be a very happy woman. Especially, when I’m in a workshop or attending a panel and you’re wasting my valuable time with your stupid question. (Yes, there are stupid questions. Don’t look at me all hurt; you know you’ve thought it when someone else was asking the stupid question.)

A few months ago, Peter O’Connell wrote in his voxmarketising blog that as an advanced voice talent he doesn’t want to train with intermediate level students. It may sound harsh, but it’s a valid point. When training in a class or group environment, most instructors will teach to the lowest level. It’s really frustrating to hear questions from that lowest level again and again in classes that are supposed to be at more advanced levels. If you are asking the following questions, you are not ready for a higher level class.

Here are the most frequently asked questions that I hear from new or wannabe voiceover students, along with the answers. May I never hear these questions again.

• (To professional or working voice actor) How did you get your start?

First of all, you could ask 10 different voice actors how they got their start and you will hear 10 different answers. While it makes for an interesting and sometimes inspiring story, it doesn’t really matter how we got our start. It won’t help you get your start. If you want to learn more about voiceover read a book. Read a blog. Google the words “voiceover”, “voice actor”, and “voice artist”. I realize it can be overwhelming to start researching something you know little to nothing about. Here are a couple of excellent books you should check out. For years, I’ve had the pleasure and good fortune to work with Elaine Clark, author of There’s Money Where Your Mouth Is. (She’s just completed a new update so look for the current edition in your local library, then buy the new edition when it’s published later this year.) Another excellent book is Voice-Over Voice Actor: What It’s Like Behind the Mic. I’ve read the book and I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the authors; it’s a great read that gives you a truthful look inside the business and technique of voice acting. Start by reading one or both of these books then, if you’re still interested, get thee to a voiceover class!

• I’m an aspiring voice actor; can you give me any tips to get started in a voiceover career?

Yeah, take a workshop! Take a class! Take an acting class. Oh, if you knew how many times I’ve advised a student to take acting lessons in addition to voice lessons and they respond with, “Well, I don’t want to be an actor, I want to do voiceover.” I don’t care which category of voiceover interests you: commercial, narration, animation; you’re going to need some acting skills if you want to achieve any level of success. Bottom line, you need to train for this particular career. Technology has made it easy for anyone with a laptop computer and a $50 USB microphone to call themselves a voiceover artist but it takes a lot more than the ability to record yourself. Voice acting is a skill, a technique, an art. It takes a lot of training and work before you begin reaping the rewards. That’s why coaches always tell actors, “If you can be happy doing any other job, go do it.” They’re not trying to discourage you, they’re telling you that what you’re undertaking is grueling and difficult and if you don’t enjoy the journey now, you never will. For those of us who truly love to act, it is the most rewarding career we can imagine and even the “struggle” doesn’t feel grueling because we know we’re on the path to something great.

• When should I make a demo? Don’t I need a demo to get work and an agent?

If you’re asking this question, you’re really not ready to make a demo. How do you know when to make a demo? You just know. And no one should tell you. But if you’re really not sure… you’re ready to make a demo when all the training you’ve invested in is second nature. You’re ready to make a demo when you can approach a script and perform it without thinking about the technique needed to perform it. That’s what it takes to get hired for jobs and you’re not ready for a demo until you can perform with consistency. And while it certainly makes getting jobs or an agent easier, you don’t necessarily need a demo to make either of those things happen. It’s important that you wait until you’re ready to make a demo. (Conversely, if you know you’re ready to make a demo, don’t let anyone tell you you’re not or talk you into taking more classes before you do.) Your demo is your calling card and your first impression to potential clients and agents. And you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

• How do I get an agent?

Show them you can make them money. It’s that simple. Agents work on commission. If you don’t work, they don’t get paid. The only reason for an agent to represent you is that they think you’re good enough to get the work. So show them that you’ve trained, that you’ve done your homework, that you’ve got a good marketing package in place, that you’re a problem solver and that you’re good enough to get the gigs. There are deeper levels of advice and answers to this question, such as researching agents to find the one that’s right for you and using referrals to even get the agent to listen to your demo and consider you, but again, if you’re asking how to get an agent, you’re not ready for one.

At the top of this post I said it’s good to ask questions. Well, at the risk of contradicting myself, while it’s good to ask questions, chances are that if you’re asking the question, you’re not ready for the answer. Students who have trained and put in their time, learn the answers to these questions as they go. If you’ve done your research, you don’t need to ask questions like the ones listed above. If you’re asking these questions at the early stages of your training, you’re rushing things. To build a successful voiceover career you need to invest in your training and in yourself. Give yourself the time and space to do it right.

One of the best FAQ pages I’ve seen from a working voice actor is Kyle Hebert‘s. I think this should be required reading for anyone who’s new to the voice acting profession and wants to know more about it. He gives an informative overview of what to expect and it’s good food for thought for anyone considering a voice acting career.

Okay, I’ve been expressing some frustration about hearing these questions again and again, but in all seriousness, I will always help an actor who is interested in learning more about voiceover. I’ll take the time to answer your questions, but I’m also going to encourage you to do your homework. Sometimes it’s important to try to find the answers on your own. You learn more that way.

Sincerely,
Me

I only had one “must-see” panel for the day: Mark Evanier’s Cartoon Voices panel which wasn’t until 1:00pm. We decided to start the day with breakfast at the Broken Yolk. Our hotel had complimentary make-your-own waffles which was pretty exciting until you ate them and realized they tasted just like ice cream waffle cones. It was like having dessert for breakfast which was just wrong. After brekke, we returned to the exhibit floor so we could complete our Comic-Con Bingo. Last Gasp Books created a bingo board with items like, wookie, stormtrooper, tight costume (bad), etc. We searched the floor, took pictures of our victims, and marked off our squares. After getting our 5-in-a-row we proudly marched to the Last Gasp booth and turned in our card. We’d heard we’d get a prize like a toy or chocolate but they gave us T-shirts! Score! We had so much fun just playing and looking for people/costumes we didn’t need a prize, but the T-shirt was pretty cool!

Our feet were tired from all the walking around so even though we were really early, we decided to head to the panel room. We got there just as one panel was ending so we were able to get really good seats near the front. We were just two seats from the aisle and I had to kind of crawl over two young guys to get to my chair. They were very polite about it. My butt had barely touched the seat when my eyes landed on someone. My hand snaked out and grabbed my AEH’s thigh. “Do you know who that is?” I asked him. “Are you going to go say hi?” he asked me. “Do you think I should?” I asked back. “YES.” So I ask the two young men if I can crawl over them again and I make my way over to the man I had seen. He was speaking to two women in front of me. I (not so) calmly waited my turn and finally he turned to me, “Hello!” he said. “Hello Mr. LaMarche,” I said. I was speaking to Maurice LaMarche! Maurice f*cking LaMarche, one of the most prolific voice actors of our time! Remember, when I get around people who are important or impressive to me, I start talking like an idiot and now I’m speaking one-on-one to Maurice LaMarche! I really wanted to say hi. I really wanted to get a picture. I really wanted to get away before embarrassing myself! I tried to steady my voice (and my hands) and said, “I just wanted to say hi. I’m an up-and-coming voice actor and I really admire your work.” Maurice replied, “Well I hope to work with you one day. I was up-and-coming myself once. Just be the best you you can be.” SQUEE! We posed for a quick pic and I made my way back to my seat (crawling over the two young gents to get there).

Cia & Maurice LaMarche

Omigosh, omigosh, omigosh! Maurice fah-REAKING LaMarche! I show my AEH the picture we took and he says, I just want to show you something. He points to his thigh where I’d grabbed him and the nail marks I’d left in his skin. I’d damaged him in my excitement! “So who was that?” he asked. WHAT?!? He didn’t even know who I’d gone over to speak to?? (It was then that I realized Comic-Con is probably one of the few places that voice actors are recognized on sight and only because the attendees had made an effort to track down their image.) After I told him, my AEH was suitably impressed and we settled in for the panel. Until I spotted another voice actor! This time it was Wally Wingert. I again crawled over the two young gents and made my way over to Wally. He greeted me with a smile and a hug. He remembered me! I got to meet Wally just over a year ago when I saw him play Jon Arbuckle in a Garfield recording session. We chatted and posed for a pic before some other friends came up to say hi. I made my way back to my seat, crawling over the two young gents, and settled in for the panel, for reals this time.

What a treat! We were at the Quick Draw! panel moderated by Mark Evanier and featuring Mike Kazaleh (Futurama), Scott Shaw! (The Simpsons), and Sergio Aragonés (MAD Magazine). Mark gets suggestions from the audience and then directs the artists to draw the subject, phrase, idea, word, etc. These artists are so fast and so talented! Mark and Sergio have been friends and co-workers for a very long time and that relationship really played out during the panel. They were clever and amusing, they bickered like roommates, and I don’t think either of them ever wins (or loses). It was so fascinating to see (literally!) the way these artists’ minds worked. Sometimes they attacked a concept from incredibly similar angles, sometimes they were worlds apart. Sometimes they wouldn’t stop at one drawing, they’d draw a concept, get another idea for the same concept and then draw that! Sometimes Sergio felt a need to draw the before and after of the original concept drawing. They are so fast! I was so impressed with their ability to convey a very detailed idea with a very simple line drawing. I wish I had that kind of skill.

Cia & Tara Strong

Alas, the panel drew to a close and I started to get excited for the Cartoon Voices panel that was about to begin. By this time, I’d struck up a conversation with the two young gents I’d been crawling over and discovered that they were there to see Tara Strong. They had My Little Pony posters and they almost swooned whenever someone said her name. Then, we spotted her! I asked them if they wanted to go up and say hi because I sure as hell was going to! I think they were shy because they lagged a little behind me. I reached Tara and asked if I could say hi. She said, sure! I made sure the two young gents had a chance to say hi first because I felt so bad about crawling all over them to get up and down from my seat. They were totally stoked. They gushed, they asked for her signature, they posed for a picture (which I snapped on their cameras). Then, it was my turn! I told Tara how pleased I was to meet her and what I fan I was of her work. She was really gracious, kind, and welcoming. We posed for a picture. I don’t know why but I told her my Twitter handle and she said, Oh yeah! I really like your logo! TARA STRONG KNOWS MY LOGO!!! I tried to stay calm and focus on what she was saying, which is that she really likes Facebook and Twitter because it allows her to interact with her fans. I agreed that they’re pretty cool and then it was time for her to get on the panel. I think I literally floated back to my seat. Wow. What an amazing experience.

The panel was 90-minutes of excellent. Mark asked each of the panel members, Saratoga Ballantine (Spider-Man), Townsend Coleman (The Tick), Robin Atkin Downes (Thundercats), Rob Paulsen (TMNT), Tara Strong (The Powerpuff Girls), and Wally Wingert (The Tonight Show), to describe their most famous roles and their most obscure jobs. It was so cool to hear the myriad of voices and characters coming out of the faces of these actors! They talked a little bit about the biz of the biz. Each of them had an instance of when they weren’t able to do a job and referred a friend, or they knew they weren’t right for the job and referred the actor who was. You don’t hear about that kind of generosity amongst on-camera actors. I’m not saying it doesn’t exist, but I’ve never heard of it. (Voice actors rule!)

Mark gave the actors a script that they hadn’t seen and directed them through a cold read of Snow White. It was amazing. Townsend Coleman read the narrator but he had to read each line in a different voice. Robin Atkin Downes and Wally Wingert were each a couple of dwarves and had to use multiple voices for their roles. Saratoga Ballantine was a haggard-sounding east coast witch and Tara Strong was a sprightly Snow White. It really showcased their talent and skill. They took a fairly boring script and turned it into a laugh-a-minute entertaining affair. For me, this panel was the highlight of the Con. I wouldn’t have missed this for anything! I was so blown away by the kindness and encouragement of actors I admire. I am so proud to be part of such a generous and talented group of actors. One day I hope to be their peer and not just their admirer.

Thanks for reading about my Comic-Con experience. As a little treat, here’s some video I shot of Rob Paulsen and Tara Strong!

Maybe it’s because I discovered w00tstock by following Wil Wheaton on the Twitters. It was 3 years ago, Wil tweeted that he, Paul and Storm and Adam Savage from Mythbusters were going to try putting on a new kind of concert experience. Well hey, I like Wil Wheaton, I like comedy music duos, and I watch Mythbusters! I think I should check out this show! I dragged my AEH to the Swedish American Music Hall without really knowing just what we were getting ourselves into.

Wil and Cia at w00tstock 1.0

What we experienced was so funny my face was literally sore from laughing by the end of the night. Paul and Storm opened the show singing “We are the Opening Band”; Kaspar Hauser recreated amusing email interactions with Nigerian princes; Wil read an excerpt from his book Just a Geek and the way he performed it had us rolling in the aisles (using his hand to signify his Luke Skywalker bangs blowing in the wind=awesome); Molly Lewis sang sweet, funny songs in her brittle, lilting voice accompanied by her ukelele; and Kid Beyond blew our f*cking minds with his beatbox cover of Portishead’s “Wandering Star”. I have never been so pleasantly surprised after showing up for a performance I knew nothing about. I was a fan from the word “go”.

In my previous post about Comic-Con I confessed that I am not a nerd. I’m not. I spent so much of my high school years fighting to fit in, before I finally gave up and realized that I just don’t. Then I land a job as a radio DJ and the next thing you know, I’m cool. I’ve been pretty cool ever since. (I’m joking. I point that out because text doesn’t carry tone of voice. If you could hear my tone, you’d recognize the tongue-in-cheek sarcasm right off the bat.) Now, it’s really cool to be a nerd. Or to love nerds. Or to be a geeky, sexy, gamer girl. Well, I do love nerds (I married one), but do you know how embarrassing it is that I have to get him to explain half the nerd jokes I come across? While I do share some common interests with the average nerd, I don’t think I’ll ever be as cool as today’s nerd (or as sexy as Team Unicorn). At least at w00tstock I don’t feel so out of place. I get the jokes (okay, my AEH had to explain one or two). I love the Star Wars humor. I love the Pi song. I love the Venn diagrams. When I heard they were coming back to San Francisco for v2.5, I didn’t walk, I ran, to get tickets.

Wil, Storm, Cia & Paul

w00tstock v2.5 was held at the Great American Music Hall. Wow, they were moving up in the world! Paul and Storm, Wil, and Adam were all there, and this time they were joined by Bonnie Burton who treated us to an awesome Star Wars-themed crafting show-and-tell. While showing off her mad crafting skillz, Bonnie treated us to the oh-so-memorable quote, “glitter is the herpes of the craft world.” I was introduced to Mike Phirman for the first time and fell immediately in love. We bought his CD that night and it was playing in our car for weeks after the show. Jamais Cascio treated us to his vision of the future, which was surprisingly hopeful and inspiring. Molly Lewis and her ukelele were there, as were Grant Imahara and his Beer Bot. The show “ended” with Paul and Storm singing the Pirate Song and coming up with numerous “___ is my ___ cover band” jokes. It went on forever and yet it still ended too soon. The laughter, the energy, it was so infectious! (Like nerdflu, only better.)

At v2.5, all the on-stage crew could talk about was v2.4 held at Comic-Con a couple months earlier, about how great it was to bring their geek vaudeville to the homeland of geek culture. For a girl who couldn’t get tickets, this was utter torture. I’d followed their exploits on the Twitters. I’d heard the stories. I wanted to be there for M0llystock! This year, it all came together. Comic-Con! w00tstock 3.0! I was going to be a part of it! It was held at the Balboa Theatre (the venues keep getting bigger!), just a short walk up from the San Diego Convention Center. Our friend Kage lives in SD and he’d never been to w00tstock before. He’s a scientist and a giant fan of Batman; I knew this would be right up his alley so we dragged him out to the show.

I don’t even know how to begin describing the awesomeness that was v3.0. Paul and Storm opened the show! Wil recounted his story of WILLIAM F*CKING SHATNER! Molly Lewis was allowed on stage without security! Mike Phirman came out in white pants, a matching white vest, and a shiny blue shirt and sang “Clear the Floor”, one of my absolute fave songs (along with “One for Them & One for Me” and, of course, “Chicken Monkey Duck”) while doing a little dance worthy of Justin Timberlake! Ernie Cline and Patrick Rothfuss regaled us with nerd poetry and advice columns! The Rifftrax guys narrated a video about grass (read into it what you will). There were surprise guests! Chris Hardwick! [Dude, when he and Phirman came out (they call themselves Hard 'N Phirm) and sang "El Corazón" I could NOT stop laughing, but it was even better because my scientist friend Kage was totally into it until they got to the part about blood going to the lungs for "purification" and then he got all annoyed because it wasn't scientifically accurate. Hilarious!]  Vork! Felicia Day! Omigosh, the Amy Berg/Wil/Felicia Day skit was incredible (don’t f*ck with writers; they have all the power)! And John Roderick! When he sang “The Commander Thinks Aloud” I almost cried, it was so beautiful. While Wil, Adam, and Paul and Storm would tell you the Pirate Song went long, it actually felt a little short and rushed for me, it could have gone longer. But maybe that’s just ’cause I didn’t want the night to end.

Wherever you are, if you’re a geek or not, if you get a chance to experience w00tstock, for the love of the FSM go! You will laugh, you will cheer, you will sing along, you will talk like a pirate, you will be thoroughly entertained. Paul and Storm, Adam, and Wil have created something unique and special and I hope they keep it going! And I hope they remember that while Comic-Con may be the nerd mecca and a second home for w00tstock, this whole thing started in San Francisco. w00t!

The little nerd cred I do have: I was good at biology and chemistry. I love playing video games, especially Tekken, Gran Turismo, and Halo. I go nuts for Japanimation but I’m not exactly an aficionado. (Though I have seen EVERY episode of the Sailor Moon series, even the final season that was only in Japanese with no English dubbing or subtitles.) I can quote Episodes IV – VI practically verbatim. I’ve been to w00tstock 3 years in a row and I just recently attended v3.0 in San Diego during Comic-Con. What was I doing at Comic-Con if I have no nerd cred? CARTOONS. I freaking love cartoons. And cartoons need voice actors! And there were pah-lenty of voice actors at Comic-Con.

Tangent: Last year, I sat in on a Garfield recording session directed by Mark Evanier. I went with my friend Chuck who planned on going to Comic-Con but was only able to get Thursday and Sunday tickets. (I was at a wedding in Ohio when tickets went on sale and didn’t realize they would sellout so quickly!!) Mark offered to set him up with a 4-day pass. I really wanted to ask for a pass as well, but didn’t feel right about it. Not only did Chuck get a 4-day pass, but he also got to be Stan Freberg‘s personal assistant while he was there! Color me incredibly jealous. I really wanted to go to Comic-Con!

This year I finally made it and I think I went during the best year EVAR! Before we (my Audio Engineer Husband and I) left, we checked the schedule and we flagged all the panels we wanted to see. We flagged waaaayy more than we could ever hope to actually attend; there were so many choices! We knew we were just going to have to get to the Con and take things as they came. Thursday, we picked up our badges and our giant Comic-Con bags and headed out! Once we got to the Convention Center and I saw the ha-UGE number of people, I immediately started re-evaluating which panels were the “must see” panels. For Thursday, it was Archer and Batman: Arkham City. We started off on the exhibit floor and I tried to make sense of the wash of booths, costumes, video screens, toys, and comics all vying for my attention.

Cia and Dino Andrade

One of the first booths I stopped at was the Soul Geek booth. I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with Dino Andrade on the Twitters and wanted to finally meet him in person. He was great, and through him I met Phil Proctor (Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc.) and Rikki Simons (Invader Zim)! What a great start to Comic-Con! I had a hard time tearing myself away from the booth but I was getting in the way of the other fans who wanted autographs.

We continued walking the floor when my AEH spotted the Robot Chicken crew (Matthew Senreich, Tom Root, and Seth Green) at the Adult Swim booth! There was a line of 20 or so people waiting for autographs and we jumped in for our turn! After a few minutes, one of the booth wranglers, a man named Damon, informed us that they had previously given out tickets to 100 or so people and they were already waiting in line across from the booth and along the wall. We looked over and saw a loooong line of people. We asked if there were more tickets. No, there were not. We would have to move on.

Cia and Seth Green

Damon must have seen the crestfallen look on my face because he pulled us aside, told us to wait quietly out of the way, and he’d see if he could get us in after everyone else. Squee! We waited quietly and patiently and watched many other people come up to the booth exactly as we had and get politely turned away. After a relatively short period of time (of course, in my state of excitement I had no concept of time) Damon discreetly gave us a ticket and pulled us into line. I was going to meet Seth Green! I proudly flashed my ticket, clutched in my fingers, as we inched our way toward the table. First up, Matt Senreich. I pulled out my iPhone and my Photobooth app daring to hope for some funny poses. I was not disappointed! (Another tangent: I have a tendency to get starstruck and say the stupidest things when I meet people who are important to me, so I tried to keep my mouth shut and just appear witty and fun.) Next up, Tom Root, who kept his face expressionless in all 4 Photobooth shots. Hilarious. Finally, SETH GREEN! He chatted with my AEH, then gleefully handed my phone to Tom to take the pictures of us. It was so much fun! I got the feeling it was genuinely fun for Seth to meet each of his fans and pose for the many pictures they took with him. It was fun for us too, and thanks to Damon, this was one of my Top 3 experiences at Comic-Con. Even though he initially had to turn us away, Damon was so warm and personable and he ended up providing me with a very meaningful experience, not just meeting an actor I admire and hope to work with, but also treating me like a person and making me feel very special. Thank you so much Damon, Matt, Tom, and Seth. You guys rock.

Flying high from this experience, we left the floor to get some lunch and then came back to wait for the Archer panel. Based on the chatter we heard around us, there were a LOT of people that wanted to make the Archer panel so we knew we needed to get there early. We caught the tail-end of the Mortal Kombat: Legacy panel (which looked super cool, btw!) and sat through Effin with Tonight, a panel about a new animated late night talk show hosted by… Patrick Warburton! Without realizing it, I stumbled on a panel featuring Patrick Warburton and Joe Cipriano! The show is trying to re-imagine late night television and animation and it looks interesting. I’ll be checking it out. Then, it was time for Archer!!

Seriously, if you’re not watching this show you need to be. This is one of the best animated shows on television right now. It is incredibly clever, well-written, and well-acted!! We were treated to a sneak peek of the Season 3 opener and holy sh!tsnacks is it gonna be good!! In September there’s going to be a 3-episode story arc and if episode 1 is any indication, it’s going to bah-low your f*cking mind. How does this show keep getting better and better?? Adam Reed is a freaking genius. Most of the major players were there: Adam Reed, H. Jon Benjamin, Aisha Tyler, Chris Parnell, Judy Greer, and Amber Nash. I could have listened to them talk for hours, they are such a talented cast. (Adam told a really funny story about Jessica Walters that made me seriously wish she was there too. Alas, scheduling conflict.) Mark my words people, it is my singular goal to be cast on this show. I belong on this show. I am one of the characters on this show! Their witty, sarcastic banter is my language. Adam, I think you should cast me as Lana’s younger sister, a love interest for Archer. Think about it.

Our last panel of the day was Batman: Arkham City. I was in the same room as Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill!! The panel revealed Stana Katic as Talia al Ghul and frankly, I think she was just as excited to be in the room as all the panel attendees. She seemed a little startstruck by Kevin and Mark and I don’t blame her one little bit! They couldn’t reveal much about the game, but we did get to see a pretty bitchin’ trailer. During the panel, it was so awesome to watch the interplay between Kevin and Mark. You can tell they both admired each other greatly and that a strong friendship had grown from years of working together. They were humble, gracious, and incredibly proud to be a part of the Batman franchise.

And I think this post is going to have to end here. I was foolish to believe I could pack my entire Comic-Con experience into one post! Ha! You’ll have to wait until next time to hear all about w00tstock 3.0 and the Cartoon Voices panel. (That’s what we in the biz call a teaser.) Comic-Con really was an amazing experience. I wish I could bottle it and save it for all time. More later!

Kat started us off with some tips about bringing emotions into the copy.  She pointed out that we are constantly experiencing a range of emotions from minute-to-minute in our daily lives and we must express those emotions in our auditions and work.  She gave us a brief script, no more than 5 lines, and challenged us to express at least 5 – 6 emotions in our time at the mic.  Whaaa?  I had a hard time wrapping my mind around this until I started really examining the copy.  And then it seemed like emotions were popping off the page!  After we had a couple of minutes to go over our copy, Kat was ready to throw us in the booth.  I’m sure you’ve experienced this in a class or workshop: no one wants to volunteer to go first.  Kat called us on our reluctance and gave us a real gift.  She told us that we should always strive to go first because the later in the day, the less time the director has to work with you.  Maybe the schedule is running behind, maybe the director is just tired from auditioning actors all day, but the longer you wait, the less time you get.  Well, you can bet we were all fighting to get into the booth after that knowledge bomb!

I wish I could say I rocked my time at the mic, but I was battling some nerves which just paralyzed my throat.  Okay, not paralyzed, but they didn’t help.  I was in a little awe of Kat.  My first experience with Kat was listening to her as Dee Dee on Dexter’s Laboratory.  If you’re not familiar with this show, check it out on Cartoon Network–it rocks!  I’ve watched each episode so many times I can practically quote them to you line-for-line.  I can even remember the old promos CN used to run (Dee Dee saying, “Time for a nice sit” as she sits on Dexter’s head.  I don’t know why but that cracked me up so much!)  As if that’s not enough for me to go all “fan girl”, in addition to Kat’s many video game credits, she’s also a recurring villain on FX’s Archer (currently my fave primetime animated show)!!  The woman is a gaaawwwd to me, so it was hard to keep my sh*t together while I was working with her.  But all that aside, I really learned so much from her.  She taught so many things about acting that I’ve been struggling with and needed to hear.

After just a couple of hours with Kat, Ned Lott took over the class.  While Ned is just as talented, I was less intimidated because I’d worked with him last November at Voice One.  He likes to challenge his students so I knew what to expect.  He threw character copy after copy at us, sending us into the booth alone, in pairs, and in groups, so we could get the feel of interactive recording.  I think my low-point was when I tried to do Donald Duck’s voice (epic fail) and my high-point was when Ned cast me as Mikey from Monster’s Inc. and I came off sounding like Mae West.  During my time with Ned, I did a generic New York accent, the Mae West thing, and ended with an Australian accent on some copy from Finding Nemo.  Put me through my paces indeed!

VoiceTrax West Studio

We broke for lunch, which the workshop provided and we all wolfed down, before going back in with Ben Hoppe.  Ben taught us all about voice matching in a unique way that I’ve never been taught before.  Ben started off talking about musicality and gave us some musical pieces to listen to over and over again.  We discussed these pieces and learned to discern rhythm and melody, as well as tone and tempo.  When honing a voice match, he taught us to listen to the voice as if it were music or a foreign language.  We had to forget the words and concentrate on the sounds.  This was a very challenging exercise.  He also taught us that we need to listen so much longer than we think we do.  He gave us 20 minutes to work with voice match files and told us he expected us to spend at least 10 of them just listening.  After our 20 minutes was up, I won a spirited round of rock-paper-scissors to be the first actor in the booth.  By this time, my nerves had dissipated and I was ready to work and show Ben what I could do!  I think I acquitted myself well and I know I learned a lot during my time with him.  Voice matching is not easy but it is a skill that one can master and I know I’ll enjoy spending some more time with it.

This workshop was incredible and I walked out with some valuable gems.  By the end of the day, I was exhausted but in the best kind of way.  My head is still swimming as I process all the bits of knowledge I gained and I look forward to implementing the skills I learned in my auditions and bookings.  I’d recommend this workshop to anyone who’s looking to learn more about voice acting for animation.  It’s worth every penny and then some!

You can find out more by checking out their website at http://characterpros.com or on Facebook.  I have not received any compensation for writing this post, just sharing a great experience.