Voice Over

People often ask me about being a voice-over actor... it's basically vocals or narrating off camera. Being successful is like every other aspect of the entertainment industry--- auditioning excellently, consistently and sometimes creatively. What I love about it besides the money is I don't have to be part of the office 9-5 lifestyle and I can wear sweats and tennis shoes to work if I feel like it... the drawbacks are that you don't get a weekly paycheck like when you work in an office and certain times of the year are busier than others and you have to have a thick skin for rejection and negative feedback like every other part of show business or life in general sometimes. I'm not sure but I think  more time of my life has been spent in a recording studio than almost everything else... except maybe inside of an aircraft at 30,000 feet.

In terms of your voice you have to be able to control your breathing patterns as well as timing, pace and the tone of your voice but probably most importantly you have to have a voice with no noticeable regional accents... but you have to have the flexibility and ability to deliver in several accents and dialects. I have taken voice and diction and dialect classes for several years and can read lines and deliver a dialect of...

Japan

Brooklyn

American Southern

Standard English

Cockney

Irish

Scottish

Australian

French

Italian

German

Russian
... and another that is sort of Swedish-Finnish and Danish-ish!

Some of these come easier for me than others... but if know I have an audition or an actual job there are several things I do from word and sentence drills to reading... but it takes practice, practice and more practice to do this well. One of the most important things I learned very early is not to sound like someone who is trying to sound like they have a Russian accent but try to sound like a Russian who is trying to speak english... my edge is I can sing too... you have no idea how much that has helped but knowing how to color a word or phrase has really given me an edge especially when dubbing or looping sound to film footage.

Some of the things that have helped me is traveling, reading and listening to and mimicking other people. I love listening to other peoples accents... I find them interesting and sometimes exotic and romantic and occasionally uplifting and sometimes amusing... but what I don't understand is making fun of someone or mocking anyone with an accent... I've seen and overheard people who act like others are somehow less intelligent or perhaps marginal or less of person because of an accent or dialect. There is such an attitude by many these days that unless something is not said or done in the same way as they are used to  saying or hearing something it's somehow wrong and they seem to feel more superior by pointing it out. What I usually try to convey to these people as nicely as possible is... How well would they fare living in another country with a new or second language?  I wish people would learn to appreciate the differences people bring to life instead of trying to change everyone to fit to their comfort zone.... oh and one more thing...please don't don't insult  or patronize someone who mispronounces a word... they learned it by reading... just politely correct them; ideally not in front of anyone else.

I think that sometimes we can understand ourselves a little better by looking at the people we know or encounter regularly... I have known people named Betty, Bob, Bill,Brian and Barb as well as Jolene, Pipa, Morgana, Costa,Vlad and Fabiola and almost everything in-between... each person brought a new ingredient or accent of flavor to my life. 

It's short and sweet this week so...have a great time and stay cool or warm depending where you are in the world. See you next time.

Happy New Year

As the winter holiday season is winding down I've been reflecting on seasons past and reminded of something I wrote here once... in that if you are living in the right place (for you) and involved with people you are most comfortable with then you have set the stage well for the coming scenes of your life... also it's important to recognize your mistakes but don't focus on them entirely as you may loose sight of some much needed perspective regarding what you have done right... and finally don't try to revive old dreams but concentrate on making new ones come true. I usually don't make New Year's resolutions but I'm changing that this year and I'll explain shortly...

This time of year I always think about and miss Dick Clark... he has been a part of many of my  New Year's eve countdowns for most of my life...

In my travels and from some of the people I've met over the years I've learned about some of the traditions about the new year.... 

Probably one of the most widely known traditions of the season include the making of New Year's resolutions.... this tradition dates back to the early Babylonians. Popular modern resolutions might include the promise to lose weight or quit smoking. The early Babylonian's most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment.

I have a few things I do New Years Eve and New Years Day...

On 31, December I wear new red underwear to help in bringing a year filled with love and sex...

I also eat green grapes to ensure no money problems in the coming year... We put silver coins in the window sill for the same reason before midnight.

And we eat black eyed peas cooked with a silver coin for luck and prosperity.

If you want a year a year of travel and adventure run around the block at midnight carrying a suitcase. I stopped doing this as I have enough travel and adventure in my life right now.

Traditions from around the world include...

London

The Clock Tower at the Palace of Westminster chimes thirteen times when the clock's hands strike twelve on New Year`s Eve. It`s only then that the new year officially begins. 

One tradition I've learned in London is that the first visitor (or first footer) of each year should be male and should be the one to bring the gifts of the new year... I'll explain in more detail shortly. Unwanted or empty-handed guests are not allowed to enter first. 

JAPAN

Traditionally, on Japanese new year Oshogatsu, people clean and decorate their homes and prepare Kadomatsu and/or Shimenawa to welcome lucky gods before New Year's Eve. It’s preparation day to welcome Toshigami the new year's god.

Probably like many my celebrations include a Champagne toast...

But it wasn't always called a toast. The term didn't come about until the late 17th century. Almost every culture — the Hebrews, Egyptians, Persians, Saxons, Huns — had a pledging of honor with a glass in hand. Drinking to celebrate the holidays and special events date back to ancient times...Ulysses drank to the health of Achilles in The Odyssey.... And in Rome, drinking to someone's health was so important that the Senate demanded that all diners drink to their emperor, Augustus, before every meal.

Other New Years Day superstitions I've heard are...

•  A first-footer is the first person through the door after the stroke of midnight. This person should be a good-looking, dark-haired man. He has to knock and be let in – not use a key to enter. He would ideally be carrying a piece of coal (the house will always be warm), bread (the household will always have food), money (obvious), and greenery (for long life). The first-footer brings extra luck if he happens to have a high in-step, or comes on a horse.
• Do something you are good or successful at on New Year’s Day – especially if it’s work related. This will tell how the rest of the New Year will go.
• Any baby born on New Year’s Day has good luck the rest of his/her life. The baby also brings good luck to the family.
• Nothing goes out – not even the garbage. The flip version of this rule is that nothing goes out until something new comes in.
•  No money should be spent (that would be going out).
• No sweeping or dusting the first day of the year. The good luck could be swept out. If you have to sweep, you should sweep towards the center of the house and use a dust pan. (Some cultures "sweep out" the old year.)

It's been a very interesting year that started with me reaching out to someone I knew  a long time ago... but to no avail and in thinking it over I realized that we had completely missed each others lives and probably had little to nothing in common except what we shared briefly  in the past... as a side note to this I decided to reach out because I had contacted someone a couple years ago to call in a professional favor (I hardly ever do this) and I did not hear back (I usually return phone messages and e-mails within 24 hours unless I'm traveling) and I started to get a little (actually a lot miffed)... and I decided to let it go instead of calling again... I learned this year that my colleague or professional associate had just learned around the time I made contact that she was facing months to live and had to accelerate making end of life plans... so the lesson learned is that you never really know what other people are going through and why calls or letters may not answered promptly or at all. All of this reminded me of someone who I did not return a  couple of calls to (I'm not going to relate the whole story because it's long and tedious and personal)... but she reached out to me and I'm glad we got to sit down and share a meal and have a conversation and find some common ground... because although we have had no meaningful history or  real past together there is perhaps a place for both of us in each others future... but the sea will tell.

So at the top of my list of New Year's resolutions is to be kind and consider carefully the conditions of others lives and experiences... and in tandem with this... I am going to carefully consider every word I say so as not to demean or diminish anyone even slightly. If I make a mistake I'm going to count to ten and say and/or do the right thing. I may not change the world but I'm going to improve my quality of life and the people I share the world with.

Have a safe and Happy New Year! See you next week.