Welcome to episode 143 of the Voice Acting Mastery podcast with yours truly, Crispin Freeman!

As always, 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.voiceactingmastery.com/podcast

In this episode, I’m very happy to share with you the first part of my interview with the award-winning voice actress, Cissy Jones! Her list of voice acting roles in video games is impressive! She’s played 7 different characters in the Walking Dead franchise including Katjaa, Jolene, and Bree. She’s worked on such influential independent games as Life is Strange where she played Joyce Price, Where the Water Tastes Like Wine where she played Bertha, and Firewatch where she won a BAFTA award for her performance as Delilah! Cissy’s resume isn’t just limited to games either! She also works extensively in commercials and trailers. In addition, she plays a number of characters in the animated show Little Big Awesome and at the time of this episode, she has a super secret animated project for Disney that she’s working on, but can’t talk about yet!

I was eager to interview Cissy because she started her voice over career in the San Francisco Bay Area and I knew she would have great insights about how to break into the Los Angeles market from outside. In fact, Cissy and I actually met years ago when I used to teach classes at a school in Sausalito, CA called VoiceTrax that she attended. Later, when I discovered that she had left the Bay Area and was able to establish herself as a voice actress in LA, I was very happy for her! When I heard that she’d also won the BAFTA for her performance in the game Firewatch, I was blown away! It’s always wonderful for voice actors to get public acknowledgment for their creative skills and after hearing Cissy’s performance as Delilah, I must say, she clearly deserved it!

In this episode, you’ll discover how a radio interview of the Simpsons’ voice actress Nancy Cartwright changed the course of Cissy’s life! We discuss how Cissy went from helping launch start up companies in Silicon Valley, to immersing herself in all things voice over, and what it took for her to develop her skills to a professional level! Cissy truly jumped into the voice over world with both feet and never looked back! But I’ll let her tell you the story!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #143 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 142 of the Voice Acting Mastery podcast with yours truly, Crispin Freeman!

As always, 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.voiceactingmastery.com/podcast

Welcome to the third and final part of my interview with the amazing Fred Tatasciore! Fred is probably most famous for voice the character of the Incredible Hulk in numerous animated incarnations. Some of Fred’s other familiar characters include Zeratul in the StarCraft Franchise, Master Shifu in the animated TV series, Kung-Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, and one of my personal favorites: Soldier 76 in the game Overwatch.

In the previous episode, Fred and I talked about how important it is to have a deep psychological understanding of a character in order to portray them believably as a voice actor. When it comes to being able to play a wide range of characters, Fred finds that truly understanding each character’s psyche is more important than being able to radically change your voice. I definitely agree with him! As we continued our discussion, Fred shared his reasons for becoming a performer. Understanding what motivates an artist to pursue their craft can not only give you insight into their process, but can also help you find the inspiration you need to pursue your own artistic journey.

We begin this episode by talking about Italian Mask Theater and European red-nose clown theater. While these may seem like esoteric performance techniques, both mask work and clown work can lead you to a deeper understanding of different character archetypes as well as how to discover your own voice as a performer. Then Fred and I discuss the challenging world of voice matching celebrities in movies and animated series. We wrap up our talk with Fred’s advice to the aspiring voice actor and the importance he places on getting up in front of a live audience in order to hone your performance skills. It’s a deep and nuanced exploration of the craft of acting that I think you’ll really enjoy!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #142 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 141 of the Voice Acting Mastery podcast with yours truly, Crispin Freeman!

As always, 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.voiceactingmastery.com/podcast

Welcome to the second part of my interview with the amazing Fred Tatasciore! Fred is probably most famous for voice the character of the Incredible Hulk in numerous animated incarnations. Some of Fred’s other familiar characters include Zeratul in the StarCraft Franchise, Master Shifu in the animated TV series, Kung-Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, and one of my personal favorites: Soldier 76 in the game Overwatch.

In the previous episode, Fred and I talked about how he broke into voice acting. I was blown away by both the breadth and depth of his knowledge and expertise! Not only was he developing and refining his performance skills from an early age, but he was also expanding his graphic design abilities and his understanding of animation. Fred has an incredibly well rounded educational background which been invaluable to him as both a voice actor and as a comedian!

In this episode, we discuss how Fred is able to play so many different types of characters. A hint: it has far more to do with understanding the psychological center of a character than it does with producing crazy vocal sounds! Fred and I also talk about what inspired him to become a performer in the first place. I always think it’s useful to explore not only how a successful voice actor applies their craft, but also why they were motivated to pursue acting as a career. When you discover what muse guides a performer you admire, it can help you find your own inspiration as well! So without further ado, here’s Fred!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #141 Here (MP3)

VAMFR 036 | The Final Episode of the VAM Field Report

Welcome to episode 36 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. As you may know, we started this sister podcast, the Voice Acting Mastery Field Report, back in October of 2015. Since then, our Field Report correspondents have produced some amazing episodes including in-depth interviews and detailed special reports on a number of important topics! It has been so great to learn along with them as they’ve explored many relevant and helpful subjects that continue to be of value to our listeners.

However, all good things must eventually come to an end. As we announced this week on the Voice Acting Mastery blog, this will in fact be the final episode of the Voice Acting Mastery Field Report.

I’m very grateful to all of our correspondents who have contributed such great content, and I’m very proud of the work they put into their episodes. Each correspondent has shared their unique insights into the world of voice over as they’ve pursued their own voice acting careers. In fact, these careers and other aspects of their lives have gained so much momentum that our intrepid correspondents inform me that they have less and less time to commit to the Field Report! So even though it’s bittersweet to say goodbye, I’m so happy for their success and wish them much more in the future!

For our final Field Report episode, I’ll be doing one last round table interview with our current correspondents, Tom Bauer, DanWill McCann, and Maureen Price. They’ll be sharing with us how their careers have grown over the past couple of years, what lessons they’ve learned from working on the Field Report, and what they’re all looking forward to in the future!

I hope you’ll all join me in giving a heartfelt thank you and farewell to each of our correspondents!

You can find their websites here:

DanWill McCann
Tom Bauer
Maureen Price

Thanks again for listening and for joining us for the Field Report. We truly appreciate it.

(P.S. – For those of you who are about to ask: Yes, I’m still releasing monthly episodes of the main VAM podcast on the 3rd Wednesday of each month, so please continue to tune in for those. Thanks!)

Download VAM Field Report Episode #36 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 140 of the Voice Acting Mastery podcast with yours truly, Crispin Freeman!

As always, 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.voiceactingmastery.com/podcast

Welcome to the first part of my interview with the incredible Fred Tatasciore! Fred’s body of work is enormous. At the time of this interview, he has almost 700 credits listed on his resume at the Internet Movie Database. The character he is probably most famous for playing is the Incredible Hulk whom he has voiced in numerous animated incarnations. Some of Fred’s other familiar characters include Saren Arterius in the Mass Effect series of games, Master Shifu in the animated TV series, Kung-Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, Zeratul in the StarCraft Franchise, and one of my personal favorites: Soldier 76 in the game Overwatch.

Fred is well known for his creature voices, especially the large screaming ones! In addition, because of Fred’s vocal flexibility, he’s also a good utility player, meaning that he can play many different parts when a show or a game requires it. However, it was his standout solo performance as Soldier 76 in Overwatch that really got my attention. I was so impressed with the sensitivity and vulnerability he brought to that character, I just knew I had to bring him on the podcast.

In this first episode, we talk about how Fred broke into voice acting. He had a pretty unique journey! When he was young, he not only spent time recording himself doing funny voices, but he was also pursuing art and drawing as well! During his time in school, Fred was never quite sure whether he was going to pursue an animation career or a voice acting career! Having such a broad educational background enriched his understanding of playing characters immensely and I’m very excited to share his journey and his insights with you! Let’s get started!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #140 Here (MP3)

VAMFR 035 | Interview with Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Part 3

Welcome to episode 35 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

Welcome back, everyone! I hope you enjoyed the first two parts of Maureen’s interview with the phenomenal Mary Elizabeth McGlynn!

To recap, Mary Elizabeth is an industry veteran who has worked on both sides of the glass as both a voice actor and a voice director. Her acting credits include Major Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Governor Pryce in Star Wars Rebels, and Dr. Maheswaran in Steven Universe. She’s also an accomplished voice director having taken the helm on titles such as Tangled: The Series, Cowboy Bebop, and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

In the previous episode, Maureen and Mary Elizabeth had a great conversation about dealing with self-doubt. They also spoke about the importance of using positive language with ourselves in order to combat our internal critic. Then they explored how Mary Elizabeth suffered a significant professional failure and was able to recover from it and get “back in the saddle” so to speak. This lead directly into a discussion of the value of failure and how Mary Elizabeth handled the challenges that came with being a first-time director on Cowboy Bebop.

In this, the final part of their interview, Mary Elizabeth and Maureen talk about how voice directing as a career path currently seems to be more accessible to women than on camera directing and our theories as to why that might be. They also discuss what excites Mary Elizabeth most about the industry right now. Then, Mary Elizabeth is generous enough to share a recent experience that pushed her way out of her comfort zone. They draw their time together to a close by focusing on the importance of storytelling in dark times, and before they say goodbye, Mary Elizabeth leaves us with her number one piece of advice for aspiring voice actors.

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 #35 Here (MP3)