Welcome to episode 150 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

This is the second and final part of my interview with the inspiring Maryann Strossner! In the last episode, Maryann talked about how she got started as an actress in New York in the 1960s, even though her parents did not approve of her pursuing a career as a performer. We also discussed how she transitioned from stage work to voice over work when she moved to Los Angeles in 1977. After arriving in Hollywood, one of her first theatrical acting jobs was working with the Variety Arts Radio Theater Company of LA which produced old time radio dramas on stage in front of a live audience. She also started working on audiobooks for Scholastic around that time as well. During the 1990s she moved around to different places in order to take care of family members. Eventually, she returned to Los Angeles and picked up her acting career where she left off doing commercials, films, and TV projects. However, it wasn’t until she reached her 70s that she started pursuing voice acting in animation and video games. In 2016 she was cast as Granny Marl in Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft game franchise. Now, she is probably most famous for her work in 2018 as Scrollsage Nola, the kind, grandmotherly turtle creature who lives in the land of the Tortollans. Maryann’s journey really shows that it’s never too late to pursue your voice acting dreams!

In the second part of our interview, I ask Maryann what inspired her to become an actress in the first place. We discuss some of her early childhood memories of going to see Broadway shows with her mother and falling in love with the world of the theater. We also talk more about her parents objections to her pursuing an acting career and the fact that her mother had artistic aspirations of her own that she never fulfilled. Then Maryann shares some details about the acting training that she got from her cousin, a theatrical director, whose special method of teaching Maryann was very applicable to voice acting. And finally, Maryann gives us her advice for aspiring voice actors and about how important it is not to wait to do what you want to do, but to just get out there and do it! So without further ado, here’s Maryann.

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #150 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 149 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 a truly unique guest, Maryann Strossner! Maryann has acted on stage and done voice over work on both the East and West Coast of the United States since the 1960’s! She was born in 1940 and started acting professionally in her 20’s in New York City. In 1977, she moved to Los Angeles where she continued to pursue theater in addition to working with the Variety Arts Radio Theater Company of LA. While she received rave reviews in the New York Times for her stage acting, and worked in voice over not only in Los Angeles, but in North Carolina as well, she recently became famous for her voice acting work in the online video game, World of Warcraft! Her first character for the franchise was Granny Marl in 2016, but she became a fan favorite when she voiced the gentle and caring Scrollsage Nola in 2018! In the game, if you visit the land of the Tortollans who are a turtle-like race in World of Warcraft, you are greeted by Nola who asks you to protect newly born turtles from predators as the baby turtles crawl from their hatching places on the beach and work their way towards the safety of the ocean. When you succeed, she exclaims, “A turtle made it to the water!”.

Maryann’s performance as Nola was so charming, that she became a sort of grandmother figure to the players of World of Warcraft. In 2018, Maryann was a guest at Blizzcon where she recited her famous lines on stage to great applause. In fact, these lines have become such a meme that someone has turned them into a song. Here’s a clip of it from YouTube!

I first met Maryann back in 2014 when she took some of my voice acting classes. I was not only impressed with her work in class, but also with the fact that she was jumping into the world of animation and video games as an older actress. Most people who enjoy animation and games tend to be of a younger generation, and often my class is filled with these young people. However, recently at conventions, I have been asked by more mature adults whether I think they are too old to voice act. Now, if you’ve been listening to this podcast for a while, you probably already know that my answer is that it’s never “too late” to pursue your voice acting dreams as long as you’re truly passionate about voice acting. But rather than simply trying to reassure any of you out there who are thinking of getting into voice acting later in life, I thought it would be even better to share a real-life success story! It is my honor to bring Maryann here on the podcast to share her experiences and talk about what it’s been like for her to start voice acting in animation and games in her 70’s!

We begin by exploring how she became an actor in the first place. While she discovered at a young age that she was fascinated with acting, her parents did not approve of her pursuing a career as an actress. They were immigrants to America who had weathered many challenges in their lives. They wanted their daughter to have an easier life than they had experienced, and they saw acting as not only economically unstable, but morally questionable as well. In the face of such resistance, Maryann had to find her own way to accomplish her career goals. She kept her dreams of being an actress to herself until she had the opportunity to move out on her own with her older cousin, Nancy, who just happened to be a theater director! Nancy coached Maryann privately as she began her acting career in New York City. From there, Maryann’s journey as an actress went to many interesting places and I’m eager to have her tell you all about it!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #149 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 145 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 award-winning voice actress, Cissy Jones! You may be familiar with her voice acting work on games like The Walking Dead, Life is Strange, Where the Water Tastes Like Wine, and Firewatch where she won a BAFTA award for her performance as Delilah! Cissy also works extensively in commercials and trailers.

In the previous episode, we discussed what inspired Cissy to become a voice actress in the first place! While she had always loved cartoons, she also found herself fascinated by every aspect of voice over and she fell in love with the voice over world. That passion inspired her to study as much as she could in order to improve her skills! Cissy and I also talked about what it was like for her to work on the game Firewatch and what she learned from her co-star, Madmen actor Rich Sommer.

As we draw our conversation to a close, I ask Cissy what advice she has for aspiring voice actors. I think you’ll find that what she has to say is very grounded and practical! She also speaks about how winning a BAFTA award affected her career. You may be surprised by her answer!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #145 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 133 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 voice actor and dialect expert, Eliza Jane Schneider! You may be familiar with her work voicing almost all of the female characters on the animated series South Park in the years between 1999 and 2003. Eliza and I have also been in a number of projects together including Diablo III where I played the Male Wizard and she played the Female Necromancer, and also the Pirates of the Caribbean video games where I voice match Orlando Bloom to play Will Turner while she voice matches Keira Knightly to play Elizabeth Swann.

In addition to her many acting accomplishments, Eliza is incredibly dedicated to the study and mastery of English language dialects. She is a highly sought after accent coach and I’m very happy to have her on the podcast to share her insight and expertise with all my listeners!

In the previous episode, Eliza explained the unique techniques she has developed to master dialects and accents. As we wrap up our time together, Eliza talks about how to approach mastering the emotional component of performing with an accent. She also shares her tongue placement system to help dial in the specific sound of certain vowel substitutions. We end the interview with Eliza’s advice to aspiring voice actors, which includes the reality of how little time voice over performers actually have to give a believable and compelling performance once they’re in the booth. It’s a sobering but honest take on the challenges of working in the voice over industry. I think you’ll find Eliza’s candor and expertise very helpful, so let’s get started!

If you would like to learn more about Eliza’s dialect training, please visit her website at:

www.DialectMasterClass.com

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #133 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 132 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 voice actor and dialect expert, Eliza Jane Schneider! You may be familiar with her work voicing almost all of the female characters on the animated series South Park in the years between 1999 and 2003. Eliza and I have also been in a number of projects together including Diablo III where I played the Male Wizard and she played the Female Necromancer, and also the Pirates of the Caribbean video games where I voice match Orlando Bloom to play Will Turner while she voice matches Keira Knightly to play Elizabeth Swann.

In addition to her many acting accomplishments, Eliza is incredibly dedicated to the study and mastery of English language dialects. She is a highly sought after accent coach and I’m very happy to have her on the podcast to share her insight and expertise with all my listeners!

In the previous episode, Eliza told us how she broke into the entertainment industry, first as an on-camera actress, and later as a voice actress. In this segment of our interview, we discuss her dialect work and how her music training as a young girl helped inform her technique for mastering different accents. Her ability to hear fine nuances in how people pronounce their words has allowed her to create her own unique way of teaching accents to performers. In fact, in this episode she puts me through my paces and helps me improve my own Australian accent! I think you’ll find her insight as enlightening as I did!

If you would like to learn more about Eliza’s dialect training, please visit her website at:

www.DialectMasterClass.com

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #132 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 126 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’d like to spend some time discussing how important it is to be aware of what you sound like when you’re speaking. I have watched too many of my voice acting students struggle because they are unaware of what their own voice actually sounds like. Unbeknownst to many, what you hear inside your head when you’re speaking is not what others hear. If you haven’t taken the time to get to know how you actually sound to the rest of the world, you’re missing out on crucial information that can make or break your voice acting career. Not only do you need to be aware of the tone or timbre of your voice, but you also need to become intimately familiar with your habitual manner of speaking and how you articulate words. Like a musician playing an instrument, it’s vital that you understand exactly what kind of sounds you are producing and how they are perceived by others. Without such self-awareness, you will not know how to modify your delivery for different characters you’re asked to play, or how to make precise vocal adjustments in order to communicate effectively to your audience.

For some actors, their habitual manner of speech might be fine for portraying certain characters. These actors may have a sound that is marketable or popular at the moment, so they may not feel the need to spend much time thinking about how they sound. After all, it’s working so far. Meanwhile, other actors may struggle to be considered for parts because they may have regionalisms or enunciation problems which make it difficult for producers to cast them. Regardless of whether you are blessed with a currently marketable sound, or have some speech challenges that you need to overcome, at some point nearly every actor will be asked to play a character who speaks with a different intonation, accent, or vocal quality than the one you use in everyday life. In those situations, you need to be able to modify the way you speak in order to suit the character you’re being asked to portray.

While at first it may seem obvious that a voice actor needs to know what they sound like and how they speak, you might be surprised at how often I work with people who seem completely unaware of either of these things. If someone on the outside points out that they might have regionalisms or limiting speech patterns, they can often become quite defensive. In this episode, I want to explain why this is and help share some useful tools to help you overcome any limitations you might be facing due to habitual speech patterns. Changing how we speak is actually an incredibly emotional topic and can make many people feel uncomfortable. Hopefully by the end of this episode, you’ll not only understand the underlying issues at work here, but you’ll have a far better grasp on what you as a voice actor can do to avoid any speech problems that might be holding you back.
 
Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #126 Here (MP3)