VAMFR 007 | Interview with Erika Harlacher, Part 1
VAMFR 007 | Interview with Erika Harlacher, Part 1
Welcome to episode 7 of the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report podcast!
In this episode our correspondent, Tom Bauer, begins his interview with the prolific and mult-talented Erika Harlacher.
Since this is Tom’s first episode for the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report, he wanted to interview a very gifted voice actor who is just starting her voice acting journey and making leaps and bounds in her career. Erika has been featured in a number of Anime titles, including roles such as Princess Asseylum Vers Allusia in Aldnoah.Zero and Ami Kawashima in Toradora! She’s also performed in video games, playing characters like Kyoko Kirigiri in Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Sadira in Killer Instinct.
In this episode, Erika talks about how she embraced the creative side of her personality and the steps she took to break into voice acting. Tom and Erika discuss at length the struggles she continues to face as an artist as well the importance she places on finding a support system to help her stay true to herself and pursue her dreams. We’re very grateful to Erika for sitting down with Tom and sharing her experience as an up and coming voice actor. As you listen to their interview, I think you’ll agree that her positivity and energy are infectious!
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 #7 Here (MP3)
VAM 111 | Interview with Stephanie Sheh, Part 3
Welcome to episode 111 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 talented and amazingly driven voice actress, Stephanie Sheh! You may be familiar with her work from shows like the Legend of Korra, Naruto and Sailor Moon. Stephanie is not only a talented voice actress, but she also has experience as a producer, director and even as a recording engineer! I’m so grateful to have someone with her experience on the podcast to talk with us about what it takes to be successful in the industry!
In our last episode, Stephanie talked about how inspired she was by movies as a child. They made her feel giddy and excited and she wanted to grow up to make stories that would inspire others as well! Her passion for performing drove her to pursue any avenue she could in order to develop and hone her acting craft. She persevered even when her parents initially doubted her ability to succeed as an actress. Her “just do it” attitude was instrumental in giving her the motivation to become a professional performer, especially in the face of uncertainty and hardship.
In our final interview segment together, Stephanie shares with us in detail what she’s learned from being a producer and voice director for animation and video game projects. Because she has worked both in front of and behind the microphone, Stephanie has a unique perspective on what actors can do to make themselves appealing to producers and directors. She also talks about some pitfalls to avoid when trying to market yourself as an actor. Listen carefully! Stephanie possesses a wealth of important information!
If you’re enjoying the podcast, I would really appreciate it if you could give me a positive review in the iTunes Music Store! Here’s how:
- Follow this link to the Voice Acting Mastery Podcast in iTunes. Your browser should open up to a page listing the podcast.
- Click on the View in iTunes button which looks like this:
in order to view the podcast in iTunes. (NOTE: You must have iTunes installed on your computer for this to work) - Click on “Ratings and Reviews”
- Now click on the stars to rate. They look like this:
and click on “Write a Review” to leave your thoughts! It looks like this: 
Thanks for listening!
Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #111 Here (MP3)
VAMFR 006 | Interview with Matthew Mercer, Part 2
VAMFR 006 | Interview with Matthew Mercer, Part 2
Welcome to episode 6 of the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report podcast!
In this episode our correspondent, DanWill McCann, finishes his interview with the prolific and mult-talented Matthew Mercer.
Matthew has given life to characters in shows like Attack on Titan and Kill La Kill as well as video games like Fallout 4. He has also made some amazing web content, like the Geek & Sundry show Critical Role. The show consists of a live broadcast of an actual Dungeons & Dragons role playing game, played by famous Voice Actors who bring their characters to life with deep commitment and believability.
He has also produced several web based projects through online crowd funding, including such shows as School of Thrones and Muzzle: the Musical, the latter of which Matthew wrote himself. Matthew was gracious enough to share with us his experience and advice for any of you who might have your own pet projects that you hope to fund and create. DanWill was inspired by his accomplishments and has learned several good tips from Matthew. Chances are you will as well. But enough setup, here’s Matthew Mercer to tell you himself!
DanWill mentions two of Matthew’s web shows in the podcast. Here are direct links to them:
Critical Role can be found at:
http://geekandsundry.com/shows/critical-role/
Muzzled: the Musical is at:
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 #6 Here (MP3)
VAM 110 | Interview with Stephanie Sheh, Part 2
Welcome to episode 110 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 talented and amazingly driven voice actress, Stephanie Sheh! You may be familiar with her work from shows like the Legend of Korra, Naruto and Sailor Moon. Stephanie is not only a talented voice actress, but she also has experience as a producer, director and even as a recording engineer! I’m thrilled and grateful to have someone with her breadth of knowledge on the podcast to talk with us about what it takes to be successful in the industry!
In our last episode, Stephanie discussed how she broke into voice acting and what emotional hurdles she had to overcome to pursue a voice acting career. In the second part of our conversation, Stephanie shares with us what inspired her to pursue acting in the first place. It was her burning desire to perform that kept her motivated to study the craft of acting, even in the face of disapproval and uncertainty. While Stephanie’s parents encouraged her to pursue acting as a hobby so that she could enrich herself on a personal level, they were very skeptical that acting could ever be a reliable career choice for her. They were understandably worried about their daughter’s future and wanted to make sure that she could provide for herself.
Stephanie realized that if she was truly going to make it as a performer, she would have to be resourceful and self-motivated. She pursued every avenue she could to develop her skills, and you can feel her tenacity when she speaks of what it takes to succeed as a professional actor. I think you’ll find her insights invaluable.
Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #110 Here (MP3)
VAMFR 005 | Interview with Matthew Mercer, Part 1
VAMFR 005 | Interview with Matthew Mercer, Part 1
Welcome to episode 5 of the Voice Acting Mastery: Field Report podcast!
In this episode our correspondent, DanWill McCann, begins his interview with the prolific and mult-talented Matthew Mercer.
Matthew has given fantastic voice performances in over 150 projects, ranging from Video Games, like Robin in Batman: Arkham Knight and MacCready in the recent hit Fallout 4, to animation, like Levi in Attack on Titan and Iron Man in Iron Man Rise of the Technovore.
In this segment, Matthew shares his beginnings, his journey, his inspirations, and he offers some advice for those aspiring to work in the field. DanWill sincerely appreciates Matthew’s straightforward honesty about the amount of effort it takes to become and remain professionally competitive in the voice acting world. Both DanWill and I think you’ll enjoy hearing Matthew share his ongoing love of animation as much as we did! So please welcome Matthew Mercer!
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 #5 Here (MP3)
VAM 109 | Interview with Stephanie Sheh, Part 1
Welcome to episode 109 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 talented and amazingly driven voice actress, Stephanie Sheh! You may know Stephanie’s voice acting from her work portraying characters such as Zhu-Li in Nickelodeon’s hit series, the Legend of Korra, Hinata in the ever popular anime series Naruto, and most recently Sailor Moon herself in both the re-released original anime series and the newer Sailor Moon Crystal remake. What you may not be as familiar with is her work behind the scenes in animation and video games! She’s produced, directed, cast and even engineered voice acting sessions for numerous projects. She has hands-on experience with almost every aspect of the production chain, and because of her broad array of talents, she has a wealth of information about what it truly takes to succeed in the industry.
I had the great pleasure of working with Stephanie when I first came to Los Angeles. I was fortunate enough to direct her in an obscure anime show called I, My, Me Strawberry Eggs where she played one of the lead characters. I was impressed with her work and commitment level back then and my admiration for her tenacity and skill has only grown. What I really appreciate about Stephanie is how down to earth and practical she is. She never minces words about what it takes to succeed and always tells the unvarnished truth. She is focused and dedicated. She knows that her success is up to her and she tries to share that understanding with others so that they too will take responsibility for finding their own avenues to creating a viable and fulfilling career.
In the first part of our discussion, Stephanie shares with us how she broke into voice acting. She had a very unconventional path and her journey reveals a lot, not only about her and her level of commitment, but also about the entertainment industry and some of the unspoken expectations that people in Hollywood may have. She also discusses her initial fear that her family would not support her decision to pursue acting as a career and how she had to overcome that fear of rejection in order to follow her acting dreams. I’m honored to have Stephanie on the podcast, so pay close attention! She’s got a lot of great insights to share!
Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #109 Here (MP3)