Improv for Voice Actors & Audition Analysis

 

Improv for Voice Actors

Next Available Workshop: Sunday, March 24th, 2019: 10am-2pm – SOLD OUT!

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See Testimonials in the Testimonials Section!

Want to supercharge your ability to play characters in voice acting? Want the quickest and most effective way to overcome fear and build confidence as a performer? Want to know what gives the pros that extra edge? Come gain the experience you need in this fun and focused workshop!

The most important skill to have in voice acting is the ability to make instant acting decisions based on very little story information and to commit to those decisions fully. When you are in the booth recording, you need to be able to take direction and make changes quickly in order to be competitive as a voice actor. There is no better way to develop this skill than to learn and practice improvisational acting. Almost every successful voice actor has a strong background in improv, and I want to give my students this invaluable advantage.

I’ve designed this class to be a supportive and safe environment where we can explore improv together, focusing on how to apply it to voice acting. You’ll learn the rules of improv and how best to apply them to your voice acting challenges, and we’ll build the acting “muscles” you need to be confident so you can make quick decisions in the booth. We’ll also be using masks to help you discover and fully inhabit different character types, just as you need to fill a character in the booth when voice acting. This part of class is both enlightening and fun. Using Italian theater masks (Commedia Dell’Arte), you’ll be able to explore playing wildly different characters by engaging your entire body as well as your voice. You may discover characters inside that you didn’t even know were there!

Learning to think quickly on your feet through improv and portraying specific physical characters through the use of masks will help your acting in a profound way. It will give your performances both flexibility and depth which will help you be more believable and competitive every time you step up to the microphone. The experiences you gain in this class will also help you build confidence and clarity. If you’ve ever been nervous in an audition or while recording, or if the thought of taking a more “traditional” improv class sends a chill up your spine, this is the class for you. Sign up today and take your character acting to the next level!

Requirements: There are no pre-requisites for the class. Anyone with a desire to learn is welcome!
The class is limited to ONLY 8 people and slots fill up quickly, so sign up today!

NOTE: Please be sure of your availability before signing up. I do not offer refunds if you cannot show up to class.


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Audition Analysis Workshop

All 2018 dates – SOLD OUT!

Next Available Workshop: Sunday, March 24th, 2019: 3pm-7pm – SOLD OUT!

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See Testimonials in the Testimonials Section!

So you’ve been handed a voice acting audition. They’ve given you a brief character description, some lines the character speaks and, (if you’re lucky), a picture of the character. Now what? Do you know what to do with this information? Do you know what choices to make to help your audition stand out from the crowd? How can you create a believable, three dimensional character with so little to work with, and how can you ensure that you are giving the best possible read so you can have the greatest chance of booking this role? These are questions every voice actor must face, and before you find yourself panicking right before it’s your turn to record an audition, it’s time to get good at analyzing audition copy!

This class will give you the skills you need to “break down” an audition so you can make solid and engaging acting choices about a character and give a truly competitive read. This class was requested by my students who wanted to practice analyzing characters and scenes so they could learn to audition more effectively. The experience you gain during this class will also help inform your acting choices once you book a role; you’ll put your new skills to use in the booth with every new scene you record!

During the class, I help establish the vocabulary of script analysis and how you can best apply this vocabulary to your acting process. We then begin analyzing audition scenes, focusing on some key questions: Can you articulate the motivations of the characters? Are you able to see the subtext that lies underneath the lines on the page? What choices must you make as an actor to transform printed words in a script into emotionally engaging dialogue for an audience? We answer these questions and more, and then we put our analysis to the test by watching the scene as performed by the actor who actually booked the role. Here we learn if the actor analyzed the scene in the same way, or if they made a different acting choice that was just as valid or even more interesting! This will help develop your critical listening skills so you can hear what it takes to create a truly professional voice acting performance, and with this new perspective, you’ll be more prepared to apply these powerful analysis techniques in all your future auditions!

Every student will receive a copy of their work in class as an MP3 file.
Requirements: There are no pre-requisites for the class. Anyone with a desire to learn is welcome!
The class is limited to ONLY 8 people and slots fill up quickly, so sign up today!

NOTE: Please be sure of your availability before signing up. I do not offer refunds if you cannot show up to class.


Pay using PayPal or Credit Card:



 

 

All LA classes are held at the JVTA

(Japan Visualmedia Translation Academy)

3510 Torrance Blvd., Suite 219
Torrance, CA 90503

818-850-1195

Download Directions as PDF

 

Frequently Asked Questions:

Why is improvisational acting so important?

In theater and film acting environments, you are almost always given a script ahead of time so you can familiarize yourself with the story and the characters. You have time to do research, to analyze the script, to make character decisions and usually to test them out in a rehearsal process. You do not have that luxury in voice acting. For better or worse, voice acting happens at a furious pace. There is no rehearsal. You almost never get the script ahead of time. You can’t prepare, you just have to perform. The best type of training to help you succeed at the competitive pace of voice acting is improvisational acting.

What is Commedia Dell'Arte and why is it important for voice acting?

Commedia Dell’Arte is a style of comedic improvisational theater using masks to represent stock characters. It was originally developed in Italy in the 16th century. I have found my experience in Commedia to be very helpful in fully inhabiting radically different character types. Too often voice acting students feel nervous and physically restricted behind a microphone because they know they’re not supposed to move. This technical restriction imposed by the microphone can make it more difficult for them to give themselves permission to play different characters. By putting on a mask and adopting a stylized physical stance, my voice acting students can explore different character archetypes more freely. By rooting the voice of a character in a specific physicality, you make your performance very believable. (For example, people watching Mel Blanc perform the Looney Toon characters could tell which character he was playing just by his physical stance at the microphone.) The visceral experience you gain by stretching yourself to play these characters physically will strengthen your performances when voice acting.

Why is Audition Analysis Class so important?

The first step in being able to play a character is the ability to analyze a script. Often in voice acting you’re not given a script, just scraps of one. I compare audition analysis to being a voice acting paleontologist: the producers give you one tooth and expect you to recreate a Tyrannosaurus Rex from that one tooth. The same thing happens in a voice acting audition: the producers give you some scraps of dialogue and you are expected to create an entire believable character out of those scraps. This takes practice. You must watch scene after scene and analyze character after character in order to start seeing storytelling patterns and develop your own instincts for what a character needs in order to be satisfying emotionally. My students are always impressed with my ability to quickly break down the emotional core of a scene. In their desire to learn that skill, they asked me to offer this class on audition analysis.

Can I attend both Improv for Voice Actors and Audition Analysis on the same day?

Absolutely! I think the two compliment each other well, because they engage both sets of skills (right-brained and left-brained) needed to be a strong voice actor. I specifically schedule Improv for Voice Actors in the morning to make sure that you can have the experience of bringing a character to life physically before looking at it analytically. It is that visceral sensation of playing a character that will help inform your analytical skills when approaching auditions. The Improv for Voice Actors class will help you develop “instincts” for analyzing an audition, which will allow you to cut right to the emotional core of any auditions you’re working on in Audition Analysis. Conversely, Audition Analysis helps “ground” your experiences from Improv by giving you the ability to articulate your emotional choices more effectively. The two workshops are a strong combination.

How do I sign up for both classes?

Click on the “Add to Cart” button under “Improv for Voice Actors” to add that class to your PayPal shopping cart. Then click on “Continue Shopping” to return to Voice Acting Mastery. Next click on the “Add to Cart” button under “Audition Analysis” to add the second class to your PayPal shopping cart. Now you can pay for both classes in one transaction. See you in class!

Can I take the classes more than once?

Absolutely! You are more than welcome to take my classes more than once. In fact, I have many students who take my classes regularly to hone and perfect their skills. Acting takes practice and ongoing study, and once you find a class that works for you, it can help you to repeat it to reinforce and augment what you’ve learned. You can re-take my Improv for Voice Actors class to sharpen your improv skills and you can re-take my Audition Analysis class to experience and understand more storytelling patterns and strengthen your analysis skills for performance and auditions.

Is there a minimum age requirement for your classes?

No, there is no minimum age requirement for any of my classes. My only requirement of my students is a sincere desire to learn and a respectful attitude towards your fellow classmates and myself. All ages are welcome to take my classes.

How can I be the first to know when the next class will be offered?

Easy! Just sign up for my LA Voice Acting Workshop Mailing list! Once you sign up for the list, you’ll be the first to know about upcoming classes!

I can't make it to the class I signed up for. Do you offer refunds?

I do not offer refunds if you cannot attend a class you signed up for. Please be sure of your availability before signing up for classes. I have a limited number of spaces available in each class and I keep my classes small on purpose so I can give the maximum amount of attention to each student. If you don’t show up for class it means you kept someone else from signing up who wanted to be there. If you have an emergency and you absolutely can’t make it to class, please inform me ASAP at classes@voiceactingmastery.com.

I have a question about your classes that wasn't answered in the FAQ.

If you have any other questions about my classes, please feel free to e-mail me at classes@voiceactingmastery.com. I’ll do my best to respond promptly.