VAM 054 | Interview with Monica Rial, Part 1
Welcome to episode 54 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 pleased to be interviewing my good friend and amazingly accomplished voice actress Monica Rial! Monica has been in so many anime series, it’s impossible to name all of them here, from Dragon Ball to Excel Saga, from Noir to Soul Eater and everything in between. Monica has spent the majority of her career working in Texas and I was eager to get her on the podcast so she could share her knowledge of the Texas voice acting marketplace with those listeners who may be interested in pursuing voice acting in that area.
As of the recording of this podcast, Funimation is currently the largest distributer of anime in the U.S. and their studios are based in Dallas. ADV films, which helped fuel the anime market in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, is based in Houston and have now remade themselves into Sentai Filmworks. Suffice it to say, there’s a lot of anime that gets dubbed in Texas! In addition, more and more video games are now being recorded in Texas including such titles as Orcs Must Die!, Guitar Hero: World Tour and Halo Wars.
Monica will not only be able to give to you her insight on what it’s like to work as a voice actor in Texas but she’ll also share what it takes to succeed!
Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #54 Here (MP3)
Hi Crispin :)Thank you so much for interview with Ms Monica 🙂 I met her once at Toronto’s convention called, Fan Expo 2009 along with Collen Clinkerbeard and Brina Palencia before I came to see between Scott Mcneil’s and your autograph session ^-^ She is a very sweet lady – I have a question if you have some time- I do understand when you guys talked about ‘as a voice actor, it doesn’t matter what you look like’. I know there are some judgmental or superficial people like from my both middle and high school- I thought I was going to the’Drama Club’, but the problem is that I’m not really pretty or attractive enough to be in public and be on the stage 🙁 My question is that do you have to dressed up nice or just natural look? I do remember one of the episodes is that we can’t wear too much jewelry and other stuff- just a simple accessories like small-stud earrings and a small necklace. Thanks again, Crispin and I hope you have wonderful day and enjoy nice summer
You do not have to be pretty to be on stage. Performing on stage is about portraying a character believably, not about being pretty. Theatre isn’t a fashion show, or it shouldn’t be.
Has the Drama Club told you you’re not pretty enough? Is it a student run club or is it a faculty directed production? Either way, there are many female characters in drama that don’t need to be pretty.
It’s always good to dress up nicely. People tend to respond better to you when you’re dressed nice. If you dress sloppy, fewer people will take you seriously. When it comes to playing a character in theater, it is usually best to rehearse in clothing that is close to what the actual final costume will be. If you’re doing a period piece where women wore long dresses and bonnets, then it might help to do that in rehearsal. If you’re doing Trojan Women where the women are all in rags, sweatpants and a sweatshirt might suffice as rehearsal clothing.
Jewelry is not necessary in order to dress nice. This is theater, not a fashion show.
Hope that helps.
Yes, it is. Thank you for replying my question, Crispin. It does helps 🙂 I’m still doing couple actor auditions along with ‘still in progress’ student film that its still not finished yet. To be honest, my classmates from my past called me ‘ugly’,others names and criticized my looks,awkwardness, and learning disability. That’s why I don’t go to the ‘Drama Club’ for a reason. I’m sorry I sound very deep or melancholy 🙁
If people in your drama club are being disagreeable, then by all means find another group to work with. You might find it more productive to work with the teachers at your school who are offering classes or directing productions.
Yeah, I think it makes sense 🙂 You’re right- I think I’ll give it a try with my current college-teachers and classmates from Mississippi best I can as possible. Thank you, Crispin 🙂
Great interview! Can’t wait for the next part 🙂
It’s odd how half the time voice actors accidentally come into the business.
For me, I didn’t get interested in voice acting, let alone acting, until I saw behind the scenes of recording Naruto. It got me thinking about all voice over entails and from there (after much research) I knew I wanted to be part of it.
When you first started out was there any definitive thought or aspect that let you know that this was the career for you?
Glad you like the interview!
I talk about the definitive thought in episode 5 of the podcast, Part 2 of How I Broke into Voice Acting. It was when I realized that I was more excited about working on animation than working in theater.
Thanks for the link! I’ll be sure to listen to the episode again 🙂
I LOVE this. As Texas voice acting hopeful myself, I can’t wait to hear the rest of this interview and from Monica f’n Rial too! I adore her acting. In Soul Eater, she plays Tsubaki as such a sweetheart, but then there’s Index who annoys the hell out of me and Stocking who is insanely nasty and Nyamo from Azumanga Daioh!
I’m sorry. I fanboy-ed. I shouldn’t have. I’m just so nervous-cited for this interview.
This is amazing learning experience for me by itself. I can’t wait to learn.
Thank you and Monica for your time and wisdom.
Excellent! So glad you’re enjoying the interview!
Ahh… Monica Rial, I had a slight crush on your voice when I first heard you. So soft and pretty.
I adored her in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles as Sakura. >w<
Can't wait for more of this interview!
~ Kalyn
More good stuff is coming!
Hi Crispin,
I was looking around on Kickstarter the other day when I stumbled across a game that had passed the stretch goal for full voice acting Spying an opportunity, I scrolled down the page to try and find an email address where I could send an inquiry. That’s when I noticed that the two voice actors he’d cast so far were established industry professionals whose voices I’ve been hearing since I was 16.
While I was initially intimidated, I did some thinking and realized that I do think I’m good enough to at least have a shot at being in this game, assuming there are any characters available that my voice fits and the producer doesn’t want to only recruit from Los Angeles or Texas based voice actors. However, all of my experience so far has been amateur, and most of the projects I’ve worked on have either been abandoned or are currently languishing in very slow development, which means I have very little completed work to show. As such, I have no idea what I could do to try and at least throw my hat in the ring short of emailing the producer and saying, “Hi, I’m a voice actor and I would love to audition for your game if you have any roles available.”
My question for you is: given my situation, would it be horribly presumptuous and/or unprofessional of me to email the producer and say “Hi, I’m a voice actor and I would love to audition for your game if you have any roles available?”
Thanks for your time,
-Ben
PS. Very much looking forward to your August online class.
I think you should absolutely contact the producer and express your interest in the project. That’s how I got on Howl’s Moving Castle. I was the only actor to ask to be on the film.
Now the reason it worked for Howl’s is that I had a demo that the producers could listen to so they could know how to cast me in their film. That’s the key.
Your job is to help the producer cast his/her show, not to ask the producer for an opportunity.
You need to give the producer some sort of demo or example of your work so he/she can know how to cast you. That way you’re approaching them as someone who can solve their casting problems, rather than an actor asking for an opportunity. Does that make sense?
You can say something to the effect of, “Dear producer, I have become aware of your project and I am a voice actor who can play these kinds of characters (insert demo/reel of work). If you have any such characters in your project, I would appreciate an opportunity to audition for them. Thanks for your consideration.”
I look forward to working with you in August as well.
Thanks for getting back to me. I’ve sent an inquiry with my demo. Here’s hoping I hear back.
Hello Crispin.
Thank you for uploading the first part of this amazing interview with Ms. Rial. It’s really educational & entertaining.
I met Monica last year at my local convention called the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo.
My question for you is, since Monica is the first person you’ve interviewed who is currently doing her voice acting outside of LA, could you maybe interview a Canadian voice actor such as Tara Strong or David Kaye? I’m Canadian & I figure it would help if I heard the story of not only how fellow Canadians got into voice actin, but made the jump to Los Angeles to get an idea as to the steps I should take to succeed.
Thank you very much Crispin & have an amazing day!
Leonard
I’m so glad you like the interview!
I will do my best to interview some Canadian voice actors in the future. That’s a great idea. Thanks!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you like my suggestion.
This is so terrific! I love the work I’ve heard from Monica Rial – and love the things she’s had to say on panels I’ve seen from various cons.
But especially, I’m excited to hear so much about her first forays into voice acting – they really resonate with me! I don’t have nearly as much stage work behind me but I can identify with those fears that came out of the very new and different experience acting on a mic can be. It’s the same as acting on a stage, only different! Wildly different, but also totally the same! (I can remember the first time in your class feeling totally freaked out as I worked, and then as soon as I was done and driving away thinking, “I can’t wait to do that again!”)
The rest of the interview is great too, Monica is a real font of wisdom and experience (and hilarious too!), so I’m thrilled to hear her perspective. Thanks get again for a great podcast and thanks to Ms Rial for taking the time.
Take care,
Flor
Thanks Flor! I’m so glad you enjoyed the interview! It was a pleasure talking with Monica, she’s wonderful!
Hello!
I’ve been listening to your podcast lately as I work on art. Voice Acting has always been fascinating to me and I’ve enjoyed learning about it from yourself and the people you’ve interview.
If I may ask, in the interview you mention being in a show with a Luci, by any chance was that Luci Christian? I recall seeing either you or her sharing a photo of you two on twitter in a show that I believe is the same as the one mention in the interview. I would LOVE to hear you and her discuss voice acting.
Love your work!
-Jasmine