Coaching

If you're a professional actor, you already know the bad news.  Voiceover acting is insanely competitive.  And the number of new actors trying to make their way into the voiceover world is growing by the day.

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And yet, from the industry's point of view, the number of actors capable of voicing a national radio spot or promo is still surprisingly small. In fact, despite the many thousands of actors we can choose from, most agents and casting directors will tell you that finding one who understands how to interpret and read commercial copy correctly and consistently is a rare thing indeed.

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The reason for this is simple.  Commercial acting is governed by certain rules, just as film, musical theater and TV sitcoms are.  The difference is, most actors,  and in fact most acting teachers, are unaware of what the rules are, or that such a rulebook even exists.

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Now for the good news: these rules are 

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It's not their fault.  Most acting schools don't know these rules, either.  Thats because even the best teachers with great voiceover credits can only teach the skills that got them booked.  Which of course is valuable, but what about the jobs they didn't book?  Why didn't they book them?  Did they miss the central concept?  Overlook the setups and payoffs?  Fail to read the tagline with conviction? What should they have done to correct their read?  Only someone at the ad agency who heard their audition would know those answers.

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Someone like me, perhaps.

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With over twenty years experience in choosing voiceover talent for national commercials, you might say I know a thing or two about what ad agencies are looking for. Which in turn are the same qualities casting directors and talent agents look for.

 

Like how to make "advertisingese" sound natural and human.  Knowing the guidelines for reading announcer copy versus characters or testimonials.   And knowing the correct attitude for beauty, retail or promos.  The top voice actors have learned these things by osmosis over years of trial and error. But if you're a trained actor with some decent chops, I can teach them to you in a matter of months.

 

If you're a voice actor who's ready to raise your game, let's talk.  Full course study or a la carte lessons are available via Zoom or Skype. If you're not sure you're ready to commit to private coaching yet, no problem.  We can schedule a one-time assessment session to get an idea of your potential, so we can both foresee what your course of study would look like should you decide to go further.

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For information about my voice demo production, see my Radio & Sound Design Page.