Voice Over Acting Advice from Casting Director Danielle Pretsfelder Demchick, CSA

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Mic check! As a former Casting Director at Nickelodeon and the founder of DPD Casting, Danielle shares her expertise on everything from the importance of training and finding an agent, to debunking common voiceover misconceptions (hint: it's all about the acting!). She also dives into the technical necessities of a home setup, the evolving impact of AI in the industry and her passion for promoting diversity in casting. Tune in for practical tips and insights to kickstart or advance your voiceover career.

The episode covers:

• Essential advice for actors on how to successfully break into and navigate the voiceover industry, including training, securing representation, and setting up your home studio. 
• Insider perspectives on common voiceover misconceptions, the impact of AI, and the importance of diversity in casting. 
• Practical tips and strategies for warming up, preparing slates, and understanding key casting terminology to enhance their voiceover auditions.

This is - How We Role. Get cast today at castingnetworks.com.

Follow Host, Actor and Producer Robert Peterpaul (Amazon's Sitting in Bars with Cake, The Art of Kindness podcast) on Instagram @robpeterpaul and learn more at robertpeterpaul.com.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So I am Danielle Pretzfelder-Damczyk.
I am 5'4.5" 5'5".
My driver's license says 5'5",but I think I'm now 5'4.5".
I lost a little bit of height.
Anyway, this is how we roll.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
I love that.
That's amazing.
I'm going to do that in my nextslate.
Okay, when it comes to workingin entertainment, there's a lot
of hows, and they all boil downto how we navigate this wild
industry.
While how we follow our dreamsis uncertain, how we roll along
the way is in our hands.

(00:35):
Welcome to how we Roll apodcast for actors by Casting
Networks.
Podcasting Networks.
Hi actors, it's your friend,robert Peterpaul, coming to you
from my mini studio on the sunnyEast Coast.
I don't know about you, butallergy season it's coming for

(00:58):
me hard.
I'm doing everything I can totry to maintain vocal health,
from tea to steaming.
If you have any ideas, pleaseDM me on social media at
RobPeterPawler at CastingNetworks.
Also send us your questions.
By the way, we would love tofeature you.
I was really grateful to findeven more vocal wisdom in

(01:19):
today's conversation.
We're diving into the world ofvoice acting from breaking in to
booking jobs to building vocalstamina with the dynamic casting
director, danielle Pretzfelder.

(01:39):
Demchik, csa is a powerhousecasting director whose work
spans live-action, animation,theater and more.
A fixture in the New Yorkcasting scene since 2004,
danielle spent 14 years atNickelodeon shaping iconic shows
like Blue's Clues and you, dorathe Explorer and the Astronauts

(02:03):
, now running her own castingoffice.
Some of her recent favoritework includes American Girl,
Corinne Tan for HBO, or Max orHBO Max, whatever it is now.
You Are so Not Invited to myBat Mitzvah for Netflix and Matt
Rogers' have you Heard ofChristmas?
For Showtime.
Over the years, danielle hasalso been fortunate to

(02:26):
collaborate with most majorstudios, from Netflix to Sony to
Disney, to PBS to SesameWorkshop.
She even has worked in thetheater with Broadway shows like
Grey House.
In addition, danielle is apassionate advocate for
authentic representation inmedia, especially for people
with disabilities.

(02:47):
She is the co-VP of advocacyfor the Casting Society of
America, leadingbarrier-breaking initiatives to
open doors for underrepresentedactors.
She's also pursuing a master'sin disability studies and
proudly supports the nextgeneration of artists of all
abilities.
Danielle was incrediblygenerous with her time and

(03:14):
knowledge, gifting us a truemasterclass on what's really
necessary for today's VO market.
If you enjoyed the episode,spread the knowledge, share it
with a creative friend or helpus get it out there by leaving a
five-star review wherever youlisten.
Now here's how we roll, withvoiceover work featuring casting

(03:35):
director DaniellePretzfelder-Demchik.
Well, welcome to how we Roll,danielle.
How are you doing today?

Speaker 1 (03:50):
I am good.
Thank you for having me.

Speaker 2 (03:52):
Thanks for being here .
I gotta say, as someone who hasadmired your career from afar
for so long, I am thrilled tofinally get some FaceTime with
you, and today we are talkingeverything, breaking into and
carving out a fruitful career inthe voiceover world.
So I want to start withsomething that might not seem
related, but it's something Ifound really cool in researching

(04:15):
you not in a weird way and yourjourney and that's a theme, I
think, for so many successfulpeople.
I found that you are wonderfulat the pivot Maybe not in the
sense of friends carrying acouch, but you pivoted early on
from acting right into castingand then since then you've had
so many pivots from this likecushy family at Nickelodeon to

(04:37):
then starting your own thingwith DPD casting.
So that's something I thinklisteners might be thinking
about today as they're thinkingof maybe pivoting into voiceover
.
What's your general advice onstarting a new creative journey?

Speaker 1 (04:51):
I know it's a bigger question 14 years is a really
long time but I wasn't likeraring to leave.
It was that the leadershipthere wanted us to be kind of
picking a lane, wanted me topick a lane and be either like a

(05:11):
casting director or anexecutive.
And, like you know, I'm verytransparent.
I love casting.
You know I liked the executivework too, like some of that was
interesting.
But I didn't want to give upcasting.
So I had to make this pivot.
You know I had to go out on myown if I wanted to keep casting
and they were very gracious withgiving me the opportunities

(05:34):
that I needed to be able to keep.
I was able to keep casting,what I was doing and doing all
that stuff.
But like I did have to be braveand I did have to make a leap,
so I mean, I know it's notexactly the same with actors,
but I think being you know, Ithink there is the being
prepared for when you're makinga pivot, so like taking the you
know, training, doing that sortof stuff with voiceover, not

(05:56):
just being like, oh, I'm anactor, an actor acts, it's like
no understand what it means tobe a voiceover actor and to be
doing voiceover auditions, andhow fast that turnaround is and
what certain terminology is.
Just like I was a castingdirector, a casting director
casts I was a casting directorin-house.
It's very different, Like Ispend a lot of time having to

(06:17):
look at what a deal for myselflooks like and also knowing how
to advocate for things formyself.
You know things take a reallylong time to come together.
Um, voiceover is a really goodexample of that.
You know, you start working onan animated project.
It takes years for it to comeout, um, and sometimes what
you're doing at that moment, orwhat you're hoping to be doing,
is very different than what itwas when you recorded it or

(06:40):
started working on it.
But like seeing big picture andbeing really aware of, like,
where you want to go, and andalso like being wise to what
your what this does for yourjourney.
Sometimes I think actors are alittle bit, like you know, short
sighted about what I think weall can be about what doing a

(07:02):
certain project could be.
I think we all can be about whatdoing a certain project could
be no-transcript, but it's likelooking big picture at like,

(07:31):
okay, this might not be thedream job with this producer,
but they work on all these otherthings that I really want to
work on and like once you're inwith somebody, they want to keep
working with you Once somebodyknows what you can do and I
think that's true, for you know,casting is an art and I think,
just like actors and I thinkactors even my closest friends,

(07:53):
who are actors sometimes forgetthat I have to audition for like
everything I do now.
I didn't have to do that beforeyou know, but that's part of
what we do is auditioning, andwe don't book every role either.
And even some jobs, yeah, theycome to you because a producer
knows you and that kind of stuff, just like with actors.
But other times, you know,there isn't everybody else.

(08:14):
Other times there's the WhiteLotus.
You know scenario whereeveryone has to audition, even
if you've worked with a milliontimes because you know they want
to keep it fair and equal, orthere's just like a different
system and just kind ofrespecting what that is.

Speaker 2 (08:30):
So yeah, so that's, that's that's very helpful
already, although I do want togo, because you mentioned White
Lotus.
I also want to go, but, but,but, but, but, but Nickelodeon.
Ok, but anyway, I'm going tocome back down to Earth for a
moment.
I rarely am here, danielle, andI want to walk this path with
you of breaking into voiceover.
You know, for actors listening,let's say they've never booked

(08:51):
a voiceover job before.
They maybe never even thoughtabout it until now, but they
pushed play.
Thanks for being here.
What's the first step you thinkthey should do to seriously
pursue this path?
What do you recommend?

Speaker 1 (09:04):
I think taking a class is really important and
getting because there's youdon't really have access to
material in voiceover unlessyou're in a class, like you
don't get sides and all of thesethings for voiceover are very,
you know, we have there's a lotof NDAs and there's a lot of
things that need to be signed inorder to have access to
material, and voiceover is often, you know, other than like

(09:27):
marvel and things like that areis the most you know kept under
wraps.
And then the other thing withvoiceover is that it's really
hard to break in with or getopportunities without an agent.
You know a lot.
It's not something wherethere's those sort of
opportunities that often come toyou or can you know come to you
if you're not represented there.

(09:48):
You know there are projectsthat got posted on those sites
and there are opportunitieswhere you can self-submit, but
as a general rule voiceover isdone in a very old school sort
of email blast way and there arelistservs that actors can be on
.
That's not to say you would getaccess to everything, but it's
just kind of the nature of thebeast that things are a little

(10:10):
bit more under wraps.
So taking a class is the bestway to get training but also to
get access to the material thatyou would need.
There's so many things thatbuild on each other when it
comes to that and also just toget to know other, to get to
know casting directors in thecommunity.
get access to those agents whomaybe are looking to sign people
in voiceover, so I'd be reallysavvy about it and I wouldn't

(10:34):
spend a lot of money.
I don't think you need to do ademo reel right away.
I know there's often peoplethat ask about that.
With voiceover and animation, Ithink it's just about having a
little bit of training underyour belt and knowing the
terminology a little bit,understanding how to work with a
mic, and also having you doreally need to have some sort of
at-home setup.
If you want to do voiceover,you don't need a ready-to-go

(10:57):
full booth and you knowbroadcast quality, but you need
to have something where you're,you know, able to record from
home an audition or, you know,maybe if it's a sort of you know
more DIY sort of booking whereyou can start building your
credit, you want to be able todo that from home because,

(11:17):
especially since the pandemic,there is just a real influx of
work that requires a home studio, even if it's a basic home
studio.

Speaker 2 (11:25):
Yeah, and you can be very transparent, sort of, about
what you have.
I think transparency isimportant, would you say, right,
because they might not actuallyneed you to record from home.
You can go to the neareststudio, maybe, if you're lucky,
and use their, you know,sourceconnect and whatever you
maybe have available there.
So I think that's a great placeto start.
I wonder if you feel likethere's a common misconception
actors have when they'restarting to break into voiceover

(11:48):
.
I love that you described it asmore old school.
I think that was such a greatdescription.
But, yeah, anything you've seenthere that you think might be
helpful to dispel.

Speaker 1 (11:56):
I mean, we want to see.
You know, the thing withvoiceover is you have to be a
really good actor, you have toact really well.
You're acting all through onesense.
So when you're acting, you knowon camera we can see you, we
can hear you.
There's just different.
You know senses that are thatare engaged by also, like
there's in, there's movement,there's things that are there

(12:18):
that we get to, there's alsowhat you look like, you know,
which is another element of notjust seeing your acting, but
like that makes you feel more acertain character or not a
certain character.
With voiceover, all you know,all of your acting choices are
funneled through your voice andI think that's a double edged
sword.
Like I think there's somethingreally beautiful and wonderful
about that that you know it isvery agnostic.

(12:42):
If we love what you're, youknow what you're doing.
But it also means that, likeyou have to be an incredible
actor and I think a lot of timespeople think, oh well, somebody
told me, I have a great voiceor I great impressions.
It's like, so, not about that,and you know.
Or people are like no one evertold me I had a great voice, so
I never thought I should dovoiceover.
It's like again, so not aboutthat.

(13:04):
And you know, I think a lot ofpeople think like, oh well, I'm
so good at doing impressions.
It's like that's not acting.
Like it's not acting whenyou're on camera and it's not
acting when you're doingvoiceover.
So I think that is definitely amisconception there was a time
where I think people really hadto sing to
do certain types of voiceover oryou know there was a lot of

(13:26):
heavy focus on music or singing.
That is still focused, withsome things, but there's a lot
of really great voiceover actorswho do not sing or that's not
what they do.
You know they might be able tosing, but that's not the kind of
roles that they book.
There are a lot of great actorvoice actors who happen to be
great singers, because, again,it's about having control of

(13:48):
this instrument that you andalso being able to tell a story
through music or sound, you know, solely through sound.
So there is there is, for sure,overlap there and for you know
which makes sense, but it's notessential to we're not looking
for someone who sings when we'relooking for voiceover
specifically.

Speaker 2 (14:07):
Yeah, such vital reminders, I think overall too,
because I feel like sometimeswith voiceover, acting is the
thing that goes out the window,which is should be the main
thing.
It's like maybe you get alittle animated photo of what
the character looks like and youimmediately have some voices
that come into your head, whichis great to have that instinct.
But then I think, leaning intothe voice, you do yourself a
disservice, right, becauseyou're not breaking it down as

(14:30):
an actor normally would, whichis kind of the fun part to
really build out a character.
So, yeah, I think I've maybeseen that in classes and people
starting out.
It's like we all fall into thatpit of oh, I can do this really
fun voice for this one.
But you know, maybe, maybethat's not the way to start,
because you don't always evenget a picture of what a
character looks like.

Speaker 1 (14:49):
No, often you don't I mean yeah, very often you don't
because we can't, I don't haveit.
Yeah.
You know, usually what they'regoing to do is is animate to the
voice or, like you know, maybekind of stuff's being done in
tandem, like it's not.
It's not like there's abeautiful piece of art that

(15:09):
we're, you know, going to showyou when you come in the studio.
Sometimes there's something wecan show you and it can be
really exciting to get to seethat.
You know, and I think, butsometimes that's when you come
in for a pickup session, youknow, down the line months and
months later, years latersometimes.
So it's not like when you're inthe audition we get to give you
that.
And if we do get to show yousomething, it's like you would

(15:30):
be NDA'd.
You'd be signing so muchpaperwork, it'd be.
Yeah.
So it's not.
It's not often like that, andwe want to hear what you bring.
I mean what?
How do we know what is a purpleoctopus sound like?
You know, if I showed you apurple octopus, how would that
really?
Help you know what we think apurple octopus sounds like.

(15:51):
Maybe it's what you think itsounds like, but we're bringing
you in for the audition knowingyou are not a purple octopus.
We are looking for whatever itis that we know about you or
what you know, what we want tohear you.
Your take on the role, not yourtake on what this role should
sound like.

Speaker 2 (16:09):
Yeah, like March Simpson, there's so many great
characters that you neverprobably would have thought
sounded the way they soundedwhen you got the breakdown or
whatever it is so kind ofleaning into that authenticity
is super important.
I wonder you mentioned havingan agent is kind of vital for
voiceover.
What would you say is the bestway for people listening to get
an agent in the voiceover world?
I mean, I'm guessing some kindof demo is great to show people.

(16:33):
I know you said you don't haveto spend a lot on that, but
what's your opinion there?

Speaker 1 (16:37):
I mean, I think, taking classes.
You know agents do come and do,like you know, a workshop or
something at a class.
If you're doing certain classes, not to say that's essential.
The other thing is if you are aSAG member, they do really
great.
The SAG Foundation does reallygreat work with having voiceover
agents come and castingdirectors.
Another great thing is to beself-submitting.

(16:59):
I know I'm saying there's not aton of opportunities in
voiceover on, you know, onplatforms where you can
self-submit, but like when I'mlooking broadly for something
and I'm allowed to put it outthere, there are projects where
I'm not allowed.
Or the other thing is like I'veworked on something where I had
I had the fake name and then Ihad the and then I had the fake

(17:21):
name, fake name.
And if I was really if I wantedto be able to post it on a
casting site whether that'sCasting Network, anything where
even an agent would have accessto it.
But it wasn't an agent who wasNDA'd already before they needed
to be NDA'd to get the fakename.
And then if you wanted, if youwere an NDA'd for the fake name,
you got the fake fake name andthat was posted.

Speaker 2 (17:43):
Wow, that makes sense Because people do find out what
the fake names are.
So it makes sense that there'dbe a way back up back up, back
up fake name.

Speaker 1 (17:53):
I just had something happen where on Friday night,
I'm not even kidding at like 930.
I had an EIC texting me.
I mean because, again, I'veworked at Nickelodeon.
You know, I've known thesepeople at this point for like
almost years because I was anintern there.
So like we're all friends,we're all buddies and they were
like do you have any idea howthis leaked?
Like it's on a Reddit now.

Speaker 2 (18:12):
Oh no.

Speaker 1 (18:13):
And I was like no, I was like let me just like triple
check my notes.
I've been working on thisproject now for five months.
We just re-released a breakdown.
We had to recast a roll after.
Another thing with break withvoiceover sometimes is they do
like testing and then they finda voice doesn't fit or like the
feedback is not great.
So we had to recast and we hadto, yeah, recast and get it done

(18:36):
really fast so that didn'tdelay the delivery of the
episode.
I was like did I leak something?
Did I accidentally?
Put anything anywhere.
But no, I mean, I mean people.
Just, you know, you read thesides, you, you the name of the
character isn't you know?
You can kind of figure thingsout if you, you know, put two
and two together and also, like,sometimes it's not announced

(18:57):
that there's going to be a, youknow that we're redoing some
iconic series that were redoingsome iconic series.
What'd you say?

Speaker 2 (19:04):
The Fairly Oddparents .
I'm just thinking of thatbecause I interviewed someone
that was on the live actionversion and she said something.
I worked on that.

Speaker 1 (19:11):
Oh you did.
I did, yeah, as an exec.
It was really fun.

Speaker 2 (19:14):
Oh, amazing, leslie Margarita, my buddy, I love her
so much.
Yeah, she said something whenwe were talking about the show.
Honestly, it kind of hadalready been out there.
It was like just a very generalstatement and then once the
episode came out, it was like I,that was the only time I've
ever had to edit something out.
Yeah, I very much will dowhatever people want.
I don't want anyone to beuncomfortable, but that came to

(19:36):
mind because these like iconicips, especially nowadays when
you know everyone's just sohungry for the content they can
can't even wait for that treatwhich it is such a treat to see
these characters back again.
So, you know, I mean, inlooking at that even would you
say that's helpful for people todo at home is like transcribe
maybe their favorite cartoon ortheir favorite show, even just

(19:57):
to practice, and kind of like dotheir own take on the voice, or
I know you said it's hard toget copy.

Speaker 1 (20:03):
So yeah, and that's why like submit to everything
you can, even if it's just thatyou get copy, to kind of be
doing like again.
It's kind of what you're saying.
That's a good tip.
But that's a great way just tohave access to more sides and
just kind of see because, like,animation sides do look
different than you know TV, film, on camera sides.
So just to kind of learn how toread you know there's a lot of

(20:24):
different formats but just tokind of get more familiar with
those formats so that when youdo get presented with that
you're you have that.
And I think another reallygreat way to get an agent is and
this is why self submitting isso important is to be, you know,
have casting on your side, isfor us to, even if you don't
book something necessarily, it'slike just because just us

(20:46):
knowing what you can do, andthat's really understanding and
being able to to advocate foryou is a huge thing.
and you know agents want to signpeople that casting directors
are bringing in that are notrepresented like you know, that
is like easy, you know, know tothem it's there's no sell, it's

(21:06):
not really a sell.
It's like oh, you're alreadygoing in for this person and
you're booking things andnobody's getting that agency fee
.
Like, yeah, we'll, we'll meetyou Like you know yeah, it's

(21:36):
like why wouldn't we take that?
Or you know, so, if you'rebooking things on your own, like
that's that is great, like ifwe can just slide on in.
So especially when it's someonewho's you know been doing like
I've been doing, I say like, oh,this person's been, I've been
bringing them in, they've bookedor they've come really close on
Nickelodeon animation, Netflixanimation, disney Junior
animation, sesame Workshopanimation you know what I mean.
Like okay, like they can liketake notes.

(21:59):
Obviously they can be morenuanced in their performance,
because that's the thing that Ifound to be really interesting
is that, like I can meet someonenow and hear their voice and
hear their performance and youknow just what their delivery is
and know, like I'm going tokeep them in my back pocket for
the next time that I'm workingon super kitties.
I don't think they're a fit forthis other thing, but like

(22:20):
there's a very specific comedicsensibility and timing and like
vocal aesthetic to differentshows and to different brands
and what they're responding toand what they're looking for.
Um, so, even if it's not,because I know there's a role
that they're right for, it'slike if something gets written
in season four that they wouldbe a fit for you know I'm making

(22:41):
up that we got a season four.

Speaker 3 (22:43):
It's not like I'm not giving anything away, but I
don't know if we got a fit foryou know I'm making up that we
got a season four.

Speaker 1 (22:46):
I'm not giving anything away, but I don't know
if we got a season four, but youknow I would keep them in my
back pocket, knowing what theyrespond to in the past and what
they like and what you know theylook for in a voice, both them
as a show and like those execs,but also Disney Junior, knowing
the team at Disney Junior andwhat's important to them.

Speaker 2 (23:05):
Yeah, wow, I mean you've cast so many different
kinds of projects that I need tohave you back for like seven
more episodes.
But I will say, since youmentioned Super Kitties, I think
my cats are trying to bust downthe door.
They're like let me on the show.
I wonder let's talk about sortof building out a demo reel once
people are ready.
And you mentioned the SAG-AFTRAFoundation, such a great
resource for union members.

(23:26):
They have a free lab you can gointo and use their equipment
there.
So even if you don't know howto use it, someone will be there
to kind of teach you and it's agreat way to practice.
You know, in building a demo,what do you think truly makes a
compelling VO?
Like what stands out to youwhen it comes across your desk?

Speaker 1 (23:43):
So I think you know.

Speaker 2 (23:45):
VO, demo.
I said VO.

Speaker 1 (23:47):
I know what you meant , I think a lot of people think
they should be laying downtracks that they didn't book.
I think it's specific.
That's why I don't think you.
I think that can be clips whenyou do a demo.
I think a demo should be realfinished material.
Otherwise I'm happy to hearclips, but I think cutting

(24:08):
together a demo otherwise isjust kind of pointless.
But if I'm hearing clips I wantto hear several different types
of animated content, like Iwant to hear kids and family,
for sure, and adult perhaps.
But then you want to break itdown even more.
So there's like preschool,there's big kids animation, so
like a SpongeBob would be a bigkids animation, preschool would

(24:31):
be like a Super Kitties.
And then there's now somethingit's not so new but sort of new
called Bridge Content, which ismore so for like older preschool
, early elementary school.
And then there's also the likekids and family sitcom, which is
like the Blueys or the PeppaPigs.
So that's obviously super hot.

(24:52):
Yeah.
So you know you want to alsounderstand that sort of delivery
, the stuff that's like kind oftongue in cheek appeals to a
parent as well as appeals to akid who's listening, of course.
But it's really important that,like you know, as someone who
sits at home with kids andlistens to lots of things, and
you know kids get really intocertain things at certain times.

(25:13):
And as a casting director, I'mlike why, why?
Why are you?
watching this Like what is itthat's appealing to you?
It's not always about theacting.
There's a lot of other things,but when we have to sit and
watch as adults like we andthere's things I enjoy more than
other things, you know, andthere's things that I watch, I
also watch what my how my kidengages with it and like what

(25:35):
voices she perks up with youknow, and that makes it's
actually made me better at myjob in a way to your own little
case study.

Speaker 2 (25:45):
I mean, that must be so fulfilling for you as a
parent to get to actually showyour kid your work I feel like
that's very rare and have themenjoy it, not just show it to
them.
But it's their life kind of atthat age.

Speaker 1 (25:56):
Yes, it's very cool.
It's very rare.
It also is just, sometimesshe'll laugh at something that I
didn't necessarily find funny.
And that's the thing that'sfunny with like Bluey and those
things is like there's thingsand there's those Easter eggs in
it for adults and for kids.
But I want to hear in someone'sdelivery that they can kind of
hit both and they get both jokesand both sensibilities and they

(26:18):
appeal to both parties thatneed to be watching Because,
like you, have a very captiveaudience when you're watching
kids and family content you knowlike or like the parents have
to sit there with the kids, ifthey're, you know, I mean, I
guess, when they get older, no,but like with, you know, a
two-year-old, and they're alsowith kids and family content.
There's different, you know,there's curriculum driven

(26:39):
content.
So, like I want to do that onsomeone's demo reel as well,
because I do a lot of curriculumdriven content, but then I do
things that are not curriculumdriven.
So you know it used to be whenI was at Nickelodeon, when I
first started Nickelodeon,everything was for preschool was
curriculum driven.
Even if it was, you know,people like, well, what's the
curriculum here?
It's like, you know,socio-emotional learning.

(27:01):
It could be anything.
It doesn't need to be STEM or,you know, like Blaze and the
Monster Machines, or Spanish onDiego or Dora, like there are
those really obvious ones.
But then there's things thatare more nuanced or that you
know what you're.
What it is that they pick up onisn't?
It's not like a curriculum thatyou would read in or learn about

(27:22):
in school, but it's a littlebit.
You know it could be a littlebit more basic than that.
So, and that's a really bigthing now, especially as kind of
you know, social skills andthings like that, and I love
working on projects that have acurriculum.
I think it's it's awesome tosee an actor like it's, but it's
harder.
It's harder as an actor to makethat funny and also hit those

(27:44):
beats.
So that's something I like tohear in a demo reel.
is that you, if you can do that,and there is less of that now
and as you know, sadly, PBS isnot funded the way that it used
to be and all of that kind ofstuff which is just like the
most devastating thing.

Speaker 2 (28:02):
So devastating I can't even look.
I'm happy that Sesame Streetgot saved.
I saw Me too.
Yeah.
Me too.
The Elmo post broke my heart,where he was like Elmo's, you
know, doesn't have a job anymore.
Basically, Looking back to theworld I grew up in, you know,
speaking of the Nickelodeonbasics you know what I talk
about all the time that I missthat like really just really
connected with me on a deeplevel and has nothing to do with

(28:23):
today's conversation, is faceRemember face, of course.
I loved face, and that was sosimple.

Speaker 1 (28:29):
We brought face back for faces music party.
I don't know, I guess it didn'tdo well.
It was the last show that Icast in house at nick um yeah,
and then it aired when I was Imean, yeah, it was like I was.
I think I finished it out ofhouse.
I can't remember um, but it hadface and it was like all these

(28:52):
like and it was.
It was a mix of live action andanimation, which is another
thing I've done a lot of likewith blue yeah, which I love
that's so cool, that kind ofstuff
yeah, but yeah, I loved face Iknow I really loved space.

Speaker 2 (29:03):
It was just so simple .
And yet, like you, just youcouldn't move away from the
screen.
And I think actors, this is sofun.
You get to embrace your innerchild and maybe start watching a
lot of these shows If you wantto try and break into this world
you have an excuse now.
So yeah, I guess that leads intomy next question question,
which is kind of how can actorstrain their ear and their
instincts, you think, to be morecompetitive in this world?

(29:25):
Are there some underratedskills or exercises that you
wish more actors practiced andtook advantage of?

Speaker 1 (29:32):
I mean, vocal health is really, really important when
you are a voice actor.
I know it sounds like yeah,obviously, but listen with these
allergies especially it's hard,I mean it's the only thing that
you were hearing.
You know you can't like, youcan't fudge it the way that you
can when you know, in fulltransparency, my mom is a speech
pathologist, so I grew uparound you know vocal health is

(30:07):
something that I do.
I hear in somebody's voice aswell and we don't want you to
blow your voice out, and I dooften have people coming in and
putting a voice on.
That's like not sustainable.
I can hear that, so we don'twant to hear that.
That's why I'm saying like wewant you as you and that's not
to say you can't have a voicethat you can put on.

(30:27):
It needs to be a sustainablevoice that you can put on.
You need to be able to sustainwhatever it is that you're
putting on.
That's part of the job as well,is knowing what you can do.
But listening back to yourauditions, hearing if you're
staying on the mic, you know wewant.
The other thing is movement isreally important.
In voiceover we can.
I can hear if you're moving,and I don't mean moving and like

(30:49):
I don't want to hear likeclothing sounds or that, but I
mean just that you're that, the,the character is alive you know
, that's important, that you'rebringing life behind that mic,
and that can be, you know, wecan feel that.
That can be that like if thecharacter is pacing.

Speaker 3 (31:09):
I want to feel something in your voice or if
you're out of breath like peopleshould get sweaty.

Speaker 1 (31:11):
You know doing a voiceover.
Not always I mean the charactermight be doing a lot, but think
, like you know you're, it's avery active medium that you're
doing in like a box you know, soworking on that physicality and
also having that stamina, andhaving that stamina in your
voice and your breath, supportand all of that which also just
adds to you blowing your voiceout if you don't have that sort
of a skill set.
So like going in with that,really, you know, buttoned up,

(31:34):
because I've had a lot of voiceactors that can't sustain the
voice or they can't sustain thevoice for as many sessions as we
need to do.
We don't want to hurt yourvoice.
We don't want to hurt yourvoice.
You don't want to hurt yourvoice.
Sometimes also, a more greenvoice director might not know
how to get you back to the placewhere your audition was.
So you need to know how to getyour voice back to where that

(31:55):
audition was, especially asyou're, you know, building your
career up and maybe working notworking with, like a, you know,
super skilled voice director inthe booth.
So that's something that you, asan actor, like a lot of.
What you, a lot of voice actingis very you know, you yourself
and you doing it.
So being able to like, reallymake those choices as an

(32:19):
individual and not alwaysexpecting what you would get on
a set where you're working withsomebody, and that's the same
with, like I mean, josh onBlue's Clues it was like he was
acting by himself, you know,even though there was the
animated voices there, somebodywas reading those lines off
camera, but like he wasn'tworking with those voice actors,
they came in at a different day.
So you know you have to be ableto really like it's like the

(32:41):
Tom Hanks.
You know you have to be able toreally like it's like the tom
hanks, you know, and wilson,like oh yeah, well, and it's
kind of what we all, what we alldo.

Speaker 2 (32:47):
I mean, I'm a cat dad .
Hopefully I'll be a real dadone day but it's kind of what
parents do.
It's like you have to commit tothe bit and you're acting by
yourself to entertain your childwhen you're reading them a
story, whatever you're doing,and it's so funny once you get
in front of a microphone.
Maybe that changes things,mindset wise for people.
But yeah.
I love that we're talking aboutthis early on, especially the
health aspect, because thesooner you can kind of build

(33:08):
that into your routine and Ifind a lot of theater people
have that kind of stamina.

Speaker 1 (33:13):
Yeah, which is also why they're great voice actors.

Speaker 2 (33:16):
Yeah, because it's so important.
It's your instrument.

Speaker 1 (33:18):
You don't want to blow that out and it's like you
could do, take after take, andsay there's the voice, I got it.
And then you're done and youcan't speak for a week.

(33:38):
And then what if they want youto retape or whatever happens?
So I think that's a reallygreat point and it's why this
episode is sponsored bytraditional.
Do have the vocal health.
They understand vocal health.
They know how to protect theirinstrument.
You know they have to protecttheir instrument and they also
have to use their instrumentnight after night in a way that,
like you know, you're talkingfor three hours.
Like you do that in voiceover,you do that in theater do that

(33:59):
in theater.

Speaker 2 (34:00):
Yeah, just remembering to rest too, it's
really hard, but, like,especially for people who love
to talk, you know, not talkingis so important, I think, for
vocal health overall.
I think another worry that wehave we touched on a little bit
is that actors think they haveto buy the great, latest and
greatest microphone.
What is your advice, just onequipment Like, what does
someone need just to start?

Speaker 1 (34:19):
Yeah, I mean you need a really basic mic, and I'm not
an expert on this, to be honest, like I feel, like that's okay.
I'm not like I don't know allthe you know, but you want like
a pop filter and a really basicmic and that's really it?
I don't.
And then the only other thing Iwould say is you know people
are like, oh, I can buy it, Ican do this.
It's not about that.
You need to know how to useyour equipment.
So I'm not looking for you tohave the fanciest thing, I just

(34:42):
want you to, like know how touse it you know like use.
Have the more basic mic that youknow how to use.
Have the more basic softwarethat, like doesn't have all the
bells and whistles but works.
I've had a lot especially with,like, older actors that are
returning to you know acting,that really want to try
voiceover because like it's, youknow feels more accessible.
It, you know, feels moreaccessible.
It, you know, is something thatthey've wanted to do for years

(35:04):
and now you can do it from home.
Like I have all these things,but I don't know how to use it.
I'm like, then you don't needto have any of those things.
Like I'm not, I'm not, I'mtelling you, like I said, I
don't, I'm not an expert like I,my job is when you tell me what
your equipment is.
I say you didn't tell me aboutyour software.
You, you didn't tell me whatthe mic is.

(35:25):
I don't look at it and tell you.
You know that's what anengineer does if it's going to
work and be, you know, a fitwith whatever we need and
whatever we're using.
So I'm just kind of the checksand boxes messenger to make sure
it exists and sending them whatit is.
But if you don't know how touse it, like I, you know that's
not really going to help anybody.

Speaker 2 (35:46):
True.
And what if you know you're onvacation and there's a tight
turnaround?
It's like can you hop into acloset with clothes and try and
use a voice note and if itsounds okay, it sounds okay.
Or have you had that?

Speaker 1 (35:56):
All the time and I just an actor usually says like
I'm recording for my travel.
Also, a lot of people have atravel mic which you can have,
or you know, I'm recording froma travel mic in a closet, or
like I'm recording from my phonebecause I'm on a trip and I
could get you a better auditionby Tuesday at 4 pm.
You know, like whatever it is,or that's in a note for me, just
so I can say that.

(36:17):
And sometimes I'll have someonesend me a clip of their home,
like another audition they didrecently on their home studio,
or if it's an act that auditionsfor me all the time, I probably
have a clip.
So I just say to the writerdon't worry, I'll just, like you
know, type your name in andwhatever came up.
That was your last thing that Iknow you did from home.
I'll share that.
I mean, good actors are workingactors usually, so like it is.

(36:43):
Sometimes you, you know, I'vedone voiceover callbacks where
the person has booked it from,like backstage of a broadway
show oh yeah.
Or like the same thing withself-tapes it's like a facetime
recording yeah, or I mean, andI've done callbacks, because if
I'm in session like I was in achem read last week and I needed
an actor was only available for45 minutes um of the day.

(37:04):
That would have worked for usbecause they were in London.
My producers were in the WestCoast, so we had like 45 minutes
of the day that worked.
So I only had 45 minutes and Ineeded to be in my chem read.
They needed to be in theirthing.
So, you know, I was in, I wason mute recording and giving
notes when it, when nobody wasin the waiting room that I was
in, you know, at like a studioin the city, like an audition

(37:26):
space.
Like we're all trying to hustleand get what we need to get done
and we just need to see that wecan get those tech specs from
you eventually if we need them.
But yeah, it's not, don't worryand don't apologize.
Like you should be working.
You should be on vacation,no-transcript, or know how to

(38:08):
use whatever the travel mic islike.

Speaker 2 (38:10):
It's not a big deal yeah, and I will say we live in
a tricky time for the business.
I mean, I love what you justsaid.
It's so kind and I think it'ssuch a beautiful philosophy, so
I don't want to lose that, butit's a tricky time in this
business with the rise of AI,which we don't have to get into,
and I can cut this out becauseI know some people don't like to
speak about AI.

Speaker 1 (38:27):
I just don't know a ton.
I know there's some castingdirectors that, like this is
really something that they knowabout, which they should be.
Who speaks about it?
But I can tell you what I doknow and I yeah, all that kind
of stuff, yeah.

Speaker 2 (38:40):
I mean there's.
I bring it up because there aresystems where you pop your
voice note file into it and itsounds like it was recorded in a
studio and I'm just wonderingif you have any advice out there
to actors who maybe feeldismayed at the AI voiceover
talk Like there's a lot of,especially in the narration and
audio book world.
I think there's a lot of talkabout AI voiceover really coming

(39:03):
in hot, and so if you don'tknow enough about that, we don't
have to talk about it.

Speaker 1 (39:07):
But I just wonder your thoughts.
The thing I can tell you isthat, like it's coming after my
job.
Like just as much as it'scoming after.
You like casting.
We are very on your side aboutthis, both from, like, I worry
about actors ethically but Ialso like selfishly worry about
my job.
You know, as someone who doesvoiceover, I think animation is

(39:28):
going to take a little bit forit to catch up with that stuff.
I think, like what you're sayingmore of like the narration and
you know, and I do commercial,but like I don't do a ton of
commercial VO and usually I onlycast the VO if I'm casting the
on-camera, I haven't I don'tthink I've ever cast vo

(39:50):
commercial solely.
There are people that do that.
Um, also again, they're veryscared for the jobs and they
should be like.
So I think there are concernsand I mean I don't want to get
into like bad mouthing people,but I don't think I have a list.
No, I'm just kidding yeah, Idon't.
I don't agree with what some ofthe unions are doing.
I don't have you know, and I'vemet with them, so I guess I can
say it publicly Like I have,and I'm the first.

(40:11):
If I don't think something'sright, I will.
I was, I had a meeting withthem, I think I had a C-section
scheduled the next day and theywere like why are you here?
I'm like because this isimportant to me and like and I
said, with the caveat, like Ihave a C-section scheduled the
next day, there is a chance I gointo labor and I'm not here,
you know.
So do not reschedule themeeting.

(40:31):
If so, proceed.
But I want to be here becausethis is really important to me
and I'm very concerned for bothsides of the industry with some
of this both sides of theindustry with some of this.
I'm not but I'm saying I'm notan expert in like what the
technology can do per se, but Iam very aware of what is what
they're trying to do and thejobs they're trying to take away

(40:52):
on both sides, and I also thinkthat it's an art Voice.
Acting is an art, it's not justa beep boop, boop, boop, boop,
boop boop, yeah a code.
Yeah, and I think you know, andI do think there is some
exceptions to that, which is whyI think the AI stuff does work
for some things, but if you wantany, you know, human touch to

(41:13):
it, which is what we want whenwe're listening to acting
choices.
It's not going to work for that.

Speaker 2 (41:18):
Yeah, and there's some scary things in contracts
where you think maybe it's justthey can use it to fine tune or
whatever it might be, butsometimes you're actually giving
away your voice and you don'teven know Like they can put
words in your mouth that younever said.
On Riverside they have thatLike if we wanted to re-dub
ourselves with AI on here, wecould, which is so weird and
it's not perfect, it's not humanlike you're saying, but I just

(41:41):
think it's a scary time, an aiclause, yeah, which I do think
is smart.

Speaker 1 (41:47):
It's just like the first time I got it, the whoever
, producer or whatever was likewhat is this, what do I do?
What is this about?
What does this mean?

Speaker 2 (41:57):
and I was like um, yeah, I get it, but wow, like
this is where we are Like it'slike Terminator Well, we're not
there yet, but it feels like wecould be and I appreciate you.
You fighting for us and all theartists out there before you
have a C section that speaks towho you are, because I want to
touch on your advocacy as welland I think it's awesome and

(42:19):
really special to see a personwho gets power and, alongside
their passion, has thiscompletely other passion of
helping people, and you, sort oflike, are a shining example of
that.
So I do want to touch on thatafter we kind of get through
this VO journey, of course.
But I want to say you shine inkids media which, like I'm a big

(42:39):
man child, so I relate to that.
I appreciate that.
What do you think makes someoneI I guess we've had a lot of
people submit something aroundthis question, so this is like
an average question what makessomeone castable in like a
children's animation versusother VO work?

Speaker 1 (42:55):
I mean it's a certain type of comedic sensibility and
willingness to play.
There's a relatability and also, you know we're looking for
somebody who is aspirational.
You know, that's like thebiggest thing I would say with,
if it's not like a funnycharacter, if it's more of a
like the best friend or like theteacher or anything like that,

(43:17):
it's like that's who we want tobe, that's who we want to play
with.
They bring us along.
It's not pedantic, it's notinfantilizing.
You know you're never talkingdown to kids, ever.
That's like one of the biggestthings I learned from I would
say from Blue's Clues, honestlywas from working on Blue's Clues
, one who kids relate to and areable to connect with but

(43:45):
doesn't make them feel likethey're on a different level
than them.
And like there is.
You know, you're not, we're not.
Every kid wants to play withsomeone older and, you know, a
little cooler, and all of thatkind of stuff.
So you know, go go with that.
Yeah.
Do that, do those things, butyou know be, don't don.
Yeah, do that, do those things,but you know be, don't.
Don't try to be a child either,necessarily, unless that is the

(44:08):
role which you know.
There also is that element oflike.
Is it a project where they'recasting kids to be kids, or are
they?
Is it, you know, 18 plus toplay younger, because that's
another, you know, element of it.
Yeah.
Is that you know there areprojects where and also there
are projects where we're mixingkids and adults to play that.
So, like knowing.
The more you can know aboutthat, the better in terms of how

(44:31):
to deliver your audition.

Speaker 2 (44:33):
The more you know.
Well it's.
It's actually research I justsaw on Instagram so beware, I'm
not a scientist that shows thepeople that play and adults that
are into the arts are actuallylike 50% less depressed.
I don't know why I gave astatistic because I don't know,
I didn't do the science, butit's something like that, and so
I feel like it's just healthyas a person to kind of be that

(44:53):
way and have that sense of play,and I feel like as artists and
creative people, we have thatearly on on the playground and
then you learn all thesebusiness things and sometimes
that can dampen your sense ofplay because you can get in your
head what's your advice justfor, like, getting back to that
childlike sense of fun and glee?

Speaker 1 (45:10):
I mean, I think, doing something that makes you
happy before you audition, doingsomething that feels good and
also after an audition, like assomeone who was a kid actor that
was.
I loved auditioning, so thiswas I.
It was more the like, but myparents always made it really
fun where it was like at the end, you know we were we'd be
coming into New York City fromNew Jersey and it was like we
would try out like a really funrestaurant.

(45:31):
We go to Chinatown, or like mymom didn't like seafood, my dad
did and he would.
We would do like daddy-daughterdates and go to like the Grand
Central Oyster Bar you know,like, but something that like
brings you joy.
That's not related exactly.
It could be related to the.
You know we love what we do,like a lot of people you know.
So it's like, yeah, yeah, likepersonally, I find a lot of joy,

(45:51):
even though it takes me foreverto finish things right now,
just like based off how busywork is and personally, but like
, even if it's 12 minutes ofwatching Hacks, at the end of
the day it's like so good.
So good, it brings me so muchjoy.

Speaker 2 (46:05):
The writing is just it's so funny, meg Stalter, yeah
.
Loving this season too Likeyeah, oh yeah, I know they keep
topping themselves.
It's crazy.

Speaker 1 (46:16):
And and it's one of those things also it's like if
you watch the other two as well.

Speaker 2 (46:29):
The same humor of just like outlandish things
happening where you're.
Sometimes you want to laugh.
Sometimes you're like that'stoo real and other people are
like that would never happen.

Speaker 1 (46:37):
Oh, it's real.
Yeah, let me tell you.
Yeah.
But, but yeah, and I like getso much casting inspiration from
that show.
But, yeah, that's my job iscasting, but like I don't want
to shut my brain off toeverything I love, you know.
But it's like that does give mejoy and give me inspiration and
if, like you, are someone whogets that from you know, going

(46:59):
on a run, that's another thing.
It's like that, might you know,I like I love peloton and I
like love doing my peloton stuffand people make fun of me, it's
like, but like I find a lot ofjoy in it and we're going on a
run or you know and I come upwith my best ideas.
So that might be where you youknow, kind of refill, your you
know yourself.

Speaker 2 (47:17):
But yeah, that's me with walking.
I gotta walk every day andthat's when I do my best,
thinking I wish I could recordpodcasts while I was walking.

Speaker 1 (47:24):
That is so weird that you said that.
I was thinking that today,because of how I want to do like
a walk and talk podcast, I havethat.

Speaker 2 (47:34):
In my note it's called walk and talk podcast,
because I think there's enoughtechnology where you could make
it sound like sound.
Okay, but it's just.
The conversations are so goodwhen you're moving your body
Exactly.
Yeah, that's so funny.

Speaker 1 (47:47):
Peloton kind of tried to do something like that.
I don't know if it did anythingit didn't like wasn't obviously
very successful, but it made me.
It was something I was reallypassionate about.
I never listened because I Idon't.
When I'm on a walk, I want tolisten to one of my you know, or
just be thinking so I and I'mnot usually like if it's a walk

(48:08):
versus exercise, versus yeah,but like a run, I want to listen
to music.
I don't want to listen tosomeone talking, but but yeah, I
.
I find you have to find whathelps you refill your cup and
for some actors I know that'slike going to the theater.
I know that's still acting, butit's like, if that's, you know
where you a, if you're not atheater actor, necessarily
you're not on stage at themoment, you're watching it and

(48:30):
maybe you're watching a friendor whatever.
It is like there's so much thatyou enjoy and stuff that you
can find that, but you have todo that.

Speaker 2 (48:40):
And that's the nice thing about our business too, is
that even the stuff that canrecenter you and bring you rest
also does inspire you, which canbe tiring, but honestly, if all
you have in you to like moveyour career forward for the day
or the week is to watch a goodshow, that's that's.
Actor homework like that isinspiring.
So it's nice that we can dothings that are a little bit

(49:00):
chilled too.
I know voiceover and the wholeindustry really right now,
especially with a lot of the wayTV film is going and there's
not as many projects beinggreenlit.
It's such a long game and wetouched on this a bit, but I
feel like there's a lot ofrelationship building and then
you start getting the auditionsand then sort of being in the
booking circuit is a whole othergame.
What are your thoughts on justhanging in there and playing the

(49:21):
long game for people that arestarting out and continuing down
?

Speaker 1 (49:25):
this road.
Yeah, it's hard.
I mean, I know it's like reallyslow for and it's on both sides
Like I have casting director,friends who are, you know,
incredible casting professionalsthat are not working or like
working less, or working for awhole lot less, or you know all
of that.
So, like the same thing actorsare going through, like we're
we're, we get it, we feel it aswell.

(49:46):
You know I more and more peoplelike as and also casting actors
.
We, we love actors.
Like one of the things that,like we do, is, you know, send
to our friends, like this personneeds this much more to make
their you know, their their saginsurance this oh we're like
yeah anyone has, you knowanything, they'll take anything.
it doesn't need to be a gueststar, they'll do a co-star,

(50:07):
they'll do to.
You know, like we're all tryingto help each other out that way
.
But I would say, like workbegets work and I feel that way,
like I was saying, like even ifit's something where I know
it's not like the sexiest thingthat producer is doing, if they
want to hire me, I will do it.
Like I mean, I will cast youknow lots of different.

(50:27):
If there's something I reallysomeone I want to work with, or
something I want to work on, Iwill do something.
That might not be the they'relike cream of the crop thing
that they do, but I know what'scoming up for them and I want to
be on their go to list whenthey're, you know, hiring
casting.
And it's the same thing an actorshould do.
You know it might be thedevelopmental short of whatever

(50:50):
they're developing.
If you love that project, likeget in on the ground floor, Like
even if that means you'regetting paid, you know, like a
very low fee if it's.
You know, if you're not losingmoney or losing another
opportunity, like get yourselfout there, put yourself out
there you know, connect withpeople that you see are doing
work that you want to be a partof even if it is not going to be

(51:12):
like the thing that pays yourbills and that you know, I reach
out to a filmmaker if I seethat they're doing something I
want to do and and how you know,and sometimes one of the things
that I do and people are likewhy do you, why do you do
specialty casting?
Like you know, with disabilityor with people of trans
experience or differentcommunities that I'm, you know,
really focused on and really doa lot of work with.

(51:33):
You know, why wouldn't you?
People are like you should becasting the whole series.
Okay, sure, that'd be great.
I would love to cast the wholeseries but, like, I'm also want
to work and I want to work onthings that you know where
people want to work, on, thingsthat you know where people want
to work with me and I can showsomebody that I can do more than
maybe what they brought me infor.
But I don't need to make thatwhat it's about.

(51:54):
Like, bring me in for the job,I'll do an amazing job and then
maybe the next time you'll hireme to cast the whole project, as
opposed to just the kid role orjust the disabled role or
whatever it is that you've seenme do.
But like we need more work onour resumes to you know, show
people that we can do thosethings and we need that on our
demo reel or whatever it is asan actor.
So the more work you can do,the more you're going to get

(52:17):
other work.

Speaker 2 (52:18):
That's such great advice.
Say yes, and go where the workis too, and it never stops,
right.
I mean, look at the caliber ofactors that are on TV now, when,
like a decade or so ago, thesepeople would never have done TV,
they would only be movie stars,you know.
And then now Broadway is filledwith all these movie stars.
It's like people that aresuccessful, I think.
Go to where the work is, and soyeah, whatever you can get to

(52:40):
work.

Speaker 1 (52:42):
I find that to be such an interesting thing, like
as a casting director.
There are certain actors that,like their agents will say, like
you'd be like shocked, butthey're like, yeah, take a scale
offer to them.
Like they love to work.
If they're not available,they're not available, of course
, but like, don't not take themthat scale offer.

Speaker 2 (52:58):
Like, please come, and I'm like, oh, okay, that's
special, they just want to keepplaying.

Speaker 1 (53:03):
Yeah, which is awesome, and that's what fills
their cup.
You know, like one actor thatcomes to mind, like that, she.
I remember I was at adevelopmental reading of
something and she was in it andI was shocked and it's always
kind of stuck with me that shewas there doing that like an
east village theater, yeah, andwe mentioned leslie margarita,

(53:25):
our friend I mean she's.

Speaker 2 (53:26):
she says yes to everything, like any workshop
she can do.
She's such a giving soulBecause there's also the people
that know that once you get to acertain point, you can help
others get their thing off theground, which is awesome.
And, yeah, you, in a sense, aredoing that in the way you give
back.
I want to touch on something wementioned, which is this
powerful work as the co-vicepresident of advocacy for the

(53:47):
CSA.
Thank you for that.
First of all, what's somethingeveryone out there can do?
Listening to help you elevateunderrepresented communities,
like, is there a tangible thingeverybody listening can do right
now?
Maybe pause this after shespeaks to take action and join
you.

Speaker 1 (54:05):
Oh, that's such an interesting question.
I mean, I think, remember thatthe world is not.
You know that we assume when wewatch content often that
everybody is cisgendered,able-bodied and white, unless
otherwise, and I think you know,consume content.

(54:25):
look at the world beyond that,Like don't you know that's an
unconscious thing that a lot ofus have.
But I think, look at, look athow we can look at the world
differently.
And look at your world and lookat who's in there who doesn't
maybe fit that.
And then look at what you'rewatching on TV and and challenge

(54:45):
.
You know where we couldchallenge that more?
Like, where would it?
Why is it that the barista atthe coffee shop doesn't have a
limb difference?
Why is it that the bus driveris not of trans experience?
You know, why is it that thegirl next door is cisgendered?
You know, why is all?
Why all those things, when you,you know, like, just consume

(55:06):
media and and I know that youknow, sometimes we just want to
and and I know that you know,sometimes we just want to sit
and not think, and I alsototally appreciate that.
But you know that's that's abig thing for me.
And also look at when you're inas an actor, when you're in an
audition or you're on set, likewho's there, like who's working.
You know, and that's a reallybig part of my work as well is

(55:29):
building representation on bothsides of the camera or the stage
or whatever medium it is thatI'm working in.
We can't move the industryforward if we don't have
representation in writers' rooms, if we don't have casting.
And it's not about hiringconsultants, it's about having
an actual writer, because theseare people that have the
qualifications to be writers,who do that work and just like

(55:52):
casting.
I mean, we need people thatbring their lived experience
into those rooms.
And you know, that's somethingthat I do when I'm working on a
project is I don't just bring inan assistant.
Usually I bring someone in tolike co-cast or as an associate
to work with me.
I mean, my associate works withme on the projects that you know
we're doing.
But we often will bring someonein because it's really

(56:14):
important that somebody from thecommunity is there and has a
voice and also that you knowthat representation for the
actor who's coming in that to meis really important and that
casting professional is nothired as a consultant.
If they want them to consult,they can, you know, give them a
consulting agreement.
That's a different thing andthat is something that people
should be paid for as well, samewith actors, and that's

(56:34):
something I advocate for very.
You know, a lot of times I'mbrought in on a project really
early to look at it and to say,like, do you have a consultant?
You know, and it's great thatwe're doing all of these, really
having these really bigconversations about said
community, but have you thoughtabout having a co-director from
the community?
You know, because I'm a realist, we don't have a director who's

(56:56):
ready to, you know, necessarilydirect said feature with said
huge movie star.
They don't want to under thisother incredible director so
that they have that huge, youknow, ad credit and then when
they do go on to do their firstfeature, that person worked with
them and they're like oh, theywere amazing to work with.

(57:18):
I want to be a part of yourfeature and then once you have
that first huge name, you canstart getting the real financing
.
You know it's all.
There's a snowball effect to it.
No-transcript work is focusedon is training my peers to.

(58:01):
If they don't know the answer,they know they can always come
to me and I'll always be thereand I don't need to be a part of
the project.
You know, for me also it is alittle bit selfish.
Actors are going to do a betterjob on my project if they're
working.
The more that you knowsomeone's auditioning, the
better they're going to be whenthey come in to audition for my
project.
So you know people are like whydo you do this?
It's like actors need to beauditioning.

(58:22):
Actors need to be working.
That's the way that we're goingto see change.
It's not just like protectingthem and keeping them to myself.
I mean, you're not going to beready to be a series regular if
you've never been a guest star.
You know, maybe, but not, youknow, typically, and I want
people to be getting moreexposure.
It's only going to help me moreto have that.

(58:47):
And also, like I don't work oneverything, like sometimes
people will be like, oh, there'sthis disabled, whatever Did you
do that I'm like no, like no, Idon't do everything.

Speaker 2 (58:52):
I can't be everywhere yeah.

Speaker 1 (58:54):
And I want people working with other people and
getting that experience and Iwant us to see real
representation in every mediumand every you know, every piece
of content.

Speaker 2 (59:06):
Well, I think that's so special, just to see someone
that has gotten into a powerposition use their power for
good and not just to do whatthey love and help others.
But you've taken it to a wholenew level by making it so
specific and tangible and I justlike I can't applaud.
I would applaud, but it wouldhurt your ears.
Your work enough and I thinkit's so amazing.
So everybody check that outfurther, but I know we're

(59:28):
running out of time.
I do have like a really quicksurprise flash round game.
Oh, okay.
Okay, it's called castingkeywords, but this is the dem
chick directive edition.
I don't know what that means.
Flash round.
I just wrote that down to havea name.
I'm gonna throw out somestatements or topics around
voiceover auditions and youplease just say the first piece

(59:50):
of tangible advice for actorsthat pops into your head.
Okay, so it'll be a phrase, aword, and we just need a quick
piece of advice.
Okay, the first one is warmingup.

Speaker 1 (01:00:02):
Do it.

Speaker 2 (01:00:04):
Simple.
I love it.
The slate for voiceover Followdirections.

Speaker 1 (01:00:09):
Slates are very specific.
Do exactly what you're beingasked for.
Don't do anything different,just please follow the
directions.
It makes our job so much easier, please.

Speaker 2 (01:00:20):
Everybody please Same with file name too.
I believe right, yes.
Yes.
Okay, what about like the slatetone, like, do people?
Do you ever have people doingit in character?

Speaker 1 (01:00:29):
Yeah, please do it as yourself.

Speaker 2 (01:00:30):
Okay, number of takes to submit.

Speaker 1 (01:00:34):
Listen to your agent.
If you have an agent, Listen tothe directions.
If that is noted on thedirections, Assume that you only
submit one, if not notedotherwise.

Speaker 2 (01:00:47):
What about improvise, in the sense of if there's like
an evil laugh or there'ssomething like, what about that?

Speaker 1 (01:00:54):
Yes, you can bring.
That's bringing dimension andlife to the character.
Don't improvise words.
I mean, if it's like a littlesomething, it's not a big deal,
you know.
But if and if you had to laughhere or there, that's great.
But sometimes I have somebodylike completely rewriting the
script.
Do not do that.
Also, keep in mind the writeroften is listening to this.
They want to hear your words.

Speaker 2 (01:01:15):
Yeah, that would not be good to be the writer, but
especially with curriculum.

Speaker 1 (01:01:19):
it needs to be word perfect or very, very close.
It can be a little bitdifferent, but like there's, you
know it was approved.
There was a somebody with a PhDthat they paid a lot of money
to to come in and do that, right.
And then we, we want to knowthat we're not going to have to
do that in a real record.

Speaker 2 (01:01:36):
If you're yeah, yeah, you can follow that.

Speaker 1 (01:01:37):
Okay, utility voice.
It's a really hard job.

Speaker 2 (01:01:39):
Sometimes, once in a while, you get a self-record for
that.
So what about auditioning forthat?

Speaker 1 (01:01:44):
Show us all the range you've got.

Speaker 2 (01:01:46):
I like that.

Speaker 1 (01:01:47):
Lots of range.

Speaker 2 (01:01:48):
A different note.
I actually love these.
I think this is so fun Matchingvoices.

Speaker 1 (01:01:52):
Only submit if you can really do it and know that.
On the casting side unlike withsome other projects where we'll
like throw in more wild cards,typically with voice match
auditions I'm told I can onlyshare X amount of auditions.
They only want to hear the fivebest matches, the three best
matches, the seven best matches.

(01:02:12):
So if you're not a fit likeit's really not worth you
submitting.
It's like a science.
It's like baking versus cooking.

Speaker 2 (01:02:19):
Yeah, oh, I like that .
Now I'm hungry.
Okay, Demo tracks.
In the sense of speaking, ofmatching, you get the demo song
or whatever it is.

Speaker 1 (01:02:30):
Do it as closely as possible.
They paid that person a lot ofmoney to write that song that
they want you to sing.
Don't think that you shouldmake it your own jazzy tune.

Speaker 2 (01:02:42):
But you don't have to necessarily copy the voice
style.

Speaker 1 (01:02:45):
No, no, sorry, don't copy the voice, but don't go.
You know making it a jazz solo.
Yeah, okay.

Speaker 2 (01:02:54):
Well, some of you are like oh, this person's good,
they should just use this person.

Speaker 1 (01:02:57):
Don't match the voice that drives me nuts, and it's
definitely not the goal.
They would hire that person.

Speaker 2 (01:03:02):
That's what I.
Yeah, we covered this one, soI'm gonna skip it.

Speaker 1 (01:03:05):
Location make your location as an actor just be
honest okay, narrations what isthat?
What do you mean?

Speaker 2 (01:03:15):
like vocal narrations .
So being like a narrator versusauditioning for, oh, a
character well, don't ever givethe.

Speaker 1 (01:03:23):
That's why I was wanting to clarify okay, don't
ever give narration in youraudition, um, like, I'll have
people do that.
They're like interior.
Do not do that.
Oh yes, Don't do that Narrationis an art as well.
Don't forget that.

Speaker 2 (01:03:41):
And also you do a ton of commercial auditions these
days.
So what's your general advicein auditioning for commercials?

Speaker 1 (01:03:47):
Keep the pace up.
Oh my gosh, I was watchingauditions for a commercial.
Yeah.
Oh my gosh.
I don't know what people thinkthey're doing.
Oh yeah, have you ever?
Watched a commercial.
I want to say to people like Imean I get that we can like fast
forward these days but oh mygosh, so slow.

Speaker 2 (01:04:06):
Yeah, yeah, don't let it, don't let her drag.
I think a lot of people donowadays use these apps, like
there's like cold read and allthis stuff I hear is great I
should actually test it out andthere's a lot of people that use
teleprompters for fastturnarounds and so it's like
don't get stuck in that thatpace.
I think that's a great reminder.
Okay, I know, I got to let yougo.
Uh, so you could just say no tothis.

(01:04:27):
I usually do a got and a give.
Which is the best piece ofadvice you've gotten or given in
this industry?
I usually do both.
If you only have time for one,that's fine, okay.
So what's the best piece ofadvice you got?

Speaker 1 (01:04:52):
I think being honest, honestly, like because you know
we're balancing a lot, and likethis morning I had a producer
ask me something and they'relike did you tell this agent
this?
And I was like, yes, I did, Imessed up, I told them the wrong
thing, but I called them and Ifixed it.
And I know why they're sayingthis, because they're looking at
the email chain.
But let me remind them of thephone conversation.
But just tell people the truth.
Like we all make mistakes andlike I made a mistake because I
haven't had a project say no tothis particular ask before you
know.
Like usually someone just says,sure, give it to them.

(01:05:13):
And the producer was like Idon't want to give that to them.
I should have asked the producer, now that we're, you know, 30
deals in on this particularproject, I know that.
But like I could have lied andthen told the agent don't tell
them.
But like what's the point?
And also like I want someone tobe honest with me and we only
are like as good as our word andthis industry is so small, like

(01:05:35):
bizarre, how small it is.
So like, just be honest with me.
Like also, like that's the samething with like location.
Like I've had actors lie andthey're like well, I didn't be
there in this many hours.
It's like, but you're not hereand you know what.
And they're like well, I didn'tmean to be there in this many
hours, it's like, but you're nothere and you know what?
Like during COVID, that was areally big thing, really big.
Thing.
Now, with like all the flightstuff going on, it's a really
big thing, like I get that youhave a place to stay when you

(01:05:58):
get there, but like flights aredelayed, things happen, so just
please be honest.

Speaker 2 (01:06:04):
Yeah, own it.
I think that's actually moreimportant in this AI age as well
.
It's like I almost have thisfeeling that typos and mistakes
are going to become in vogue.
It's like you're going to wantto read a book where there's
typos because you know a humanwrote it.

Speaker 1 (01:06:17):
Yes, there's something endearing about
knowing that you messed up.
I can't explain it.

Speaker 2 (01:06:22):
Well, thanks for admitting yeah when you're wrong
.
I think that's a special skilland I love trying to embrace
that when I get older, becauseit is freeing in a lot of ways,
Like we don't have the energy topretend.

Speaker 1 (01:06:32):
Yeah, that's why, like when that exec asked me on
Friday night at 930, like Icould have first of all ignored
my phone.
But that's not me, yeah.
And I could have been like no,I didn't do that, but but like
what if I let it slip?
Let me just do a quick searchin my email and see if this was
ever said anywhere, and itwasn't you know, but like let me

(01:06:55):
just look up the title, CauseI've never, we don't have, we
don't write it.
You know, like it's been saidon a zoom.

Speaker 2 (01:07:02):
but I was like let me just check and like I'd much
rather do that Like and if I hadmessed up, I would have just
said it like yeah, you knowwhat's what's.
Yeah, no, I love that.

Speaker 1 (01:07:18):
And I think that's great advice in general.
But if you have another onethat you usually give to actors,
we'll take it too.
Yeah, let me think I'd say doyour research is my big thing.
Like people are like oh, Ididn't realize this was for the
same showrunners, as you knowfill in the blank as SpongeBob.
It's like well, why didn't youread the breakdown and Google
the name, like I don't go to ajob interview without you know,

(01:07:38):
or like you know an audition formy job or a general with
someone and not look up wherethey worked before, what their.
You know some things you can'tfind out, and that's I
understand that.
But if it's like the person'sname is on there and I also know
that sometimes agents don'tgive you the full breakdown,
that's the other thing I wouldsay.
So I don't.
But you do your research withwhat you have.

(01:08:00):
And also, if you feel it'simperative to know something,
like do as much digging as youcan to find that out.
You usually can find it out.
I'm not.
Don't annoy your agent.
Don't go to them and ask themsomething that they didn't give
you.
Yeah, if there's any way youknow.
Use the Facebook groups, useyour text chains like, use all
of that kind of stuff to try tofind things out.
Look on casting networks.

(01:08:21):
You might've gotten it throughyour agent, but it might be
posted there so you don't haveto ask, but it might be
somewhere that you can find outyou know, do your research, Like
don't, don't be like, well, Ididn't know.
Try to know.

Speaker 2 (01:08:32):
Break down the breakdown.
I think that's a bit of ascience in itself and that's how
you can find out the tone andother things of new projects.

Speaker 1 (01:08:39):
It's like that you know, like, oh, like this was
not for law and order, this wasa comedy.
It's like well, yeah, did youlook at who the showrunner was,
have they?
We don't get asked to do thingsthat we didn't do before, just
like you don't get asked to dothings you didn't do before.
So like also know that, like Idon't do a lot of you know,
really gory horror films Ihaven't done them before.

(01:08:59):
So like that's probably not thetone.
If you got that, it's probablya satire or something you know.
Like the casting director, likewe, you know, look at the
writer, look at those things.
They probably are being hiredto write the same sort of thing
again.

Speaker 2 (01:09:11):
Yeah, so wipe that blood off and put on a clean
shirt.
Ok clean shirt, not a whore.
Well, danielle, thank you somuch.
You've been so generous withyour time and I just I don't
even know what else to say.
I just want to thank you forbeing you, because you're such a
kind soul in this business andI'm grateful you're here.

Speaker 1 (01:09:28):
Same to you.
You're the best.

Speaker 2 (01:09:30):
Thank you.