It’s been a whirlwind…a slow-moving, deliberate, and wondrous whirlwind.
Around March 2024, I decided I needed three things: actual acting coaching, an updated commercial VO reel, and a character/animation VO reel. The previous few months, I had been participating in the Audio Publisher Association’s DEI Mentorship program with a great mentor – he was kind, encouraging, empowering, and so generous.
When reviewing some of my audiobook narration clips, I kept getting the same comments from my mentor and producers: “You’re so close,” “It’s all there but there’s just one thing missing,” “You can have much more connection here.”
This was confusing because I really didn’t know how to “fix” that. So I looked honestly at my acting skills and realized that I needed actual training. Up until that point, I’d been relying on vibes, on the acting I did and do in opera and musical performances, and on the direction I got from theatre directors. That haphazard training wasn’t enough.
It was time to get serious.
I posted on a theatre group forum and, coincidentally, my friend and collaborator messaged me about her acting coach, Erik Amblad at Elm Leaf Creative, who was working on exactly what I was looking for. Someone who understood voice, who would help me with “projecting” on stage and on mic, and had an acting method that wasn’t based on dredging up old traumas.
So for a whole year, I put my self through acting boot camp. Through auditions, experimenting with absurdist monologues, and lots of breathing, I was ready to record! With the additional help of a sound designer, Darren Street, it all finally came together.
I present to you, my reels!