VAM 186 | Interview with Lucien Dodge, Part 1
Welcome to episode 186 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
I’m very pleased to share with you the first part of my interview with voice actor and voice director, Lucien Dodge! You may be familiar with Lucien’s voice acting work in anime including Zoisite in the Viz Media dub of Sailor Moon, Amuro Ray in Gundam: The Origin and Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway, Keita in Sword Art Online, Akaza and Kazumi in Demon Slayer, and Waver Velvet in Fate/Zero! In games he’s played Dust, in Dust: An Elysian Tail, Mega Gnar in League of Legends, Buzzard in Mad Max, and Dr. Vanus in Smite. Lucien also voice directed me in the dub of the anime Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon where I played the main antagonist, Kirinmaru. I had such a great time working with Lucien on that dub that I thought it would be a good idea to have him on the podcast to talk about his own voice acting experiences and his approach to the art form.
Lucien and I share a lot of similarities when it comes to our voice acting journeys. We both have a great appreciation for anime, we both were incredibly shy when we were young, and we both became fascinated with what it took to be able to share the most authentic and believable acting performances with our audiences. Lucien grew up in Ithaca, NY where he went to a private school with very small classes. While his school didn’t have an acting program per se, they did encourage all of their students to participate in a play every year. You might think that since Lucien was so shy, he would not have any interest in participating in the school play. It turns out that the opposite was actually the case. Lucien found that playing a character gave him permission to be more courageous and assertive than he would be if he had to perform in public as himself. I had a similar experience when I was young! Acting as a character gave me an opportunity to build up my own courage and confidence without feeling like I was making myself personally vulnerable to criticism.
Fortunately, Lucien’s mother noticed how much acting seemed to be helping him overcome his shyness. She encouraged him to pursue more acting opportunities, and helped him to attend acting classes based on Sanford Meisner’s techniques. She also helped him attend a convention for radio dramas known as the National Audio Theater Festival. But it wasn’t until a family friend gave Lucien the video box set of the anime series, The Slayers, as a birthday present, that Lucien discovered his love for anime. Coincidentally, that was the first anime show that I ever worked on! After Lucien saw it, he was hooked. For his next birthday, his father gave him a microphone and a small 4 track cassette recorder so Lucien could start practicing his voice over skills. Lucien became obsessed with trying out different kinds of voice acting with his new tools. Fun fact: I also had a 4 track recorder when I was young and actually recorded some of my earliest attempts at voice acting on it!
After high school, Lucien decided to pursue voice acting as a career. He spent a year in college, but quickly realized that it didn’t serve his purposes very well, and decided to dive into the voice over industry in New York City. I too began my voice acting career in New York. Lucien and I even got our first New York anime dubbing jobs from the same studio, TAJ Productions where I got my start on The Slayers and he first worked on an episode of Pokemon. Lucien faced many challenges pursuing voice acting in the Big Apple, and during his eventual move out to Los Angeles, but I’ll let him tell you all about his adventures himself!
VAM 185 | Interview with JP Karliak, Part 2
Welcome to episode 185 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
Welcome to the second and final part of my interview with the fabulous JP Karliak! You may be familiar with his extensive work in animation including Boss Baby: Back in Action, Spidey and His Amazing Friends, TrollsTopia, Dogs in Space, and the New Looney Toons! In games, he’s worked on Skylanders, Crash Bandicoot 4, and Marvel Avengers Academy. You can also hear him in anime shows like Fate/Grand Order the Movie and Neon Genesis Evangelion. He’s also the founder of Queer Vox, a not-for-profit training academy and community for LGBTQIA+ voice over talent, and co-founder of the non-partisan voter action group, NerdsVote.
In the previous episode, JP shared with us how he broke into voice acting. After seeing Disney’s animated film Aladdin as a child, he was convinced that only celebrities were cast to play animated characters. He pursued a more traditional acting career on stage and screen, but was pleasantly surprised to discover in college that his classmates appreciated his voice acting in their student film projects. One of his professors at the University of Southern California suggested he start taking voice over classes with professionals in the Los Angeles area, and JP quickly realized that he had found his niche!
In this episode, JP tells us what inspired him to become an actor in the first place. It turns out that JP had some very personal reasons why he found acting appealing. As a queer kid growing up in a small town culture that didn’t always approve of him, he had to spend a lot of time pretending that he was actually a straight person in order to fit in. Acting as characters in stories gave him the opportunity to play pretend without being self-conscious or worrying about satisfying other people’s cultural expectations. It was especially exciting for him if the character he was portraying was a powerful villain like his childhood favorite, Skeletor from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe! Inspired by his story, I then share with JP my personal reasons for pursuing acting, including the fact that I didn’t always fit in with the macho male stereotype that I felt pressured to adopt as a young boy. I’m sure JP and I aren’t the only ones who felt drawn to acting because it helped us explore and develop our emotional lives in a healthy way.
We then talk about QueerVox, the academy and community for queer actors that JP helped found with his colleague, and earlier guest on the podcast, Sarah Elmaleh. JP explains the inspiration for starting QueerVox, and how it has less to do with whether or not someone has the acting skills to be able to play someone other than their sexuality or gender identity, and more about making sure that queer actors benefit financially from the rise of queer characters and queer stories in entertainment. We also discuss how the industry keeps moving from a broadcasting paradigm where producers are trying to appeal to the broadest audience possible, to a narrowcasting paradigm where a show’s authenticity is important for securing a smaller, but more loyal fanbase. JP then talks about the different services that QueerVox offers both to aspiring talent, and to producers and casting directors who are looking to hire them! You can find out more about all of it at QueerVox.org.
After that, JP and I end our discussion with his advice to the aspiring voice actor and how he encourages all of his students to simply relax around their fellow industry professionals. It helps if you have interests and hobbies outside of voice over that you can share with your colleagues. That’s something that Dee Bradley Baker also mentioned in my interview with him back in episodes 146 and 147. Not only can sharing outside interests help you build a natural rapport with other voice over people, but it can also help replenish your own artistic well of creativity. Exploring this topic is a wonderful way to end our discussion and I’m happy I get to share JP’s insights with you!
VAM 184 | Interview with JP Karliak, Part 1
Welcome to episode 184 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
I’m excited to share with you the first part of my interview with the incredibly talented, JP Karliak! He’s played characters in numerous animated shows including Boss Baby in The Boss Baby: Back in Action, the Green Goblin in Spidey and His Amazing Friends, Dante Crescendo in TrollsTopia, Happy, Bucky, and Luke in Dogs in Space and Wiley-E Coyote in the New Looney Toons. In games he’s played N. Tropy in Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, Wolfgang in Skylanders: Imaginators, and Vision in Marvel Avengers Academy. In anime he’s played Miruchi in Kuroko’s Basketball, Gawain in Fate/Grand Order the Movie, and Fuyutski in Neon Genesis Evangelion. He’s also the founder of Queer Vox a not-for-profit training academy and community for LGBTQIA+ voiceover actors and co-founder of the non-partisan voter action group, NerdsVote, which encourages all pop culture fans to get involved in American democracy. With all this going on, I’m not sure when JP finds time to sleep!
In the first part of our talk together, he tells me how he broke into the world of voice acting. While JP enjoyed watching Loony Toons when he was a kid, and had a special love for the character of Skeletor in the original He-Man animated series, he never thought that he would be able to voice those kinds of characters himself. He was familiar with the Disney animated film, Aladdin, where Robin Williams played the Genie character, and after seeing that film, JP assumed that one had to be a famous movie star in order to work on animated shows so he never thought it was a viable career path for himself. Instead, he decided to pursue more traditional forms of acting on stage and in front of the camera. He started college in the D.C. area where he focused on studying acting, but eventually transferred to the University of Southern California to finish his degree and pursue acting in the Los Angeles area.
At USC, a few of his classmates asked him to provide voices for some of their film and animation projects. He was happy to do so and was pleasantly surprised when he got positive feedback on his performances. He was encouraged to seek out Kelly Ward, a professor at USC who worked extensively as a director on many animated shows. Kelly suggested that JP take classes with working professionals in the LA voice over industry including voice actor Bob Bergen and voice director Ginny McSwain. While he did pursue some on-camera work in LA at the beginning of his career, JP quickly began to focus on voice over as the area where he felt most comfortable.
After discussing the origins of JP’s career, we then take the time to go over each stage of his voice acting journey in very close detail. I think it’s valuable to hear all the different small steps that someone took to reach their current level of success. When talking about someone’s experiences after the fact, it can often seem like the end result was inevitable. However, when you go back in time and look through that person’s perspective from moment to moment, you begin to realize that they were just trying to do the best they could,with the resources they had at the time, as well as the options in front of them! No outcome is guaranteed, and often the path forward can seem confusing or unclear when you’re trying to navigate it in the present moment. Hopefully hearing the challenges that JP faced and overcame as he was negotiating his career path will help inspire you to persevere in your own voice acting journey!
VAM 183 | Interview with Larry Reiss, Part 2
Welcome to episode 183 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
Welcome to the second and final part of my interview with booth director and voice over agent, Larry Reiss. Larry works at my voice over agency, Arlene Thornton & Associates. Over the years, I’ve come to rely on his keen insight and his helpful feedback whenever I audition for projects. I wanted to bring Larry on the podcast to help my listeners understand what an agent is looking for in a voice actor, how to approach an agent for representation, and how best to collaborate with agents as you move forward in your career.
In the previous episode, Larry explained how he got started as an agent. He went to school for audio engineering, but quickly parlayed his experience into recording students in voice over classes around Los Angeles. He then worked for a time at a prestigious casting director’s office, before eventually acquiring his position at Arlene Thornton & Associates.
In this episode, Larry talks in more detail about what he found so attractive about the world of voice over. I also ask him some important questions about agents including: What do actors need to know about approaching agents? What impresses him when he’s listening to an actor’s demo? And what are some of the biggest mistakes actors make when looking for agency representation? Here’s a hint: too many actors submit demos to agents that are not truly competitive because either the acting or the audio production is not good enough. Or sometimes both! Remember, you never get a second chance to make a first impression!
During our discussion, we even take some time to have Larry explain what he sees as my strong suits as an actor, so you can hear how he makes decisions about which auditions to send me when projects come into the agency. Listen carefully and you’ll get a much better understanding of how agents approach collaborating with their acting clients! Talking with Larry is invaluable and I’m eager to share more of his advice and wisdom with you!
VAM 182 | Interview with Larry Reiss, Part 1
Welcome to episode 182 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
I’ve got a very special treat for my listeners today! This is the first part of my interview with booth director and voice over agent, Larry Reiss! Larry works at my voice over agency, Arlene Thornton & Associates. Arlene herself is the founder and president of the agency. Larry works as her employee where he wears many hats! I’ve worked with Larry primarily in his role as booth director. Back before the Covid-19 pandemic, when I was called into my agent’s office to audition for voice over projects, Larry would often be the one recording me and directing me in the booth. I came to rely on his keen insight and his helpful feedback whenever I came in to audition. These days, voice actors are expected to record from home and direct themselves. This is not an ideal situation. It can be very difficult to effectively direct or critique your own acting. It is far easier and more productive to have someone whose feedback and direction you trust, and I always trust Larry to help me bring out my best when I’m acting!
Larry isn’t just a booth director, however. He also helps manage the mountain of e-mails, phone calls, and auditions that come into the agency at all hours of the day and night! It’s quite a challenge to coordinate all of that communication between casting directors, producers, and the agency’s acting clients! In the midst it all, Larry still finds time to give feedback on actors’ auditions and to promote his acting clients to producers who are looking for talented people to work on their projects! I thought Larry would be a great person to interview so my listeners could get a better sense of what an agent does, what their workday is like, and how an actor can best collaborate with an agent in order to further their career!
We begin this interview by talking about how Larry got started as an agent. It turns out, he and I both joined Arlene’s agency around the same time in 2003! Initially, Larry had studied to be a recording engineer and was planning to get into music production. While he was exploring his employment options, he discovered that there were many studios that needed engineers to help record voice over classes which were often held in the evenings. He became interested in how voice actors could bring such nuanced emotion to their performances. He eventually had the opportunity to work at a casting director’s office in Los Angeles where he spent most of his time helping to cast commercial voice over projects. He and I actually first met at that casting director’s office, where I took one of my first voice over classes shortly after I arrived in Los Angeles at the end of 2001. Imagine my surprise when I signed with my agency two years later and discovered that Larry had been hired there as an agent! It was great to see a familiar face and to get to work with such a talented and knowledgeable booth director!
Larry is not only a wealth of information and experience, but he’s skilled at articulating his insights as well. I’m very grateful that he was willing to spend so much time talking with me. If you’ve ever wanted to understand how an agent thinks and what they’re looking for in the talent they represent, listening to Larry is your chance!
VAM 181 | Interview with Amanda C. Miller, Part 2
Welcome to episode 181 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
Welcome to the second and final part of my interview with Amanda C. Miller! Amanda has worked extensively in animation, video games, and anime including Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon Crystal, and the Dangan Ronpa video games. In American animation, she’s worked on Netlix’s She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Kid Cosmic, and DC Super Hero Girls. Amanda also works on-camera as an actor and behind the scenes as a writer and producer of her own web series! Having recently moved to Atlanta, Georgia to pursue acting opportunities there, she brings a unique perspective on how to manage an acting career where she works both in Atlanta and on remote voice acting projects in LA.
In the previous episode, Amanda explained how she broke into voice acting. While she initially intended to pursue a career as a theater actor in New York city after graduating from college, she changed her career trajectory after taking a voice acting class with veteran voice actor and director, Tony Oliver. His feedback encouraged her to pursue voice acting in Los Angeles instead. Amanda moved to LA, interned at Bang Zoom studios, and quickly learned what it took to work professionally as a voice actor. There was no magic “break through” moment where she was suddenly discovered. In fact, she didn’t win the 2009 AX Idol voice acting competition held at Anime Expo, but was only a runner up. That didn’t stop her. She continued to develop her abilities as a voice actress. Her success is due to the fact that she can deliver consistent, believable, and professionally competitive performances over and over again.
In this episode, we dive into what inspired Amanda to become an actor in the first place. Amanda was a very shy and sensitive child who moved around a lot due to her father being in the military. While she couldn’t control her circumstances or her surroundings, she did develop a rich imagination. She would create characters and stories where she could explore different emotions, relationships, and situations. Her fantasy life definitely helped inspire her acting pursuits! We also talk about what it’s been like for her to play a beloved character from her childhood, Sailor Jupiter in the Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon Crystal anime series. We then get into a discussion about how you can find satisfaction in the face of the uncertainty and volatility of an acting career. At the end of our talk, Amanda shares with us her advice to the aspiring voice actor including how important it is to find value as a human being regardless of how successful you are in your career! So without further ado, here’s Amanda!