Welcome to episode 14 of the Voice Acting Mastery podcast with yours truly, Crispin Freeman!

As always, you can listen to the podcast using the player above, or download the mp3 using the link at the bottom of this blog post. The podcast is also available via the iTunes Store online. Just follow this link to view the podcast in iTunes:

http://www.voiceactingmastery.com/podcast

In this episode, I continue my very special interview with one of the great talents in the world of voice acting, Jack Angel.

As we heard in the last episode, Jack’s journey towards the world of voice over has been very unconventional! He started out wanting to be a cartoonist. When that didn’t pan out, he joined the army where he discovered his love of performing. After returning from the Korean war, he became a radio DJ.

In this episode, Jack shares with us how he made the transition from radio DJ to voice actor in cartoons. It was a sort of homecoming for him. He had always wanted to work on animation, but he thought his contribution would be as an illustrator. Little did he know that he would be giving voice to some of the best loved characters in cartoons!

Jack was actually fired from his job in radio, but that didn’t deter him! After being let go from the radio station, Jack redoubled his efforts and broke in to the world of voice acting for cartoons. What’s even more impressive is the mindset that he developed when facing the challenges that arise when pursuing a voice over career. The attitude he has towards voice acting is one of the most insightful and uplifting I’ve ever heard. I hope you enjoy it!

If you have any questions, please post your question as a comment to this blog post. Chances are, someone else has a similar question. By posting your question here on the blog, I get to communicate with all of you at once.

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #14 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 13 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

The holidays are approaching fast! As an end of the year treat, I thought I’d share with you a very special interview I did with one of the great talents in the world of voice acting, Jack Angel.

Jack started his voice acting career back in the 1970’s working on some of the most iconic animated shows of all time. Including

• Superfriends where he played Hawkman, Super Samurai and The Flash
• Voltron where he played the evil King Zarkon
• G.I. Joe where he voiced Wet Suit
• The Original Transformers where he played Ramjet, Astrotrain, Smokescreen and Omega Supreme.

While most voice actors developed their skills by going to acting school and working in the theater, Jack has an incredibly unique and unconventional path into the world of voice acting, from cartooning, to joining the army to becoming a DJ. I think you’ll find his journey incredibly inspiring and enlightening! I hope you enjoy it!

If you have any questions, please post your question as a comment to this blog post. Chances are, someone else has a similar question. By posting your question here on the blog, I get to communicate with all of you at once.

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #13 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 10 of the Voice Acting Mastery podcast with yours truly, Crispin Freeman!

As always, you can listen to the podcast using the player above, or download the mp3 using the link at the bottom of this blog post. The podcast is also available via the iTunes Store online. Just follow this link to view the podcast in iTunes:

http://www.voiceactingmastery.com/podcast

In this episode, I give practical advice on how to practice your voice acting skills no matter where you are.

So many of my listeners have told me how much they enjoy the podcast. Some listeners espouse a belief that because they’re not located in the right area that they are unable to improve their voice acting skills. I decided to dedicate this entire episode to giving you practical ideas about how to practice voice acting no matter where you’re located.

The truth of the matter is, if you really want to do something, nothing will stop you. This is true in all aspects of life. A burning desire to achieve a goal will inspire a resourcefulness in you that will surprise you.

One of the most important aspects is identifying yourself as a voice actor and then asking yourself a series of logical questions:

• I am a voice actor. What does a voice actor do?
• A voice actor acts. What is acting?
• Acting is playing pretend so believably that people will pay you to do it. How do you achieve that level of skill?
• By practicing. Where does one practice acting?

That is the question I spend most of the episode answering. There are all sorts of places you can practice your acting skills and I address many of them in this podcast including:

1. Classes: High School, College and Community College
2. Community Theater: Acting with a multi-generational troupe of performers is enlightening
3. Online Voice Acting Communities: Websites where you can post your work and get feedback
4. Individual Study: Mimicking other voice actors can help you expand your range

I’m sure many of you out there have even more ideas about how one can practice their voice acting no matter where you’re located. I look forward to your suggestions, advice and comments here on the blog!

If you have any questions, please post your question as a comment to this blog post. Chances are, someone else has a similar question. By posting your question here on the blog, I get to communicate with all of you at once.

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #10 Here (MP3)

Here’s an amazing interview with one of the greatest voice directors in America, Andrea Romano. Andrea’s resume is littered with some of the most popular cartoon series of all time including the original Batman, The Animated Series from the mid 90’s, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Teen Titans and Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Andrea talks about some very important ideas to remember when approaching voice acting:

1. Her first question is always, “Is this person I’m thinking of casting a good actor?”
2. Her second question is, “Do they have voice over experience?”

Microphone technique and animation acting, you can teach in a very short time. I can’t teach acting in a four-hour recording session. Acting is something that they’ve got to bring to the table themselves.

That is why I stress so much that you must be a capable actor before you can be truly successful as a voice actor. No matter how much time you spend in the booth, recording on a microphone or polishing your voice, if you do not have the acting ability to support all of your wonderful technique, you won’t be able to bring a good performance to the project.

So do whatever you can to get more acting experience. Take acting classes. Join your local or school theater group. Get online and join a voice acting group. Whatever it takes to give you more opportunities to practice playing pretend as characters.

Enjoy!

Welcome to the eighth episode 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

This is the third and final part of my interview with Wes Davis. If you’d like to learn more about Wes, feel free to check out his voice acting website:

http://www.gimmeamic.com/

In this episode, we get into some of the most important issues when pursuing a voice acting career including:

1. Where does your confidence come from?
2. How do you warm-up before a voice acting job?
3. How do you achieve your goals?
4. What do you say to yourself to keep from being discouraged?

In the next episode, I’ll be addressing an issue that has been asked many times in the comments here on the website: “What can I do to be more confident?” I look forward to giving you my take on it in the next episode!

As always, I welcome your questions and feedback! If you feel inspired, please leave a comment on this blog post.

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #8 Here (MP3)

Welcome to the seventh episode 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

This is the second part of my interview with Wes Davis, a young and talented voice actor who was gracious enough to sit down with me and talk about his experiences breaking into the voice over business. If you’d like to learn more about Wes, feel free to check out his voice acting website:

http://www.gimmeamic.com/

In this episode, we get into some of the most important issues when pursuing a voice acting career including:

1. How do you get voice acting jobs?
2. What’s the most useful thing you’ve learned from your voice acting classes?
3. What’s the most common mistake people make in class?
4. What really kicked your voice acting career into a higher gear?

In the next episode, Wes and I will be discussing how he finds his confidence, his techniques for keeping a positive outlook and his ambitious plans for the future!

As always, I welcome your questions and feedback! If you feel inspired, please leave a comment on this blog post.

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #7 Here (MP3)