Welcome to episode 94 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 the amazing Phil LaMarr.

Phil’s roles in animation include Hermes Conrad in Futurama, the John Stewart Green Lantern in Justice League, Kit Fisto in Star Wars: Clone Wars and the title character in Samurai Jack. I’m incredibly grateful to Phil for taking time out of his busy schedule to talk to my listeners.

In the previous episode, Phil discussed some of the challenges he faced during the first year he decided to pursue acting as a full-time career. Those experiences made him really take stock of his situation and decide if acting was something he truly wanted to do. He realized that he actually had some personal judgements about how one should pursue acting and those limiting beliefs were keeping him from progressing. Once he let go of those judgements, he started to see things change.

In this episode we discuss the details of how those changes began to take shape. Phil’s enthusiasm for improvisational acting had a profound affect on the trajectory of his career. It was the opportunities that his improvisational skills opened up for him that eventually gave him a chance to start working as a voice actor. We begin this segment of our chat with me asking him to give a quick recap of how his acting career began.

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #94 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 93 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

Today, I have a very special treat for my listeners!

Welcome to the first part of my interview with the amazingly versatile voice actor Phil LaMarr.

Phil’s roles in animation run the gamut from Hermes Conrad in Futurama, to the John Stewart Green Lantern in Justice League, to Kit Fisto in Star Wars: Clone Wars to the title character in Samurai Jack. I’m so grateful to Phil for taking the time to share with us his unique perspective on voice acting.

In this first episode, we focus on his very early career. Phil talks with me about some of the challenges he faced after college when he made his first serious attempts to break into the entertainment business as an actor. While he did not feel like he made much progress initially, it turns out the challenges and frustrations he faced ended up helping him focus his attention on what he truly wanted to achieve and on what it would take to accomplish his goals.

But I’ll let Phil tell you about that.

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #93 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 92 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’d like to talk about the difference between acting a character and demonstrating a character.

At first, it may not seem obvious why it’s so important to make this distinction and to understand its implications, because no one ever talks about “voice demonstrating”. We talk about “voice acting”, and rightly so, because that’s what we’re all here to do, right? The truth is that people get these two concepts mixed up all the time. What’s worse is that when many people believe they are acting, they are actually demonstrating.

This can be a fatal mistake, because while sincere acting is inherently believable and engaging, demonstrating a character is not. This misunderstanding is especially common among beginning voice actors, and I have observed many of my students struggling with it, even if they’ve never quite used these words to describe it. The symptoms of “demonstrating” are obvious: performances feel affected or “put on”, dialogue sounds forced or unnatural, and characters seem more like “caricatures” than real people. All of these symptoms contribute to one inevitable outcome: the performance is not believable and the audience does not engage.

So how does one truly act a character and not fall into the trap of simply demonstrating that character? How can you know if your performance is actually believable, or whether you’re just going through the motions? Let’s solve this conundrum together.

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #92 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 91 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’d like to discuss the vital importance of incorporating one’s physicality into a voice acting performance.

This is a challenge that comes up often when I am teaching my students, both in my group classes and during individual private coaching sessions. Often, I will be working with a student who is quite capable, knows how to listen and take direction, and may even have wonderful natural acting instincts, but their performances consistently fall flat because they do not engage their body when acting. Their mind and even their emotions may be fully engaged, but something is still missing, and it affects the believability of their reads.

What is this mysterious missing something, and why is it so important to put your physicality into your performance when voice acting? After all, you’re in a small padded room with a mic in front of you. How physical can you really be anyway? Because voice acting does happen in a booth and not on a stage or in front of a camera with sets, props and costumes, it can sometimes seem less like a physical performing art and more like a mental exercise. There is a common misconception that if you speak the words correctly and understand the emotions in a scene, your acting should be believable regardless of what your body is doing.

I’m here to set the record straight and to explain that all acting, even voice acting, is actually a physical artistic craft. If your performance is not rooted in your body, and if the character you are playing is not influenced by your physicality, your acting will never sound believable on a professionally competitive level. Allow me to explain to you how this works in this episode.

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #91 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 85 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 the wonderfully talented Scott Menville.

Scott is probably best known for his portrayal of Robin in the animated series Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go!, but Scott has been working both as a voice actor and an on-camera actor since he was 11 years old! Scott brings a wealth of experience to our discussion as well as an amazingly positive mindset, and I’m thrilled to have him on the podcast.

In this episode, Scott and I wrap up our discussion by talking about the times in voice acting when things didn’t seem to go our way. However, in the midst of such adversity, Scott and I both learned powerful lessons. Often you learn and grow more from your “so called” failures than your successes. After all, a failure is just an opportunity to learn something new on the way to your future success.

At the end of our interview, Scott was kind enough to share his advice for aspiring voice actors. His insights are useful and encouraging, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy them.

In the next episode, I’ll continue answering more questions from my listeners. For those of you who don’t know, I provide a call-in number where any of you can leave me a voicemail with your own thoughts, thank you’s or questions. Then, when it’s time for me to do a Q&A episode, I choose the most relevant questions and answer them for you here on the podcast. The call-in number is 323-696-2655. Please remember to state your first name and what city in the world you’re calling from before leaving your message. Thanks again for listening, and I’ll see you in the next episode!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #86 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 85 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’m excited to present to you the second part of my interview with the wonderfully talented Scott Menville.

Scott is probably best known for his portrayal of Robin in the animated series Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go!, but Scott has been working both as a voice actor and an on-camera actor since he was 11 years old! Scott brings a wealth of experience to our discussion as well as an amazingly positive mindset, and I’m thrilled to have him on the podcast.

In the previous episode, Scott and I both emphasized how important it is to have passion for the career you decide to pursue. While this is true in almost every field, it is especially true in the world of voice acting where there are so many people who are deeply committed to becoming professionally competitive as voice actors.

In this episode, we explore exactly what steps Scott took once he made the decision to pursue voice acting, not just as a hobby, but as his vocation. Here’s a hint: improvisational acting training played a vital role in Scott’s development as an artist. Improv still informs Scott’s performances today, as he is often called upon to use his improvisational skills during recording sessions! Hearing about his experiences, and the experience of other actors using improv to explore new possibilities in the booth, is both enlightening and inspiring! I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #85 Here (MP3)