Welcome to episode 84 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 first 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 has performed in such high profile shows as Ben 10, The Avengers, Scooby Doo, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Avatar the Last Airbender, the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy and many more!

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. What makes things even better is that Scott is actually an avid listener of the Voice Acting Mastery podcast, and I was honored when he approached me one day to thank me for making it. That great interaction was part of what inspired this interview, and we spend some time recounting it for you in this segment. Chatting with Scott was a great pleasure, and I’m excited to share his insights and experience with all my listeners.

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #84 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 79 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 very talented young voice actress, Grace Rolek. Grace and I had the good fortune to work together on the show Steven Universe for Cartoon Network where Grace plays Steven’s girlfriend, Connie. You may also have heard Grace’s work in shows like Mulan II, Final Fantasy Advent Children and as the voice of Lucy in the Charlie Brown special Happiness is a Warm Blanket. Grace has been voice acting since she was 5 or 6 years old and is 16 at the time of this interview. I was eager to get Grace on the podcast so she could share with all of my listeners what it took for her to become a successful voice actress at such a young age.

As we wrap up our discussion, Grace tells me what it was like working on such an iconic character as Lucy from the Peanuts. She also discusses how even as a young child actress, she understood how important it was to behave in a mature way when at the recording studio. She ends our chat by giving her advice to aspiring young voice actors, which is the same advice she uses herself while pursuing her voice acting career!

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #79 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 78 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 very talented young voice actress, Grace Rolek. You may have heard Grace’s work in shows like Mulan II, Final Fantasy Advent Children and as the voice of Lucy in the Charlie Brown special Happiness is a Warm Blanket. Grace has been voice acting since she was 5 or 6 years old and is 16 at the time of this interview. I was eager to get Grace on the podcast so she could share with all of my listeners what it took for her to become a successful voice actress at such a young age.

In the previous episode, Grace and I were discussing a feeling that almost all actors experience: nervousness. Stage fright is a common problem that many actors struggle with. However, Grace had suggested that it was possible to use one’s natural performance anxiety to achieve positive results. So we begin this episode with Grace sharing with us what techniques she uses to help harness her nervous energy and channel it in a constructive way into her acting.

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #78 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 77 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 interview the very talented young voice actress, Grace Rolek. Grace and I met while recording the animated show Steven Universe for Cartoon Network. I was immediately impressed by Grace’s skill and her professional demeanor. I became even more impressed when I realized that Grace, who is now 16, had been voice acting since she was about 5 or 6 years old! From her roles in Mulan II and Final Fantasy Advent Children to playing the voice of Lucy in the Charlie Brown special Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Grace has done an amazing range of work for someone so young.

As a voice actor and a voice acting mentor, I’m often approached by young people who worry that they are not old enough to voice act professionally. While I always assure them that it’s possible to voice act at any age, Grace is living proof of that statement. She was generous enough to spend an afternoon talking with me so I can show my listeners what it takes to begin and maintain a voice acting career at a relatively young age. I’m very grateful to her for taking the time to share her experiences with all of you.

I’d also like to thank Andrew Feliciano, the owner of Voicetrax West, for allowing us to record this interview in his studio. Voicetrax West not only provides professional recording services to the LA area, but offers voice over classes as well. You can find more information on the VoiceTrax West website.

Thanks for listening!

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #77 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 71 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 fourth and final part of my interview with my good friend, the incredibly talented voice director, Andrea Toyias. Andrea works for Blizzard Entertainment and has voice directed on such high profile titles as World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and Diablo III. We first met while working on Diablo III, where I played the voice of the Male Wizard. We’ve admired each other’s work ever since.

As we wrap up our discussion, Andrea talks about what it took for her to develop her fantastic directing skills. She also recounts how challenging it was for her when she tried her hand at acting. Her experiences in acting class increased her appreciation for the craft of acting immensely. She also shares with me her final advice to voice actors and why the skill she is looking for in people who audition for her is called “voice acting” and not “voice reading”.

It’s not every day you get such intimate knowledge of what is going on in a director’s head. I’m incredibly grateful to Andrea for being so honest and generous in sharing her challenges and her insights as a director with us.

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #71 Here (MP3)

Welcome to episode 70 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 part of my interview with my good friend, the incredibly talented voice director, Andrea Toyias. Andrea works for Blizzard Entertainment and has voice directed on such high profile titles as World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and Diablo III. We first met while working on Diablo III, where I played the voice of the Male Wizard. We’ve admired each other’s work ever since.

In the last episode, Andrea shared with us what she’s looking for from a voice actor when they audition for her. She discussed how important it is for an actor have a playful nature.  She also talked about how helpful it is when an actor truly understands the style or the genre of the project they’re working on and she shared an amazing story of working with the legendary voice actor, Frank Welker.

In this episode, Andrea and I talk about the challenges that a voice director faces when trying to guide a project so that it comes out well. There are many people and many personalities a voice director needs to manage in order to ensure that she captures believable performances that will work well together in the final product. Andrea and I also discuss the nature of collaboration and what it takes to work with other artists in order to create storytelling that is captivating and appealing.

Later, I share with Andrea what I appreciate about talented directors like her and how they help make my work as a voice actor easier and more satisfying. Listening to this segment will really give you an insight into the mind of a voice director so you can understand what challenges they face and how to interact with them more effectively.

Download Voice Acting Mastery Episode #70 Here (MP3)