VOICE 2008- Day Three...and a Half

As I sit down to write out my thoughts and experiences of the day...it's dawned on me that I actually have to flip back through my program to remember where I've been today! Sad. But- it was another incredible day at VOICE!

My first session today was with my voice coach, and branding extraordinaire- Nancy Wolfson! Nancy can explain branding, and the importance of good branding like no one else. It was fun to watch the faces of the folks around me as they 'got it' (Nancy is responsible for my branding, FYI). Nancy talked about the importance of having a strong commercial VO core before plopping down tons of money on branding. Find out who you are as a voice artist and as a person, then hire a professional to guide you through the branding process. By targeting exactly what your sound is, and what you offer- you avoid confusing the consumer by being too broad and all-inclusive. She used cereal boxes to help demonstrate the point. You wouldn't want to open a box of Cocoa Puffs only to find it packed with wheat bran, would you? Same with voice over. Don't put up pictures of rainbows and unicorns on your website if you have a deep, rock and roll sound. Just because you like it, doesn't mean it's 'you'. She also had a variety of t-shirts and we went around the room finding the perfect voices that matched the shirts. I was matched to an adorable pink and purple girly t-shirt with sparkly stars. Not only did it match my voice- it's pretty cute!

After lunch with 'the girls', I attended the session with Randy Thomas. She spoke about the imprtance of dreams, and how being willing to let life guide you can take you to new heights. She was joined by Ariel Ford who taught us how to meditate in such a way as to bring about positive thoughts and feelings, which can help jump start positive changes in your life. Martha Quinn (original MTV VJ) was also there and spoke of her journey through the business. It was a wonderful session, and truly inspiring!

Following Randy's session was a panel with Bob Bergen, several LA agents, and casting directors. They spoke about their perspectives on the VO biz and took several questions from the audience- great stuff!

The last session of the day was one I had really been looking forward to. It was the profesisonal's panel with Peter Rofe. Also on the panel was Terri Apple, Rob Sciglimpaglia, David Guzzone, Keith Arem, and more! But- the man I had really been looking forward to meeting was VO talent, producer, writer, etc, etc- Wally Wingert! Wally does voices on Family Guy, Garfield, and many many more. (www.wallyontheweb.com) The panel took lots of questions from the audience, and gave out great advice. Following the panel, I hung around with my friends September Day Leach and Caryn Clark, waiting for a chance to speak to Wally. He couldn't have been a more humble, wonderful human being!! No one would ever guess the amount of credits on this guy's resume by the way he instantly draws everyone to him. No ego at all!! He even went so far as to invite a few of us at the panel over to his house to have some pizza! So, we drove to Studio City (thank goodness for the rental car) and got to tour Wally's museum...ahem, house. He has autographed and collectibly EVERYTHING! He has letters written to him by Andy Kaufman, Adam West (a good friend of his) and just about every celebrity you can imagine. He also collects movie memorabilia, his place is just too incredible to describe! When Wally found out I had done anime, he invited me to sit in on his next Bleach session this Monday- you better believe I'm gonna be there!!

So, it was another successful, exhausting, overwhelming, fabulous day!