My introduction to voice acting auditions!

 

Hey there!

 

I wanted to talk about my journey with one of the biggest parts of voice acting, Auditions. For people that might not be as accustomed to the concept, Auditioning is one of the biggest aspects of voice acting because that effort is about ‘getting your foot in the door’. When I was just starting out, I would focus heavily on the projects that I wanted to be a part of, but I would have I didn’t know where to start. The first website I found voice acting auditions on a website called BehindTheVoiceActor. BehindTheVoiceActor was a website where voice acting enthusiasts could present projects (usually fandubs or the act of redubbing a piece of media with a new cast, or comic dubs, the acting of providing more life to a comic book/manga) for people interested in the franchise to ‘throw their hat in the ring’ and audition. I remember auditioning for this one project where they were looking for a voice for the insanely recognizable, Sonic the Hedgehog. I wasn’t initially confident in my Sonic voice. I didn’t sound much like Jason Griffith, which was one of my main inspirations for the role, and that heavily discouraged me. However, I decided that I should shoot my shot anyway, just to see what would happen. “If I don’t get it, that’s fine! It just means that I got more practice” I thought. Luckily for me, I was cast for said role, and that led me to dozens more opportunities to voice for that client.

 

The next website I wanted to talk about is a well-known website known as CastingCallClub. On the website, Buford Taylor (also known as the creator of Casting Call Club) says this in on it’s about page:

 

“Casting Call Club is where you practice. It is a safe place to hone your skills and level yourself up. I've always dreamed that CCC becomes the place that people point to when they are asked how they got started. “Some of the success stories coming out of CCC are amazing. We've had people go from 0 to 100,000 YouTube subscribers in a year. We've had people land roles in games like Mass Effect and Nier. But the best feeling isn't the big successes, it's the first.”

 

On this website, I’ve auditioned for various fan projects and indie works with some resulting in insanely fun opportunities and long-lasting memories and others never got off the ground. CastingCallClub is a community where you can learn so much from so many people: from fellow voice actors, directors, audio engineers, writers, and so much more. I have made friends that I still talk to today and I have grown tremendously as an artist.

 

Now, let’s talk about what I’ve been doing now! Lately, much of my voice over work has either been with personal projects, projects that other voice actors/directors cast me for, and a LOT of emails. Recently, I have just completed a set of E-Learning (electronic learning) voice overs and I’m doing voice over frequently for the University of Southern Mississippi.

 

The main bit of advice I suggest from this is: Do what you love and do it proudly. Find like minded individuals that you can connect with and continue to work alongside. Keep the memories that you gain from auditioning and projects close and use that to propel you forward. 

 

Happy Voicing!