Having A Voice In The Industry

Having A Voice In The Industry
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Courtesy of Art Today.

Here’s Some Resources
For a comprehensive, one-stop looksee into the services, companies and studios around town, pick up a copy of the quarterly publication, The Voiceover Resource Guide. It is updated every three months, and costs US$10 for a year’s subscription (or five or six bucks for a single issue). Dave & Dave, Inc., the publisher of the guide, can be reached at (800) 851-DAVE.

If you live elsewhere you can find who is out and about in your town by visiting newsstands, specialty book stores, coffee shops, theaters, recording facilities, etc. that cater to actors and performers. Here you can find fliers, magazines and guides for your region. You can also just pick up the good ol’ telephone directory and start making calls to recording facilities, radio stations, animation studios, traditional acting schools and workshops, and anyone else listed that you think might be related to the voice over biz. You will find if you call and ask, while they may not be able to help you directly, they might make some recommendations. If the same name or company keeps coming up then you know you have someone that is known in the professional world and is probably not a fly-by-night type of organization. Also, to speak to a real, live, helpful human being, you may have to call back several times. Be prepared to call, get transferred, leave a message and wait, to no avail, for several days. Then call again! Be persistent. Remember too, while one person may not be helpful, the person that answers the next day might be.

Don’t underestimate the power of advice from professional organizations. The Screen Actors Guild (SAG), unions, clubs and associations, like Women In Animation and ASIFA (the International Animated Film Society), can all direct you. Lists of guild sanctioned agents and other resources can be obtained through these agencies, guaranteeing a level of professionalism and dependability. Also joining these types of organizations, or at least attending their events, can introduce you to the right people who can give you the real lowdown. In Los Angeles, Women In Animation has a Voiceover Group, headed by Muriel Whitaker. There are no scheduled, regular meetings, as of the writing of this article, but the mentor for the group, M.J. Lallo, can be reached at (818) 980-6576.