Podcasts about cesd

Anne Ganguzza sits down with Billy Collura, a powerhouse agent with over 30 years at CESD New York. Billy shares his unique perspective on the dramatic evolution of the voice acting industry, from the early days of union-only radio spots to the current market dominated by non-union and digital opportunities. This conversation provides essential insight into the biggest voice acting trends that have shaped the industry and reveals the simple, authentic quality that makes a voice actor successful today. 00:03 - Anne (Host) Hey guys, it's Anne from VO Boss here.  00:06 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) And it's George the Tech. We're excited to tell you about the VO Boss. Vip membership, now with even more benefits.  00:12 - Anne (Host) So not only do you get access to exclusive workshops and industry insights, but with our VIP plus tech tier, you'll enjoy specialized tech support from none other than George himself.  00:23 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) You got it. I'll help you tackle all those tricky tech issues so you can focus on what you do best Voice acting. It's tech support tailored for voiceover professionals like you.  00:34 - Anne (Host) Join us guys at VO Boss and let's make your voiceover career soar. Visit vobosscom slash VIP-membership to sign up today.  00:43 - Speaker 3 (Announcement) Slash VIP-membership to sign up today. It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguzza.  01:08 - Anne (Host) Hey everyone, Welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguzza, and today I am thrilled to welcome someone who truly defines what it means to be a powerhouse in the voiceover industry. With more than 30 years at CESD New York, Billy Collura has been at the forefront of commercials and beyond, representing talent with a direct and grounded approach that has earned him the trust of clients and voice actors alike. I think it's fair to say that he doesn't just follow the changes in the business. He really helps to shape them. So, Billy, I am so excited to have you here on the podcast.  01:44 - Billy (Host) Thank you for asking me. Yeah, this is so nice, yeah.  01:47 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I love it, and of course we're like on opposite coasts here, so you're on my home coast and so I do miss New York quite a bit and we did have a little.  01:58 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) How often do you get out here, pardon me, do you get out here often?  02:00 - Billy (Host) Do you ever get out. You know what?  02:01 - Anne (Host) Not as often as I should. I really have now started to say I'm only coming out during the warm season because I'm done with the snow. Yeah, I hear you. But I would imagine like do you travel like elsewhere in the wintertime in New York, Because I know I stay here.  02:22 - Billy (Host) I travel a lot in general um during the course of the year, but um you know, I right now I'm upstate in well. I'm up in the Hudson Valley and in the city of Hudson, which is two hours North of Manhattan, so I go back and forth Um in the winter time. No, I'm usually, I don't know, I'm usually in the Northeast sometimes.  02:43 - Anne (Host) Okay, Are you a skier? Are you a skier? No, absolutely not, Absolutely not. That was, that was what a lot. What kept a lot of people on the East coast? Um, in my area anyways, they're like oh no, I have to be able to ski in the winter.  02:56 - Billy (Host) No, I don't like the cold.  02:57 - Anne (Host) Well, I have a. I have a mountaineer in California, Uh huh.  03:00 - Billy (Host) Uh-huh.  03:02 - Anne (Host) Oh my gosh. Well, anyways, it's so nice to see you again. It's been a while. I saw you at VO Atlanta and I'm just really thrilled that I have the opportunity to talk to you. I know how busy you are, but I'm just so excited that the bosses are going to get this opportunity to really benefit from your wisdom. And so, benefiting from the wisdom speaking of that, you've been at CESD for over three decades. Um, that's, that's amazing. So how would you say that your role as an agent has evolved during that time?  03:37 - Billy (Host) Well, you know like it started when I started. Um, it'll be. Um, it'll be 32 years in May. Oh my gosh, when I started, voiceover was a smaller industry and I dabbled in a little bit of everything, okay.  03:55 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) I did commercials.  03:57 - Billy (Host) There really wasn't. There was no internet back then. So we did radio and TV commercials and industrials and I'm not even sure cable was around when.  04:08 - Anne (Host) I started. I hear you. You know we didn't have computers, any of that.  04:13 - Billy (Host) So we did a little bit of everything. And then, you know, and promos, promos were a thing, and narration and trailers, and so, you know, we did a little bit of all of that. And then, as the industry kept getting bigger and bigger, we started specializing. And all of a sudden, in animation, I dabbled in gaming, but I also, you know, but pretty much my focus was commercials, because that's where the money is, you know, and that was the day where it was just, you know, it was just TV and radio, and you made the actors made a lot of money. Yeah, it was only union, we only worked on union jobs. And now fast forward to now, where 60% to 70% of my desk is non-union. We started doing non-union in 2019. Okay, the union opportunities have pretty much dried up, and I say that, but it's ebb and flow.  05:22 I mean right now this year it was a slow summer for some reason. It was like the old days, it was really slow and I mean that union and non-union. And then I go away on vacation and it just like exploded while I was away and I've been and since then I've been playing catch up and it's been so busy with union, lots of union stuff with non union. Yeah, so it's been great there.  05:49 Yeah. So I mean that's changed and I guess for me what's changed for me is because now I specialize much more on commercials. I do have a few non-union accounts, but I have my large union study accounts, steady accounts. Um, so most of my work, uh is you know, is in the commercial world. I also happen to handle the audio books, but I always say I'm not an audio book agent. I'm the agent at CESD that handles the audio books.  06:18 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) So it's a little difference.  06:20 - Billy (Host) Um so, but the audio book, what I do love about it. You know an an an agent who left um cause she was having. She got married and had babies and she said, take the audio books. They're the nicest people in the world. And I got to say they really are, and so I've kept it.  06:36 I love it. The people are so nice. Um, I really, really enjoy it. So that you know, so I I've been doing that. I also do ADR and loop group stuff, again very specialized, and there really aren't a lot of industrials. Now I know some of the other. I'm one of five, six agents in the department and then there's another two agents that work with agencies that cater to medical industrials.  07:04 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) So they're doing I don't do personally.  07:05 - Billy (Host) I don't do a lot of industrials. I think a lot of the industrials have gone to the pay-to-play sites, so but the union stuff, the medical ones, they are still at the big agencies. I just personally don't happen to have those. I would say maybe the commercial aspect of right Healthcare like pharmaceuticals and that sort of thing is huge and more and more of those blue chip companies are going non-union and those rates are you know.  07:34 - Anne (Host) Sure. What do you attribute that? Why is that happening? What do?  07:39 - Billy (Host) you attribute it to is when it started, when digital work started happening, and these great companies, the Droga5s and there was so many, that's just the first one they were doing great work with the digital work. You know, they were just with stuff before even streaming, when they were just doing they were making commercials for digital work and they were doing fine work. They were doing really good work and these companies, these blue chip companies, were saying, hey, you did that for this much money, why don't you just take all of our network stuff? And that's how I remember, like 10, 12 years ago, a large fast food chain started going, you know, went totally non-union. And then the large fast food chain started going, went totally non-union.  08:25 Then there would be some that because they had a celebrity voice on certain spots, and then they would get a third party and more and more I feel like these agencies, these digital agencies, just kept getting better and better at it and the actors were getting better and better at it. And it's not like the cable stations that you see up here that you know these infomercial things that you know that you can tell it's non-union. You know I've fallen and I can't get up kind of stuff. These. They're doing great work.  08:56 - Anne (Host) I can't tell, are they doing great work because they have great actors or are they doing great work because the entire production value of it?  09:05 - Billy (Host) Yes.  09:06 - Anne (Host) Yes, yes, you know, people are getting better at it.  09:09 - Billy (Host) The voiceover people certainly, and it's not even I mean the voiceover so many people. Covid just changed the game and everybody you know voiceover was the one business in town that didn't shut down during.  09:23 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) COVID.  09:24 - Anne (Host) And every I always say every jaboni with a mic, you know, just set up a studio at home and said I'm going to do voiceover, and not only you know they were well-established Broadway and TV and film you know everybody was doing it and that's and that's so interesting because I would say the majority of people that you know cause I was I was super busy coaching during COVID and I just had so many people that just wanted to like make the demos and get into the industry. But I had a lot more of the talent that were more beginner right to intermediate. But I would imagine that with COVID, with celebrities right them wanting to get into voiceover because what else was there? Because they weren't able to go into a studio, and so I would say that a good portion of that, I would say a good portion of people that were getting those jobs, were probably the celebrities right.  10:27 - Billy (Host) Absolutely coaching. You know they just kept getting better and better at it. And you know, and, and we're willing to work for low wages, I mean that's the other thing. And you know we always say somebody takes a job for $100. You know it's just a race to the bottom. Yeah, you know, if you're gonna add, because you know we don't work on the non union stuff, we don't work on the non-union stuff, we don't work on certain things. I won't work on stuff just because it's not worth my time.  10:48 - Anne (Host) Sure.  10:49 - Billy (Host) And I don't mean to be like, oh, but $250 is a lot to some people. Oh yeah, for all the work that I have to go into it, for me to do it and have my assistant do it and doing the editing to maybe get it, it's just not worth it. But I do. I mean that's usually. My threshold is 250.  11:10 - Anne (Host) And I understand that because I always tell people, because I do a lot of non-broadcast narration, coaching and demos, and I'm always telling people they're like, well, I want an agent. I'm like, well, an agent doesn't get excited about non-broadcast stuff because it's a one and done thing. You don't make your money on that, and so typically you want to have a tip top commercial demo because that's where they're going to be making their money with the residuals and and that sort of a thing. So would you do? You think it has to do with the sheer volume of people that got into voiceover as well. If you've got enough, you know, if you throw spaghetti against the wall right there, some of them will stick. And so then I started to drive down. I'm going to say it started to drive down maybe the prices, uh, or people willing to do the work for less, because it just got to be competitive.  11:56 - Billy (Host) It did.  11:57 There's so many people doing it now, so many people, and especially in the non-union world, there's so many opportunities out there and you know, with the pay to plays and I've kind of changed my tune a little on the pay to plays and I kind of see they're there for a reason. They're a great, you know, tool for learning, for getting the experience, for the auditioning. And I and I learned recently when I was at a conference in Holland and met the CEO from Voices 123. And I learned that they love to put people together and to put the actor and the company together. Take it off the platform and do your thing.  12:41 They don't want to micromanage, like there are other pay-to-plays that micromanage everything.  12:45 But I really found that you know, oh, that's really nice, and then people can make money that way. They're not interested, they're just interested in making the match. So, but, that being said, there are so many people that are doing this now and, yeah, driving down the prices because you know, they may be this may not be their full-time gig, it just may be a side hustle for them. So, yeah, sure, an extra $200, an extra $100, an extra $350. That can accumulate. But unfortunately then they're like well, you did it last time for $100. Why can't you? So it's hard, it's hard.  13:21 - Anne (Host) It is, but would you say that the amount of jobs is diminishing or no, it's just as volume you know, I don't see volume as normal.  13:33 - Billy (Host) I'm busy, you know, but I don't know, like, like I said, this summer was slow with the opportunities, with the, with the auditions. I find that my casting directors, my union casting, just my casting directors in general, um, they, you know, I have some that are busier than others, some I will hear from, you know, once every other month, and then some I will hear from three or four times a week. You know, um, so it's and it's all you know. There's no logic to it.  14:03 - Anne (Host) And then on the um isn't that the truth. Yeah, and then um after all these years, wouldn't you think like you could? You could predict, you know.  14:14 - Billy (Host) I would say to actors you know, I'm not booking, it's just one phone call, it's one job, don't forget. They're only picking one person, but yeah, yeah, picking one person. You, yeah, you know, only picking one person you know and you don't know.  14:25 - Anne (Host) That's a way to put it in perspective. Actually, if you think about it, but in 400,.  14:30 - Billy (Host) You know how many people are auditioning.  14:31 That's why with select VO. You know that only allows you X amount of people to submit. So if they, if the agency says, if they invite you and they say you can only submit three people per role, they won't let you submit a fourth person. So you really have to be smart and we're not the type of agency that will send you know to ten people and then, sophie's Choice, the three that I want. You know, I don't believe in that. I don't. I feel it's a waste of time of the actor. It's certainly a waste of time for my assistant and for me to have to listen to, then you have to listen to them Exactly.  15:10 - Anne (Host) What's the point, you know, and so that translates to me to a good relationship with everybody that's on your roster, absolutely, that that knowledge of their capabilities and you can communicate, uh, back and forth to make sure that the two of you are are, you know, keeping up with one another, and you would be the one that say, okay, I'm going to handpick this audition and send this to this many people, because you're the one that has to do the work right To send it the top three, to the. So the client.  15:43 - Billy (Host) Yeah, absolutely so. It's my reputation and there are some casting directors that you know they will.  15:48 I will submit a list and they will pick who they want to hear you know, back up, if I lose, or if we lose somebody, who else would you like? Or, you know, sometimes they'll say these are the three I want to hear. Send me one of your choice that maybe I, somebody, I don't know, um, and then there are certain casting directors that will micromanage and they have to. They, you know they will only see these people and they're, you know, not flexible. But it just kind of makes me a better agent.  16:14 - Anne (Host) That's why we're.  16:15 - Billy (Host) Cesd is an exclusive agency. We don't oversign in the union or non-union world. We're still building up our non-union roster. You know we're still doing that, but that's where we have the most amount of opportunities. You know, in the non-union world, Sure, Plain and simple.  16:34 - Anne (Host) Absolutely, absolutely. So what would you say after all these years? What's kept you loving your job?  16:42 - Billy (Host) Because it's different every day. You know, that's the— that's the thing. I never know what's ahead of me. So I, you know, I just love. Every day there's some, there's a new challenge, there's something new. Also, recently I have a new assistant who I adore and I love teaching him. He's a little sponge and he wants to learn.  17:09 And so that kind of inspires me to want to teach him, and you know so that that is. I guess that's the difference, and also being able to, because the business has changed. Remotely, you know, I can start earlier, I'm not in the office, I I can work later, you know. It just kind of like the whole. It's such I don't want to say a relaxed, but I feel I feel more relaxed Now. It could be because I've been doing this for a hundred years, but I just feel relaxed, I enjoy what I do. I don't feel the pressure. I don't feel like there's no such thing as a voiceover emergency If somebody screws up or, you know, if I've given you know there's no such thing.  17:51 - Anne (Host) Bravo to that. I always say there's never a VO emergency.  17:54 - Billy (Host) No, there's never a first you know, if something went wrong, don't freak out. How?  17:59 - Anne (Host) do we fix it? How do we?  18:00 - Billy (Host) fix it, that's all you know.  18:02 - Anne (Host) Now, that's from your perspective. What about your client, your casting director? Your client's perspective? Are there VO emergencies? Yeah, there could be, that's on them, not on me. Yeah, okay, I love that.  18:13 - Billy (Host) I don't, you know, I wanna help fix the problem, you know, sure so. And I mean, yeah, you know, it's always something. Fortunately I haven't had any of those emergencies in a while. But you know, the other night I was it was nine o'clock my time and an LA. It was an LA agency booking a client. She happened to be on the West coast, so it worked out okay, but it was nine 30. And I was like you know, I'm old, I can't stay up. And then I thought, and I got a text from the casting director she goes we want to book so-and-so. I left all the information on the email. So I was like, oh well, I have to finish Gilded Age, this episode, and then, as soon as I'm done, I will get on my computer.  18:56 - Anne (Host) I love it, that's great?  18:59 - Billy (Host) I guess yeah. So that's what keeps me going. The relationship with my clients, I don't. It's different because back in the day, actors used to come into the office to audition. West Coast was different because you guys were MP3ing long before, because you all wouldn't get in a car and drive a half hour to the studio.  19:20 - Anne (Host) But in New York, well, because of the traffic.  19:24 - Billy (Host) Yeah, yeah, and that's why you couldn't get to three auditions back in the day, but it was our job in New York to get you, you know, to get you from the Upper West Side down to Wall.  19:34 - Anne (Host) Street over to Midtown yeah, I know so many voice actors who still um go into studios to audition in New York. I mean, I almost don't hear about it anymore, except for well, I'm sorry, excuse me to go into the go on for booking.  19:48 - Billy (Host) No for bookings, they will.  19:49 - Anne (Host) They encourage that now but I have heard people in the last couple of years. I mean it's not every day, but sometimes they are going in. I don't know if it's to audition or if it's to actually do the job it's usually you know there's one or two the studios.  20:03 - Billy (Host) You know a couple of the studios that do auditioning, because that's what changed? Oh, okay, that makes sense, like all the advertising agencies that were in-house casting directors and those casting directors ended up going to the studios in New York and they have in-house casting directors, so they will encourage the Sonic Unions. The. Headrooms the Sound Lounges they will encourage hey, if the client is local to New York, boom, have them come in. Oh, that makes sense. And it kind of opened up because not everybody got SourceConnect especially our older clients.  20:40 It wasn't cost effective for them for that one audition every other month. It wasn't so the foreign language people, they weren't getting it because there weren't enough opportunities. But especially I I want to say the older clients they really weren't getting so this kind of opened up. If you lived in New York you could still send an MP3 and you're able to go to Sound Lounge for the booking that was always that's always a nice caveat.  21:06 - Anne (Host) So I'm sure people ask you this all the time. Commercial voiceover has changed, evolved over the years. Advertisers have changed how they buy and consumers have changed, I think, how they listen. What would you say is what sort of things have changed in terms of trends for commercial VO? What are you looking for now that maybe is different than what was relevant maybe five, even five or 10 years ago, Because I know probably you're going to say like 30 years ago it was more of that announcer sort of style, it was promo. But you know, maybe five, 10 years ago, what has changed?  21:43 - Billy (Host) You know, it was the, you know, when I first started. It was the time, when, you know, Demi Moore started with Keds and there was that raspy, damaged sound that has kind of you know, demi Moore started with kids and she there was that raspy damage sound that has, kind of you know, was such a thing for so long and our and I know our women back then, you know, were the most successful.  22:04 - Anne (Host) I coveted that which is not a part of my genetic makeup at all. I'm like I can't, I can't get a raspy.  22:11 - Billy (Host) No, if you don't, you know you can't put oh, I woke up with a, you know, with a sore throat today. I sound great I should audition. No, you shouldn't. Exactly. So that was. You know, that was always the thing and yeah, it was the rough and tough announcers and you know all those, all those guys, and then that kind of went away and it was the John Corbett kind of sound and he was you.  22:31 he stuck around for a long time as a prototype and now it's Paul Rudd and Rashida Jones and then. So those trends kind of changed. But then about 10 years ago, everything you know really were, it was people of color. You know they wanted voices for actors and that really opened up a wide, you know a wider net. There was no general market anymore because they used to say, you know, they were very specific, we want a Caucasian voice. But now you only see that if you're doing a demo for the on-camera and the on-camera actor happens to be a certain color. But they want authenticity. I remember you know getting. Now, everybody, especially in the union world, they want authenticity. I remember you know getting. You know everybody, especially in the union world, they all want to check boxes. You know, yeah, yeah, they, yeah, so they, you know it's all ethnicities. You know we want non-binary people and I'm like what does a non-binary person sound?  23:27 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) like I don't, it took me you know.  23:29 - Billy (Host) Then I realized oh, they don't really, they're just checking off boxes, but for the, you know, for the African-American community, they were in vogue. They were, you know, I would get breakdowns, all ethnicities, and the prototypes would be Viola Davis, Tiffany Haddish and Angela.  23:49 Bassett, Do the math you know, so that was a thing. And Angela Bassett do the math. You know, so that was a thing. And I think you know, I still think that that is happening. But I'm finding a trend like that is kind of changing, where general market is truly general market. Now they want, you know, it's everybody, it's everything.  24:09 - Anne (Host) That's great. Yes, I love to hear that.  24:12 - Billy (Host) That's the way it should have been, but unfortunately it was so the other way for so long and then it shifted and now it's kind of evening out.  24:21 - Anne (Host) Sure.  24:21 - Billy (Host) Sure, I don't know.  24:23 - Anne (Host) Well, I mean, that's what I was thinking would happen at some point. Right, it would even out and it's kind of nice to hear that that's happening.  24:31 I mean, I wouldn't want it to go another extreme you know, at all, you know, and especially because the world's a little chaotic right now and I know that it's affecting companies and their advertising, and so that to me says gosh, I hope that there's still as much opportunity for everybody as there ever was. And so that's just one of those things where I think if there was a slow part of the season, maybe it's people, you know. I think there's companies trying to gauge like what's happening and what's going to be what's going to work for them in terms of advertising.  25:08 And it's not so much the voice, but the whole, the whole thing, yeah, the whole, all of it On camera, all of it, all of it. How are they going to advertise it to be effective?  25:18 - Billy (Host) And I think you know, and I think that and this is just me I feel like voice wise, I feel that the union world is more tries to check the boxes, much more than the non-union world.  25:32 - Speaker 3 (Announcement) I truly than the non-union world.  25:33 - Billy (Host) I truly believe the non-union world they're gonna pick the best voice for the job, no matter what ethnicity you are.  25:41 I find, and I just because of the actors that I speak with, not only because I speak with my non-union actors in general so much more, just simply because there's so much opportunity there. But I notice, with my union actors I just don't A I don't really have that many opportunities for them. But you know it is. I speak to certain ones more, a lot more than the others. But I don't find that, I find it much broader in the non-union world. I mean it's a different and I've learned so much about the non-union world. I mean it's a different and I've learned so much about the, the non-union community and how. You know how different it is. I feel that it is much more I don't know how to say it. It's much more of a community, I feel.  26:27 I feel that they, they really are supportive of each other, they help each other. It's not as competitive or as petty competitive as it can sometimes be in the union world, it's just, and I think it's fabulous that they really everybody's out to help each other much more in that community.  26:52 - Anne (Host) Well, that's refreshing to hear. I like that from you, Absolutely. So then for you, for talent on your roster. What sort of qualities are you looking for in any talent that might appear on your roster? You know what's funny.  27:06 - Billy (Host) When I first started, you know, when COVID happened first thing, when I and I did a lot of these classes, first thing I was like, obviously the first thing was do you have SourceConnect? You know if?  27:17 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) you have SourceConnect, because so few?  27:18 - Billy (Host) people did.  27:19 - Anne (Host) You went right to the top of my list.  27:22 - Billy (Host) Yeah, if you had SourceConnect, and then it's, you know, and then it's just about reading the copy, and that's the same basic thing is, how do you read copy? Some of my most successful people, my white actors over 40, I have a couple of them and they just read copy. So well, I don't know what it is, they just they're just, they're just great they were. And so, yeah, there's. You can't teach it, it's, you know, it's just natural. This one particular guy, yeah, does he have that Paul Rudd feel to him? Just that guy next door, just that real comfortable, relaxed, nothing pushed, that's how he is in life and that's how it comes across Right, right. Oh, there was something else.  28:06 Oh, I did this one class and there was this woman, you know, like late 20s white woman, and there was just something. I was on a panel, I was one of three people and, oh my God, she was. There was just something about her read that made me crazy and like the next day I was like I have, you know, I want to set you up. I love you, you know, I love you the best. And now, here we are. I love you, know, I love you the best, and now here we are, fast forward to probably a little more than a year. She is one of my most successful actresses on my roster. And what is it about her? I don't know. She's just fabulous. You know, she just, she just reads. It's just, it's honest.  28:50 - Anne (Host) So I'm always looking for that honest. I like that honest, yeah, authentic, yeah. And I like, with that honest, I like that honest, yeah, authentic, yeah. And I like how you know we've heard for for so long right, bring you to the party, bring you to the party, it's that. I think that's so important. And and we throw it around like, oh yeah, okay, I can bring me, but and yet so many people still try to perform, uh and and if they really can just stop in their own head and and just bring themselves to the party because, like you and I like talk like there's something about like I really like Billy, and it's, it's, it's like an intangible thing and it's your personality, right, it's, it's how we connect.  29:23 - Billy (Host) And I think that's what's so right away. The first time we met, we would just like exactly.  29:30 - Anne (Host) I think that's the same thing for voice actors. If you can, you know, if, if you've got a great personality and you're like one of those people that you can connect with right away, I mean that's what I think we're looking for, that authenticity it's you're not trying to, you know, push anything and and this is who you are and I love to hear that, because I keep telling people gosh, you are enough. I mean it really is. Please don't try to be anything other than yourself, because I really like you.  29:55 - Billy (Host) Yes, and so many voice actors. They forget that.  30:00 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) you know this is acting and I said you know you got to get out of your head into your gut.  30:05 - Billy (Host) Whether you're selling peas for 99 cents, it doesn't matter. You have to be, you know, honest and authentic with it, so important. Now I have to ask the question authentic with it, so important?  30:14 - Anne (Host) Now I have to ask the question because you know probably everybody does. And what do you think about the threat of AI in the industry, and especially now that there's? It's not even just voice, it's on camera too.  30:27 - Billy (Host) Yeah, yeah. So I mean, we keep our eye on it. We read every contract, we read every contract, we read every breakdown. You know SAG is doing their best. Bless their hearts.  30:42 You know, nava is you know, above and beyond, what they're doing with the rules and the legislation and what they're doing. You know it's coming, it's not going away and it's going to get better and better. So we just try to keep our eyes and ears on everything and try to follow the rules and say, nope, large deal right now. And there was a huge component with um. They wanted an AI replica and fortunately, the person um doing it was like no, I've heard replicas of my voice and they're not, and they never sound as good as the real thing.  31:27 - Anne (Host) Um, so that's a really interesting point because I know for a fact that that's true, because I, you know back in the day. Well, back a few years ago, I started really delving deep into that and researching companies and how they made voices, and I've heard a lot of voices and there are some people who are amazing actors but yet their voice doesn't translate. Well, either it's the AI technology that has not given, it's just it's not doing the right thing for them and, yeah, it doesn't translate.  31:56 - Billy (Host) Yeah, and he said no, I, I will not. It's my, it's my voice, it's my reputation, and I will be available whenever they need me. They were like well, what in case he's what? You know? What if he's away on vacation?  32:08 - Anne (Host) Yeah, he said there are no VO emergencies. No, there are no VO emergencies, Right, there's no VO emergencies.  32:15 - Billy (Host) So yeah, so are we concerned about it? Yeah, am I concerned, absolutely, but you know I can't lose sleep over it.  32:23 - Speaker 3 (Announcement) It's coming.  32:24 - Billy (Host) You know, it's coming, and so we just have to manage it and make it work to our advantage.  32:30 - Anne (Host) Yes, I agree, I agree, I and make it work to our advantage. Yes, I agree, I agree, I love that. So I'm very excited because you're going to be doing a class for us, a VO Boss workshop, in November. As a matter of fact, it's going to be November 12th. Can you tell us a little bit about what we're going to be doing in that class?  32:48 - Billy (Host) Well, what I usually do is I like to just kind of give my spiel about what I've been doing and I guess the do's and don'ts of the proper way to get in touch with an agent, what to expect, what not to expect from you know. Once you're submitting to an agent, I just try to, I try to just say the things you know, kind of give the tips that actors need to know. You know what's proper, what's not, what's gonna get you. You know what's gonna get you seen, what's gonna get you heard. You know what makes it easy for me, the agent.  33:24 And I've come to also realize that it works differently from agency to agency. So I can only speak to what works for me, um, at CESD, um, but we'll, you know, I'll talk about that and I'll just talk about my feelings on on what it takes, what tools you're going to need and I mean like literal tools, what kind of demos you're going to need, that sort of stuff. Do a little Q and a and then read some copy, you know and anybody that does come to the class.  33:54 um, it's gotta be commercial copy, because that's that's what I do, you know um. I, I'm, I'm not going to be able to judge you on your animation copy or you know that kind of stuff. That's not really what I do. So we'll, you know, we'll do that and we'll tear it apart and hopefully get to two pieces within the class.  34:14 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I love that. We'll see. Yay, well, I'm very excited for that and, bosses, I'll be putting a link so that you can sign up for it, because I'm quite sure it's going to go quickly. Now my last question is because you said you're in upstate New York and I, you know, I have my own, like my own, nostalgic memories of upstate New York, and so, for me, I'd be riding a horse, you know, in in the countryside. So if you weren't an agent, philly, what would you be doing right now? Oh God, would you have a different career? Would you be retired and riding horses, or?  34:49 - Billy (Host) Yeah, well, you know, I've only had three different jobs in my life, okay, well, you know, other than high school jobs. I was an actor slash waiter, and then I became an agent. You know Like I've been it's you know. So I moved to New York to be an actor and that didn't happen, but I always kind of I was. I had a friend who was a commercial casting director and so I used to go in and help him out at the casting calls.  35:20 That was back in the days of Polaroids and signing up and I really was fascinated by it. And he would you know. And he kept saying there's an opening at this agency. Do you want to go? And I would go and audition, you know, to be an assistant. Sure, and then boom, boom, boom.  35:35 And then, it just so happens, he said CED, because we weren't CESD at that point it was looking to expand the voiceover department and was I interested, and my partner at the time said go and audition. I mean go and audition, apply for the job, cause one of these days you will make more money than me. And so you know. And um and so um, and now, every year, every year. I'm still in touch with him and I call him and I say thank you, greggy, for allowing me to have this job.  36:08 - Anne (Host) Here's my annual income report allowing me to have this job.  36:11 - Billy (Host) Here's my annual income report yes, so anyway, yeah. So I've thought about this. What do I do? I'm too old to be a waiter.  36:23 - Anne (Host) I'm not going to go back, though I think I would be really good at it.  36:25 - Billy (Host) I have these- I agree, actually, you've got the social I think I could do. Yeah, so do I go. But when I retire, whenever that is, I want to social. I think I could do. Yeah, you know, so do I go. But you know, when I retire, you know, whenever that is, I'm on a travel. I just love to travel, that's, that's my thing. So you know. You know, I feel like when this is behind me, that I will, you know, I'll just travel. I'm not going to be on a horse up here, but I always had.  36:50 You know, sometimes I've had, you know, I don't know if I even want another. You know job and I'm at that point now where you know, I'm old and I don't want another career. It's not like I'm. You know, I'm going to be an artist, or you know, I once thought I thought well, maybe I'll just go do community theater somewhere.  37:07 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) I have a friend.  37:08 - Billy (Host) I have a friend, interestingly enough, a little older than I am, lives in Chicago and he started taking an acting class just for the hell of it.  37:16 - Anne (Host) For the hell of it.  37:17 - Billy (Host) And he said, the others they love it because they have somebody to play the old man in all those scenes. And I thought, oh my God, that's great, I could do that. Yeah, I love that. I thought yeah, why not community theater you? Know, if that was it. Now there's no community theater in New York City, so if that's where I retire, you know. But if I was to retire up here, you know that would interest me, and you know because I am a lover of theater, so I do.  37:46 - Anne (Host) Yeah, Well, I feel like you kept yourself in the acting world, you know by being an agent I mean in that you know, it's still like a. It's still you're very much immersed in it, and so I feel like, if that was your one love, you came to New York, by the way. Where did you come from?  38:02 - Billy (Host) I grew up in Waltham Massachusetts, oh okay. Okay yeah, just a little outside of. Boston.  38:07 - Anne (Host) Yeah, very familiar with it. I went.  38:09 - Billy (Host) Yeah, I grew up in Waltham and then I went to UMass, Amherst and then to New York.  38:14 - Anne (Host) That was my. Oh, fantastic, yeah, there you go. Well, my gosh, it has been such a pleasure chatting with you today. I mean, I could go on. I feel like we could go on, but at some point, I do have to quit at some point.  38:32 But yeah, thank you so so much for sharing your wisdom. It's been really a joy talking with you. I'm so excited for November. Guys, bosses, remember November 12th. Get yourself to vobosscom and sign up to work with this gentleman. He's amazing, and I'm going to give a great big shout out to our sponsor, ipdtl. You, too, can connect and network like bosses like Billy and myself, and find out more at IPDTLcom. Guys, have an amazing week and I'll see you next week. Bye, bye.  39:05 - Speaker 3 (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguzza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast to coast connectivity via IPDTL.   

Interview Date: January 26th, 2025Episode Summary:Rebecca Lampiasi, a dance agent at CESD in New York City. Rebecca shares her journey from growing up in a family of artists in New Jersey to discovering her true passion for supporting artists during her time at NYU Tisch. Initially involved in theater and acting, Rebecca shifted her focus to agency work, starting at a commercial casting office before joining CESD. She discusses her role as a dance agent, representing clients in theater, TV, film, and commercial work.Rebecca explains how the dance industry in New York differs from the commercial scene in LA, emphasizing that New York's work is more theater-focused, with significant opportunities in Broadway and national tours, while LA is known for its high volume of commercial work. She highlights the importance of building relationships and knowing your career goals when approaching an agent, and shares tips for dancers submitting to agencies, such as having a diverse dance reel and being mindful of social media presence.Show Notes:(0:00) Introduction(3:30) Rebecca's journey from theater to agency work(10:00) Transitioning to CESD(14:00) Differences between New York and LA dance industries(20:00) Tips for submitting to agencies(28:00) Building relationships with clients(35:00) Social media for dancers(42:00) Essential submission materials(50:00) Understanding clients' career goals(55:00) Q&A with Rebecca(1:01:00) ConclusionBiography:Rebecca Lampiasi is an agent in the Dance Department at CESD Talent, a NY-based department of the bi-coastal agency. She grew up in New Jersey, a theater nerd from day one, in a family of artists and art lovers. While attending NYU Tisch, she realized that her real love and talents lay in supporting other artists' journeys. After graduating with her BFA in Drama and a minor in Producing, she began working at a commercial and print casting office.The experience taught her so much about the business of the arts, the process of booking a job, and what casting teams look for. The experience also taught her that while casting allows a CD to be artistically creative, her passion was in supporting individual artists. With that in mind, she made the move to CESD as an assistant in the Dance Department, where she has been and has grown ever since.The department has an absolutely thrilling roster of talent across all media, including theater, tv/film, commercial, print and live events. CESD Dance is focused on individually tailored representation of each client as an individual - not just as an artist, but as a human being, and prides itself on open communication and intentional strategy.Connect on Social Media:https://www.instagram.com/rebeccalampshttps://www.instagram.com/cesdtalentWebsite:https://cesdtalent.com/

BOSSes Anne Ganguza and Andy Roth delve into the nuances of voice acting from the perspective of a seasoned casting director. They explore strategies for success in auditions, emphasizing the importance of authenticity and making genuine choices. Listeners will gain insights into the casting process, understanding the client's vision, and the significance of following instructions. The episode addresses the impact of AI on the industry while reinforcing the irreplaceable value of human connection and unique interpretation. Anne and Andy also discuss practical advice for creating compelling auditions, handling limited information, and cultivating a resilient mindset in the face of industry challenges.   00:04 - Anne (Host) Hey, what's up bosses? Join our VI peeps today and gain access to over 350 hours of pre-recorded workshops designed to enhance your voiceover skills. From industry insights to practical techniques, our workshops cover a wide range of topics. As a VI peeps member, you'll also receive a 15% discount on current workshops and free monthly workshops to keep your skills sharp. Don't miss out on this opportunity. Sign up for VI Peeps membership now at vopeeps.com    00:39 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) It's time to take your business to the next level, the boss level. These are the premier business owner strategies and successes being utilized by the industry's top talent today. Rock your business like a boss, a VO boss. Now let's welcome your host, Anne Ganguza.    00:58 - Anne (Host) Hey, hey everyone. Welcome to the VO Boss Podcast. I'm your host, Anne Ganguza, and today I am so excited to have a very special guest Andy Roth with me here today. Andy has a career that has spAnned three decades and he is an award-winning casting director, voice director, producer and writer and is known for you Would Do it Too, too Hot to Handle Valeria, the Animal People, the Forest, my gosh this list Andy is going on and the Peculiar Adventures of Willoughby Starr. He's also served as casting director on over a thousand commercials. That is a lot of commercials. So welcome to the podcast, Andy. It's so wonderful to have you.    01:40 - Andy (Host) Thanks, I'm excited to be here. Thank you.    01:43 - Anne (Host) Gosh, I met you not so long ago and I'm not quite sure why it took so long for me to meet you, but I thank Jessica Blue for introducing us because I feel like I've known you forever and you're just amazing and I want the bosses to know how amazing you are as well. And so let's talk about you and your long, spanning career of gosh over a thousand commercials and all these productions. It's amazing. How did you get started?    02:11 - Andy (Host) Honestly and yes, I think I have worked on more commercials than any human being should probably ever really be exposed to. I got started in this business actually back in 1994. A friend of a friend heard about an opening for an assistant at a talent agency which was called CED at the time. Now it's called CESD and it was in the voiceover department and so I became an assistant there, did that for several years, then became their in-house casting director and did that till 2007 and then left on my own and I actually I didn't even know when I started that voiceover was its own thing.    02:49 - Anne (Host) I was going to ask you, did you get the experience on the job as you were casting?    02:53 - Andy (Host) Yeah, like I mean, of course I always knew about commercial voiceover and animation and things like that, but I didn't know how vast it was until I was really in the heart of it and I just I fell in love with it.    03:05 - Anne (Host) I can't imagine. I mean and so how has the industry changed and evolved over the years?    03:10 - Andy (Host) for you, Well, it's gotten bigger. So many changes I mean, it's been 30 years since I went through a couple of strikes. It was the explosion of the non-union entity, which has become a whole other thing, of the non-union entity, which has become a whole other thing. Yeah, it's become its own area of the business. I've discovered that voiceover is anytime there's something new. Voiceover is the first thing there. Oh, how interesting. Anytime there's a new piece of technology, somebody wants to put a voice on it. Siri's a voiceover. Yeah, Alexa is a voiceover. Holograms have voiceovers. Augmented reality, virtual reality. When I started in this business, it was basically 13 chAnnels and people really mostly only cared about four of them. Yes, yes.    03:58 - Anne (Host) I hear you on that.    04:00 - Andy (Host) And then cable became a thing and you had this box with three numbers on it so you could have 999 chAnnels. And now with streaming, it's just icons. I mean it's unlimited. It goes on forever. And people have discovered content from other countries that's exploded and become a thing and voices are everywhere. We are the first area of the business to adapt and change and we're sticky Once we're in a place voiceover is just going to be there.    04:32 - Anne (Host) I love that. I love that, and especially because you've been in the industry for so long and we talked about, you know, the explosion, like the technology explosion too, I mean, with first it was all union, then non-union kind of came aboard, because of the pay to place, I'm sure, and the online casting, and now we're under the threat of AI. But I guess I'd love to hear your thoughts on that, because here you are with all these wonderful, hopeful things that you're saying about voiceover, which I love and I like to tell my bosses out there as well. I mean, I think there's always a place for human voiceover.    05:00 - Andy (Host) What are your?    05:00 - Anne (Host) thoughts on that.    05:02 - Andy (Host) I think there are certain areas of the business that may be a little safer from AI, especially animation. People love to go to cons to meet the voice of their character. You can't really replace that with AI. Is it 100% safe? Maybe not, but there are people dealing with it, fortunately, and AI does a lot of good things for the world too. I mean, I've seen programs where people who have no ability to speak can speak because AI helps them. It helps search engines. I mean there is definitely a place for AI. But as far as the possibility of replacing humans in this business, there are people out there that are concerned about it, that are helping, and fortunately they've been on it since it really became apparent it could be a thing. I'm optimistic. I'm realistic in that there will be some areas where AI is going to be there. It already is, but I'm very, very optimistic about protections.    06:02 - Anne (Host) Me too, me too.    06:03 I really am. There's a lot of people fighting and, with the strike going on, which you know, fingers crossed, people are listening. I mean, I think what it is is we have voices and hopefully they're being heard, because a lot of people out there, like back in the beginning, when I got into voiceover, like what is that? Even, and even when you said you started, like what is that? Even. I think bringing awareness to the global community about voiceover and what we do as creatives and how important the creative process is, I think is really impactful in helping get us protections as we move forward. And I am a tech girl and I believe there is a lot of space for AI in the world, but I also believe there's a lot of space for human and human engagement and human creativity and I think that people crave that, no matter how good. And let's talk about this because an AI voice is perfect, and so you and I also with my students, we talk a lot about like I don't want a perfect voice when I'm directing my students.    07:02 I mean I want to hear that imperfection because that makes it real and that makes me engage and connect with it. Let's talk a little bit about that, about really, what should voice actors be doing now to really separate themselves from the crowd and also from AI?    07:19 - Andy (Host) Well, honestly, being a presence having a discussion, you don't connect to AI the way you connect to another human when it reaches its pinnacle and it's really ready to go, which it's not totally now. But the good thing about AI is it's going to do whatever you ask it to do whenever you ask it to do it. The bad thing about AI is it's going to do whatever you ask it to do whenever you ask it to do it. There are some moments that have come out of projects I've worked on. I mean, I've voice directed I think like 22 shows now that are on the air. The great thing is you give a direction and the human being interprets it their way, and sometimes you're right on the money and you're really simpatico and it's exactly what I asked for. Thank you. Sometimes we figure things out together. Sometimes they come up with something they thought was what I asked for but was actually a lot better.    08:13 When you get two independent minds with human experience, with a life, with a history of interacting with other human beings, there's a thought process there that, at least at the moment and honestly, in my opinion, for the foreseeable future, can't really be duplicated. I mean, ai is intelligence, but it is artificial and we cast based on human interaction. We connect with roles we direct. This whole industry is built on human interaction. So, to a certain point, yes, ai can get things going and smooth out maybe some of the bumps, but it's not really going to be the base on which this industry is built for human beings to connect to other human beings. That being said, not everybody sees it this way, so be vigilant and be aware of it. But as far as how people can stand out honestly, the best way for people to stand out is to be themselves. There are a lot of people I know that send me auditions that I can hear they're trying to be what they think the right thing is. Yes, absolutely.    09:19 And if I've asked you to audition, you're already the right thing. I don't know if you'll get the job, but I know that you can do the job. And I've had auditions that people didn't book lead to other jobs that they didn't even audition for. That actually just happened on a show I am on right now. I cast somebody and he was like did I audition for this? I'm like well, sort of you auditioned, like two shows ago.    09:43 - Anne (Host) I love that. Yeah, I think that's very encouraging for those actors out there who it's such a personal thing, right.    09:50 When you submit an audition, it's so hard not to get personally attached to it or feel like, oh gosh, like I really, really want this, and but then you don't hear anything or you may never get feedback and then ultimately that is, I think, when people are first starting out in this industry. It's something very hard for them to kind of let go of because it is such maybe a personal connection. But I love that you're talking about bringing yourself and the human element to the audition, because that's really what makes you unique. I'll even tell my students, because I do a lot of work in the long format narration like corporate and e-learning, and most people feel like that shouldn't have like a point of view or a feeling, but most absolutely it does, because I tell people to think about like okay, if you're going to do an e-learning module like what was it when you were going to school that made someone your favorite teacher?    10:37 Like did you have a subject that maybe you hated, but then all of a sudden, the teacher was amazing and then that's what made it interesting. And that's the type of voice that I want to come out. And there's always a point of view in that, believe it or not, it's a point of view that says I care about you as a student, that I care that you learn, and so that comes through in the voice and if you're just reading the words, or even if you're just reading the words in the sound in which you hear them all the time, which typically is very robotic for a lot of e-learning, I go on and on about why that happened for so many years. Because nobody chucked us on it and nobody was an actual teacher.    11:09 And I say that because I was a teacher in front of the classroom for 20, some odd years. But still, even if you think in what you hear, I have so many students that say, but I hear it on the commercial, it sounds like this and I'm like, yeah, but that might not have been what got them cast. It might be at the moment that someone directed them to be. And even you, if I ask, if you're directing someone, do you not only sometimes have to like talk to the client to see?    11:33 if that's what the client is thinking is good, and even what you might be like, this is great. This actor's got it nailed. The client might want something different.    11:41 - Andy (Host) Well, I work with the actor for the client. The actor is sort of the most profound connection artistically. That's the relationship that ultimately creates a thing. But I do work for the client and ultimately what they want.    11:57 I kind of think of it like this: this is a hive mind and there's a queen bee somewhere in an office with a checkbook and the rest of us are workers trying to make sure the hive is ready before it rains. So I very, very much listen to the client, want to do what the client says. I'm very much back and forth with the client. If it's a dubbed show that I'm directing, I am constantly because I could get a read that I'm like that's brilliant, that's amazing, I love it. And then I'm like that's brilliant, that's amazing, I love it. And then I'm like let's compare it to the original, because if it doesn't match or do the same thing, I'm like I love it, but we have to shelve it and we have to do what the client wants.    12:34 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) But at the end of the day.    12:35 - Andy (Host) The client has built a container that they want filmed with humAnness and it is my job to fill it up, and that happens just through us connecting. Part of what I listen for on an audition is do I get you? And I don't mean like, are you a Pisces? Or something like that. I mean Long walks on the beach, right exactly Pina coladas getting caught in the rain, not that I have a problem with pina coladas or getting caught in theaters, or long walks on the beach.    13:05 - Anne (Host) Long walks on the beach.    13:06 - Andy (Host) Let's be fair, but I do feel like I want to feel like there's a human there, because that makes me feel like I know what's going to happen in the studio, and I don't want any of us to do more work than we absolutely have to do. I want us to connect, do something, play with it, do it again, move on, and it needs to be within the container that the client has given me to fill. Does that make sense?    13:29 - Anne (Host) Yeah, absolutely so. Then if there are casting specs, and someone is paying attention to the casting specs, which a lot of times. Casting specs sometimes seem fairly generic and sometimes not. How much should they be paying attention to that and trying to like create that versus bringing their most human self to that read?    13:49 - Andy (Host) Well, I will say this about casting specs and yeah, sometimes they kind of suck and I'm sorry about that, but they are designed to help you. They are coming from somebody's mind to kind of get you to the place where you can be you in the relevant context. Sometimes they're just not actable, sometimes they are a little generic, sometimes they're not understandable, but more often I think they are. And even if we don't realize every nuance, just reading them often will get us to an emotional place where we can be ourselves, because happy you is very different than sarcastic you or sad you or angry you. I say, always pay attention to them, always read them. But If you can't make a choice based on them, then maybe sort through or throw them away, but they are always there to help you.    14:42 I mean, I do know some people that are like, oh, I never read the specs. I don't think that's the best way to go. Sure, yeah, always. But I mean again, you don't have to be beyond completely throwing them away. They're garbage or they're just completely not you, but they weren't paying attention to. Also, sometimes we put things in there like naming conventions, if I say I want the file named role underscore full name.    15:12 And I get something that's named a different way Well before I've even listened to it. You've told me you don't really care what I have to say. So yeah, I would say, always pay attention to them.    15:21 - Anne (Host) I like how you turned that into the message right.    15:24 So a lot of people I'll be like I don't understand why I will have my students name files a particular way, because they submit their homework via Dropbox and they have to name it a certain way. And if they don't, I spend half of their session looking for their file and what happens is they seem to think I'm insane for asking them to name it a certain way. And I'm like, in reality, there's a method to my madness here. I mean because if you audition, you're going to have to name that file specifically the way they're asking, otherwise it's going to get tossed to the side. I like how you mentioned that. Yeah, you've already shown that you have respect for the process by naming the file correctly, and it shouldn't be a task to do that. And if it is a task, then I think maybe you should get some computer training that can help you to do that task and to pay attention, because that's part of our job when we're submitting.    16:14 - Andy (Host) I mean, you're going to name it something.    16:16 - Anne (Host) Yeah, exactly, why not name it what we're asked?    16:19 - Andy (Host) You're not just going to send me a file with nothingmp3. Also, I find that some of these rules, although they may not be the creative process, they may not be the most fun thing, they actually do help their creative process. I was talking to somebody who is an on-camera person. They're working on their own project and it's great. And I said have you ever interned or worked at a studio? You know, it's California, there's no shortage of them. If you can't intern, well, I think that that would get in the way of my creativity and I don't want to. And it's like okay, I understand that, because you'll be in their world with their creativity, but nobody writes a screenplay and says I can't wait to gaff this.    17:08 I'm so excited to hire security and craft services. Working at a place where all of these things are just laid out, where, okay, I have to get security, I have to get craft services, I have to go file permits, I have to do all this. Working at a place that's going to make the part you don't really want to do easy, is going to free you up to focus on the creative and it's actually going to make you creatively freer because, whether it's a horror movie or a romance or a comedy, getting a permit is getting a permit. It's the same and getting used to saying, okay, I know how they want to do this. It's the reason I have people name certain things is because often I want all characters grouped together.    17:44 - Anne (Host) Yeah, absolutely yeah. There's a good reason for that, yeah.    17:47 - Andy (Host) Right, and if yeah, like you said, if I have to go searching through it, you made my job harder finding you than it was for you. To just name it what I asked you.    17:55 - Anne (Host) Don't give you homework, like I shouldn't be giving you homework.    17:58 - Andy (Host) If I'm submitting an audition, it should not be homework for you to find it and to listen to it, and yeah, absolutely, and I just may not do it.    18:06 - Anne (Host) Yeah, exactly Because you know you're that student that sits in the back of the class. I mean, I already know this about you, having met you briefly, but those are the most fun students.    18:18 Those are the creative ones that usually you know they're geniuses in the back because they're causing all kinds of trouble, but you don't want to give your talent agent or your casting director or whoever it is you're submitting your audition to. You don't want to give them homework. So what other things would you recommend are strategies for maybe creating a great audition or getting to the humAnness and the point of view that you're looking for in terms of this is the actor I want to cast.    18:45 - Andy (Host) Don't try to get it right. Don't deliberately get it wrong, like if the role obviously needs you laughing. Don't cry uncontrollably to stand out, because you will stand out.    18:55 - Anne (Host) It's got to make sense.    18:56 - Andy (Host) Yeah, you will stand out, just not necessarily in the way that you want to, but being free. So many people hang so much on every audition it's like, oh, this is the job, and if I don't get this job I failed. And that's not true. Every audition can get you more auditions. An audition is really a way to establish or reaffirm a relationship, and you'll get opportunities and jobs in this business. For one reason Somebody wants you to have that opportunity, or that job.    19:30 It's not who you know in this business, it's who knows you. Ah, I like that in an audition. I mean there's nothing anybody can teach you that's going to guarantee you're going to book everything. But being yourself making simple choices, Okay, the first line is oh my God, I'm so happy, I'm going to make a simple choice, I'm going to smile, I'm going to be happy, I'm going to listen back to it, see if it needs more or less, maybe something else, but trying to be like what did they mean by? You know, let me stand out, let me get? You don't know enough at the audition point to stand out. You haven't heard the other auditions. You don't know about the conversations the casting director's having with the client. You don't know who else is cast. You don't know. You don't know any of the parameters. Sometimes somebody wants somebody who's done a million jobs because of a time frame or there's a relationship.    20:22 Sometimes we specifically don't want that person because that person has been heard on eight other projects. You don't know any of that. What you can know is that if we've reached out to you with an audition, it's because there's already something there that lets us at least believe we know who you are. I don't need some weird ethereal happy, I just need your happy. It's also not about not needing to be directed. It's about us getting you so we can ask can you be?    20:52 - Anne (Host) happier. Can you be less happy?    20:53 - Andy (Host) Yeah, keep it simple, there's a thing.    20:57 I call the four disagreements yeah, if you want to serve the script, don't worry about serving the script. If you want to get it right, don't worry about getting it right. If you want to play the moments, don't worry about playing the moments. And if you want to make the casting director happy, don't worry about making the casting director happy. Make the choice or choices that you feel are right for the script, for the context and any other information you may have.    21:23 Was somebody that I felt was really, really right for a role. I thought they were great, they were perfect for it. I read them, I gave my little write-up about why I thought they were terrific, sent it off. The director really, really liked them and it came down to that person and one other and the other person ultimately got it. That's what the director was feeling and it was a great person. I mean, the person who got it was terrific and I liked them and I worked with them all the time. But I was like, not the way I would have gone, but fine. So season two.    22:08 I ended up directing season two and I called this actor and I said do you mind if I submit you? And they said sure, what do you want me to read? I said I don't. I want to resubmit your audition from last season. And they said but it didn't get me the job. I said no, but there's different brains involved now and we'll see. And the person who booked it last time can't do it again because they did it last time and it's a different role. And I resubmitted it with the same write-up and they ended up getting a lead role. So we hang so much on everything that we micromanage, we microanalyze. Don't look for information you don't have and not going to have. Say this is what I feel is right. I'm not an idiot. I know the business, I know my choices are right. I sometimes book. I get asked to audition again. Do them, and I'm not going to say forget about it, because that's not always how brains work.    23:03 - Anne (Host) Try to forget about it. Yeah, exactly, don't let it mentally hassle with your yeah yeah, don't schedule an extra therapy session for it or anything. Yeah, exactly.    23:12 - Andy (Host) Yeah, I mean it'll be in your head and it's fine, but know that your audition is out there working for you. Just be you. Make simple choices, things you know you can do, things you feel are right and do them.    23:24 - Anne (Host) Now here's a question which I know is on a lot of people that are just getting into the industry, or students that are just getting into the industry. It's about the lack of. They're like the words are on the page and they don't make sense to the student, because they're talking about some visual that's probably already been done or it's in the process, or the person that wrote the copy knew what visuals were going to be along with it. But yet here's the copy, but yet no storyboard. There's no other information except for maybe like casting specs about oh, we want female age, blah, blah, blah, blah. And so then they're like well, how do I interpret this? How do I even because I'll okay, who are you? Who are you talking to? You know, create that scene. And when I'm just like well, look, as long as you're committed right, you're committed to those words and they make sense, you can make up whatever scene you want that allows you to be authentic and genuine with it.    24:15 And sometimes I'm very surprised at stuff that I've done. When I look at what comes out afterwards, I'm like whoa, okay, I didn't expect that. So why is that? Are we a step in the process where we don't get fed more information, like is there a reason why there's not more storyboards or there's not more you know what I mean information given at the time of the audition, or just curious?    24:36 - Andy (Host) I never asked anybody this and I will say this. It sometimes is as frustrating for me. I would love for the actor to have everything the actor needs, but sometimes you can't. Sometimes projects are secretive. Sometimes there actually is a storyboard. I'm just not allowed to tell you. Sometimes there's information about what show it is or what the product is. I remember when Apple first started advertising the iPhones and we were casting in person because it was a long time ago and we weren't even allowed to put iPhone on the door. We weren't even allowed. It would be secret product, you know, and people would be like oh, a phone that does stuff.    25:17 - Anne (Host) But we weren't allowed to say it.    25:19 - Andy (Host) So there'd be like on the door it would say like jet plane or freezer burn or just some random word, so you would know where you should go. I worked on a show recently where there were these athletes going to this really important game and one of them is looking out the window and it's starting to rain and he's nervous and he's like, wow, it's raining out there. And the coach looks at him and goes, yeah, but it's raining for the other team too. Whatever information you don't have, neither does anybody else.    25:54 Whatever problems you have, everybody else it's raining for the other team too Sure.    25:59 - Anne (Host) Sure, I love that. It's so nice for you to validate that you know, what.    26:03 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) I mean.    26:03 - Anne (Host) Because I think a lot of times people are like but why, how? Come I don't know anymore. Why can't?    26:07 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) I.    26:08 - Anne (Host) I said it's very rare in any of my jobs in all these years that I've ever gotten a storyboard. I mean after. I get it maybe I'll get a storyboard. There'll be times I'll get storyboards with a commercial audition, but I think it's gotten less over the years. Yeah.    26:23 - Andy (Host) You get what people feel you need, and they're not always right.    26:26 - Anne (Host) And a lot of times they change again. Yeah.    26:30 - Andy (Host) And it's very much. You get what you get. You don't get upset, but you will always have everything you need to do your job. You may not feel it, it may not be as much as you want, but it is enough to get you to a place where you can come up with specifics. Even if you make them up, you can come up with a.    26:50 - Anne (Host) I'm happy, I'm sad. I'm a wise ass.    26:53 - Andy (Host) This business. We do everything we can to give you everything you need to do your job and only be as specific as you can. Don't go to a place where you're making up a whole scenario so you can feel more complete as a performer that I'm not going to get. Does that make sense?    27:12 - Anne (Host) Yeah.    27:13 - Andy (Host) Know that when we send this out, we are ready to fill in these blanks in the job Right.    27:19 - Anne (Host) And usually, if I'm not mistaken, the voiceover is probably one of the tail end of the things to be filling in, or no Is? That not a correct Like. Usually the media is finished, the things have been written. Usually there's visuals somewhere along the line that have been made and then the last thing to be cast is a voice, but maybe not when we're talking on camera. I mean, that could be. That's a different part of the process.    27:40 - Andy (Host) Yeah, well, I mean, I would say probably, I mean anytime there's an actor involved. A lot of work has been done before. Yeah, before we even start talking to actors, and a lot of work's going to be done after the actors are gone. So, yeah, on camera, yeah, of course you're on set for a little bit longer probably than voiceover, but, yeah, often things are in place and we do our best to ask is that what you're saying? Yeah, yeah, absolutely yeah, yeah, but there's a lot that happens before anybody asked me to do anything.    28:12 - Anne (Host) There's a lot that happens before the mixer's involved or anything yeah, yeah, I think it's good to know that we're only one tiny piece of like an entire project and sometimes, I think, in our own little worlds. We tend to forget that in our booths right. We're like oh the voiceover is like front and center and in reality there's so many other components to probably creating this project or commercial or movie or whatever it is.    28:38 There's so many other parts and we get so wrapped up in just our part of it that I think we have to realize that we're just a cog in the wheel so to speak, it's an important cog I mean, the machine won't work without it. Exactly.    28:50 - Andy (Host) But we do mesh. It's a great analogy, metaphor simile, simile, it's a great simile. Yeah, right, I thought I was an English teacher. There you go, simile, there you go. Oh, I love it. I love it, it's a great, yeah, simile.    29:10 Yeah, because, like I said, we're all worker bees yes, yeah, I know that we have a lot of the same issues too. There's stuff I can't know, there are things I'm not allowed to be a part of, and there's a lot of processes. So, yeah, just do your job. Don't worry about what we want or what somebody else is looking for or somebody else is hiding. We're not, we're not hiding anything. We just need you to be you, to know what that cog is.    29:26 And again, I have anxiety attacks when I get a job, sometimes because there's just so much stuff I haven't gotten to sit down with it yet. I haven't seen a script, I don't have a cast. Sometimes I don't have all the episodes of a show or all the spots in the commercial campaign. There's a lot I don't know either. And I understand it can be isolating. It could feel lonely, you know, when you're alone in your booth it could feel like everybody's working more than you, everybody's auditioning more than you, everybody in the industry does have that. It's been a few weeks. Am I ever going to work again?    30:02 - Anne (Host) Do I belong in this industry? It just becomes very dramatic sometimes.    30:06 - Andy (Host) I state something. I offered a potato chip. Did that offend somebody? And we spiral out. Every single person involved does it. Oh, nice to know, I'm not alone, right, I mean, because even after all these, years.    30:20 - Anne (Host) Sometimes it's so hard not to get those thoughts in the way. I swear that, like everything that we do, sometimes it's so hard not to get those thoughts in the way I swear that, like everything that we do, is sometimes it's not a God given talent.    30:28 Well it is, but it's the most important thing, is our mental state about it all, because it can affect so much I mean the fact is is that we can just like let those feelings and ideas spin around in our head and be like oh my God, did I do something to offend? Am I good enough? Am I? You know all that talk in your head is the stuff that I think is probably some of the most dangerous talk and things that you could have as a voice actor.    30:52 - Andy (Host) Yeah, it's. It's like Schrodinger's audition the audition is simultaneously good, bad and not submitted. There you go.    31:02 - Anne (Host) I love it. Oh my goodness. So then I would say, with the thousands of commercials that you have directed or produced, what? Would you say, is the cast that you've cast? What's the best thing a talent can do? In hopes of maybe getting cast. And what's the worst thing that you've seen a talent do that wouldn't get them cast?    31:22 - Andy (Host) Yeah, I don't know that I'm going to say the worst thing.    31:24 - Anne (Host) Or yeah, maybe not a smart thing. So yeah, that kind of tends to be pretty specific to a person.    31:30 - Andy (Host) And if it's the worst thing I've seen, it means probably only one person did it and so I'm not going to tell, I would say, the most probably impractical thing that.    31:39 I've seen people do is be like, okay, I'm going to be the person who is going to get the job. I'm going to try to fool you into thinking that I'm the person you're really going to hire, and so I'll get a read and somebody's clearly doing this and it's like well, I know it's a car commercial, but I didn't ask for that and that person is available and they work for what you work for.    32:04 If I reached out to you, I don't want an impression of that person or people that change their voice into a better version of you know, it's like if I called somebody because they have a certain depth to their voice.    32:19 - Anne (Host) This is my voiceover voice, right, yeah?    32:21 - Andy (Host) And if I haven't asked you to do that and I might I mean there are things but if I haven't asked you to do that, don't do that. It may even turn into that at the end of the day.    32:32 - Anne (Host) Isn't that the truth, right? It may turn into that at the end. That's what. I end up getting is people be like. But I listened to the commercial and it sounds just like this and I'm like but that doesn't mean that that performance got you the job.    32:43 - Andy (Host) Yeah, I've had people come up to me. Andy, I heard that spot, I could have done that. Why didn't you ask me to do that? And I'm like is it your first day in the business, have you never? It's like nobody did that. The person who booked it didn't do that and the client liked the director is directing and they call the client and the client's like can we hit this word a little bit more? And I feel like we're not pushing.    33:07 - Anne (Host) Yeah, and I always say that the person who's actually making decisions like it depends on, like what they hear in their head, right. And maybe they're a 65 year old person that's been listening to announcery commercials all their lives and that's what they hear in their head. And that's what ends up getting directed, or whatever it is. I think our voices become a product of the years and years that we've had and your musical, I know this right Of hearing things right.    33:31 And so that's why when we go in and we say this is what we think you want to hear, because we're mimicking over a period of years that's why in our head there's a certain melody Also. I think there's a certain melody also. I think there's a scientific and tell me and if you think I'm right, I think there's a scientific like reason why people, when they read words, they read them in a melody. That's very expected, because I can tell you exactly like.    33:52 Here's a paragraph, I can mimic exactly what you're going to do. If you're not thinking about like acting and you're just thinking about reading along a melody, I know that melody already and it's funny because I'm right like 99.9% of the time with that melody. And what is that? That's a scientific study that you read words in a certain melody.    34:11 - Andy (Host) Well, I'm not a neuroscientist, Damn it Andy, why? Not, you're everything else. That was my fallback, that was plan B, just in case yeah, I mean you've got that medical background. But the brain doesn't think in words, the brain doesn't think in images. The brain thinks in little synaptic flashes, billions and billions and billions of them. You're sounding like a scientist, thank you.    34:36 Thank you very much For anybody who's like questioned me on that, which, fine, by all means question. My answer is what's the word that keeps you balanced? What's the word that keeps your heart beating? What's the? Your brain doesn't need words. Your brain just does little flashy things like a microchip. Your brain's basically a macrochip, holds, I think, about 10 terabytes of information and it processes it certain ways. So when you look at a word, it doesn't actually see a word, it sees an image that sparks a whole sequence of synaptic flashes. The people that organized those words in the form of a script or a book or whatever learned the language. The way you learned the language. They learned it by hearing it. And even if it's your second language, yeah, okay, maybe there's some schooling, but at the end of the day, you're really learning it conversationally, by hearing people do it. So your brain doesn't just process. Okay, this is this sequence of words with a dot or a line at the end of it, or a squiggle or something.    35:36 It actually processes the whole thing as a rhythm. The rhythm that was born into it will probably be the rhythm that comes out. And yeah, is it 100%? No, sometimes there's typos, sometimes things are weird, but it's also why, like, there's this thing online where there's a whole paragraph and every word has first, last and middle letter in the right place, but the rest of the words are just jumbled.    36:03 - Anne (Host) Oh yeah, and we know what that.    36:04 - Andy (Host) yeah, I've seen those and you can still read them, you can still get the rhythm, you can still do all that. So acting is a physics term is one of the things I say in my class. Acting is doing something that has an effect on a receiver. You say something, it affects somebody else. It hits a series of triggers. A script is the same thing. A script is a series of things that will trigger you in most cases, which?    36:30 is why somebody leaves a word out of a line. You often may not even notice that word's not there. Your brain's just going to put it in. So, yeah, exactly like you said, you're going to be right most of the time, because it is how your brain now thinks. And sometimes you won't be. But those are flukes. Those are rare. They do happen. They're. Certainly those will be the ones that we look at and focus on, because they're messed up and we'll use them to define ourselves. Oh, I'm terrible. How could I have made that mistake? But the truth is, usually things go right, and so trust yourself. It's why one of the four disagreements if you want to get it right, don't worry about getting it right.    37:11 Yeah, don't worry about getting it right, absolutely yeah, read it listen to it and, to be honest, if it's terrible, throw it away. Nobody's going to hear it.    37:18 - Anne (Host) Right, it's so funny. I remember when I was teaching in front of the class and I would get so excited. Sometimes, like my brain, I'd be like, oh, and I want to tell them about this, and then what would come out of my mouth sometimes didn't follow, because I was so excited, but the funny thing is is that I never once had a classroom that didn't forgive me for that, do you?    37:35 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) know what I mean?    37:36 - Anne (Host) Yeah, yeah, because I was so intent on sharing, and excited and passionate that they forgave the mistakes I made, and I truly believe that that's how you need to approach your copy, because it's more about how you're making me feel really. And, like you said, it's a series of synapses or reactions or the words are there to trigger something and so the acting is reacting, kind of thing.    37:59 And so that really needs to be built into all of your auditions, all of your performances in some form or fashion. And yeah, worrying about making it perfect is spending too much time worrying about making it perfect and not enough time worrying about how are you going to make someone feel or how are you going to engage with them and tell that story.    38:17 - Andy (Host) Yeah, it's not your job to not have a problem. It's your job to have a problem in a way that nobody else thinks it's going to become their problem. It's your ability to deal with it. Yeah, exactly, we worry about so much One of the things that I tell you have to do a do you can't, do a don't. I'm going to be happy. That's a do you can do that, I'm going to talk fast.    38:39 That's a do. I'm going to talk slow. I'm going to talk with an accent. I'm going to be really big or I'm going to be really small, I'm going to whisper Any of these things. These are things you can do. You can't do a don't. I don't want to be wrong is not a choice. I don't want to mess it up is not a choice. I'm trying to not be too fast, or I'm trying to not.    38:59 Those are not choices, those are don'ts. I would rather have you be too fast and ask you to slow down which is an inevitability of our relationship as director and actor anyway than have somebody who's delivering at the perfect pace but the copy is sounding like this and there's no humAnness to it. Cool, we learn more from our successes than our mistakes. HumAnness to it. Cool, we learn more from our successes than our mistakes. Everything you're good at, you've gotten good at by doing it right over, over, over, over over and sometimes messing it up, but being able to fix it because your brain knows what the right is. So whoever's listening to it or interacting with you in an audition is going okay. When they stumble, it's not going to be a big deal.    39:44 - Anne (Host) Yeah, exactly, we'll move on yeah.    39:45 - Andy (Host) Yeah, nobody cares.    39:46 - Anne (Host) I want the intent.    39:47 - Andy (Host) Yeah, nobody cares if you screw up, I mean, and the reality of it is is.    39:50 - Anne (Host) I mean unless you're being live directed right. I mean we're all human. Everybody understands that. If you're not and you're doing it later on, I mean good Lord, we can just edit it.    40:01 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) I mean, so if you stumble on a word.    40:03 - Anne (Host) I mean, we all do it. I'd love to speak perfectly 100% of the time, but I certainly don't. And so, yeah, we all make mistakes and so it's just you fix it. And so when I'm having somebody read for me live, I don't care if they stumble, I want their acting, I want to hear their acting. And if they stumble, it's okay because inevitably they're going to get it right. If I'm paying them $10,000 for the job, I mean they're going to go do it until they get it right.    40:25 And so if you're going to stumble in front of me, that's fine. I just want to feel you and hear you.    40:30 - Andy (Host) Yeah, just don't have a meltdown in front of me about it, don't beat yourself up, don't apologize. I want to be a director. I don't want to be a therapist.    40:39 - Anne (Host) You probably are for most of the time.    40:41 - Andy (Host) I don't want to. I don't want to do that. Yeah, I mean like people can go bleh, you know, and do a pickup. I don't mind a blip, that's huge. But I've seen people really like beat themselves up and feel like they're less than or feel like they're stupid I mess up words that I'm making up.    41:00 - Anne (Host) I mess up words when I talk in everyday conversation.    41:03 - Andy (Host) Yeah, yeah, and I don't even have a script, I'm just making that up. Yeah, exactly.    41:07 - Anne (Host) That's brain to mouth.    41:09 - Andy (Host) Oh, I screwed that up, yeah there's a lot that happens between synapse and noise and there can be a problem at any step of that process, so worry less about that, bosses. Yeah, worry less. There's a phrase that I hate practice makes perfect.    41:26 - Anne (Host) I mean, I don't know, if you say it, I'm sorry if you do, I probably. No, I don't okay. Good, I mean because it's never happened.    41:30 - Andy (Host) I mean, how long does something have to not happen before we stop acting like it's going to? The purpose of practice isn't to become some theoretical idea. The purpose of practice is to make you comfortable with the inevitability of your imperfection.    41:48 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I like that.    41:49 - Andy (Host) Yeah, you'll be reading a sarcastic role, or a happy role or an angry role. You'll be selling hamburgers or beer or a car. Scripts will change, attitudes will change, voices may change, but messing up a word and dealing with it doesn't. Yeah, yeah, you know that's the same. A typo, that doesn't change you. Getting mush mouth or dry mouth, that doesn't change. So the purpose of practice to get you comfortable with the fairly limited number of ways you're going to have a problem yeah, yeah, yeah yeah so that it's not a big deal.    42:23 I like that.    42:24 - Anne (Host) I'm always saying if there's a mistake in the script, and especially well, for me it makes sense because typically long-format narration scripts go through rounds and rounds of approvals, through like corporate hands and even like your stuff, I'm quite sure, goes through many hands of approval and so like, if you're going to be that actor that's going to point out a mistake in a script, no, don't be that actor.    42:44 Be the actor that reads it exactly the way it is but makes it sound like there's no mistake you know what I mean, that's your job is to make it sound beautiful, like, even if a word's missing or I mean if it's really really obvious then you just graciously. Hey, here's an alternate take, just. But don't ever like point out the mistake. Goodness gracious, no, nobody wants to be that person.    43:03 - Andy (Host) And if you have an opportunity to ask say is there a missing word? Sure, by all means, but sometimes you just don't have that opportunity. Sometimes you don't have an answer it's raining for the other team too.    43:14 - Anne (Host) Yeah, I love that. It's like that's such a great takeaway. That's such a great takeaway, that and just not worrying right and not worrying about being perfect, and I think that that has just been a wonderful takeaway and I feel like we need to have part one, two and three of this interview.    43:30 I would love that it's so wonderful. Thank you so much for chatting with me today and imparting those words of wisdom. Are you available, Like if people want to find out more about you? I mean, do you have a website? I mean, is it one of those things that people can reach out to you?    43:47 - Andy (Host) I do have a website. I have Andyrothcasting.com.    43:51 - Anne (Host) Okay.    43:52 - Andy (Host) Yeah, that is my website. I can't really always talk about things I'm working on, Of course. I mean almost everything is NDA, but things I've done are there. If I do have a class coming up or something, it's listed there.    44:03 - Anne (Host) And speaking of though, we do have a class coming up. I'm going to have you for my VO Peeps guest director guys. So boss is coming up.    44:11 Make sure you sign up, and I will say that when I met you at Mavo, you were doing a couple of classes and people were just raving about you and so, and they were really like taking a lot away from your classes. So I can't wait, I can't wait for you to be and you're going to be in. What did we decide? It was, oh my gosh, it's like May, may, march.    44:34 - Andy (Host) April, april or April or May, I don't know.    44:36 - Anne (Host) Peeps check the calendar because he's going to be here and Andy Roth, make sure you sign up, and I'm so excited for that.    44:44 - Andy (Host) Me too, me too. I'm really excited, and every opportunity to hang out and talk with you. Yay, I will take every one of those opportunities, awesome.    44:52 - Anne (Host) Well, hey, I can't wait to do this again. Thank you so much, thank you For being with me today, and a big shout out to my sponsor, ipdtl. You too, can connect and network like bosses. Find out more at IPDTLcom. Bosses, you have an amazing week. I just sounded Jersey. I think it's because I'm talking to you, Andy. I said bosses, have an amazing week and we'll see you next week. Bye, guys.    45:16 - Speaker 2 (Announcement) Join us next week for another edition of VO Boss with your host, Anne Ganguza, and take your business to the next level. Sign up for our mailing list at vobosscom and receive exclusive content, industry revolutionizing tips and strategies and new ways to rock your business like a boss. Redistribution with permission. Coast-to-coast connectivity via IPDTL. 

Dee Tomasetta (Associate Choreographer/Swing/Dance Captain) (she/her) is thrilled to be on this amazing journey! Broadway/NYC: Heart of Rock & Roll (Assistant Choreographer); SIX (Associate Choreographer); Radio City Christmas Spectacular. National Tour: Finding Neverland (Peter Pan/Associate Choreographer). Television: “Gilded Age,” “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “SNL.” University of Michigan Alumna. Endless love to my family, Lorin, the entire Tommy team and CESD! @deetomasetta Try a free trial! www.builtforthestage.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dee Tomasetta (Associate Choreographer/Swing/Dance Captain) (she/her) is thrilled to be on this amazing journey! Broadway/NYC: Heart of Rock & Roll (Assistant Choreographer); SIX (Associate Choreographer); Radio City Christmas Spectacular. National Tour: Finding Neverland (Peter Pan/Associate Choreographer). Television: “Gilded Age,” “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “SNL.” University of Michigan Alumna. Endless love to my family, Lorin, the entire Tommy team and CESD! @deetomasetta Try a free trial! www.builtforthestage.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Voice actor Zeno Robinson, whose credit list includes voice acting for both Western animation and English-language dubs of anime, joins us this week on Alicyn's Wonderland. Some popular projects Zeno is a part of include Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Noir, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Pokemon, Digimon Adventure:2020, Horimaya, and Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War. Right now, Zeno's living the Dragon Ball dream as Gamma in Dragon Ball Super, and he's down to share his story! Join us as Zeno and Alicyn talk about everything from Nintendo games (including a super rare Earthbound bundle he got his hands on without knowing how valuable it was) as well as his early introduction into acting which eventually led to him entering the world of voice acting through Melissa from CESD! Zeno also goes on to talk about some of his favorite shows growing up and how he found his way back into voice acting after taking a break from his craft. Furthermore, Zeno then goes on to share some incredibly valuable pieces of wisdom he's picked up from his journey, and discusses how someone's intervention helped change the way he saw acting in general. Finally, Zeno talks about how he got to live a Dragon Ball Z fan's dream by getting cast as Gamma for Dragon Ball Super! Timestamps:[9:04]The monologue that opened the doors for Zeno[19:49] Reuniting with Melissa and booking SpiderMan [24:51]How does booking a role make a voice actor feel?[28:01]Pro Tip: Never let them hear this when you're in the booth![28:51]The most damaging thing Zeno ever heard in his career[48:47]What it was like to get cast into Dragon Ball Follow Alicyn:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alicyn/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicynpackardWebsite: https://www.alicynpackard.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/alicyn/status/1666520402988769293TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@alicynpackardFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/alicynpackardartist/Follow Zeno Robinson:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/childish_gamzeno/Twitter: https://twitter.com/childishgamzenoStreamily: https://www.streamily.com/zenorobinsonAlicyn's Wonderland | Inside the World of Animation & Games

Bienvenue sur RARE à l'écoute, la chaîne de Podcast dédiée aux maladies rares. Nous recevons le Dr Brassier, pédiatre au sein du service de maladies métaboliques de l'hôpital Necker enfants malades à Paris, clinicien au sein du centre de référence des maladies héréditaires du métabolisme de l'enfant et de l'adulte de l'hôpital Necker pour la filière G2M et présidente du CETL (Comité d'Evaluation du Traitement des maladies Lysosomales). Nous abordons aujourd'hui la forme précoce de la LAL-D et ses spécificités, les symptômes pouvant évoquer la forme précoce de cette pathologie, l'évolution possible en l'absence de prise en charge, la prise en charge des patients ainsi que leur suivi. Si vous désirez vous informer et aller plus loin dans la connaissance de cette pathologie, nous vous donnons rendez-vous sur notre site internet www.rarealecoute.com. L'orateur n'a reçu aucune rémunération pour la réalisation de cet épisode.   Invitée : Dr Anaïs Brassier – Hôpital Necker-Enfants malades, APHP, Paris https://www.aphp.fr/service/service-68-061  L'équipe : Virginie Druenne - Programmation Cyril Cassard - Animation Hervé Guillot - Production Crédits : Sonacom

Making a Scene Brings you an Interview with a Pro - Celia Siegel - Branding ExpertNo matter where you are in your voiceover career, my team and I can help you build and market your standout brand, make sound business choices and strategize for success. Before founding & building CSM, I was a top West Coast talent agent (CESD). The fact that I am also a certified business and life coach comes in handy in many ways for my clients' emotional and financial well-being.

Join Denise Simon and CESD talent agent David Doan in this week's episode to get the inside tips about actor representation. During this interview, David answers many commonly asked questions as well as gives some unexpected advice about the role of agents and what you and your child can do to elevate your career to the next level! Don't miss this unique opportunity to hear a top agent's thoughts on the industry and what talent can do to make the most of their relationship.

She proudly produced Talkin Toons with Rob Paulsen at the World Famous Improv. As an Animation Agent, Pat reps some of the best talents in the industry, including Kari Wahlgren, Kevin Michael Richardson, Fred Tatasciore, Pamela Adlon, and Gregg Berger. Notably, she earned the title of Vice President of New Business thanks to her innovative thinking about bringing VO talent live to the public!Join us as we chat about a myriad of things, starting from her early years in the industry where she initially started off as a voice-over agent, then as an on-camera agent before ultimately she took over Don Pitts Voices at KSA then became a part of CESD. She also talks about what separates her clients from the rest. Plus she also imparts upon novice voiceover actors or those planning to be voiceover actors valuable advice that can definitely help propel you forward in your journey in the voiceover animation industry. Timestamps:[3:26] How Pat became a VO agent[6:06] Talent versus attitude[7:58] Pat's advice for beginners[16:39] What happened to the VO industry during the pandemic[23:09] Pat's preference for animation demos[24:53] Listen to this if you want to go further in VOFollow along with Alicyn's Wonderland on:Instagram: @AlicynTikTok: @alicynpackardYouTube: Alicyn PackardTwitter: @Alicyn 

About Melissa: Melissa Berger Brennan has been an agent for Theatrical (Film and Television) since 2002 and is Senior Vice President of the Young Talent Voiceover Department at Cunningham-Escott –Slevin-Doherty, (CESD), a talent agency with offices in Los Angeles and New York. Founded in 1967, CESD has been one of the most prestigious and popular agencies for commercial and voice over talents as well as a pioneer in the theatrical representation of young talent in all areas of the entertainment industry. As a theatrical agent, she has placed clients on such diverse projects as PAPER GIRLS, EXPATS, LIGHT YEARS, GOOD GIRLS, BLACKISH, THE GOLDBERGS, GRIMM, GLEE, SHAMELESS, MAD MEN, PARENTHOOD, and THE WALKING DEAD. Melissa is also the Senior Vice President of the Young Talent Voiceover department. Her clients have voiced leading roles in animated movies such as TURNING RED, MOANA, BIG HERO 6, HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA (2 & 3 & 4), GOOD DINOSAUR, PEANUTS, KUNG FU PANDA 3, PEABODY AND SHERMAN, as well as upcoming features.  Animated series regulars include leads in MOON GIRL, RIDLEY JONES, MY DAD THE BOUNTY HUNTER, A TALE DARK AND GRIMM, PETE THE CAT, OWL HOUSE, JURASSIC WORLD: CAMP CRETACEOUS, GABBY'S DOLLHOUSE, VICTOR AND VALENTINO, LOUD HOUSE, GUMBALL, DRAGONS, NIKO AND THE SWORD OF LIGHT, SOFIA THE FIRST, ADVENTURE TIME, LION GUARD, PHINEAS & FERB, AVATAR, DOC MCSTUFFINS, JAKE AND THE NEVERLAND PIRATES and LEGEND OF KORRA, to name a few.  Her clients have also voiced interactive games, including leads in JEDI: FALLEN ORDER and GOD OF WAR: RAGNAROK, plus numerous television and radio commercials, and done ADR for major feature films. Melissa studied theatre and acting at the University of Michigan and holds an MFA in Acting from California Institute of the Arts. “Good work is good work is good work.” It's all about the slow game. “You've got to come out guns blazing, you have to get out on the jump.” What do you look for in new talent? Training Is there a spark? Is there something inherently watchable about them? Do they have an artistic point of view? Did they make my heart rate change? Partial to school programs? U of Michigan Cal Arts Pace North Carolina School of the Arts Boston Julliard She listens to teachers Never stop growing never stop learning.  

On this episode of Real Conversations, Jacob sits down with actress Brytni Sarpy. Brytni started in theater where she appeared in several main stage and local productions where she received critical acclaim for her dramatic range and comedic timing. Brytni is also a trained dancer. The actress currently resides in Los Angeles where she is represented by Pantheon Agency for theater and Vision Talent and CESD for commercial and print work. She has appeared in commercials and print work for Nike, Yahoo!, AT&T, New Balance, and several others. In 2010, Sarpy starred alongside Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver in You Again. In addition to auditioning for the NBC soap opera, Days of Our Lives, Sarpy had previously auditioned for the General Hospital roles of Taylor DuBois and later Jordan Ashford for which she was too old and too young, respectively. Sarpy later won the contract role of Valerie Spencer made her debut on March 20, 2015. In March 2016, it was announced that Sarpy was set to host the a new reality series The Pitch Room. In December 2016, Sarpy was dropped from a series regular to recurring status at General Hospital. In 2017, Sarpy starred alongside Heather Langenkamp in Truth or Dare. She was cast in the regular role of Elena Dawson on The Young and the Restless in February 2019. In March 2019, Sarpy announced that she'd also booked a recurring role on the new season of The Haves and the Have Nots. Real Conversations with Jacob Young is brought to you by Boys Town.  FOLLOW JACOB: Instagram  Facebook Twitter

Therapist and founder of Abundance Practice Building, Allison Puryear, joined me to talk about building abundant private practices. Whether you are considering a private practice or are "full and miserable", Allison has the answers you need. Allison has built private practices in three different states and has a thriving membership program called Abundance Party.Allison Puryear, LCSW, CEDS is a therapist with a nearly diagnosable obsession with business development. After nearly burning out at agencies, she has built successful private practices in 3 different states & has truly come to love practice building. So much so, that she created Abundance Practice Building which provides the tools that you need to create a successful private practice- one that's healthy and provides freedom, joy, & financial stability. Allison works together with therapists like you to create something great & avoid the burnout that leads to too many great therapists leaving the field – because let's be real, we need therapists like you more than ever.HighlightsWhen to start a private practiceReframing marketing of your practice Knowing your niche and the dangers of taking on every type of referralHow fear stops you from creating or growing your practiceImposter syndrome sneaking in when you do something newRethinking NetworkingScarcity mindset and hacks for reframing taking time off The guilt of earning what you're worthThe challenge of starting a practice and starting a familyResourcesFree Private Practice Checklist https://abundancepracticebuilding.com/checklist/www.abundanceparty.com: everything you need to build a successful private practice for a low monthly feewww.abundanceparty.com/innercircle: our most exclusive offering that combines monthly coaching 1:1s with our amazing educational resources.ConnectAllison Puryear, LCSW, CEDShttps://abundancepracticebuilding.com/ Instagram @abundance_practice_building Dr. Tamara SolesInstagram  @drtamarasolesTwitter @drtamarasolesFacebook http://facebook.com/drtamarasolestamara@thesecurechild.comdrtamarasoles.comSupport the ShowIf you're enjoying the show, please make a one-time contribution at buymeacoffee.com/thishour or become a monthly Mental Health ChampionHelp us spread the word so others can enjoy it as well1. Leave a review on itunes/apple podcast 2. Share an episode on Social media. Be sure to tag me on it so I can see @drtamarasoles on facebook  twitter and instagram

What do Collette Sunderman, CESD, sword improv, and Spider-Man dreams have in common? This guy! Sean Rohani chats with voice actor and filmmaker Cory Yee about his journey to becoming a working voice actor, and how he continues to level UP! his career. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave a positive review and share with your friends! Have a question you'd like to ask? Leave a comment on our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/groups/voiceactingup/! Thanks for listening!

Uzair talks to Dr. Shahida Wizarat about the structural underpinnings of Pakistan's economy and why the country has gone from being a role model to a basket case. Dr. Shahida is Dean at CESD, Institute of Business Management. She has authored three books, The Rise and Fall of Industrial Productivity in Pakistan (OUP), Fighting Dependance: Proclaiming Sovereignty for an Enslaved Pakistan (LAP) and Fighting Imperialism: Liberating Pakistan (CRS). She has authored more than 70 research papers published in international and national journals and newspapers. Dr Wizarat has been visiting faculty at the Naval Staff College, Air War College, Command and Staff College and National Defence University. Reading Recommendations: - The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins - China’s Model of Development—Lessons for Pakistan by Ambassador Syed Hasan Javed

Today I'm speaking with the incredible Taylor Green while testing out the new trend of adding baking soda to paint and trying to up-cycle some jars and bottles. We speak about her dance journey, finding a side job that you actually love, working with Nick Kenkel, manifesting your dream show, photography... There is a lot packed into this one! Taylor is A dancer, actor, and photographer living in Jersey City. When I'm not dancing (which, 2020... yikes) I work as marketing director / content creator for Jane DO, a female boutique fitness brand. I'm a graduate of Temple University with a BFA in dance and BA in advertising, and happy to report I'm doing both still to this day! I'm signed with CESD for dance and commercial print and I continue to get excited about being both in front of the lens and behind it. Follow Taylor at @greeenmachine on also social media and check out her photography account @greeenmachineimages and hire her for your next photo shoot! The Dancers Doing stuff podcast comes out every Friday with mini-episodes every Sunday! Our live show happens on youtube every Wednesday at 7:30 . Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss any episodes.

http://hollywoodwinnerscircle.com/Wendy has been a Talent Agent and Hollywood Talent Manager for over 20 years. She is the founder of Talent Managers for Actors and the Hollywood Winners Circle Academy, the industry standard in acting business training.  Wendy Alane Wright is CEO of WAW Entertainment a leading talent management firm in Los Angeles representing Actors, Models, Singers, Producers and Writers. WAW has grown into a well-respected management firm with clients who have appeared on television networks such as ABC, NBC, TNT, CBS, HBO, Comedy Central, BIO, SyFy, Lifetime, and more. Some of the projects our clients have booked are TV shows including “Modern Family,” “Blackish,” “Extant,” “The Colony,” “Animal Kingdom,” “My Haunted House,” "American Horror Story," "Walk The Prank," “Henry Danger,” "Nightshift," "Sharp Objects," as well as hundreds of commercials for major spots including Shutterfly, Mercedes, Visa, Taco Bell, Universal Studios, Homegoods, Walmart, Justice, Target, Honda, Legos, Hot Wheels, and many more.As one of the most successful youth management firms in Los Angeles, WAW has strong connections in Hollywood. Through our strategic guidance our star clients have signed with leading talent agencies including BMG Models, Mavrick, Abrams Artists, Coast to Coast, APA, Osbrink, Paloma Models and Talent, Ford Models, Funny Face Talent, MMG Models NY, Clear Talent, Media Artists Agency, LB Talent, Daniel Hoff Agency, Bobby Ball Agency, CESD and more. WAW has strong relationship with Casting Directors. https://moscovaenterprises.com/links/

http://hollywoodwinnerscircle.com/ Wendy has been a Talent Agent and Hollywood Talent Manager for over 20 years. She is the founder of Talent Managers for Actors and the Hollywood Winners Circle Academy, the industry standard in acting business training.   Wendy Alane Wright is CEO of WAW Entertainment a leading talent management firm in Los Angeles representing Actors, Models, Singers, Producers and Writers. WAW has grown into a well-respected management firm with clients who have appeared on television networks such as ABC, NBC, TNT, CBS, HBO, Comedy Central, BIO, SyFy, Lifetime, and more. Some of the projects our clients have booked are TV shows including “Modern Family,” “Blackish,” “Extant,” “The Colony,” “Animal Kingdom,” “My Haunted House,” "American Horror Story," "Walk The Prank," “Henry Danger,” "Nightshift," "Sharp Objects," as well as hundreds of commercials for major spots including Shutterfly, Mercedes, Visa, Taco Bell, Universal Studios, Homegoods, Walmart, Justice, Target, Honda, Legos, Hot Wheels, and many more. As one of the most successful youth management firms in Los Angeles, WAW has strong connections in Hollywood. Through our strategic guidance our star clients have signed with leading talent agencies including BMG Models, Mavrick, Abrams Artists, Coast to Coast, APA, Osbrink, Paloma Models and Talent, Ford Models, Funny Face Talent, MMG Models NY, Clear Talent, Media Artists Agency, LB Talent, Daniel Hoff Agency, Bobby Ball Agency, CESD and more. WAW has strong relationship with Casting Directors.  https://moscovaenterprises.com/links/

What do 10-hour audition days, touring bands, CESD, and rockstar cosmetology have in common? This gal! Sean Rohani chats with LA-based voice actor Julie Shields about her journey to becoming a working voice actor (and lead singer) and how she continues to level UP! her career. To learn more about Julie's AMAZING band The Capsules, visit www.TheCapsules.com If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave a positive review and share with your friends! Have a question you'd like to ask? Leave a comment on our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/groups/voiceactingup/! Thanks for listening!

On this week's #quarantined episode of The Cool Kids Table we were lucky enough to chat with one of NYC's top voice over casting directors, Andy Roth. Andy has cast video games, animation, commercials, TV and films and is known for his kindness in the industry. He teaches in NYC, online, is a producer, and an animal lover! His documentary, The Animal People is streaming on Amazon & Netflix. Enjoy hearing from a casting director who wants you to succeed! Here's Andy Roth and all things voice over

Tommy Dewey may seem casually cool and like he has it all figured out in this business, but it took "letting go" of perfection to land the jobs on CASUAL and THE MINDY PROJECT that made him feel like he could truly relax and embrace a fully realized character. A collegiate track runner at Princeton University, Tommy had big plans for Wall Street signing up for the LSAT twice. On hiatus from a stress fracture, Tommy accepted a challenge to audition for the two coveted spots in Princeton's improv troupe. No acting experience, but a innate sense of comedic timing and his sports driven ambitious nature landed him one of the two coveted roles out of 100 actors. Tommy not only secured the spot in the group, he eventually was the troupe's director and writer. Law School was still waiting for Tommy, but Tommy challenged himself with a summer intensive at RODA and now attributes his success to his fall back plan being writing. Yes, this guy can write! Tommy took a year off of acting to create and run the writer's room for his own show "Sons of Tucson." Listen in to hear how Tommy deals with nerves, how he runs a casting session for his shows, what really gets you the job, how to stay in the game and how his back up plan now is writing LINKS: IMDB: Tommy Dewey INSTAGRAM: @tommydeweysays TWITTER: @tommydeweysays WEBSITE: New York Fringe Festival YOUTUBE: Casual Trailer QUOTES: "If you can get to that point where you can relax enough to give them your version of the person, even if they like it or not, you are going to start in a much better place." "I was always off book, I wanted to land everything perfectly, but that is not what acting is...acting is what happens in the ethers between two people." "Auditioning should be much more of a mess. I mean it should be messy and always searching. The key is being present and creating whatever it is in the ether between whoever you are working with. That's what the camera needs to see. Not you saying it perfectly."  

UNA-Canada had the unique opportunity to meet the Federal Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD), Julie Gelfand and Performance Audit Principal, Kimberly Leach. The CESD provides parliamentarians with objective, independent analysis and recommendations on the federal government’s efforts to protect the environment and foster sustainable development. We discussed issues related to Canada’s actions to address Climate Change, Conserving Biodiversity and Preparedness to implement the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. This exclusive UNA-Canada interview is bilingual. Interviewers: Nathan Adams (Green Spaces Project Officer at UNA-Canada) Bonita Mathew (Canada Green Corps Project Officer at UNA-Canada)

Legendary VO agent Pat Brady (www.cesdtalent.com) sits down with Kiff at CESD for a hilarious and extraordinarily informative conversation about getting repped, staying at the top of your game, what she wants to see and hear in submissions and reels, and the full story of the car accident that nearly took her life and her on-going recovery process. With humor, candor and very specific, helpful advice, this hilarious and delightful conversation is one you don't want to miss!  

Legendary VO agent Pat Brady (www.cesdtalent.com) sits down with Kiff at CESD for a hilarious and extraordinarily informative conversation about getting repped, staying at the top of your game, what she wants to see and hear in submissions and reels, and the full story of the car accident that nearly took her life and her on-going recovery process.  With humor, candor and very specific, helpful advice, this hilarious and delightful conversation is one you don't want to miss! 

Celia Siegel Management is known for creating strong personal brands for voice talent and marketing those brands to the max-in a way that’s authentic to each voice actor. No matter where you are in your voiceover career, my team and I can help you make sound business choices and strategize for success. Before founding & building CSM, I was a top West Coast talent agent (CESD). The fact that I am also a certified business and life coach comes in handy in many ways for my clients’ emotional and financial well-being. I help talent identify when taking classes and auditioning has become a full time job instead of the actual paying work, and how they can fix that by turning activity into a powerful career. My multi-leveled expertise and extensive knowledge of the ever-changing voiceover industry helps voice actors across the globe grow their VO business and take their careers to the next level. Celia is a voiceover industry insider renowned for championing and growing voiceover talent careers. She is the mastermind behind scores of successful brands. Now she wants to share her branding wisdom with you. You too can master the Celia Siegel approach. Twenty years of branding experience and expertise is packed into Celia's popular book, Voiceover Achiever, and now her new online masterclass. This means you can now follow her tried & true roadmap to generate your unstoppable brand story and produce a brand strategy that will catapult your career. Learn more about Celia Siegel at www.celiasiegel.com

Ilana interviews the three child actresses who star in The Ferryman on Broadway. MATILDA LAWLER -Broadway debut! Last fall, she starred opposite Richard Masur in The Net Will Appear at MST. Matilda plays Michaela McManus’ daughter in the upcoming The Block Island Sound by the McManus Brothers. Matilda also enjoys writing, design and cupcakes. Special thanks to David Doan, CESD, Mom, Lily, Richard and Dad. WILLOW MCCARTHY- made her professional and Broadway debut in the title role of Matilda. Last season she appeared on Broadway in 1984. She is in 6th grade. Much love and gratitude to her friends and family for their love and support, with a special shout out to her cousins, Amy and Lydia. Brian, Rachel, Ellen, and Jillian, thank you. BROOKLYN SHUCK - is originally from Lexington, KY. Broadway: Annie, Matilda, Tuck Everlasting, Les Misérables, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Regional: Randy Newman’s Faust, Beaches (Signature/Drury Lane). TV: “Rise,” “Instinct.” Thanks and love to my family, Nancy Carson and John Mara. IG @brooklynshuck

Actress, Summer Parker, joins the siblings to talk about family, acting, and starring as Gigi in Adam F. Goldberg's 1990 Something Spinoff of ABC's the Goldbergs. We also break down our favorite teen movies, including Can't Hardly Wait and Mean Girls!  Shoutouts to: Hannah Westerfield (@followhannah), Tim Donner, Sandy (Summer's manager), Alex at AWA, Pedro and Melissa at CESD, Janet Varney (@janetvarney @jvclubpodcast), Erica Rhodes (@ericarhodes22), @gato1dog, @Jacquikap, Ilana, and of course, the legendary, Cousin Vanessa.  Follow Summer Parker - Twitter: @theSummerParker, IG: @the_summer_parker.   Send us your recommendations and your tradesies! We'll watch them and report back on the show! Email us at pancake@pancake4table.com or tweet @FriNightMovie, @pancake4table, @chichiKgomez, and/or  @paperBKprincess.  Subscribe and leave a review on IOS or Android at www.fridaynightmoviepod.com.  Follow all of our pop culture shenanigans at www.pancake4table.com.   

Recorded LIVE at Stan Lee's LA Comicon on Oct 28th, 2017, this dynamic episode combines the experiences of some of the latest stars in VO in Adam McArthur (Star Vs The Forces of Evil, Disney XD's promo voice), Zeno Robinson (Ben 10, Spiderman), and Secunda Wood (Madden 18, upcoming projects) and the thoughtful and insightful booth director for CESD, Scott Forbes (who helps VO audition). With live Q&A, some suprises and loads of insight and laughs, this is an episode worth waiting for... sorry it took so long!

This week on the VO School Podcast we are discussing how an actor markets and brands themselves in 2017 and beyond. How you present yourself to the world can make or break your career and we discuss the various approaches that can help you to stand out in a crowded field. What is the difference between branding and marketing? How soon should you start your marketing journey? What are the gatekeepers looking for when they choose talent? And what are the major no-no’s and turn-offs that will hinder your chances? Joining me this week are two titans of the marketing world - Celia Siegel is the founder of Celia Siegel Management, widely recognized for building strong personal brands for voice talent. Before creating CSM, Celia was a respected talent agent with stints at CESD, JE and Wehmann. A brand builder, certified life and business coach, success strategist and talent manager, Celia has advanced the careers of top VO talent for more than two decades. Doug Melville is Chief Diversity Officer for TBWAWorldwide, a top ten ranked global advertising agency. Since joining the TBWA, he’s led efforts that resulted in more than $150mm being spent with multicultural + women owned businesses in the creative space. He’s presented 3 TEDx talks on the topic and made multiple appearances on Fox Business. And in a first for the podcast we are launching an exciting competition! You could win a brand audit from Celia that we will be recording and putting it out as a future episode. Submission details are in the episode or you can visit our Facebook Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/voschoolpodcast/).

Recorded LIVE at Stan Lee's LA Comicon on Oct 28th, 2017, this dynamic episode combines the experiences of some of the latest stars in VO in Adam McArthur (Star Vs The Forces of Evil, Disney XD's promo voice), Zeno Robinson (Ben 10, Spiderman), and Secunda Wood (Madden 18, upcoming projects) and the thoughtful and insightful booth director for CESD, Scott Forbes (who helps VO audition). With live Q&A, some suprises and loads of insight and laughs, this is an episode worth waiting for... sorry it took so long! 

Chuck and Stacey finish their amazing interview with Paul Doherty, Co-Head of CESD Talent Agency, who offers sound advice to voice actors seeking agent representation and wisdom for ways to stay relevant in the voiceover industry. He quotes respected voiceover coach, Marice Tobias, with regard to having a great voice but needing to know how to use it. Paul shares how his experience working in radio has proved beneficial to him when it comes to selling his clients and speaks to some do’s and don’ts of the actor/agent relationship.Paul gives some amazing insight to actors for having success in their career, like to “play full out” and give yourself permission to deliver your unique point of view in your reads. He talks about when he is the happiest professionally and the importance of actor’s not judging the copy but rather making choices that allow them to be authentic.He explains why CESD Talent Agency carefully vets the talent they sign and why they cannot rely solely on the demo to determine an actor’s abilities in the booth. He answers what he likes about the voiceover industry and gives kudos to Chuck and Stacey for creating VO Buzz Weekly that showcases the best in the industry and gives people a valuable ongoing resource. Follow everyone on Twitter @vobuzzweekly @chuckduran @staceyjaswad @cesdtalentWatch more videos and get the latest voiceover news, advice and updates on exclusive contests and giveaways at http://vobuzzweekly.com and make sure you join our newsletter. Past giveaways include: Coaching, Books, Studio Gear and even Agent Representation.CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIAFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/VOBuzzWeeklyTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/VOBuzzWeeklyInstagram: https://instagram.com/vobuzzweeklyPinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/vobuzzweekly/VO BUZZ WEEKLY IS SPONSORED BY:Demos That Rockhttp://www.demosthatrock.comNeumann Sennheiser Microphones USA http://www.neumannusa.comhttp://en-us.sennheiser.comThroat Coat Teahttp://www.traditionalmedicinals.comEntertainer's Secrethttp://www.entertainers-secret.comNajla's Bodygood Barshttp://najlas.com/index.php/products/...Stacey J. Aswadhttp://www.staceyjaswad.comVoiceover Essentialshttp://voiceoveressentials.comVoiceover T-Shirts, Hats, Jackets, and MORE!http://www.vobuzzweekly.com/store.htmlHave you ever wanted to be a voice actor? Maybe you’ve heard the voice from a movie trailer, TV commercial, TV promos, video game, cartoon, celebrity impressions, internet or radio ad, and thought, “I want to do that!” Do you wonder what it takes to succeed in the voice over business? Or, are you a fan looking to finally put a "face to the voice" of the biggest and best celebrity voice artists? Well, your search is over!VO Buzz Weekly is the hit global voice over web show that's inspiring, educating and entertaining viewers in over 85 countries around the world. Every week, you get up close and personal with a top narrator, voice actor or actress from your favorite cartoons, animation, television promo, TV show, movies, audiobooks, movie trailer, TV commercials and video games, along with the top voice casting directors and agents working in the industry today. You’ll get the inside scoop on how voice artists work from home in their own home studio!Get tips for setting up your vocal booth and voice over equipment. Learn proper microphone technique and other critical skills to enhance your audio and find the right sound for your voice to nail voice over auditions and casting calls. Learn what to look for when seeking a voice coach, and peek behind the voice casting curtain to learn the secrets that improve every voice over audition and narration.VO Buzz Weekly is so much more than just “how to do voice over.” From voice coaching to home business advice, every episode is full of tips, inspiring personal stories and insights to help you succeed in the booming voice over industry, and in life. It’s comprehensive voice over training like you’ve never seen before. Whether you’ve been doing voiceover work for years, or are interested in voice acting, VO Buzz Weekly has something for you! Subscribe now and never miss an episode!VO Buzz Weekly primary focus points: How To Do Voice Over, Voice Over Training, Voice Over Classes, Voice Over Business, Voice Over Coach, Voice Over Lessons, Learn Voice Over, Voice Over Technique.

This week, Chuck and Stacey are thrilled to welcome Paul Doherty, the Co-Head of powerhouse bi-coastal agency, CESD Talent. As the Head of the Los Angeles Division and voiceover industry leader for more than 32 years, Paul shares his journey from interning in radio in New Jersey to breaking into the entertainment business in New York before making the move to Los Angeles to work with the legendary voice over agent, Don Pitts and ultimately join CESD Talent in the late 1980’s. Paul talks about the evolution of voice over animation and some of the milestone moments like Tiny Toons and Rugrats and how much opportunity there is for voice over talent in the current industry. He gives props to all the amazing agents at CESD Talent like animation agents Cathey Lizzio, Pat Brady, Brittney Weiskopf and Youth Agent, Melissa Berger Brennan. He speaks to some of the challenges that come with running a leading bi-coastal talent agency and the qualities that make a great agent that include devotion to duty and work ethic. He expresses his belief in actors being prepared and getting solid training in their craft. He also answers the importance of agents and an agency staying on top of the trends and being willing to reinvent themselves as the culture and times change. He talks about navigating through the changes in technology and streaming opportunities and how it has affected the kinds and amount of voice over work. He offers wisdom to actors regarding booking jobs with the main theme being to do what you need to do to stay at the top of your game and the importance of having an entrepreneurial spirit and developing business savvy.Follow everyone on Twitter @vobuzzweekly @chuckduran @staceyjaswad @cesdtalent Watch more videos and get the latest voiceover news, advice and updates on exclusive contests and giveaways at http://vobuzzweekly.com and make sure you join our newsletter. Past giveaways include: Coaching, Books, Studio Gear and even Agent Representation.CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIAFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/VOBuzzWeeklyTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/VOBuzzWeeklyInstagram: https://instagram.com/vobuzzweeklyPinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/vobuzzweekly/VO BUZZ WEEKLY IS SPONSORED BY:Demos That Rockhttp://www.demosthatrock.comNeumann Sennheiser Microphones USA http://www.neumannusa.comhttp://en-us.sennheiser.comThroat Coat Teahttp://www.traditionalmedicinals.comEntertainer's Secrethttp://www.entertainers-secret.comNajla's Bodygood Barshttp://najlas.com/index.php/products/...Stacey J. Aswadhttp://www.staceyjaswad.comVoiceover Essentialshttp://voiceoveressentials.comVoiceover T-Shirts, Hats, Jackets, and MORE!http://www.vobuzzweekly.com/store.htmlHave you ever wanted to be a voice actor? Maybe you’ve heard the voice from a movie trailer, TV commercial, video game, cartoon, celebrity impressions, internet or radio ad, and thought, “I want to do that!” Do you wonder what it takes to succeed in the voice over business? Or, are you a fan looking to finally put a "face to the voice" of the biggest and best celebrity voice artists? Well, your search is over!VO Buzz Weekly is the hit global voice over web show that's inspiring, educating and entertaining viewers in over 85 countries around the world. Every week, you get up close and personal with a top narrator, voice actor or actress from your favorite cartoons, animation, television promo, TV show, movies, audiobooks, movie trailer, TV commercials and video games, along with the top voice casting directors and agents working in the industry today. You’ll get the inside scoop on how voice artists work from home in their own home studio!Get tips for setting up your vocal booth and voice over equipment. Learn proper microphone technique and other critical skills to enhance your audio and find the right sound for your voice to nail voice over auditions and casting calls. Learn what to look for when seeking a voice coach, and peek behind the voice casting curtain to learn the secrets that improve every voice over audition and narration.VO Buzz Weekly is so much more than just “how to do voice over.” From voice coaching to home business advice, every episode is full of tips, inspiring personal stories and insights to help you succeed in the booming voice over industry, and in life. It’s comprehensive voice over training like you’ve never seen before. Whether you’ve been doing voiceover work for years, or are interested in voice acting, VO Buzz Weekly has something for you! Subscribe now and never miss an episode!VO Buzz Weekly primary focus points: How To Do Voice Over, Voice Over Training, Voice Over Classes, Voice Over Business, Voice Over Coach, Voice Over Lessons, Learn Voice Over, Voice Over Technique.

Chuck and Stacey kickoff Season 6 of VO Buzz Weekly with accomplished on camera and voice over acting phenom, Nolan North, loved for his work in hundreds of video games like Uncharted, Assassin’s Creed, Deadpool, Destiny, Prince of Persia, Call of Duty and the hit TV series, Pretty Little Liars. Nolan talks about his background that includes degrees in journalism and broadcasting, his experience working as TV reporter and his early years as an actor in New York. He discusses the catalyst for moving to Los Angeles and the contract role he booked shortly thereafter on the daytime drama, Port Charles.Not having a Plan B, Nolan shares some of the jobs he did to support himself from being a bartender, waiter and putting up crown moulding with fellow voice actor Chris Edgerly. He speaks to truly enjoying the process of acting and some of his strengths like having a good imagination, not being self-conscious and embracing the spirit of play.Nolan expresses love and gratitude for his longtime voice over agents Pat Brady and Cathey Lizzio of CESD Talent for guiding his career. And Stacey, also a CESD client, chimes in with her #CESDPride for the whole team there.Loved for his portrayal video game hero, Nathan Drake, in scriptwriter Amy Hennig’s Uncharted series, Nolan talks about how this project was his big break and shares the funny story of how he got the role. He shares a great Sean Connery impersonation and talks about getting to work with his heroes who are now great friends like Jess Harnell, Rob Paulsen, Maurice LaMarche, Frank Welker, Jeff Bennett and Kevin Michael Richardson.Nolan recalls some voice over advice he gave to his son about pursuing a voice acting career that can help other voice actors too, encouraging you to be authentic to who you are, embracing the unique things you can do and always strive to be a great actor.Follow everyone on Twitter @vobuzzweekly @chuckduran @staceyjaswad @nolan_north and on Instagram @vobuzzweekly @staceyjaswad @reallynolannorthWatch more videos and get the latest voiceover news, advice and updates on contests and giveaways at http://vobuzzweekly.comCONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIAFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/VOBuzzWeeklyTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/VOBuzzWeeklyInstagram: https://instagram.com/vobuzzweeklyPinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/vobuzzweekly/VO BUZZ WEEKLY IS SPONSORED BY:Demos That Rockhttp://www.demosthatrock.comNeumann Sennheiser Microphones USA http://www.neumannusa.comhttp://en-us.sennheiser.comThroat Coat Teahttp://www.traditionalmedicinals.comEntertainer's Secrethttp://www.entertainers-secret.comNajla's Bodygood Barshttp://najlas.com/index.php/products/...Stacey J. Aswadhttp://www.staceyjaswad.comVoiceover Essentialshttp://voiceoveressentials.comVoiceover T-Shirts, Hats, Jackets, and MORE!http://www.vobuzzweekly.com/store.html

Chuck and Stacey keep the amazing information and inspiration coming in Part 2 with respected Commercial Voiceover agent, Sumeet Iyengar, of CESD Talent in Los Angeles. Chuck and Stacey express huge thanks and appreciation for their VO Buzz Weekly team Matthew Gordon, Paz Fashingbauer and Jeff Castelluccio for their continued contribution and loyalty to the show. Sumeet talks about CESD Talent’s process for signing a client, reasons why clients are asked to leave the agency and his definition of the ideal client/agent relationship. He answers a few viewer questions about agency referrals and how he likes clients to handle when they get the same copy from different agents. He speaks to some common missteps talent make in their audition reads like focusing too much on the sound and why it’s challenging for actors to be real when they get in front of a microphone. He offers some valuable tips for self-direction from making strong choices to not doing too many takes. Sumeet speaks to some of the changes he’s seen in the industry over the years and answers what the most gratifying things are for him as an agent. Find out how CESD Talent stays on top of the trends and changes with respect to online advertising, digital presence and social media influencers. Sumeet gives sound advice to help people realize their voiceover dreams like taking classes and having a demo that reflects your true essence. Chuck and Stacey express their gratitude to Sumeet for his generosity, honesty, integrity and friendship. Be sure to follow Sumeet on Twitter @SUMEETatCESD Don’t forget to subscribe to the VO Buzz Weekly YouTube Channel, download the free VO Buzz Weekly App and get BUZZ-ed anywhere with the audio only version of VO Buzz Weekly on iTunes. Watch more videos and get the latest voiceover news, advice and updates on contests and giveaways at http://vobuzzweekly.com

Chuck and Stacey are fortunate to welcome top Commercial Voiceover agent, Sumeet Iyengar, of CESD Talent in Los Angeles to the show. Sumeet talks about his diverse background in finance and the entertainment business, which ultimately led him to become a voiceover assistant, then booth director and now talent agent. Since he started at CESD in 2003, Sumeet explains how his role and job description has evolved and offers advice for things talent should be doing once they sign with an agent from training to following trends in the business. Hear things that voice actors need to know to make an agent’s life easier, like having effective communication and demos that showcase current styles and reads that are in high demand. Sumeet talks about the talent submission process for CESD Talent, how long he listens to demos, what catches his attention and proactive things talent can do if they don’t get signed. He speaks to the range a commercial voice talent should showcase on their demo and answers what he sees as the current commercial styles and demographic demand for men and women. Sumeet talks about how he handles directing actors and maps out a “typical day” in his life as an agent. Be sure to come back for Part 2 (EP 212) with Sumeet Iyengar for even more amazing information and insights. Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel, download the free VO Buzz Weekly App and now take us with you everywhere with the audio only version of every episode on iTunes. Watch more videos and get the latest voiceover news, advice and updates on contests and giveaways at http://vobuzzweekly.com

He's been called “Comedy's Impressions Genius”… Jim Meskimen is an accomplished actor, improviser and voice artist whose work is well-known to TV and film and gaming audiences. Jim joins us on LoveThatVoiceover to let us know about his new webseries “The Impression Guys” and to discuss Voiceover as part of his career. He has worked with director Ron Howard on five of his films including Apollo 13 (1995), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) and Frost/Nixon (2008). His mother is Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated actress Marion Ross of "Happy Days" iconic fame.  Represented in LA by CESD and in NY by Innovative Artist, a warm audio hug and welcome to Love That Voiceover for JIM MESKIMEN!!! VO artist LoveThatRebecca aka Rebecca Michaels Haugh is your host on Love That VoiceOver.... Connect with Rebecca on Twitter @RebeccaMichaels and @LoveThatVO, on her FaceBook page Rebecca Michaels, and at her website www.LoveThatRebecca.com.

Can I have your autograph? JON BAILEY Pt3 This episode: VO heroes defined, inspiring generations. Are people talking about you? Listen here. Voice talent LoveThatRebecca aka Rebecca Michaels Haugh is your host. Love That VoiceOver takes a fresh perspective with in-depth interviews unveiling personalities and projects behind the microphone.... Jon was discovered on youtube with his movie trailer mash-up and now he's performing MOVIE TRAILER  VO. He's repped by CESD and Cope Management. Love That VoiceOver is a podcast showcasing in-depth interviews unveiling the personalities and projects behind the mic.  Every interview is a fresh perspective on the art and artistry behind the microphone.... VO artist LoveThatRebecca is your host and producer of Love That VoiceOver. Rebecca also voiceover improv with LoveThatImprovVO.com Connect on Twitter @LoveThatVO, on FaceBook page Love That Voiceover, plus LoveThatVoiceover.com.

What are those MOVIE TRAILER VO styels? JON BAILEY Pt2  This episode: Unveiling the mystery of MOVIE TRAILER VO.  What is it all about? Does who you know matter? Should he or shouldn't he be ‘hard to work with'? Listen for the details… Voice talent LoveThatRebecca aka Rebecca Michaels Haugh is your host. Love That VoiceOver takes a fresh perspective with in-depth interviews unveiling personalities and projects behind the microphone.... Jon was discovered on youtube with his movie trailer mash-up and now he's performing MOVIE TRAILER  VO. He's repped by CESD and Cope Management. Love That VoiceOver is a podcast showcasing in-depth interviews unveiling the personalities and projects behind the mic.  Every interview is a fresh perspective on the art and artistry behind the microphone.... VO artist LoveThatRebecca is your host and producer of Love That VoiceOver. Rebecca also voiceover improv with LoveThatImprovVO.com Connect on Twitter @LoveThatVO, on FaceBook page Love That Voiceover, plus LoveThatVoiceover.com.

MEET JON BAILEY – The new and phenomenal VO talent. He was discovered on youtube with his movie trailer mash-up and now he's ONE OF THE MOVIE TRAILER  GUYS. He's repped by CESD and Cope Management. This episode: From the moment I heard Jon the first time, I knew he was a phenomenal talent. Luckily because of his wife's encouragement he stopped thinking of VO as a pipe dream. Exclusive info with Jon about when he got to the ‘next level' and received the Hollywood run-around “welcome”. Regardless and with good humor in tact, Jon is drummin' up the bizness. Jon Bailey = Timing + Luck + Talent. And guess what? He writes too.  Can you say “cartoon rebellion”?! Listen for the details… Love That VoiceOver takes a fresh perspective with in-depth interviews unveiling personalities and projects behind the microphone.... with your fun loving host LoveThatRebecca aka Rebecca Haugh.