Every voice actor has an origin story about how they made it into this very niche industry– mine is a little rarer than most.
Before I knew that voiceover was a career, I was participating in a veterinary internship at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The program took place at the aquarium in Epcot, and it provided me with a great opportunity to work with animals while I applied to vet school.
I thought I had my career planned out, until one night when I was out to dinner with a friend. It was a right place, right time kind of moment when a woman approached our table. I had expected her to ask us to quiet down (we had been laughing loudly) but instead, she complimented my voice and told me she worked on The Simpsons!
“Have you ever considered doing voiceover work for kids?” she asked. According to her, there was a big need for adults that have a youthful voice. Until then, it was a career I didn’t even know existed, but I loved the idea of working as a voice actor.
A Dream Deferred
After my chance meeting, I looked into voiceover classes and did a couple of introductory workshops with a trainer. I even produced my first demos. But eventually, I was accepted to vet school and the workload was too demanding to entertain a second job.
Although I wanted to begin a voiceover career, I wasn’t able to dedicate enough time to pursuing it. Between school and traveling for different veterinary internships (an exotic animal internship in Houston and an aquarium internship in Baltimore) I had no time for other interests.
My dreams of becoming a vet took most of my time and attention, but voiceover stayed in the back of my mind.
Finding My Voice
Now, things are a bit different. I’m firmly back on the east coast and practicing small animal medicine. In addition to that, I have finally had the time to start building the voiceover career I’ve always wanted.
As much as I love being a vet, my passion for voiceover has never dulled. My dream is to do both. Between VO and vet work it’s been an incredibly busy time– but I’ve enjoyed winning more and more auditions, getting involved in more casting sites, and being featured on more talent rosters.
As my voiceover success continues to build, I saw the need for a proper broadcast quality home studio. Built by George “The Tech” Whittam, my new home studio is certainly more spacious than the quiet little closet I had been using.
And of course, working with Celia Siegel Management to boost my career, develop my website and define my brand– Revel and Wonder VO– has been invaluable.
Now it’s time for me to live out my voiceover dreams!