Breaking into voice acting...DCAU style

[theRedDeath]

It has always been my long standing belief that the DCAU has hosted probably the most impressive and talented roster of voice talents i've personally witnessed in animation, so naturally this is the first place I thought of when thinking about asking about the business of voice-acting.

As cheesy as this will sound...I have a friend (no really) who is very seriously hoping to one day get into voice work professionally, and beyond all the practicing she can muster on her own, I don't know any advice to give her beyond that.

How does one market oneself as a voice actor? How does one get their name on an audition list for the likes of Andrea Romano or Bruce Timm? Should she get an agent? Should she try to contact (for example) WB animation itself, or should she try to contact the voice-casting director, how does a person even start? Do they have to live in or be ale to travel to California to even have a chance? Should she make an audio tape and send it around? and if so, to whom?

Her talent aside, what does she have to do just to get her foot in the door business-wise?

If anyone on this board can help, it'd be much appreciated.

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[Ed Liu]

The articles are old, but Mark Evanier has two articles up about how to break into voice acting: "HOW DO I BREAK INTO CARTOON VOICE WORK?" and the VOICE WORK F.A.Q. Judging by my conversations with voice actors, time has done little or nothing to make anything he says invalid. Neither article is very encouraging, but it's still possible to do it.

I wish your friend luck, and let us know if/when she lands her first roles!

-- Ed

[The Weed Of Cri]

This topic has come up in every anime convention I've ever been to. To boil it down, the advice that comes from real, actual, working voice actors usually follows this framework:

1) Establish yourself as an actor first, then focus on voice acting later. Voice acting is a competitive market, and people who limit themselves to just one type of acting will take forever to build up an impressive resume. Drama clubs, dinner theaters, acting classes and amateur productions can help you hone your craft and build up a list of credits.
2) Do not limit yourself to just cartoons. A credit is a credit, whether it's for a commercial, an audiobook, a radio skit, whatever. Turning down work will hamper you more than taking a job that isn't your "dream" assignment.
3) Be versitile. Not just in tone and pitch, but with inflection and characterization. If you don't know how to vary those four elements, you're not ready yet. Most animation houses aren't looking for Sean Penn-caliber acting chops, but having one actor who can play four different characters without them all sounding the same is a treasure.
4) Go where the work is. For cartoon voicework, that means Los Angeles, Dallas/Fort Worth, or Vancouver.
5) Be patient. Very patient. Overnight successes are one in a million. Voice actors who earn a comfortable living doing nothing but cartoons are one in thousand. You may find yourself spending a lot of time waiting tables and selling insurance while waiting for your "real job" to bear fruit. Don't get discouraged.
6) Learn the ins and outs of the live audition process. A good impromtu performance, and the ability to deliver what a director wants live will serve you much better than the best pre-recorded "audition tape" in the world.
7) Understand the realities of the market. Most voice acting doesn't pay a lot of money, unless you happen to be a "name" actor to begin with, and even then, it's no goldmine. Ron Perlman probably made more money in the first Hellboy movie than he made in five years of playing Slade Wilson on Teen Titans.