What’s going on with SAG and AFTRA?, Voice Talkers Video, Don LaFontaine in Good Health, Bobbin Beam’s “The Art of Risk”, and Who Got the Gig? column on VOX Daily.
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AFTRA, Bobbin Beam, Don LaFontaine, SAG, Voice Talkers
Transcription of Vox Talk #54
Female: Episode 54
Male: You’re listening To VOX Talk, the voice over industry’s number one podcast brought to you by Voices.com. It’s about voice acting, growing your business, and sharing your knowledge. VOX Talk is a show that you can be a part of. Getting involved is both fun and rewarding. It’s time for this week’s episode of VOX Talk with your host, Stephanie Ciccarelli.
Stephanie Ciccarelli: Well, hello there! Welcome to VOX Talk. We’re back from our break and extremely excited to get back to business here on the podcast. Today, I’m joined by Bobbin Beam, a fantastic voice over artist and a wonderful friend.
Male: The Loop, informing you of news and current voice over events.
Stephanie Ciccarelli: In our top story, you may have heard about the latest news regarding the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, but you may not have heard about what’s going on within AFTRA and its upcoming re-run election.
Jason George, a national board member, local Los Angeles member and LA 4th Vice President let us know what’s really going on in a memo that debunks several myths that are floating around the latest suspension of the joint negotiation agreement between SAG and AFTRA.
Want to learn more? Check out the story on the VOX Daily blog at blogs.voices.com/voxdaily.
In other news, have you ever been called a voice talker? Don’t be surprised if you do because there is a video out on YouTube right now that’s called Voice Talkers: Living the Dream of a Voice Actor.
The video is part of a contest called YouTube Sketchies II. If you haven’t seen the comedy sketch yet, it may very well become a classic in the voice-acting genre. Featuring the cast of Poykpac, a New York-based comedy troupe, the video also stars radio giant Dave Foxx of Zee100 fame.
There’s still time to vote, so do the voice over industry a favor and go to YouTube.com/sketchies2 and vote for Voice Talkers.
To bring the news to a close, I’d like to share some great news from Don LaFontaine. Don is now in good health and has kicked that pesky lung infection to the curb. His six months of treatment is over and he’s out there voicing, performing and is scheduled to make an appearance at Voices Remember, a gala event that benefits Alzheimer’s research and honors those who have lost their voice to the disease. Don will be joining Joan Baker and several other artists to pay tribute.
To learn more about this event, check out the Voice Over Times website as linked in the show notes.
Male: The Biz, helping you grow your voice over business.
Stephanie Ciccarelli: Today in the Biz, I’m pleased to shine the spotlight on Bobbin Beam as she discusses The Art of Risk.
Bobbin Beam: How many auditions does the average actor performed to nail a single job? How many times do you put yourself out there and see nothing come of it? Good question.
Obviously, the answer varies depending on so many factors which would be difficult to quantify into a solid statistic. It is the question as well as the answer that makes me wonder.
In general, it would be safe to assume that you are in the majority if you take the risk of performing on any level. You run the risk of not booking the job more often than not.
Risk of failure, risk of rejection, risk of deselection. Think of the Oscars. So many actors audition for the films and just so many got the job. Only so many films or actors were nominated and just a few select won the golden ticket.
Being in this business is like the supreme roller coaster ride of your life. If you want to ride, better strap yourself in. You may have exhilirating highs one week or one day and have all the air let out of your ballon the next.
In voice over acting, we are at a grandeur disadvantage. At least on a film or a video shoot, you’re interacting with other human beings. Not so in voice over. Unless you enjoy the rare occasion where you’re booked into a studio for a double or an ensemble gig. Even so, many times you end up perhaps just with the director and or the engineer to record the session.
So, most of the time we work in a very isolated environment and take our daily risks. We operate in a vacuum and in so doing, we risk it all. We spell out our best, we think, and can still fall flat on our face.
Working through this art of the process is challenging at times. It can be quite painful to risk and lose as it can be incredibly heady getting the recognition or landing a gig.
When we suffer losses, we must train ourselves to place them into perspective. You do this in any way you can but it helps to have practical training and experience to weather them.
Where we can get into trouble is when we allow our emotions and ego to take off on a self-absorbed pity party. Many of us do this because we are actors. We are competitive and have innate and trained sensitivity combined with a healthy ego.
For those who can’t get this aspect of it, simply give up. That’s when it’s time for a break from the business. Really! Take a break. Keep doing things you love and surround yourselves with people who love you and get back in touch with what truly matters.
No, it’s not your fault that you’ve been rejected, ignored, (disc), overlooked, under appreciated, low rated, or the latest industry buzz word, deselected. Don’t let this stop you. It’s okay to take the risk while giving permission to others not to hire you for whatever reason that is not in your control.
All you can control is your own performance and spell it out there. And next time, take the risk and get comfortable with the uncomfortable.
Stephanie Ciccarelli: Thank you, Bobbin. If you enjoyed Bobbin’s piece, let her know by visiting her blog. You can find her at BobbinBeam.com.
Male: VOX Box, sharing your audio feedback.
Stephanie Ciccarelli: In today’s VOX Box, I’d like to take a moment to let you know about a really cool new weekly column on VOX Daily called Who Got the Gig? Every Friday, you now have the opportunity to let me, and the rest of the voice over community know about what kind of work you’ve been up to.
Now, here’s the fun part. You can either participate on the blog by leaving a comment or e-mail me a brief audio file featuring the sample of what you’ve done. All comments are posted on the blog and audio comments are aired here on VOX Talk.
So, what have you been up to? Let me know by either leaving a comment on VOX Daily or send your recording via e-mail to [email protected].
Thanks for listening to VOX Talk. If you haven’t yet subscribed, you can do so for free in the Apple iTunes Podcast Directory. I’d love to hear from you and you’re welcome to send any and all feedback to my e-mail address [email protected].
Thanks for staying subscribed and we’ll see you next week.
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