What You Bring into the Voice Over Booth with Gina Scarpa

Stephanie Ciccarelli:

Hi there, and welcome to Vox Talk, your weekly review from the world of voice over. I'm your host, Stephanie Ciccarelli from Voices. Ever wondered if clients can hear how your day is going in your reads? Joining me today is voice talent and voice over coach, Gina Scarpa. We're going to cover what you bring into the booth with you, whether you know it or not. You may be surprised by just how much comes with you, but also about what you're about to hear. So welcome back to the show, Gina.

Gina Scarpa:

Yay, Stephanie. Thank you for having me.

Stephanie Ciccarelli:

It's always a pleasure to see you. So, Gina, we've been talking a little bit about this just in our own conversations, but what exactly is it that we are bringing into the booth with us each and every day?

Gina Scarpa:

Okay, spoiler alert. The answer is everything. You bring everything into the booth. You bring the good and the bad and the ugly. Everything that you've ever been through in your life, it does come into the booth with you, even if you're having a good or a bad day. What happens a lot of times with people, though, is they try to shove it down or repress it instead of embrace it. But this is my new thing for 2023. You're bringing it all into the booth, so I'm excited to talk about it with you today.

Stephanie Ciccarelli:

So, yes, that's exactly what we're going to do. We just have so much fun, Gina, when we talk about these things, and especially, I think about the topics that most affect voice talent and how they work. So the spectrum of emotions that we feel can swing wildly throughout the day depending on encounters that we've had, maybe some news we've received, be it good or bad and all those little things that enter your mind because you're scrolling through social media. Yes, I know most of us do that, and we often see things that either we didn't mean to or don't want to or get actually quite happy about, but usually it's the opposite of that. So how can we manage our emotions so that they don't bleed into our reads?

Gina Scarpa:

That's a great question. I mean, first of all, I think the most important thing is to just accept them, accept that we're having maybe high or low emotions during the day. We also want to work on regulating them and not repressing them, because I think that's where a lot of problems can come in, whether that's in your personal life or in the booth, and then just making sure that you're doing some self care, especially breathing, which is something I've really actively been working on over the last year. It's kind of funny to say ‘I'm working on my breathing,’ but it actually really helps just taking that breath and taking a minute and pausing, because I think so often we just want to roll through it. But just that pause can really help a lot.

Stephanie Ciccarelli:

It does. It really does. And I know that I often speak a lot faster when I'm not breathing enough. It's kind of like I don't know if it's just energy or excitement, but when you breathe, you not only sound more supported, but you can also just take in that message and share it that much better with people because they know what you're saying. You're not tripping over your words. You sound like you're about to pass out. So I agree, breathing - very important. So obviously we need to do certain things to get ourselves into the right headspace, and this might take a little bit of time. So what would you say, Gina? How long should it take to kind of bring yourself down from like 1000ft to wherever you need to be? Is it a 30 second thing? Should it take five minutes or what do you think?

Gina Scarpa:

Yeah, I feel like five minutes is the max that we should spend, especially when we're getting ready to work and do auditions or some booked jobs and things like that. I think any more than that and then we're sort of getting bogged down within the emotions. So my advice is always to compartmentalize. You might take five minutes to deal with it and say, ‘okay, I'm going to put this in the little box, I'm going to put it on the shelf, I am going to deal with it later because if I leave it unprocessed and repressed, it's going to show up in so many other ways in my life.’ So it could be just a few minutes of breathing, stretching, just taking a little walk, or just preparing yourself mentally for what you're about to do in voice over. But I think any more than five minutes is too much.

Stephanie Ciccarelli:

Right. And sometimes I'm just thinking back to an exercise I had done in high school for drama, and a lot of you probably have done it too. Maybe you call it a different name, but the rag doll. So just basically slumping yourself over from a standing position. Just slumping yourself over so your head is hanging down, your arms are loose, and you just slowly, slowly, slowly, almost painfully slow, you lift yourself back up and it's good for alignment, standing up straight, all that kind of thing. But you can also kind of leave some of those thoughts down on the floor. Not that you can open your brain and throw them out on the floor, but it's kind of an idea of just like, ‘okay, well, I'm going to this position, but when I come back up, I'm going to have a different way of looking at things. I'm going to have a different way of perhaps taking on this character role or whatever it might be.’ It's just that 30 seconds, maybe of that time that can really help you to just get yourself back to where you need to be.

Gina Scarpa:

Yeah, I love that. I do a lot of breathing, especially lately. So I breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth, like in for four hold and then breathe out for eight. But when I blow out the air through my mouth, I think to myself, ‘I'm blowing out the stress.’ I'm literally releasing it from me. And that has been super helpful as well. So maybe both of those tips are, I think, really helpful for people if they're kind of struggling with how to just release the tension in their body or just let that emotion go. Either one of those things could be very helpful.

Stephanie Ciccarelli:

Right, because we know that emotions, they come and go, it's true, but they don't go away right away. So from what you've experienced or observed, Gina, how much do unprocessed emotions affect the voice over artist when they're performing? So obviously it can affect them a lot or a little. But what do you think? We'll just start there? How do they affect them?

Gina Scarpa:

Well, trapped or unprocessed emotions can cause all kinds of issues with just us. As human beings, we know that those trapped emotions can cause things like anxiety, depression, burnout, fatigue. It can cause poor decision making, poor sleep habits, poor eating habits. And then of course, there's also heart, intestinal, autoimmune diseases and all of these things. So just for those reasons alone, I think it's super important to be able to process and express your emotions in a healthy way. And from a voice over perspective, I would say that it's just not so concrete or black and white. I mean, it can result in just a read that feels a little disconnected. And for casting directors, and I've worked on castings as well, not that I can ever pinpoint it and say, ‘boy, I bet that person really just had a fight with their spouse,’ or ‘I bet they're feeling really riled up today and stressed.’ I don't know exactly what it is, but something about the read can feel off compared to somebody else who is a lot more grounded, open, and just able to regulate their emotions a little bit more. So even though we can't put our finger on it, it can lead, I feel, to disconnected or disingenuous reads because you might be trying to fake it instead of just again accepting it and being open.

Stephanie Ciccarelli:

Yeah, like overcompensating for something like, ‘oh well, I'm sad today, but this is a happy read. So I'm going to really put the happy on. I'm going to make my smile three times bigger and it's going right up my eyes and my cheeks are going to burn at the end of this.’ That might be just a little too much, right? It has to come from a place, as you said, of authenticity and we're actually feeling what that is. And you're comfortable in that place.

Gina Scarpa:

Yes, exactly. I always say to people what happens when they look at casting specs is they'll say like, happy, upbeat, perky and so especially if they're having a bad day, they're going to say, okay, let me try to sound happy, let me try to sound upbeat. Just feel upbeat, just feel happy. And if you're not feeling it in that moment, my next question to people when I'm coaching them is, what does this remind you of? I mean, can you give me another give me a time that you felt happy and upbeat and excited about the possibilities of the future. We talk a little bit about that and take that feeling, put it inside yourself. And now let's do the read instead of pretending or faking it. I don't know, for me, it doesn't work. I'm sure some people can really fake it till they make it, but for me, I just need to go about it in a really authentic way. So I think that can be very helpful.

Stephanie Ciccarelli:

Yeah. And when you go about it in an authentic way, you're not having to remember, well, how did I get to that place? Or what do I need to keep doing? Because it's not an act, it's what you're actually feeling. Right? Yeah. And I think that's far better, far better to have that be the foundation that you're working from than something where you're just constantly trying to keep up with it, just to kind of keep the illusion up that you feel a certain way. So very good points. As we were talking about this, something else came to mind. And as we're kind of referring to the feelings, they're really strong, they can dissipate. It might take a little time, of course, as we know, and sometimes feelings kind of they pop up and they're not on your schedule, right? Like, you can't just say that ‘at this point of day, I want to feel this, and right now I can't feel that. I need to feel this,’ that's not how it works. So how hard is it, would you say, to go from one frame of mind to another? And what are some ways that you've found have worked in a pinch?

Gina Scarpa:

It could be very hard, I think, to go from one feeling to another in voice over, because our day is just so consumed with auditions or bookings and every project is different. And I think that changing your emotions at time, at times, can be very exhausting. I mean, just changing my emotions throughout the day is exhausting. Now we have to add on voice over to it and I'm like, ready for a nap at 4:00pm. So one thing could be grouping auditions together that fit a certain emotion that you need to feel. That's definitely an option. Or you can just take a breath and take a beat in between each one so you're not just rushing in, like bing, bing, bing, like, from one thing to another. Just take a moment. You just did one that was happy and upbeat. Great. Let's breathe for a minute. Now we're going to do warm and friendly. Okay, let's breathe for a minute. Now we're going to do educational and informative and knowledgeable. So just even that pause before we go from the next thing can help us recenter and get ready for the next thing again in a very authentic and believable way.

Stephanie Ciccarelli:

I love that. Like, I think people will now start to think in terms of some people batch their auditions by genre. Well, what if you batch them by emotion? Because that's maybe more the currency that you're working with because it's the emotional currency and that's where all the energy is coming from. And not that words are just words or anything. I know that every genre has its own unique application and product, service, whatever that goes with what you're talking about. But at the end of the day, I think a lot of the taxation on your body and your mind and just the constant switching when someone's multitasking, they're doing all kinds of things, but not doing any one of them well. Imagine if you could just take something like that emotional side or even just a kind of flavor of emotion and be like, ‘okay, all my happy auditions, they're happening now.’ All the ones where I need to be authoritative and stern or whatever, they're happening now, it isn't so much, I don't know, this very niche area of happy, whatever that corner of happiness might be, it's something else, I think, that might be interesting. And you'd have to look at all the scripts before you do that just to kind of see where they fit. And that might take some time. But for all of the work you're doing so far as just having to switch from one feeling to another, which is so hard, I mean, it's hard enough for people who are doing an animated series to jump from one character to another in the show. But imagine having to change from one way of feeling to another, like on a dime. I don't know. I think that's an interesting thing to think about. And if anyone is blessed to have the ability to group their auditions in such a way, because I know that sometimes they just come in, you got to do them when they come in, and that's just how it happens. And you got to be good at recentering yourself, if you will, and knowing kind of this read for that, this emotion here, wouldn't that just change the game? That's just another way of looking at it. Certainly another way of thinking about how you're going to go and do your work. Maybe that's more of how it is. Maybe it's your work, not so much your auditions you're going to group in your work life, too. I'm going to do these sorts of emotional reads here or that kind of application there, because it won't stress you out nearly as much to have to just be someone else. It's literally - you're taking your energy levels, your stress, the level of I'm trying to think of a good word here, but just the intensity that might go into reading something that exhausts you perhaps should be, I don't know if you put that at the beginning or the end because you don't want to have nothing left for the one at the end, right? But it's almost more about managing your energy and your ability to do something than it is about what this particular job is specifically. If there's a deadline, then, yeah, of course, prioritize that. But there's more to it, I think, in voice over.

Gina Scarpa:

I think that's super interesting. That's something that came up as you and I were talking and prepping for this episode. You had mentioned this kind of idea of grouping things together by energy, and I was like, ‘wow, I never really thought about it. Do I have the time to do that? I don't know.’ But if I did feel like that would be just a super interesting thing to try and see if that helps. Because sometimes when I'm feeling particularly tired and it could just be again, whatever is happening in the day, it could be the autoimmune disease that I have. It could be the stress of life or whatever. But sometimes when I get through reads, I almost feel like I can't breathe. I need to take a huge breath. Like I'm like I'm exhausted. And it was a 30 second audition, but that's because I'm trying to muscle my way through it instead of just kind of accepting it or just giving myself a minute. It's on those days when I'm really trying to charge forward like a bullet train instead of just giving myself those little pauses. So now I kind of want to try it as an experiment and then report back to you. And I feel like if anybody else listening would consider trying it and let us know what they think, I think that would be very interesting just to see if they notice if it felt any differently to them. Like, how did it feel as you were grouping all these happy ones together and all these serious ones together? I wonder what that would feel like. I'm so interested now.

Stephanie Ciccarelli:

Yeah, I love it. I can't wait and truly, like, get back to Gina or myself or both of us. You can tag both of us and just say what your experience has been. And if you found value in that, if it's less efficient for you to do it, then go back to whatever you're doing. But if you find that it is more beneficial than not, then give it a shot. So back to our regularly scheduled programming. So we've talked about that and went down our little bunny trail. I hope people enjoyed our bunny trail. So you might have heard the old saying that a client might not pick you because of what they ate for lunch that day. Very subjective. Or maybe it's that your voice reminds them of someone that they don't like. Or there's always some weird thing for why you might have done an amazing job, but you're just not the voice for that particular role. But how true is that of a script that a talent doesn't feel particularly drawn to or agree with, but reads anyway, can clients tell maybe that set some their antennas off the radar goes, ‘oh, I can sense that they don't actually like this thing.’

Gina Scarpa:

You know what's funny is that sometimes I'll be reading something that I'm not really connected to. It might be something that, I don't know, like the beliefs of the script or kind of go against what I think, really. So I'm like, all right, you know what? I'll try it. That's why I kind of read it. I'm like, all right, fine. So I got to get like two or three sentences in and I'm like going along and then I just stop myself. I'm like, ‘no, this isn't it. Forget it.’ And either I will just say pass on the project, or I will just say, let me just walk away from it, come back and see if I could feel more connected to it. So I definitely have caught myself in those situations. But again, it kind of goes back to what we were saying earlier. Can a client tell if you're having a bad day? Can they tell if you're having a hard time with your emotions? Can they tell if you don't feel connected? Again, it's like that thing where it's like this happens to me when I'm listening to audition reads. I'm like, I can't quite put my finger on it. I don't know what it is. I just know that it's like it's so close, but it's not it. And when I hear that connected, authentic read, ‘I'm like, yeah, that's it.’ And everybody else that I might have listened to is like, they are good. It's not like you're bad. You weren't chosen because you were bad. It's just there's something about it that kind of pushes it over the edge. And who could say why anybody casts anybody in anything, right? Again, it's all a matter of personal preference. And we could have ten casting directors cast the exact same project with the exact same pool of talent and they would pick ten different people. So, very hard to say. But yes, there are times when you could just feel like something is just I don't know, it's just not connected. It's not all there.

Stephanie Ciccarelli:

Yeah, and maybe that's what the client hears when maybe it isn't their turkey sandwich that is disagreeing with them. It could be that they don't sense the connection. It's funny, you don't want to throw clients under the bus for, oh, well, they've got all these excuses. But sometimes it is a preference thing. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it is just ‘I don't feel it. I don't feel it. I don't sense that this person is the right voice for the job,’ and the talent I would hope, I would hope senses that too, when they look at a script, because that's a different level of maturity as an artist. If you see something that maybe doesn't fit with you or what you as you're saying it, it kind of might feel even like disingenuous coming out of your mouth.

Gina Scarpa:

But you know what's interesting is I just had done a workshop with the casting director who's very prominent and voice over, very respected, and I read for them in the workshop, got great feedback, and I felt really nice about it. So then I went into a one-on-one with them, and we had a great conversation, and I sent them my last three auditions that I had done for them and said, ‘hey, is there anything here that's not working? Do I sound connected? Like, how do you feel?’ She said ‘everything sounds great. Again, it comes down to choice.’ Whatever. Okay, so we have this great connection. Now, I know she thinks highly of me. The next day, I get an audition from my manager for this casting director, and the brand was just something I felt like I couldn't do, and it was because I work with kids and teens and I'm a mom, and there was something about the brand that to me felt not inappropriate but for me personally, I didn't feel comfortable. So I actually met with the casting director again, and I said, ‘hey, I'm so sorry, but I passed on that audition.’ I fit the specs so well, and I felt like I really could have given a very competitive audition. And she said, ‘totally fine. I'm not here to tell you what you should or shouldn't be comfortable with.’ I was worried, ‘oh, my gosh, am I going to hurt myself with her?’ She'd be like, ‘don't be dramatic, just read for’ I can't do it. And she was like, ‘It's totally okay,’ and I felt good about it.’ And then I felt even better about it when she said, ‘if you're not connected it to it or you don't agree with it, totally fine. Just pass and move on. It's not going to affect you in the future. I still want to hear you read, and I still think you're talented.’ So I think that's a great point as well. It's like having either the maturity or just the confidence to say it's okay to pass on this audition if I'm not feeling it, if I don't agree with it, and more opportunities will continue to come. This isn't the be all and the end all.

Stephanie Ciccarelli:

Right and I really appreciate you saying that, Gina, because I think that through the whole kind of show today, it's all been about authenticity. And I think that's really been something we've covered in our episodes in the past together, is just this theme. And it seems to be a theme in voice over in general is because your voice is who you are in so many ways and it is so connected to it. And you can hear things in your voice that you wouldn't necessarily be able to pick up on if, say, someone typed out a message and could edit it three, five times, but they sent out, right? Like, you're hearing the raw emotion and your feelings and where you're coming from and whether or not something sits well with you. So I really appreciate that. But what I also appreciate is that the casting director had a rapport with you and was like, ‘you know what? I I don't want you putting yourself out there for something that doesn't fit for you because I respect you as an artist. I already like you. I already know what you can do, and if not this time, then maybe the next one.’

Gina Scarpa:

Absolutely. I feel like if you're going into it and you're thinking to yourself, ‘please don't book this, please don't book this.’ If I booked it, I wouldn't share it. If I would feel uncomfortable, it's like, well, then maybe that's just a sign to you to pass. I mean, one of the great things about voice over is how many opportunities there are. Like, I always tell people when they first come to me for coaching and they're new, I'm like, however much opportunity you think there is, it's like infinitely more. It's like the Marvel Infinityverse. There's just infinite ways that you could audition, infinite opportunities and things like that. So it's okay to walk away from something again, not feeling connected, not feeling like you can do it. Or even if you just need a break, you're done for the day. Okay, be done. Guess what? Guess what's going to be there tomorrow. Voice over. It's not going anywhere, that's for sure. It's okay. I'm going to get T-shirts. “It's okay to walk away from the booth.”

Stephanie Ciccarelli:

Yes, well, you do have Tee shirts, and I think that's a nice little segue. Go to Gina's website. Look at the Voiceover t shirts. Some of them are really cute. I really like them. But anyway, that's a different show.

Gina Scarpa:

But you know what? I will say that all the clothing, all the proceeds go to helping students. And we've been able to sponsor some really great students who had financial need for equipment and things like that. And that's just another way that I think I try to help, even manage my own emotions, is I found this purpose and trying to help other people too, and that's really helped me a lot. So, yeah, if you ever want to help a voice actor out, feel free to reach out to me and I'll give you some ways.

Stephanie Ciccarelli:

Yes. And T shirts. Yes. And as we wrap up, because I know we're getting close, we've just got a couple more questions here, but we've talked a little bit about this, so maybe we don't have to dig too deep. But everyone does want to do their best, obviously, you want to do right by your clients and the audience and the casting directors who are hearing you read. So all that said, Gina, what is the best way to prepare for a session so that you're bringing the best that you can in all facets, be it physically, mentally and emotionally. I know there are other facets, but we'll start there. Yeah, sure. So, I mean, of course, I think it's really important to get a lot of rest, which is something that I often struggle with and I've had conversations with Stephanie about I'm always operating on a good four to 6 hours of sleep. And I'm like ‘help!’ but that would be helpful. Obviously hydrating steaming is very helpful. Even some warm up exercises. It doesn't have to be like talking. It could be singing, humming, whatever, breathing through a straw and things like that. As well as just again, breathing before you get in there. I like to get into the booth, obviously, well before the session is going to happen, but just kind of sit there and kind of prepare myself because besides the fact I need to be like on, I guess because I'm going to be acting and performing is like I also need to interact with the client and everybody else as well. That takes a lot of energy. So I like to give myself just a few minutes before I go into it to just get ready for it. And I feel like that helps to reading over the script, maybe looking at other things the brand has done, just to kind of give yourself the right tone and idea. If you're able to look at that, there's a lot of different things you can do that really help get you in the right head space before you go into a directed session.

Stephanie Ciccarelli:

Yes, I think that's important. You made a bit of a distinction there. A directed session, so that's how you're preparing to see other people. But how are you preparing just your day in general before you go in and just start doing things on your own?

Gina Scarpa:

I mean, I tend to just go I just go like full. I'm like up out of bed, showered and I'm like, all right, it's time to go. I like to push forward in my day because I often find that if I kind of hesitate too long or kind of dilly dally around, like, I'm not really going to get things done. So I like to think of my day always as moving forward and being ready for whatever is going to come. I might prepare for the day. Of course, like I said, I'm going to just keep talking about breathing because I feel it's so important, but also like kind of visualizing what the day could look like ahead. Hard to know with voice over because we never know, very unpredictable, but kind of setting your intentions for the day, what would I like to happen today? Get focused and think to yourself, like, what needs to get done? If I could get it done that's nice. And what could just wait. So I feel like that's important to kind of prioritizing what the day ahead could look like before you go into the booth. So before you even open your email, before you open your daw, your Adobe audition, your Audacity, whatever you're using, like, just sitting and taking a minute and looking at the day ahead I think can be really helpful.

Stephanie Ciccarelli:

That's great. Planning is a good thing. Also To Do lists or even just that list of priorities, as you said, just mapped out and hopefully you get through most of them. If you don't, it's like, well, there's tomorrow. Like, voice over will be here tomorrow. I don't need to stress myself out and to try to get everything done, right? So it's because it's about how you manage your energy and your ability and you're even your willpower, your willpower to keep going and to take the breaks where you need to. So Gina, if there's a word of encouragement that you could leave us with today, what would it be?

Stephanie Ciccarelli:

Oh, my goodness. I feel like, first of all, I find so many people struggle with their confidence and feel stuck, and I'm always trying to get people to move forward. I follow this author and speaker. Her name is Mel Robbins, and she's like a motivational speaker. She has a great book called Take Control of Your Life. And you could follow her on TikTok or YouTube or whatever. One of the things she says is the minute you feel like you aren't sure if you can move forward, you got to move in 5 seconds, otherwise you're going to stay stuck. So I feel like we always want to be moving forward in a positive direction. And every moment that we hesitate, somebody around us is making a move forward. Nothing terrible can happen by taking a chance and moving forward and also finally just embracing all of those emotions. I know it can be hard, but one of the best gifts voice over has given me is just like I said, is really bringing it all into the booth because I used to have so many walls up. I'm very different than I used to be. Just a couple of years ago. You probably would be surprised. I was very sarcastic. I was very closed off in certain ways, and now I just feel way more open and happy and that's just been wonderful in my life and in voice over. So just accepting and embracing your emotions and the things that you've been through, they make you unique and they make you special and they give you a unique perspective on voice over scripts that nobody else could have because nobody else has gone through what you've gone through.

Stephanie Ciccarelli:

Couldn't have said it better myself, Gina. Thank you so much for joining us today, and it's always so wonderful to see you and to hear from your heart, too. Thank you.

Gina Scarpa:

Thank you. I loved this episode. Thanks for having me.

Stephanie Ciccarelli:

And that's the way we saw the world through the lens of voice over this week. Thank you for listening and for following Vox Talk. Our special guest today was the exceptionally talented and warmhearted Gina Scarpa. So if you'd like to learn more about Gina, you can visit her at GinaScarpa.com, and for voice over coaching, go to PositiveVoicesCT.com. For Voices, I'm your host, Stephanie Ciccarelli. Vox Talk is produced by Geoff Bremner. Thank you again for listening, and we'll see you next week.