“We are all faced with a series of opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”- Charles R. Swindoll
I came across today’s quote a while back, but I’m finding it very pertinent to my current situation. Not long ago I picked my move in day to make the big trek from the East to the West and as that day was Wednesday September 2nd, I had my room packed and my plane tickets a-waitin’ when I received a call Tuesday September 1st to learn that my home-to-be was in the path of the California fires. My landlady informed me that our neighbors had been evacuated and that I should look into temporary housing somewhere a little safer. She told me that if there was anyway to delay my flight it would probably be for the best.
Well, as luck or fate would have it, my family friends living near San Diego graciously opened their home to me so that I wouldn’t have to change my plans because of some pesky fire. I’ve had a wonderful time catching up and helping around the house where I can and it’s because of their generosity that I was able to attend the voice over mixer in LA last night hosted by Stephanie Ciccarelli and Voices.com
I had the opportunity to connect with my friend Andrea Christensen and her voice coach and friend Julie Williams. Julie runs a wonderful voice over magazine at www.voice-overs.com. It is an invaluable resource and I highly recommend subscribing to it. I had the chance to speak briefly with Stephanie Ciccarelli about her blog at voices.com and to thank her for organizing such a great event. It was an amazing evening, and I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to meet with so many talented people. The drive from San Diego county and back was totally worth it!
Thank you to everyone who shared their time with me last night, I had a wonderful time and I look forward to meeting again. Until then, take care!
All the best,
Ashley
Friday, September 4, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Baby steps...
"The first step towards getting somewhere is to decided that you are not going to stay where you are." ~ John Pierpont Morgan
Last night I listened in on the bonus class for the teleseminar I'm taking. Our topic covered how to make things happened. Not in a pull-a-magic-rabbit-out-of-a-hat sort of way, but more of a find-a-way-to-get-said-rabbit-into-the-hat kind of way. It was a very motivating night with a lot of very useful information.
Well, later this morning I stumbled across the above quote and I really like the way it sums up the importance of not necessarily knowing how to start, but coming to the decision to make your move, as it were, on life.
Today was my follow through day in response to the classes thus far and I feel great about how much I got done! I made a list of three things that I absolutely wanted to accomplish, and lo and behold, they got done! Of the things on my petite list, I'm most proud of signing up to read at my local library for their preschool time. Since the show I directed just closed, I wanted to keep the creative juices flowing, but also to practice my voicing, so I talked with one of the librarians and we've decided to have me read "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins" by Dr. Seuss. We're going to make it Wacky Hat Day at the Library and then I'm going to read my story to the kids.
I'm living in a small town right now, and there aren't an awful lot of voicing opportunities at the moment, but reading aloud at the library feels great. Volunteer work is right up there with homework in my secretly-enjoyable-pastimes. While it makes me feel good to do things for other people, it makes me feel good about my goals to keep up with my voice acting at the same time. I'm killing two karma birds with one cosmic stone! And I'm pretty happy with it.
Last night I listened in on the bonus class for the teleseminar I'm taking. Our topic covered how to make things happened. Not in a pull-a-magic-rabbit-out-of-a-hat sort of way, but more of a find-a-way-to-get-said-rabbit-into-the-hat kind of way. It was a very motivating night with a lot of very useful information.
Well, later this morning I stumbled across the above quote and I really like the way it sums up the importance of not necessarily knowing how to start, but coming to the decision to make your move, as it were, on life.
Today was my follow through day in response to the classes thus far and I feel great about how much I got done! I made a list of three things that I absolutely wanted to accomplish, and lo and behold, they got done! Of the things on my petite list, I'm most proud of signing up to read at my local library for their preschool time. Since the show I directed just closed, I wanted to keep the creative juices flowing, but also to practice my voicing, so I talked with one of the librarians and we've decided to have me read "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins" by Dr. Seuss. We're going to make it Wacky Hat Day at the Library and then I'm going to read my story to the kids.
I'm living in a small town right now, and there aren't an awful lot of voicing opportunities at the moment, but reading aloud at the library feels great. Volunteer work is right up there with homework in my secretly-enjoyable-pastimes. While it makes me feel good to do things for other people, it makes me feel good about my goals to keep up with my voice acting at the same time. I'm killing two karma birds with one cosmic stone! And I'm pretty happy with it.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Finally out of the wilderness!
So I've been a ghost around this blog, but it's been for a good cause. The C4Act Community Theatre had me direct their spring production of "The Crucible." We had a wonderful turn out and I'm very proud of the work we did. The cast was excellent and the community support was super, especially Daniel and Teri of the Homer Center for the Arts. We couldn't have done it with out them.
And a special thank you to DJ Sonny King of Oldies 101.5 WXHC! Not only did Sonny record my radio ad, but he interview me and Jonathan Gay who played John Proctor in our show. Sonny was a joy to work with and I hope we work together again soon!
Now that I'm out of that forest, I'm hitting the ground running with my voice-overs. I'm currently taking Harlan Hogan's teleseminar "Starting Your Voice Over Business." Last night was the first night and already I'm learning a ton!
I've always heard that you need to approach your craft as a business and I know how important that is, but I never really understood what that meant. Last night we went over the basics of what that means and I was surprised to learn that as a voice actor your real job is getting the work. As a theatre artist so much of your time is spent rehearsing and building and adjusting and more rehearsing, it's easy to forget that you ever auditioned in the first place!
We dispelled some of the common myths about the voice over world and then homework was assigned! Secretly, I've always liked homework, it makes me feel like I've accomplished something!
I have another class tonight and I'm looking forward to it. Now that I've got my life back from "The Crucible" I'll be posting more frequently, so check back!
And a special thank you to DJ Sonny King of Oldies 101.5 WXHC! Not only did Sonny record my radio ad, but he interview me and Jonathan Gay who played John Proctor in our show. Sonny was a joy to work with and I hope we work together again soon!
Now that I'm out of that forest, I'm hitting the ground running with my voice-overs. I'm currently taking Harlan Hogan's teleseminar "Starting Your Voice Over Business." Last night was the first night and already I'm learning a ton!
I've always heard that you need to approach your craft as a business and I know how important that is, but I never really understood what that meant. Last night we went over the basics of what that means and I was surprised to learn that as a voice actor your real job is getting the work. As a theatre artist so much of your time is spent rehearsing and building and adjusting and more rehearsing, it's easy to forget that you ever auditioned in the first place!
We dispelled some of the common myths about the voice over world and then homework was assigned! Secretly, I've always liked homework, it makes me feel like I've accomplished something!
I have another class tonight and I'm looking forward to it. Now that I've got my life back from "The Crucible" I'll be posting more frequently, so check back!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Up and at 'em, Tiger!
While it seems that I've been asleep in the blog-o-sphere, I've been wide awake in the wonderful world of audition prep!
With my production of "The Crucible" on the horizon, I've been pretty busy getting things in order. I've started a website for my actors, with schedules and rehearsal information. I'm hoping that this will make the rehearsal process easier on everyone!
As is the way of the world, I like to be as nice as I can to the people I meet because you never know how and where they will turn up again. I'm finding that this has been extremely helpful with getting "The Crucible" together. Last week I headed over to the Homer Center for the Arts to meet with the Administrative Assistant there so we could work around each other's availability at the center. I arrived at the Center to realize that Teri Holbert, the woman I was meeting with, was a former voice acting classmate! Having only ever met on the phone to arrange our meeting, it wasn't until meeting face to face that we realized our connection! It was quite the happy reunion. We caught up in the world of our voice over pursuits and planned what is looking like a very nice rehearsal schedule for my show.
I'm so fortunate to be working on a project that has the support of such caring and creative people. I look forward to auditioning my actors and meeting with Teri again. Once the show is up and running I'll be posting a bit more frequently, so stay tuned!
All the best,
Ashley
With my production of "The Crucible" on the horizon, I've been pretty busy getting things in order. I've started a website for my actors, with schedules and rehearsal information. I'm hoping that this will make the rehearsal process easier on everyone!
As is the way of the world, I like to be as nice as I can to the people I meet because you never know how and where they will turn up again. I'm finding that this has been extremely helpful with getting "The Crucible" together. Last week I headed over to the Homer Center for the Arts to meet with the Administrative Assistant there so we could work around each other's availability at the center. I arrived at the Center to realize that Teri Holbert, the woman I was meeting with, was a former voice acting classmate! Having only ever met on the phone to arrange our meeting, it wasn't until meeting face to face that we realized our connection! It was quite the happy reunion. We caught up in the world of our voice over pursuits and planned what is looking like a very nice rehearsal schedule for my show.
I'm so fortunate to be working on a project that has the support of such caring and creative people. I look forward to auditioning my actors and meeting with Teri again. Once the show is up and running I'll be posting a bit more frequently, so stay tuned!
All the best,
Ashley
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
The First Blog of Christmas!
Hello bright beautiful blogging world! I just finished watching "The Polar Express," so in tune with Tom Hanks' proclamation of the first gift of Christmas, I give you this blog post.
But the real reason for my starting a blog has less to do with the tremendous talent of a fine actor and more to do with what he brings to the film; a voice for all those characters. After years of actor training and close work with the people at voicecoaches.com I've finally recorded my voice acting demo and am now pursuing my career as a voice actor. This blog is a sounding board for my day to day musings and discoveries as a voice and theatre artist. The title of my blog comes from a post by a voice actor I admire named Liz de Nesnera who playfully noted that "There's a reason we voice actor's joke that we're a bit strange: we sit in our padded rooms, talking to ourselves all day!"
Currently I'm working on my own padded room (i.e. my at home studio). I've already purchased my mic, and since I've been good this year, word on the street is that "Santa" bought me the preamp that was on my wish list. Once my little studio is up and running, I'll post some delightful pictures.
There will be more discoveries to come in my work. I'm re-reading a wonderful book called "The Actor Speaks: Voice and the Performer" by Patsy Rodenburg. I'm directing "The Crucible" in a couple months so I'm brushing up on group vocal techniqus. This book is full of excellent advice and a wonderful forward by Judi Dench.
More to come in the future, so stay tuned and be safe during the holiday season!
But the real reason for my starting a blog has less to do with the tremendous talent of a fine actor and more to do with what he brings to the film; a voice for all those characters. After years of actor training and close work with the people at voicecoaches.com I've finally recorded my voice acting demo and am now pursuing my career as a voice actor. This blog is a sounding board for my day to day musings and discoveries as a voice and theatre artist. The title of my blog comes from a post by a voice actor I admire named Liz de Nesnera who playfully noted that "There's a reason we voice actor's joke that we're a bit strange: we sit in our padded rooms, talking to ourselves all day!"
Currently I'm working on my own padded room (i.e. my at home studio). I've already purchased my mic, and since I've been good this year, word on the street is that "Santa" bought me the preamp that was on my wish list. Once my little studio is up and running, I'll post some delightful pictures.
There will be more discoveries to come in my work. I'm re-reading a wonderful book called "The Actor Speaks: Voice and the Performer" by Patsy Rodenburg. I'm directing "The Crucible" in a couple months so I'm brushing up on group vocal techniqus. This book is full of excellent advice and a wonderful forward by Judi Dench.
More to come in the future, so stay tuned and be safe during the holiday season!
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