My first voiceover audition...

Today, while I was in voiceover class I got a call from my theatrical agent telling me that I have a voiceover audition. I doubt that I would have gotten this call had I not alerted her (a couple of weeks ago) to the fact that I am taking a voiceover class, expect to have a demo very soon, and asked if she handled voiceover artists or if I would be better off having another agent 'handle' that aspect of my career. I use "handle" for lack of a better word because the artist her- or himself should be prepared to "handle" the bulk of what goes on in her or his own career. Her response was that she does represent other artists who do voiceover work, and that she does get some breakdowns, but the bulk of the audition calls go to better-known voiceover agencies. Makes sense.

Anyhoo, I did the happy dance in the hallway, then told my teacher who told the class that I have a voiceover audition. I got home and took a look of the script. No, actually I hit "PRINT" BEFORE looking at the script. Then when I saw my printer preparing to print 33 pages, I hit "CANCEL." So now I'm waiting for clarification on what exactly I need to record.

For any of you who (like me) are 'green' as far as voiceover work is concerned, the audition is often different from a theatrical or commercial audition. In a situation where you are on-camera, you have to be physically present because, well, you have to be where the camera is. In a voiceover audition, you can be anywhere in the world. My computer has the capacity to record, edit, and convert into MP3s, so I am going to prepare my audition at home (provided that my pet birds don't scream) and email the MP3. I love modern technology. I might have to put the birds out on the balcony for a while.

About 2 years ago, someone with whom I had previously worked, hooked me up with a voiceover audition. After trying for about a hour to record on a mini-cassette recorder (sitting in my car b/c the birds WOULDN'T stop talking), I realized it sounded horrible and that was not a way I wanted to represent myself, so I begged off. A year ago I tried to put together a voiceover demo in my living room by simply mimicking what I heard on TV and on the radio. Something was missing...(how about the background music and ambient sound? HELLO, NICOLE!?) This time around I feel much more confident.

I'll keep ya posted.

--Nicole