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question:  Are acting classes helpful for voice-over artists?

answer:

Voice-over is based upon using one's natural voice. (To demonstrate, listen to a documentary, or a voice-menu-prompt system, or even a national television commercial, and you'll probably hear a natural-style voice-over.)

Therefore voice-over producers typically search for voice-over artists who deliver scripts in their natural voice when in front of the microphone. In fact, if a producer wanted a voice type different than yours, they would probably hire someone who naturally had that voice.

Therefore, acting lessons that teach you to affect your voice MAY not be helpful. But there are considerations.....

* * * some acting classes are helpful

Some acting classes teach you how to be more free with your emotions, and how to turn certain ones on and off. This is very helpful for a voice-over artist, as it prepares you for voice-over producers, who typically tell you what emotion they want exhibited on a script.

Acting lessons will may help you overcome fear. They may help you realize you have different natural voices. They may even help you learn how to speak more clearly.

* * * some acting classes are NOT helpful...

Some acting classes teach the actor to project - so that their voice can be heard in the back of the theater...without the need of a microphone. This is generally the opposite of a natural voice. With this type of training, it is common for the voice-over artist to over-project into the microphone, and disappoint the producer.

Some acting lessons may teach you to over-articulate (this is not helpful for most voice over recordings). They may teach you to affect your voice (which unless you want to get into character and/or animation work, is not helpful).

* * * to act or not...

If considering acting lessons while simultaneously working on your voice-over career, we suggest the following:

1. Ask the acting instructor if they are familiar with voice-over technique, and if their class will or will not be benefit your voice-over career. (Be careful, as many acting instructors "think" that voice over is all about affecting your voice... if they think this, they are not up-to-date with voice over.)

2. Ask a voice-over instructor or voice-over producer if your proposed acting classes will benefit you.

3. Practice. I'm fortunate enough to work with many top voice-over artists, who are also leading Broadway and stage actors. They very often tell me that they need to TOTALLY switch gears when going from stage to voice-over. When at our studio, they always need to remind themselves that they are no longer on stage speaking to a thousand people, and instead are speaking to one person at a time.

Good luck!

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