To hear my new demos, click the Voiceovers link on my site, or click the microphone image on this post to visit that page.  You will have the option of launching a nifty Flash menu that will allow you to mouse over each of the samples to hear them, or for those of you using devices unable to play Flash (like iPads/iPhones), you can launch the clips individually from the links provided on the Voiceovers page.   Some of the clips contain more than one sample.  NOTE: As the Flash file contains a total of 10 demo clips, it may take up to a minute to load on some systems.

Let me know what you think!  And if you know of anyone seeking voiceover talent, please feel free to share the link to my Voiceovers page with them.  Thanks! 

A bit of background on the music in the new clips: Elliot and I were in the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop together for a couple of years many moons ago, me as a lyricist/librettiest and Elliot for his music.  Others in the class included Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, two other swell people who went on to become the team responsible for Ragtime and many other fine shows.  Elliot and I lost touch over the years, until Facebook came along.  We hooked up again, began chatting, and when I asked if he knew of anyone to do some sound editing/engineering for my new voiceover demos, he revealed that these are some of the services he offers now!  So it was a great excuse to get back together and catch up after all these years, and meet his adorable puppy Augie.  I think Elliot’s music works fantastically with my demo clips.  If you want to know more about Elliot, or if you’d like to take advantage of his services as composer or sound engineer, I encourage you to visit his site by clicking here.  He’s a great guy to work with, and can write just about any kind of music imaginable!

I also led a one-hour Presentation Skills 101 class each of the three days of the conference, helping e-Learning professionals overcome the classic roadblocks to delivering an engaging and inspiring presentation.  Again, the students were great participants, and gave me great reviews afterward.  I like to think that there are a lot more e-Learning professionals out there now who can get up in front of any audience with confidence and really make a difference.

I’m not usually the type to wear a “slogan” T-shirt, but when I arrived in Orlando, I found a Disney store that allowed you to create your own design, and so I created the one shown in the picture here, and proudly wore it for my full-day program: “E-Learning Without Human Voiceovers?  That’s Like a Grin Without a Cat!” 

My thanks to Heidi Fisk of the eLearning Guild for inviting me to teach these courses this year.  It was a fantastic experience, and I’d love to do it again.  If you know of anyone needing coaching, by all means please refer them to the Coaching page on my consulting site.

You can find out more about the film by clicking the logo image on the right side of this post.  Saranne has taken Carroll’s poem, and interspersed snippets of it creatively throughout her script.  Purists will note that she has made some changes to the characters and events of the original poem, but having read the entertaining script, I can tell you that it remains true to Carroll’s spirit.  Look for it in June of 2012!

By contrast, I had a wonderful experience with a casting director recently that I wanted to share, even though I didn’t book the job.  I was at a studio in Chelsea for a couple of auditions that didn’t require much in the way of preparation, and while waiting for my turn, I noted another audition being held in the next room that seemed to be for a male voiceover artist, based on the conversation snippets I was hearing.  As I’m always looking to expand my voiceover work, I strolled over and read the audition side/copy, which turned out to be for a major telecom company.  I really liked the writing, and it seemed like something I could do well.  But there was a very short list of guys signing up and waiting for their auditions, so it seemed like a pretty exclusive event. 

After I finished my own audition, I decided to do something I’ve never done before: I waited for the woman hosting the voiceover audition to come out to check her list, and I spoke to her.  I introduced myself, told her that I was not someone on her list, but that I’d read the copy and loved it, and asked if she might be willing to consider auditioning someone she hadn’t invited.  She looked at me for a moment, sizing me up, then pointed to a couple of crossed out names on her sign-in sheet and said, “You know, two guys have already tried to crash my audition this morning….”

My heart sank, and I was abashed.  I stammered, “I would never…”  And then she continued.

“But you asked.”  And she gave a small smile.  “As it turns out, I should have a little time later, so yes, I’ll give you a shot.”  I thanked her and assured her I would never presume to go ahead and sign up for an audition where I hadn’t been invited.  When she found a lull in her scheduled appointments, she invited me in to read.  I gave her my resumé, and she explained that she mainly works with the top seven voiceover agencies, but that she’s open to new talent regardless.  I gave three reads, and she contributed brief and helpful adjustments for what she wanted to hear.  She was professional, pleasant, and committed to bringing out my best.  When I finished, as she worked on finalizing the audio files, she said “Those were three good reads!  I can’t say what will happen, but that was good work.”  I thanked her again for taking the time to see me, and she gave a slight smile again.  “Well, I could tell outside you had a good voice.”

So, I didn’t get a callback or book a job from this experience, but that’s almost beside the point.  I felt like I’d met another real pro, someone who really enjoys all the aspects of her job, and who is open to new talent.  It also affirmed for me that casting directors like to know they’re respected every bit as much as actors do.  I’m not including the casting director’s name on this post, as I wouldn’t want people descending on her next audition, asking to be seen.  It’s something I’d never done before, and will probably do very rarely in future.  But I sure hope to read for her again somewhere down the road, as I really liked the way she worked.  I did get called back for both of my other auditions that day, including a larger role for one, so it was a good day all around!

If you have a story about a classy casting director (regardless of whether or not you were cast), please share it!

To visit the site, click the image on the right.  To see (and hear!) the Guided Tour, find the same Guided Tour image on the site’s home page and click on it there.  Enjoy, and spread the word!

Last week, Michael contacted me to ask if I’d be willing to create the voiceovers for a new Guided Tour they’re creating for the e-Learning for Kids web site.  I said sure!  I sent him a couple of sample audio files to give him an idea of the vocal timbre I thought most appropriate, and he agreed those were right on the money.  We finalized the script, I laid down the tracks, and I sent the finished Mp3 files along to Michael.  I included an alternate “take” of the last audio clip, with an additional “tag” that he loved, so that’s the one they’ll use in the Tour.   Once the Tour is posted on their site, I’ll do another update!  If you have kids, or know kids, grades 1-6, I recommend you take a look at their site.  What a great free resource!  Click the image to visit their site.

It’s 1 minute, 40 seconds long and features selections from six different spots.  Great fun to record.  My coach on the project was the wonderful Lainie Cooke, and the demo was engineered here in New York City by Jon Van Horn at Full House Productions.