So you want to know how to get into voice acting? I was in that exact same position myself.
When I was a kid, Batman: The Animated series was easily my favorite show. I didn’t know why it held my attention so well, I just knew that it did. Years later, as I began to pay attention to actors I revisited my childhood heroes and I was surprised at how well the show holds up to the test of time, some of the other shows of my childhood weren’t so lucky.
Kevin Conroy will always be Batman and Mark Hamill, surprisingly, will always be The Joker. The vocal work on this show made the fledgling actor in me decide that I wanted to be like them. I wanted to tell stories like they did. I was just like you. I wanted to know how to get into voice acting.
Finding Voice Acting Work You Like is Key
At the time, my voice had not settled yet, so it was a particularly terrible time to start recording. That didn’t stop me from working. I started finding vocal work that really struck me. I am kinda an acting nerd, so really good performances make me excited.
Batman: The Animated Series has some AMAZING work. Most of the cast is really superb, not just Conroy and Hamill. Christopher Judge’s work as Kratos in God of War 4 is stellar. One of my main reasons to replay the game. Keeping the nerd trend going, Nathan Fillion does a great Green Lantern. Robin Williams as Genie in the first Disney’s Aladdin is one of the greatest vocal performances of all time.
So, if you’re wondering how to get into voice acting, start by finding vocal work that you like.
Get to Know (And Care For) Your Voice
While you are finding the vocal work you like it is incredibly important to get to know your voice.
I have seen talented performers skip this step early on and cut their careers short because they did real damage to their voice. It is your instrument. You have to learn how to use it and take care of it, properly. I thought, in my younger years, that since I know how to speak I know how to properly use my voice. I was doing a production of The Mousetrap and the director kept giving me notes about my vocal work.
Looking back at it, he was right. I had no idea how to properly use my voice. I had not yet learned the parts or how they worked together. I just knew that I spoke well. Once I studied the connection between the parts and the sound created, I noticed more control over my voice and much more vocal flexibility. I was still not ready to seriously get into voice acting. I didn’t have a warm-up routine.
Every serious actor has a warm-up routine. It’s one way you can tell the difference between a talented amateur and a professional. I have seen actors on major movie sets that didn’t warm up. They had to do take, after take, after take until they got into the groove. In the meantime, their scene partner warmed up before take-one and spent all those takes refining their performance and stole the scene. I warm-up everyday before I teach. There are six classes a day and they all need me at my best. If I don’t warm up, my voice is fired by the 4th class. To help keep my voice in shape I drink lots of water.
Take Care of Your Instrument: Vocal Health is Key
This is the smoking section. Every vocal teacher has to have this talk with all of their students. If you don’t smoke, don’t start and skip to the next paragraph. If you do smoke or vape, please keep reading. I will never tell you how to live your life. Your choices are your own. However, smoking anything ,and I do mean anything, hurts your voice.
One of the reasons we have to learn the parts of the vocal instrument is to know that it is much more than the lungs and the mouth. The vocal folds (sometimes called the vocal cords when they aren’t cords at all…..but that is another topic) are one of the most important pieces of the vocal instrument and also one of the most fragile. Anything you breathe in passes through them. They are designed to let oxygen through. That is it. Anything else causes irritation and swelling. Prolonged exposure to the harmful effect of smoking, and yes vaping too, can permanently damage your voice. That’s the talk. Again, your choices are your own. There is no judgement here.
Vocal health is a journey that you take with your voice. It is about understanding and discovery. At this point in my vocal career I found myself feeling that I still wasn’t ready to take on vocal jobs. I spoke to my parents, both prodigious classical musicians who have been making their art my entire life, they helped me come to the realization that I lacked vocal technique. I had all of the raw materials, but I had yet to put them into a useful form.
Practice, Develop, & Hone Your Technique
Like all working artists, I began to practice. My voice and I were at odds for a while. We felt like strangers, even though I had been using it my entire life.
Over time, and with a lot of patience, we became friends. I learned its limits. We developed technique, my voice and I. Then my uneasiness about making my first demo reel went away. I strongly urge all my students to take the time to get the skills done before throwing yourself out there. It is a long and frustrating process.
I promise you that it will all pay off when that first job is a breeze. If you jump in before you have a solid relationship with your voice, then you will struggle when the jobs get hard. Why pay an actor who struggles when there are actors that don’t?
I’ll leave you with this. Anyone can make a demo reel. An actor takes the time to do it right. We practice, grow, and produce our art. And there, an end.
Stephen Scarlato