ADVANCED DIALOGUE ONLY

Director: Samantha Paris
Length: 14-hour four-week workshop
Skills Focus: Acting; Believability; Character Development; Choice-
Making; Comedic Timing; Critical Listening; Dialogues; Mic Technique; Script Analysis; Self-Direction; Setting the Scene; Spontaneity;
Taking Direction

Breathe life into your dialogues by learning to interpret scripts more creatively; make strong, believable acting choices; and set the scene for your audience. Additionally, you’ll work on important auditioning skills such as nailing your performances in two takes or less, and bringing the same level of reality and commitment to your “wild line” reads.

ADVANCED STYLIZED VOICE ACTOR

Directors: Thom Pinto
Length: 10-hour weekend seminar
Skills Focus: Announcing; Choice-Making; Mic Technique;
Script Analysis; Self-Direction

This is a more in-depth workout for those who have already taken Intermediate Stylized Voice Actor. In this seminar, Thom will work with you on perfecting the very specific delivery styles that bring various types of television commercials to life. You’ll also learn about and explore the powerful role music can bring to a voice actor’s performance.

ALL-DAY INTENSIVE CHARACTER LAB
(COMPANION CLASS TO “INSIDE THE VOICE ACTORS STUDIO WITH SUSAN BLU”)

Director: Cynthia Songé
Length: 7-hour Saturday lab
Skills Focus: Acting; Believability; Character Development; Choice-Making; Confidence-Building; Mic Technique; Script Analysis; Self-Direction; Setting the Scene; Spontaneity; Taking Direction

Those of you who want to put Susan’s invaluable ideas into practice immediately— while you’re still pumped up and inspired—won’t want to miss this all-day intensive character lab with Susan’s frequent collaborator, Cynthia Songé, the following day. Cynthia will help you apply Susan’s advice and understand how her techniques can be used in your own work. Enrollment is strictly limited to only ten people per session. Spaces will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Please note however, that even if the lab is ’sold out,’ you may still attend the evening lecture, if space is available.

ALL-DAY INTENSIVE PROMO LAB
(COMPANION CLASS TO “INSIDE THE VOICE ACTORS STUDIO WITH CHOPPER BERNET”)

Director: Thom Pinto
Length: 7-hour Saturday lab
Skills Focus: Acting; Announcing; Critical Listening; Mic Technique;
Script Analysis; Self-Marketing; Taking Direction

If you missed last term's class, presented in conjunction with the Chopper Bernet lecture, here's another chance to sign up for this intensive promo lab with Thom Pinto! You’ll work on a wide range of promo styles and Thom will help you apply Chopper’s advice and guidance while providing additional “promo insider” insights of his own. Enrollment is strictly limited to only ten people per session. Spaces will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.



!ANIMANIA!

Director: LA Agent
Length: 10-hour weekend seminar
Skills Focus: Acting; Character Development; Confidence-Building;
Mic Technique; Script Analysis; Taking Direction

Your creativity and technical abilities will be put to the test as you bolster your confidence and strengthen your auditioning techniques
by working on a wide assortment of cartoon and game scripts. Who better to put you through the paces of these mock auditions and provide helpful feedback and direction than one of the super-über animation agents in the business?

ANIMATION 101 WITH BOB BERGEN

Director: Bob Bergen
Length: 10-hour weekend seminar
Skills Focus: Acting; Character Development; Choice-Making;
Confidence-Building; Mic Technique; Script Analysis; Self-Marketing; Setting the Scene; Spontaneity

One of the most sought-after voiceover actors and instructors in the country brings to Voicetrax his immensely popular, widely acclaimed seminar. During this class, you’ll explore all the vital skills, techniques and necessary information that aspiring animation actors need to have, including – effective mic technique; creating and sustaining characters; breaking down copy; and understanding how the demo process and the “business of the business,” really work. You’ll develop and expand your own cast of characters, and gain confidence in your ability to perform and audition “in character.”

AUDIOBOOK INTENSIVE

Director: Lisa Baney
Length: 14-hour four-week workshop
Skills Focus: Acting; Character Development; Choice-Making; Critical Listening; Self-Direction; Script Analysis; Setting the Scene; Storytelling

In this information-packed workshop, you’ll learn how to bring an audiobook book to life, and recognize the different acting chops required for fiction, non-fiction and children’s books. You’ll explore and develop your skills using exercises specifically tailored to your needs as you identify and strengthen your unique voice. At the end of these four weeks, you’ll acquire a solid understanding of what it takes to perform audiobooks with confidence and skill. Participants will be expected to complete homework assignments and familiarize themselves with the most popular audiobook readers – and their work – outside of class. (Your instructor will provide detailed information on outside assignments during the first class meeting.)

CHARACTER CASTING CAVALCADE!

Director: Ned Lott
Length: 10-hour weekend seminar
Skills Focus: Acting; Character Development; Critical Listening;
Setting the Scene; Spontaneity; Taking Direction

Executive producer, voice director and casting director par excellence,
Ned Lott, takes you through a series of audition challenges, which include creating new characters on demand; “matching” well-known character voices; singing in character (being on key is not required); and portraying three distinctively different characters for the same project. You’ll also get an inside look into what casting pros listen for as Ned plays back and critiques your auditions.

CHARACTER STUDY WITH MADDY BASCOM

Director: Maddy Bascom
Length: 10-hour weekend seminar
Skills Focus: Acting; Character Development; Mic Technique; Script Analysis; Taking Direction

Join Maddy for the fun and challenge of working in different animation genres. As you work with animation and character-heavy scripts, you’ll be playing multiple characters — some with accents; some young; some old; some serious; some funny. You’ll come away with a clearer understanding of what actors must be prepared to do on-demand, and the focus and commitment required to become a successful character actor.

COMEDY CENTRAL

Director: Jeff Howell
Length: 10-hour weekend seminar
Skills Focus: Acting; Character Development; Choice-Making;
Comedic Timing; Confidence-Building; Taking Direction

With comedy so prevalent in voiceover, not getting the joke means not getting the job. You must be able to create characters and improvise, and your script analysis, timing and acting skills must be razor sharp. If you need some help refining these critical comedic skills, come join this award-winning comedy producer and casting director for a laugh-filled seminar.

COMMERCIALS VS. CARTOONS VS. VIDEOGAMES

Director: LA Agent, LA Booth Director
Length: 10-hour weekend seminar
Skills Focus: Acting; Character Development; Choice-Making;
Confidence-Building; Mic Technique; Script Analysis; Setting the Scene; Spontaneity

Come join these two veteran voiceover pros for a side-by-side-by-side look at the differences between acting in commercials, animation and video games. They’ll help you find the right tone and energy for your Saturday morning characters, then teach you how to “dial it down” while sustaining the reality and intensity required for video game characters. You’ll also work on developing the funny, yet conversational and believable characters that commercial copy demands. By the end of class, you’ll have a clearer understanding of when to be big, broad and cartoony, and when to tone it down and deliver a more realistic, subtle read.

DIRECT THYSELF

Director: Samantha Paris
Length: 14-hour four-week workshop
Skills Focus: Acting; Choice-Making; Confidence-Building;
Script Analysis; Self-Direction; Taking Responsibility

You get hired by an inexperienced “director,” who has a vague notion of what he wants, but no clue of how to get you there... Your agent calls and asks you to record an audition and email it back to her within the hour... Voice actors run into these types of situations all the time, but if you’re not prepared to self-direct, all of your other training is moot. Spend four weeks polishing your directing skills – in front of the mic, behind the mic, and even at home. You’ll gain confidence as you learn to direct yourself and your classmates like a pro! Students who have taken this class previously as a one-day class may re-take this four-week version.

DON’T CALL US...

Director: LA Agents, LA Booth Director
Length: 10-hour weekend seminar
Skills Focus: Choice-Making; Confidence-Building; Self-Direction; Taking Direction

If you intend to pursue a voiceover career, you’ll inevitably find yourself competing against premier LA voice talent. These top industry pros are accustomed to working with the best of the best, so here’s your chance to find out how you compare. They’ll be able to provide you with insightful feedback and guidance as they work with you on a wide range of commercial, promo and character copy.

IMPROV FOR VOICE ACTORS: LEVEL II

Director: Anna Mathias
Length: 10-hour weekend seminar
Skills Focus: Acting; Character Development; Choice-Making; Confidence-Building; Setting the Scene; Spontaneity

In this fun, fast-paced seminar, you’ll continue your odyssey through theatre games and improv, and learn how these skills can be applied to character development, script analysis and comedy. You’ll discover the magic of making specific, rather than general choices, and experiment with changing the “given circumstances” to extract a multitude of different characters, situations and possibilities from one script. Ultimately you’ll be more relaxed, confident and interesting when you get in front of the mic.

LA-QUALITY AUDITION INTENSIVE

Directors: LA Booth Director, Sirenetta Leoni
Length: 10-hour weekend seminar
Skills Focus: Acting; Character Development; Choice-Making;
Confidence-Building; Critical Listening; Script Analysis; Setting the Scene; Self-Direction

How many times have you heard, “Do you think that take was LA-quality?” But what does that actually mean? Is talent really that much better in LA... and if so, why? During this seminar you’ll come to appreciate what “LA-quality” really signifies as you perform a variety of commercial and character copy. These two casting pros will challenge you to get out of your comfort zone, take risks, make quick, bold choices and face the reality of the world of competitive reads. In the process, they’ll help you improve your cold reading skills by training you to be faster, better prepared and more confident in any audition situation. Remember to bring a memory stick to copy your work in class, as playbacks during class will be limited.

NARRATION BOOT CAMP

Directors: Bob Symons
Length: 12-hour four-week workshop
Skills Focus: Storytelling; Choice-Making; Mic Technique;
Script Analysis; Self-Direction

You’ll learn the elements and techniques that go into telling, and selling, a great story – whether you’re talking about nano-chip manufacturing or Native American artifacts. If your goal is to excel in the narration field, this workshop will help you compete more ably for the broad spectrum of “bread and butter” narration opportunities out there.



RETAIL BEAST

Director: Thom Pinto
Length: 10-hour weekend seminar
Skills Focus: Announcing; Mic Technique; Storytelling; Retail;
Script Analysis; Taking Direction

How many times have you read direction that says “real and conversational,” but all you see are copy points? The reality is that many scripts require being able to deliver a strong dose of hard sell. Thom will share a variety of practical techniques he has developed to handle challenges typically encountered when auditioning for retail copy – over-written scripts, awkward phrasing, disclaimer tags and way too many exclamation points!!!

SCENE STUDY WITH CYNTHIA SONGÉ

Director: Cynthia Songé
Length: 10-hour weekend seminar
Skills Focus: Acting; Believability; Choice-Making; Confidence-Building; Self-Direction

Too often the “truth” of the character – heart, soul, circumstances,
relationships to other characters – is overlooked in voiceover work. Using scenes from actual plays and movies, this scene study class will help you strengthen your acting abilities using both dramatic and comedic real life situations. You’ll explore feelings and experiences that will help you broaden your horizons, and approach your voiceover “scenes” as though you were on stage, or in front of a camera. This is strictly an acting class. Your performances will not be recorded.

SCRIPT ANALYSIS

Directors: Samantha Paris
Length: 14-hour four-week workshop
Skills Focus: Choice-Making; Confidence-Building; Script Analysis;
Self-Direction; Setting the Scene; Taking Responsibility

Simply put – if you don’t get the script, you don’t get the job. Samantha will help you unravel the mysteries of script interpretation. You’ll analyze a variety of TV and radio commercials, animation and narration scripts, and discover how to intelligently dissect copy. You’ll learn to look for hidden clues a.k.a. “bunnies” – not just the ones buried in the body of the copy – but the ones you can glean from the sound effects, visuals, directions, music, length, even the agency name.

SCRIPT ANALYSIS II: GET TO
THE POINT

Director: Sirenetta Leoni
Length: 10-hour weekend seminar
Skills Focus: Choice-Making; Confidence-Building; Script Analysis;
Self-Direction; Setting the Scene; Storytelling: Taking Responsibility

Actors often get so caught up in planning “how” they’re going to audition – worrying about doing a dialect or a particular style, writing down their spontaneous “ad libs” – that they completely miss the point of “why.” As a result, they fail the most basic test of voice acting – communicating clearly and effectively. This workshop will help you develop the discipline to always look for the meaning of the script and how your role fits into it – before you decide how to play it. As you work on a variety of commercial, narration and character scripts, you’ll discover that learning to get to the point of the story first, will help you make smarter, more engaging acting choices and boost your confidence behind the mic.

SHIFTING GEARS

Director: SF Agent
Length: 10-hour weekend seminar
Skills Focus: Acting; Believability; Choice-Making; Critical Listening; Self-Direction; Spontaneity

To engage an audience and win auditions, your interpretations must have facets, hues, shades, peaks and valleys. Your instructor, a veteran talent agent, will help you develop intuitive responses and break you of any tendencies to listen to yourself and over-analyze. He’ll work with you to bring out a truthful, unpredictable quality that will hold listeners’ attention.

SOUND-ALIKE SAVVY

Directors: Ned Lott
Length: 10-hour weekend seminar
Skills Focus: Acting; Believability; Character Development;
Choice-Making; Mic Technique; Setting the Scene; Taking Direction

The entertainment industry often needs “sound-alikes” for both animation and live action projects, so if you were ever kicked out of French class for mimicking your teacher, you’re in luck! One of the top “sound-alike” directors in LA is coming to Voicetrax to share his expertise with you. You’ll be asked to record and bring to class a short recording of your strongest celebrity or character voice impersonation from either an animated or live action project, along with a good quality recording of the actual celebrity/character you are attempting to impersonate

TAKING ON THE PROTOTYPES

Director: Thom Pinto
Length: 12-hour four-week workshop
Skills Focus: Acting; Announcing; Character Development;
Critical Listening

Producers frequently cast voices using “prototypes” as a frame of reference. Whether they’re looking for an “Allison Janney-type,” a “younger Kevin Spacey,” or a prototype who’s not a celebrity, this workshop will give you a chance to immerse yourself in their styles – listening, duplicating, and broadening your own vocal range by “borrowing” from the most sought-after spokespeople and character actors.

WHAT A CHARACTER II

Directors: Brian Sommer
Length: 12-hour four-week workshop
Skills Focus: Acting; Character Development; Choice-Making;
Confidence-Building; Mic Technique; Setting the Scene; Script Analysis; Spontaneity

Looking for a fun, fast-paced, “take no prisoners” workout that forces you out of your character comfort zone? In this intense workshop you’ll be challenged to come up with several different new characters each week and explore how the same script can be interpreted... and re-interpreted... and even re-re-interpreted in a multitude of colorful and interesting ways. If you’ve ever been directed to “get out of your head,” join Brian and learn how to get the rest of you into the act.