The Pat Fraley/Brad Garrett Comedy Class

Pat Fraley has an upcoming class in Los Angeles called ‘Crafting Comedy under the Stars.’ The stars the title refers to are “Everybody Loves Raymond” alum Brad Garrett, stand-up-comedian/voice-over artist Vanessa Marshall and, of course, the great Pat Fraley himself.

If you were at Voice 2010 this past June, you were treated to an early morning surprise visit from Brad during Mr. Fraley’s opening day comedy class. What seemed to be a loud heckler somewhere in the audience turned out to be one of the most recognizable faces-and voices-in comedy today. Audience members were invited to read scripts alongside Pat and Brad, with hilarious results!

Pat has created a promo piece for his upcoming workshop using photos and audio from the Voice 2010 session. I think it's worth your time to watch it. It’s the rare promo video that actually dares to teach you something, instead of only offering hyperbole. For instance, I like the insight of NOT playing drunk, but rather playing an intoxicated person struggling to appear sober. Brilliant! And that’s not the only tip you’ll glean from this short video. Take a look.



Great stuff! Interested in taking the class? Visit http://patfraley.com/Events/Crafting/CCUS.html

I wish I could be there. Take notes for me, huh?

Smurf Justice for June Foray!

If you grew up watching cartoons, you grew up listening to June Foray. When I was a kid, I would get up at o’dark-thirty each weekday morning to watch Rocky & Bullwinkle before school. For the uninitiated, June was both Rocky the Flying Squirrel and femme fatale Natasha.



June was also

VOICE 2010 Photo Album

My head is still reeling from information overload at VOICE 2010. I promise to filter those thoughts soon and share them with you. Until then, here are a select few photos from the event.

VOICE 2010: Blog 6 (a quick testimonial)

Hello again,

I can't stress enough what a fantastic education and inspiration VOICE 2010 has been. Entertaining, too! I liken it to an accelerated college course for voice-actors. I told this to VOICE co-founder James Alburger, who said

VOICE 2010: Blog 5 (F'ing FUN companion to f'ing NANCY WOLFSON'S f'ing CLASS!))

This blog is R-rated, but very fun. You have been warned.

VOICE 2010: Blog 4 (Why you should be all over the internet)

VOICE 2010: Blog 3 (Game changing voice-acting tip)

VOICE 2010 is definitely proving its worth as a career investment.  The instructors a dynamic, informative and generous with their time and advice. If you aren’t here this year, start saving for the next one.  But if you did miss it, I have what I feel is game-changing advice. It comes, again, from Marc Cashman. I hope he doesn’t mind me sharing.

Marc reminds us that the reason film actors are so good in a role that they ‘become the character’ is memorization.  Relying on the printed page is a crutch. Does that mean you need to start memorizing your scripts? No. You can use a technique called ‘lifting the copy.’ That is, read the line to yourself, then look away from the script and speak the line without reading. The difference this made with one of the volunteers was amazing! A real transformation!

One side-effect: lifting copy makes for a lot of breaks in your read. But you can edit, can’t you? If not, you should learn. But that’s a topic for another time. For now just give this a try and hear the difference!

VOICE 2010: Blog 2 (That elevator voice & the sound of words)

Do you find yourself repeating what the Hyatt elevator is telling you? Me too! Especially ‘lobby.’  I even caught the hotel staff doing it.  I think it’s because the female voice-actor says ‘lobby’ the way you or I might say ‘delicious’ or ‘sexy!’

Those words have definite meaning and corresponding sounds.

One of the many great tips Marc Cashman shared in his session was

Voice 2010 (June 2nd thru the 5th in L.A.)

VOICE 2010, an international conference for voice-over professionals, is fast approaching. The red-carpet rolls out on Wednesday, June 2nd at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel. Classes begin the next day. It doesn’t matter if your niche is voicing