ONE FOR THE AGES: TOP Voice LA 2017! Truly Outstanding Performances are in the very name, so there’s a long-standing tradition of great work from the finalists in this series of Voicetrax competitions for a chance to audition in LA! But this year took it all to a new level; the judging crew from DPN in Los Angeles was SO MOVED by everyone that they wanted to provide as much opportunity as possible, because the students were so deserving. And that meant not one, not two, but FOUR WINNERS this year! Please join us in congratulating ‘Traxers SUSAN NORMAN, JULIE HANCOCK, GREG EDMUNDS and ARON PARKER! To see what each of them won, just click on the video below.
And like anything worth doing, auditioning for the top voice-over agency in the country doesn’t just happen overnight – but if you work hard enough and want it badly enough, there WILL be a payoff, as this year’s winners readily attest:
“I never reached the Finals of SF TOP Voice, but I got signed with Stars anyway. The first few times I did LA TOP Voice, I didn’t reach the Finals. So, I’m in the Finals the last couple of years, and just frankly thrilled to get that nice bit of confirmation that, Yes I can do this, I do belong…
Now, I have never ever considered myself a Character guy…I consistently ignored Samantha’s “Dots” (and highlights and exclamation points) for the Character classes and continued concentrating on commercials, narration, etc. She finally wore me down and earlier this year I took a couple of Character classes – and did pretty well, I thought. Enough to give more a go this current semester. I almost didn’t sign up for LA TOP Voice…
In this LA TOP voice, I was expecting my Character to be the weaker of my entries for the day. Nope. Apparently, at 57 years old and a little more than 10 years at Voicetrax, I AM a Character guy… I’m really looking forward to this opportunity to audition for Natanya and DPN in the Animation division (Yes!)
Samantha (sigh), you were right AGAIN!
I love Voicetrax, the people, the instructors, the office, the sense of community and belonging and mutual support. All day during the Finals, I kept thinking – I like all these people and I am part of an amazingly talented group of people!
Thank you for this amazing journey!” – Greg Edmunds
“I have an extensive background in acting, so I thought that voice over would come easily to me. I didn’t realize that it was a completely different genre. It took a year of consistent training before I could even hear what I was doing wrong; then some more years to learn how to improve. I’m still learning, and thankfully improving, because this is the third time I’ve jumped into the LA TOP Voice ring; the first two times, I didn’t even make it past the first round. What kept me coming back is that the work and the people are so damn fun.” – Susan Norman
“If you know this is what you’re supposed to do, go out there and give ‘em hell. If you want it, never give up on it. Keep your head down and work hard. I know the next step in the staircase-like structure of indefinite improvement can seem like light-years away but even one of your younger toughest millennial mother#@(%&$ needs a swift kick in the ass every once in a while :)” – Julie Hancock
“Being in Voicetrax’s Top Voice was, in a word, A.W.E.S.O.M.E.S.A.U.C.E: A Wonderfully Educational, Skill Optimizing, Microphonic Experience Shared Amongst Utterly Committed Entrants. I was initially hesitant to participate due to butterflies in my belly, but it was ultimately both a pleasure and an honor being there with so many talented, passionate, and gosh-darned friendly people in a competition where it felt like everybody was rooting for everyone else. So don’t let butterflies stand in your way! Death to butterflies! . . . Unless of course they’re REAL butterflies, in which case you should totally be nice to them. Especially monarchs, which are on the decline and need our help. Anyway, to sum up: AWESOMESAUCE, don’t let fear stop you, be amazed by your classmates, and plant milkweed!” – Aron Parker
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