Location, Location, Location.
Updated: Dec 26, 2020
We get a lot of students who ask us if their location is important when pursuing a career as a voice actor. Well, yeah it is! If you're near Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, or Atlanta, you'll have many more in-studio opportunities coming your way. But, what if you're in Montana, Hannah? That used to be a huge hang-up, but things are changing.
The major studios set up shop in New York and LA. Many big-money directors prefer you to be there so they can see you, feel your energy, and direct your performance. Recently, things have loosened up a little, meaning more people can work from home or from a digitally connected studio close to their home.
Before you move to Los Angeles, build your craft as locally as you can while you’re waiting for your big break. Practice practice practice! Take advantage of all the resources that your community has to offer. Local theatre. School plays. School news or television broadcasts. Create your own podcast or YouTube or TikTok presence. Take some acting classes at school or in your community. There are always summer programs, even in the smallest towns. Ours has one. It’s small and cheesy and kind of terrible, but it’s more practice.
Find a local agent and audition for local television commercials! There are several websites like Casting Networks, Backstage and a billion more that advertise projects that are casting in your area. Sometimes even major feature films and television shows will often film in small towns and will cast locally for extras and even small speaking roles. Many actors have broken into the industry by attending local casting calls. If you have a mid-size market within driving distance, you might want to consider that. We’re near Orlando, and there’s always something fun going on out there.
Today, you can audition for virtually everything online. A lot of voice over work is managed by online brokers like Fiverr and Upwork. I've done very well with both services, and they've led to some big-name clients. So if you're in Montana, Hannah, you can still break in to the crazy fun voice acting business. Break a leg!