I have worked in live Radio (Sirius Satellite) for three years, where I've read both quirky and serious news stories on-air. I have also got to record a variety of promos for the station.
I have worked with the company TimeBox Entertainment for five years doing VO, live and on-camera hosting, and commericials, not only for them, but for other companies in need of a voice over artist.
I have also taught English for 8 years and have had plenty of practice reading chapter books aloud. My students have always preferred my reading over audiobook recordings, which I am always flattered by!
I'm currently performing in, and MC'ing live improv comedy shows as well.
Voice Over has always been something that I was involved with since High School. I was the voice on the morning announcements, the MC for assemblies, and the Class President delivering typical high school, I-will-save-the-world speeches! In college, I was one of the voices on the Campus Radio station.
I have a Bachelor's Degree from SUNY Fredonia in Education/English. I have since studied improvisation, hosting, commercials, scene study, comedy, cold reading, voice over, and acting techniques. I was a singer in High School and am currently the lead singer in my Toyota RAV4. I am oftentimes called upon to deliver presentations to a staff of 100+ Teachers at my most recent place of employment. I have excellent communication skills that I got to fine tune in the field of retail for five years. I've also taken a stab at journalism, where I regularly contribute to a local on-line magazine.
Having been a teacher for so long (9 years, yikes!), I understand the importance of entertaining your audience. If my students are not into what I'm saying, I am going to have several behavior problems on my hands. My voice is one of the most effective parts of my job.
Being an on-the-air radio personality has challenged me to reel-in listeners from all over North America. In radio, Audio is all you have to put out there, so it is essential for it to be pristine, since it is the only stimulus for listeners.
Performing Improv Comedy has really pushed the envelope for me as far as coming up with new characters and voices go. With improvisation, you never know what the audience will throw out at you, so you have to take what you get and make it work. It has really helped me find characters and voices that I didn't know I had in me.
Working in retail has taught me a lot as well. I learned that no matter what you are saying to a customer, it's about HOW you're saying it, that they will pick up on and react to.