Karen McCarthy

Voice Description

Commercial reads that are high energy, quirky, very real conversational, and often funny or heartfelt. Sarcasm is a second language honed from years of standup and improv. Add a theatre and on camera background to a wide range of character type voices that work well for most animation projects and video-games, and top it all off with strong portrayals of children and old ladies - you've pretty much got K.B. in a nutshell. No I don't smoke - that's just a character I play.

Voice Genders and "Ages" I Can Perform

• Baby
• Child
• Teenage Girl
• Teenage Boy
• Young Adult Female
• Middle Age Female
• Senior Female

Language(s) of Which I Am a Native Speaker:

• English - Australian / NZ
• English - British
• English - North American

I Offer my Services for these Recording Purposes

• Commercials
• Promos
• IVR, voicemail, phone systems, and on-hold messages
• Training, business presentations, sales, and web sites
• Audiobooks
• Videogames
• Documentaries
• TV shows and movies
• Movie and game trailers
• Podcasts

Jobs I Am Willing to Take (Union-wise)

• Jobs for ACTRA (Canada) signatories

• Jobs for AFTRA (US) signatories

• Jobs for SAG (US) signatories

• Jobs for Union des Artistes (Canada) signatories

My Union Affiliations and Memberships

• AFTRA (US)

My Recording and Delivery Capabilities

• I will go to any designated studio in my area
• I can record and then deliver the audio files via Email
• I can record and then deliver the files by regular mail

Pre-, Post- and Production Services I Offer

• I offer copywriting services
• I can deliver edited and finished voice tracks
• I offer voice direction services
• I offer radio ad production services

My Home Base

Los Angeles, California, United States

Accents, Impersonations, Characters and Dialects

Proper English, Cockney, Irish, Scottish, Australian, French, Russian, Mid-western, southern, latin, italian, spanish, mexican, ghetto, Aussie, ozzy, New York, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Chicago, Izma, Bobby Hill, Chuckie, Millhouse, Fargo, Minnesota, Canadian, Texan, Texas, Carolina, Georgia, Indian,

My Voice Experience

I've been fortunate to have a wide range of Voice Over and Performing jobs, including a few small film roles. In Commercials I've worked both on and off camera for companies like Addidas, Cliff Bars, and House Tofu. For the Award Winning "Jungle Tree House," I portrayed the leading role of Tam and acted as puppeteer. In Animation and Video Games I've been everything from talking food to old ladies, crying babies, Superboy, aliens, Impulse, young King David, Moms, secretaries, babysitters, superheroes, athletes, frogs,soldiers, mice, little girls, and quite a few monkeys. Often I'd play multiple roles like the three Vultures I played in Reckless Abandon's "Vultureville." My record I think is seventeen different characters in one radio play called "Food Riot." Was very involved as a Director and Talent in the 2006 Second Place JPF Award winning "Play It Again Mom!" by ADrtists. I'm probably best known for my work in Anime projects like "I, My, Me, Strawberry Eggs," and "Haibane Renmei." Even though I just played the Villain in an Animated Feature scheduled to be released in 2012.

My favorite job was a test pilot for one of the bigger animation studios. All but two of the cast were actual children, and when we left the booth listeners wanted to know where the little boy was who'd played my role. The Producer pulled me aside, and asked me to re-voice one of the characters because the young man couldn't quite get the delivery, and to put icing on the cake... another producer heard me and asked me to play the leading role in his Animated Pilot. How can you not love that? I'm still beaming.

My Training

Bachelors Degree in Broadcasting and Theatre from Pepperdine University
Acting and Cold Reading - Arlene Golonka
Voice Over Fundamentals - Joni Robbins
Improv - Mike Balah, Kent Skov, and Steve Pinto (Performer with the LA Connection)
Standup - Judy Carter
Various Voice Over workshops - MJ Lallo
Member ADrtists and Women In Animation
Advanced Commercial Foundations - Kalmenson and Kalmenson
Advanced Animation Voice Over - Susan Blu
Advanced Commercial Voice Over - Marc Cashman
Voice Over for Animation and Video Games - Hosted Marc Cashman, taught by Ben Hoppe with Disney Character Animation, and Randy Ryan from Hamsterball Studios.

My Studio Equipment

Microphones Sennheiser ME-80 short shotgun and Sennheiser dynamic Cardiod MD 421
Symetrix 528E Voice Processor
MotuTraveler mk3 interface
Panasonic sv-3700 Dat Recorder
PC with Windows XP running Cool Edit Pro (compare with Adobe Audition)
Macbook Pro OS 10.4 running Garageband, Audio Master, Flash, and Finalcut
Both computer systems have CD and DVD burners
I also have programs for converting files such as WAV and MP3

Additional Skills

Strong Theater, on Camera and Voice Over Directing Skills
Extensive Production and Post Production Background in Film and Television.
Finalist in Moondance Screenwriting Competition 2010
Have performed standup and Improv at theateres like the Ice House Annex, Improv, and Ha Ha Cafe.
Experience as a Voice Over Coach for other Voice Performers
Currently in Development on "Shelf Life," an Animated Web Series

Payment Methods Accepted

• PayPal
• Credit cards
• Personal checks, cashier's checks, or money orders in my local currency

Contact Information

To contact Karen McCarthy by email or phone, please click here.