Ed Siemienkowicz

Chicago, Londoner, general British, Light Scottish, Irish, Pakistani, Australian, French, Russian, Japanese, American Southern, twenty-something, skater, surfer, stoner, upper-class, blue blood, Bronx chicano, stodgy British, effeminate, paranoid, trucker, farmer, DJ, shock jock, disc jockey, announcer, corporate executive

While I am just starting out professionally, I have been performing and using my voice all my life. I've pursued illustration and graphic design as my career, but the voices in my head always seem to come out. All through school I was involved with various choir groups, and I'm a karaoke addict. After years of hearing from people at karaoke, or at one of my entertainment industry jobs, that I should do something with my voice, I'm going for it. 2006 - Present: Host of Voice of the Republic podcast. This is a bi-weekly podcast for geeky adults. Along with conversation, I've also written and performed skits, and acted as several characters. 2011 - Kolbi. I performed as the voice of the cartoon frog mascot of Kolbi, a multimedia website based in Costa Rica. I read lines in English and Spanish. 2012 - Digital Debbie: Welcome to Shop Your Way Rewards. I performed the voice of Digital Debbie's boyfriend in an animated spot promoting an internal. campaign for Sears and Kmart. For du Mont Communications 2013 - Narcolepsy General Awareness. In a national ad spot by Jazz Pharmaceuticals, I read lines in character as a weary narcolepsy sufferer. 1996 Ringling College of Art and Design: Bachelor of Arts in Illustration Prospect High School: Performances as chorus extra in Hello Dolly, and in Little Shop of Horrors as a choral extra and as walk-on character with several lines. Choral singing: 1981 - 1992. This was both concert choir and swing choir. 2006 - Present: Host, Voice of the Republic podcast. Duties and performances include weekly, now bi-weekly conversational content about topics from the geeky fandom world. I also produce the show, and have written all of the promos and skits, as well as performed a variety of characters. I use a Blue Snowball microphone on a MacBook Pro, and usually use Garage Band or Audacity for my recording and editing. While I am a novice, I believe that I can feel a script, and can deliver the emotions necessary to convey any narrative or message. I work well with a team, especially a creative one, and take direction very well. Being a creative person, I'm not afraid to offer suggestions or try new approaches to the job, but conscious not to step on the director or producer's toes. My career as an illustrator and designer, working with clients, and being able to stay flexible regarding changes to direction makes me easy to work with. While it seems laughable, my years of karaoke not only "scratched my itch" to perform, but also prepared me to perform better, to improvise, to interact with crowds, entertain, and really put myself "out there." It led me to podcasting, and has improved my self-cinfidence and vocal performance in almost any situation.