Janet L Motenko

I have formal acting training and experience in educational, community and professional theater. My love of theater dates back to very early childhood. Over the years, I have acted, sung and danced in many plays and musicals. Most recently, I played inept spy Hildegarde in an Ovation Stage (Sacramento, California) production of Christopher Durang's "Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them." In the past, I have acted in and written scripts for training videos, appeared in television commercials and written and voiced radio spots. I was co-founder, alto and business manager for an cappella professional novelty quartet. My background also includes more than 30 years as a newspaper and magazine journalist. For several years, I wrote, edited and designed publications for the advertising division of a metropolitan daily newspaper, and I currently do public relations writing for a large health care network in Northern California. So I not only have editorial and creative skills but also a good understanding of the business needs and challenges of the media and entertainment industries. I think this makes me uniquely suited to voiceover work. Among past clients: Production Blue/Bait & Tackle Inc., Massachusetts Tectonic Slide Entertainment, Vienna, Austria Communicare/Ferralli Studios, Pennsylvania Zap!Sound, (Western Union IVR), Vienna, Austria Headhunterz (musician-producer), Netherlands Clark and Rush Mechanical, California Watkins Vanilla, Missouri Manteca Bulletin, California TOTH Brand Imaging, Massachusetts Wiles Wedding Video, California Ongoing voiceover coaching and professional mentoring by Ray Nakamoto, Nakamoto Productions, Sacramento Workshop training with Donna Christie, Bill Whitman, Stan Lemkuil, Susan Hayward, Charlie Holliday and others Shakespeare workshops with Jack Lynn and Charlie Holliday Acting training, B Street Theatre Conservatory, Michael Stevenson and Jamie Jones Acting training, Summer Training Congress, American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco: improvisation (Rafe Chase), Shakespeare (Drew Khalouf), speech evaluation and dialects (Lynn Soffer), Meissner technique (Francine Landes) Mountview Drama School, classes in acting, voice production and movement, London, England Bachelor of arts degree, drama, California State University, Fresno Singer and business manager, Merry Measure novelty a cappella quartet (10 years), Sacramento Editorial professional with experience writing business and lifestyle newspaper and magazine features, training-video scripts, brochure and newsletter copy, public service announcements, press releases, radio spots, corporate communications (internal and external) At home, my recording setup includes MXL V88 condenser mic, an iMac OS X, GarageBand and Audacity, Shure X2U XLR-to-USB, Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones, M-Audio Studiophile AV 40 speakers and soundproofed recording space. I also have quick access to a full-service recording studio in Sacramento, California. I can provide tracks in WAV, AIFF or MP3 formats and deliver via email, Dropbox or YouSendIt. I also can provide phone patch and fully produced tracks with music and SFX, if needed. Additional charges may apply. Turnaround time for simple recordings is 24 hours or less, depending on the project. Completion time for more involved work, such as audiobook recordings, is negotiable and depends on the scope of the project. I accept payment through PayPal. My lifelong love of theater and appreciation for a great story, well-written and well-told, dates to my childhood. I grew up listening to classic children's literature and poetry read aloud by my master storyteller dad, who also introduced me to the radio greats of the 1940s and 1950s -- Gracie Allen and George Burns, Fannie Brice, Fibber McGee and Molly and others. From these influences, I learned from a young age the emotional power of the human voice to engage, motivate, uplift and entertain. I have deep love and respect for written and oral language, a foundation that I think, along with my acting and writing training and experience, makes me uniquely suited to voiceover work. In adulthood, I lived for seven years in London, where I worked by day as a secretary and by night as a dresser at the Royal Court Theatre and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. I also have more than 30 years' experience as a professional writer and editor. My main focus has been journalistic writing, but I can write advertising and marketing copy and training-video scripts. As an editor, I have a special knack for improving poorly written, ineffective copy. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I have a professional attitude and strong work ethic. I'm a down-to-earth person who's easy to work with. Although I've played my share of divas onstage, I don't play that role in the real world of business. I care about doing the best job possible and making sure that clients are satisfied with the work I deliver. I seek to cultivate good ongoing relationships that are beneficial both to my clients and to me.