Shannon Selis

Accents: Southern, Deep South, Western, New York, Jewish-New York (male or female), Valley Girl/Surfer Dude, Midwestern, Irish, Scottish, Australian, French, Russian, British - London, British - Queen's, British - Cockney Impersonations: Barbara Streisand, Julie Andrews, May West Characters - goofy Italian, French, witch/old woman, princess/innocent, Valleygirl/teenager, Emo, Midwestern mother, old Jewish man/woman, Backwoods/Southern with drawl, Commander/Military, Announcer, older English storyteller

I grew up learning to speak with an English-American accent. I was influenced by my South African mother. I took speech classes to 'rid' my accent, but I quickly figured out how to just hide it. I picked up on the Jewish-New York accents from my grandparents and their friends. Living in the south allowed me to access the multiple southern dialects also. I have always enjoyed entertaining my friends and strangers alike with my ability to 'put on voices and accents.' I enjoy being challenged to try new accents and dialects as well. I am able to impersonate many people I meet or have watched over the years. Some of the characters I can impersonate are Ms Swan (mad tv), Stuart and his mother (mad tv), Disney princesses (think Amy Adams in Enchanted), Barbara Streisand, and Julie Andrews. I loved to listen to musicals growing up and taught myself to sing by listening to recordings. I can switch into almost any accent at any time. This skill landed me an internship in 2010 with ClearChannel Communication's SBKLive (talk radio). I was able to create several characters including a British intern "Lydia." For 3 months, "Lydia" had listeners swooning just to hear her tell them the weather. I was also frequent caller "Ashley from Live Oaks" - a Florida southern lady, an anonymous New York mother, and various other character call-ins. I have had various friends ask me to record their voicemail greetings for them. A Tampa radio show told me I had a 'soothing' voice that they would love to listen to while falling asleep. I credit my experience as a massage therapist to that skill. I have also been teaching English abroad for two years. I often record 'speeches' for students entering in English-speaking competitions. I help to reduce their accents, improve their pronunciation, and learn about emphasizing key words. My greatest joy is creating characters and offering my voice to companies. Theatre from middle to high school Local/Performance theatre - each role always used a different accent theatre camps Talk Radio Commercial Workshops Accent Improvement Workshops Self-teachings (listen, repeat)