Laura Schreiber

Unexpected Lessons

The weekend after the Chicago Cubs won the World Series in 2016, when the ticker tape parade was happening and overjoyed fans were pouring into the city from all over, I landed at Chicago O’Hare for Bill DeWees’ Voiceover Revolution Workshop. Knowing little about Chicago, I did not realize how far Kankakee was from Chicago and my first mistake was that I should have flown to Midway. I ubered 90 miles to get there! I had studied with Bill When I first started in voiceover and watched a lot of his youtube videos, so having the opportunity to learn from him in person was really exciting. I did not realize that Dave Fennoy, a voiceover celebrity, was also going to be presenting for the second day of our workshop. I could go on and on about how much I learned from Bill and Dave and what it meant to have this time with them. Something struck me about Dave. When most people think of him, they think of his video games, especially since he was BAFTA nominated for The Walking Dead. In working with Dave, however, I learned that he does all sorts of voiceover work, from commercial, to narration, to promo, to eLearning. Like the rest of us, Dave also has to update his demos and works on professional development. This really had my wheels turning. As professional voiceover actors, we are never to big to diversify our revenue stream. If all of your business comes from one place and that client disappears tomorrow, you essentially have to start over.

Do What You Love

Even if your business plan is to diversify your voiceover business, you still have an opportunity to do what you love. Since the beginning of my business, I have booked a lot of commercial work. That is just how my cookie crumbled, but I also happen to LOVE doing commercials. I happen to do more radio spots than tv spots, but I enjoy them all. I also love the new genre: the bumper. When auditioning, especially on pay to plays, I tend to scan the list and submit for commercials first as I have a high booking ration with commercials. I also tend to submit substantially higher auditions for commercials. As a professional female voiceover talent, I have worked hard to keep my reads conversational and relatable. Whether my client needs millennial, teen, or middle-aged, I try to work with them so that every new client becomes a repeat client. Even though I have been doing this for years, I am still excited for every single booking.

Focus on Other Skills That You Are Good At

Another way to diversify is to think about what you love and pick skills that align with that. The first area this led me to was eLearning. Before I became a full-time, professional voiceover actor, I was a teacher. When I discovered the joy of eLearning, it was the perfect fit for me. It seemed like the natural segue from teaching to voiceover. All of the skills that I used from years in education now had a place in my voiceover career. As a more professional, polished sounding voice, I immediately felt comfortable working in eLearning. I also found that I really clicked with the people at eLearning conferences. At places like DevLearn, ATD, or the Focus on eLearning conferences, I easily connected with everyone from instructional designers and content creators to the folks who worked on the LMS.

The other field I naturally fell into was telephony. My parents would joke about how much I loved to talk on the phone. Little did they know I would be paid to be on the phone some day! Whether it is an on-hold message or a greeting, I am so proud to be the voice of someone’s business. I have also found a lot of similarities between the on-hold messages I do and the scripts for the commercial work that I do. It may be my approach, or it may genuinely be the writing, but I am very passionate about my telephony work.

Discover New Passions

When you try to diversify your business, don’t be afraid to try something new. Since I knew I love commercial work, I tried to think about everything that fell under that umbrella. A light bulb went off in my head and I thought that since I have A LOT of energy and do a lot of radio commercials perhaps I should try radio imaging. This part of my business has been one of my greatest joys. I have worked with different stations all over the country and gotten to know some fascinating folks. I particularly love the work.

Diversifying is Essential

Back at the VO Revolution in Kankakee, Dave talked about hitting rough times, after having great success. It can happen to anyone. It does not matter how many commercials you have booked and how well you are known in the industry. Business strategy is so important. One of the major takeaways I got from the conference was to live each day is if we are just starting out.

But Why Wouldn’t I be Happy All the Time?

Well, professional voiceover actors are real people with real families and real lives. So those voices that you love on cartoons and your favorite video games, they too have mortgages and taxes and bills. Like everyone, we have great days, and we have days that seem like life is out to get us. This May, I was in Hollywood staying at the W Hotel for the World Wide Radio Summit. I do a lot of radio imaging work and there were other professional talents there, agents, and a lot of folks from the radio industry. I was thrilled to be there. On the second day of the trip I got a hysterical call from my cleaning lady Cristina. I had paid her extra to go look in on my precious dog Violet. Thankfully Violet was fine, but an upstairs bathroom had flooded the kitchen. While I was amazed at how much water my light fixtures over the kitchen Island could hold, there was little I could do from across the country. I called my contractor Pzermek (pronounced Shemek) and asked him to go turn the water off. I was so upset at the myriad of unappealing possible outcomes from this scenario. Yet, I had flown across the country and had to make the most of this opportunity in radio imaging. As a professional voiceover actor, no matter how glum our day is, we have to act like everything is just peachy. Like doctors and lawyers and accountants, we have to carry on as the professionals that we are. The difference with voiceover actors is that no matter what is going on in our personal life, we have to SOUND as if everything is just fine.

And then of course — there’s the stress that was caused by the rain and documented in this video!

Just Breathe

One technique for managing the stress is breathing. As a professional voiceover actor, breathing from my belly and using my diaphragm is always extremely important. When times are stressful, using this type of breathing can be therapeutic as well. I find that doing pilates several times a week actually really helps me with my breathing. My pilates instructor tells me when to breath with each exercise throughout our session. When I leave, I feel refreshed, refocused, and I feel like I am using my voice as best as I can. I also do not find that I take gasps of air in the middle of scripts, so the pilates really helps to reduce stress.

The Booth as a Refuge

Last week my friend Shelley Avellino, a brilliant voiceover actor in Las Vegas, posted a picture of a cat that she has in her booth on Instagram and asked what people have in their booth that makes them laugh. This really stumped me! I do not have anything in my booth that makes me laugh, but I do have a lot of item that calm me down. First, I have pictures of my family who I love all around me. That makes me smile often. I love that they add color, brightness, and cheer into my space and I love seeing their spaces as they remind me why I work so hard in the first place.

I also have some items that are supposed to be zen, and on a day when your house is caving in, that really helps. I have a salt lamp that gives off a warm and lovely glow. I also have a beautiful shell filled with different stones and each gives off a different energy or vibration. They also happen to be beautiful to look at.

As a professional voiceover actor, you can make a lot of jokes about working in a padded foam booth, but when I step over the threshold I often think of something a former spin instructor used to say: I try to leave all of my worries on the other side and keep that space in my booth free of everything from the outside world.

Rely on the Training

Some days, like when it is pouring rain inside your dining room, are just rough. Those are the days that I dive deep and rely more than ever on my extensive training. I go through the scripts. I try to remove myself from my outside world and really connect with the copy as if there is no Laura, I am just the role that I am playing. Depending on whether I am working on a commercial or telephony or an eLearning job, I will have a different approach with how I engage with the job. Clients often hire me because I sound warm and upbeat. If a client seeks you out because of your happy, reassuring voice and I were to instead sound like a drained, nervous person, that would not work out so well! So, on my worst days, I simply lose myself in my work and try not to think about real life concerns while recording.

It’s All About Relationship Building

Ironically, one of the most important values or ideals for my business is also what helps me survive the stress of all of these home renovations. Since I started my voiceover business, it is extremely important to me to build and maintain relationships with clients. That is why every single week I have so much repeat business. When I was in LA, the reason I was able to get my beloved contractor to come to the house right away is because we have developed such a good working relationship. I very much value his work and his contribution, and we also have a friendly banter that is meaningful to both of us. He is also in my house all the time like Elton, the painter on TV’s “Murphy Brown.” At the end of the day, having meaningful interpersonal relationships is the cornerstone in anything that we hope to build.

Even at the Beginning, It’s Who You Know

When I first got to Barnard, the women’s college at Columbia University, I had a hard time finding my niche socially. This was very unusual for me as I was always a social butterfly and made friends so easily. Still, I did not immediately bond with the other girls on my floor. The kids seemed cliquish. Then, my friend Marissa who I knew from my Sociology class, invited me to her room to see her formal pictures. That changed everything! When I saw Marissa’s photos, I wanted to go to these parties too. Next thing I knew I was at a sorority rush party and before I knew it I was a proud sister of Alpha Chi Omega. The girls in AXO were amazing. They were involved in all aspects of life at Columbia, from sports teams to student government to the newspaper. AXO was the network that I needed and I loved all of these women. I don’t know where I would be today, and how I would have made it through my years of college and graduate school at Columbia, without the support system of AXO. I learned through my sorority that knowing the right people is extremely important.

When I first started working as a professional voiceover actress years ago, I had one friend in voiceover, Marie Hoffman. Marie introduced me to Uncle Roy of Antland Productions. If you’re “in the biz,” then you already know that Uncle Roy (not really our Uncle but every one calls him that) wears lot of hats from producer to coach to demo producer to audio engineer at shows and conferences and more. Anyway, every year without fail Uncle Roy has a famous industry wide barbecue that voiceover talents come to not just from all over the country, but from around the world! Folks literally fly in for this event and the first time I was invited I had no idea what I was walking in to. I had heard how close knit the voiceover community was, but until walking into Uncle Roy’s barbecue I never felt it before. Producers, voiceover actors, agents, spouses, website folks were all together schmoozing and getting to know each other. I met people in person that I had taken online classes with and “knew” from facebook. I had so much fun. I also felt that these amazing people were my people and were the voiceover industry. As working creatives, we are only as strong as our network, and as I very much want to succeed, since the beginning of my business I have worked hard to build and maintain a strong network.

The Peeps

When I started in voiceover, my very first coach was the esteemed voiceover talent and one time Jersey girl Anne Ganguzza. Now located in California, in addition to being a tremendous role model for many, Anne runs an amazing group called VO Peeps: https://vopeeps.com/. According to their mission, “VO Peeps is a global meet up group dedicated to providing resources and information about Voiceover, and related media, industries.” Taking classes with fantastic voiceover artists like Scott Brick was an amazing opportunity when I started out in voiceover. Not only did I get to meet established professionals, there were working voiceover actors at all points in their careers in the workouts. Just the existence of VO Peeps seemed to good to believe but it is there for all of us to join and the offerings seem to get better and better.

VO Peeps also sells some products. This may seem like a small thing, but when you are trying to become part of a network, products are actually essential to identifying with that network. From useful cable ties for our voiceover equipment to shirts and vocal remedies, the store on the VO Peeps website is great:)

The Professionals: WoVo

Even though it has now been quite a few years, I still remember the day that I had booked enough work to become a professional level member of World Voices Organization, https://www.world-voices.org/, “a non-profit, member-driven industry association of professional voice talent.” Not only was that credential extremely important to me, it meant so much to become a part of this esteemed group of voiceover actors. I felt that it validated all of my hard work and belonging to this group and this network was very meaningful to me. Over the years I have had the opportunity to mentor several people through the mentor program and I have loved being able to help new talents just starting out in the field.

Another reason that I love being part of WoVo is that I began attending the conferences. Meeting these amazing professional voiceover talents in person and learning from my peers is nothing short of incredible. The tips and tricks that I learned at the conference I use in my daily work, from Twisted Wave tweaks to efficiency habits, their expertise helps profoundly. There is also something so magical about all of these established, working creatives being in one space together. If I thought Uncle Roy’s barbecue was something, that is fun and social. The WoVo conference has that element that we all love and need plus the productivity that we cannot get elsewhere.

Voice Peddler Family Interviews

One of my dear mentors who coached me for a very long time, Fred Frees, started the Voice Peddler Family Interviews. Not only does this provide a facebook group for social interaction between all sorts of industry people, including voiceover actors, agents, and producers alike, but Fred also has a youtube channel where he interviews top talents! His interviews are set up in a unique way and are a joy to watch. The facebook group is also unique because each day has a different theme. For example, there is a share your demo day, a demo critique day, and a day to ask tech questions. I have gotten invaluable advice from this sharing. I love the vibe and good natured banter of Fred’s group. I also am so inspired by the many successful talents that Fred has showcased in his interviews.

Just the Gals

Every week on Wednesday night I spend an hour with my VO women’s group:) An amazing, talented, brilliant group of professional voiceover actor’s who’s names I will keep to myself! We discuss our work, our strategies, our equipment, and I’ll confess we also discuss our lives a little bit too. I may be more guilty of that that the others! We also refer business to each other when possible. The weeks go by so quickly and my chats with these women are immensely helpful and inspirational. I look forward to our time together and I count on them for their guidance and expertise.

So Many Groups, so Little Time…

With an unlimited amount of options, I spend tons of time on LinkedIn and Facebook every single day. Some people are joiners. That has nothing to do with why I do this. My business depends on building interpersonal relationships and in this era, the way to do it is to participate in these groups, chats, webinars, etc.

Ok, so it’s possible, maybe even probable, that those of us who are successful in voiceover have certain personality characteristics. It would be fair to say that most of us are people people. It might also be fair to say that to succeed in voiceover getting along with others is a must. So, from my sorority days in college, while my parents might have been afraid that I was “too social,” I was actually honing the very skills essential to take off in voiceover!

Like families across America, every February we go all out having our neighbors over to watch the Super Bowl. Perhaps it’s because I’m from Philly, and, well, you know what they say about Philly fans. We have pizza and wings and every snack you can think of. I make tons of hot appetizers and keep them coming through out the game. We have an assortment of beers. I also always make fish and neighbors bring a variety of salads. Every one knows though, that the game is just part of it. The half time show is just part of it. The commercials often leave everyone on the edge of their seats. Some are profoundly touching. Some are hilarious. Some are controversial. We all sit their, huddled together, on the edge of our seats, never bored. The voiceover, the voice under what flashes on the screen, is sure to dazzle on such an epic night. But whether it is Super Bowl Sunday or any given Tuesday, a voiceover actor, and there are a lot of us, is always an actor and never just a voiceover person, and the voiceactor’s ability to assume a role as apposed to just reading a script can make all the difference in those spots that we love.

Voiceover for Character Work

When I started my journey as a professional voiceover actress, I dreamt of playing a Disney princess. Who doesn’t right? After all, if I can sing like the Little Mermaid and sound full of hope one moment and like i’m in the depths of despair the next, clearly I have chosen the right career path. But even when Disney does not immediately come knocking at your door, there are ample opportunities for character work in voiceover where the work itself pre-determines the role that you play. From candy princesses to mermaids in kids’ apps to cat toys, I have voiced them all. Whether in an app, an animation, a video game, or dubbing, when doing character work a voiceover actor does not have to figure out who they are. The script tells us. Other sorts of script analysis are of course required, but at least we know who we are and what our relationship is to the other roles around us.

The Voice in the Commercial

Since the inception of my career commercial work has been my bread and butter and determining your character, or who you are in a commercial, is not always so simple. Sometimes you are actually cast as a specific role, like the voice of the hip mom or the distressed wife, but often you have to read the script and make a choice about who you are playing. Recently, I have been what is often described as “the voice of G-d” in a series of tv commercials for a hospital. These spots needed to sound heartfelt and connected. I’ve also played the casino party girl, and I it was my call to sound like the super fun party girl that anyone would want next to them at the black jack table. That is why we are called voiceover actors, because even in a commercial there is always a role to be played.

The Role of the Narrator

A lot of voiceover work falls under the category of Narration. As a former teacher, I particularly delight in doing eLearning projects. But, whether I am narrating eLearning, industrials, or telephony, I am still playing a role. I am never simply reading a script. I may be Susie in HR. Or I may be Julie, the tech savvy girl sitting next to you at the conference table. Or I may be Emma, the head chef at Whole Foods Market. I always have to know exactly what role I am playing and why I am saying what I’m saying. Often in narration this is not clear from what the client gives me. Instead, this comes from self direction, from a creative choice that I make. Again, this is what makes the difference between being a voiceover actor and someone who just reads into a microphone.

Voiceover Actor vs. Voiceover Talent

So why are some people in my field called voice actors, some called voiceover actors, some called voice talents, and some called voiceover talents? Put simply it’s a matter of personal preference. They all mean the same thing and imply the very same career. Some people would say that they are a voice talent because they also do on-camera work and public speaking or live announce. Well that’s great! But some people prefer that title and they do not do either. So, any professional who assumes one of these titles, is implying that they spend their days acting, pouring their creative juices, heart, and soul into your script to bring it alive and make it sound its best. In the words of Marc Hammill, “You’re able to make broad choices that you would never make if you were on camera.”

Oh- That Kind of Day

In a business that’s feast or famine, what happens during a dry patch?

You must be thinking, is she always like that? Is that girl always so —-ing bubbly? Well, as a matter of fact no. Some days, much like the rest of the world, I want to binge watch “Downton Abby,” eat chocolate, and kvetch to anyone who will listen. So if, on top of actually being normal and being effected by the world around me, my voiceover business hits a slow patch in an industry that is know to be feast or famine, my glass begins to look half empty, how does my perspective shift and how do I get back on track?

Did you see HER post??

Sometimes being on Facebook and Instagram can be fantastic because you feel part of a wonderful community. Other times, when other voiceover talents are posting about their bookings and their new clients when you are in a slump, which does happen to the best of us, it can be quite isolating. While of course we are excited for our friends when they book work, and it is nice to think that we book the work that we are meant to book, if you aren’t booking and you go on Facebook and hear about everyone else’s bookings, it can exacerbate the glass half empty scenario.

Another issue with social media is that it can potentially be quite distracting. While I am always drawn in because I love the sense of community and feeling a part of something bigger than I am, we can easily be pulled of course and fall down an unintended rabbit hole. Sometimes I hear about other projects or new demos that friends are doing and before I know it I have spend hours researching something and then missed multiple auditions. While I certainly enjoy my time on social media, I might be in need of some sort of timer with a loud alarm!

I thought I had it figured out…

Sometimes there is a rhythm to professional voiceover work. Sometimes just when you actually expect your work to be quiet and you leave your studio you end up with a flood of bookings. Yes, of course this is a good problem to have, but it also points to how unpredictable our industry is.

One way to try to stay on top of work and even out this feast or famine is to use a CRM to keep track of work and correspondence with clients and prospects. I obsessively love voice overview, a CRM created for professional voiceover talents. I know a lot of other people use Nimble. When things look particularly bleak, taking the time to reach out to clients by using the reminders I have set helps to make me feel hopeful and does often bring in work.

This March I attended VO Atlanta, the biggest voiceover conference of the year, for the first time. When of the general sessions that I attended was given by Rachel Naylor. She said something that blew my mind a little bit. Rachel said, when your doing well, it’s your fault. But, when you have these down times, that’s your fault too. She said that we need to stop making excuses about the forces that we can’t control and figure out a way around them. Every single “glass half empty day” I have, Rachel’s voice echoes in my mind.

I have spent a lot of time since March thinking about what I do well and what I can do better. On good days I am optimistic. On glass half empty days, I wonder how to stay on top of an industry that is both volatile and involves so much hustle. The hustle I can bank on because that comes from me. The rest I do worry about.

What comes into the booth

I used to have an amazing spin instructor who would started each class by saying that all of the stress of the week had to stay outside of the class and we were not to carry it with us on our bikes. I feel the same way about my recording studio. No matter what is going on in my life, no matter what my perspective on the world is, and no matter how I am feeling about my voiceover career, all of that must stay outside of the booth. The mic, afterall, pics up everything. Instead, I mark my scripts, assume the characters, and get to work. As a professional voiceover talent. my job in large part is to audition, so what chance do I have if I bring all of my worries into the booth?

In the end, I think it is normal to have some days that are glass half empty. But, in the final analysis, I think only an optimist could actually pursue voiceover. There is so much rejection in our daily life. We spend ours and days going after work. the audition is the job, and, well- you know about actors and auditions? So in truth, a person who is truly glass half empty, could not have my job. So lucky me:) I’m super happy to be pursuing my dreams.