Stan Pickett - The Classic American Voice

We recently had the opportunity to work with one of our favorite students as he recorded two new demos. Stan is, in fact, an American Classic! Listen to his commercial demo HERE and his narration demo HERE

Q. What caught your interest in Voice Acting? What other career(s) have you had?
A. I was walking back with a friend to a dessert gathering after watching a taping of a CNN show, and, by way of chatting, learned that this friend, a woman nearer fifty than twenty, had become interested in voice acting in re-inventing herself after the breakup of a long marriage.  She told me at length of her path in workshops and training, to the development of her first demo, and to her getting work, first in English, then English and Spanish (she’s bilingual).  She referred me to the area coaches she’d had, and I made contact to explore the field.  Having done a lot of theater in past years – mostly classical works – and with a number of years of applied linguistics behind me, I felt I might have at least the toe of one foot over the line to pull the rest of me along.

Q. In which part of this big world do you live?
A. Most of the year, I’m in Potomac, Maryland, a Washington, DC, suburb.  For three and a half to four months, my wife, dog, and I are in a small Minnesota lake town on the shore of a lake where my family had long spent summers.

Q. With whom have you studied?
A. In the voice-acting arena, with the two of you, certainly, in several courses and in my current demo production – also a very educational process – and with Pat Fraley, Hillary Huber,  Pat Duke, Marc Cashman, Harlan Hogan, Elaine Clark, Betty Zoller, as well as some tele-seminars with other notables in the field.  They’ve all been both illuminating and inspiring!

I should mention the corollary of also having taken a number of courses offered by the Shakespeare Theatre Company of Washington, DC, in their program of Master Acting Classes.  While obviously focused more on the live stage, they gave great insight, development, and practice in such areas as voice and text, text and character, and improv, not to mention helping to refresh the lessons of my prior acting experience.

While Samuel Johnson said, “Men need more often to be reminded than informed,” I come away from every learning episode glad not only for its mnemonic boost to my gray cells, but also for the new insights that every coach and teacher seems to give me.

Q. What convinced you to produce your demo with The VoiceActing, LLC? And what was your experience?
A. From my experience with you both in several courses and in the VOICE 2007 and 2008 conferences, I felt you had an unrivaled combination of creative teaching abilities, superb technical skills, precise – and concise –  analytical insights, extensive real-world experience, and an encouraging stance toward folks new to voice acting.  No less important than those was the clear evidence of your having made a solid corporate commitment (your business model of course offerings, and the books – comprehensive guidance manuals, actually – each of you has written) to providing initial and continuing education in the field.  No matter what other coaches I worked with, I wanted to have the benefits of that rich compendium as a cornerstone of my own growth.

Q. What has been your highlight VO experience?
A. I could say, I suppose, “The moment I got my first VO job.”  But, on reflection, I think I’d say it was the completion of the demo I’ve just done with you.  And there’s a solid, even discomfiting, reason for that.

Q. In contrast, what has been a tough experience in VO that taught you a lot?
A. That’s an easy one.  And it’s the discomfiting reason that doing my new commercials and narration demos with you was a highlight experience.  We hear caring coaches advise, “Don’t be in a rush to do your demo too early,”  “When you’re ready, you’ll know,” etc.   I’m the poster boy for the dark side of that caution: I made my first demo too early, for the wrong reasons, expensively, and without the right guidance.  Awakening afterward to that realization was painful.  And it was, of course, too late; as we say in business, it was, in every possible way, a “sunk cost.”  (Wisdom comes from good judgment, which comes from experience, which comes from bad judgment.)

Q. Describe one or two things that helped you the most as you prepared for your demo.
Three things, actually:

1.         Reviewing the relevant sections of the books, The Art of Voice Acting, 3^rd Ed., and Demo and Marketing Magic.

2.         Talking with each of you about selecting a lot of material as prospective copy for the demos.

3.         Reflecting on my own basic style and possible range when considering copy to propose and then in basic private rehearsal of it.

And a tripartite fourth: Drinking plenty of water well beforehand, getting good sleep, and doing my morning warm ups.

Q. Now that you have your demo in hand, do you think breaking into VO will be an easy process?
A. No, not easy per se.  That’s another aspect of enlightenment: an appreciation of how much work is involved in marketing and promotion, to make the world of voice buyers aware of you, and want you.  Or, as Harlan Hogan memorably puts it, “Ninety percent of the work of voiceover is getting the work!”  And added to that is the challenge of “staying fresh” – continuing to study, and expand, and hone my VO skills.  Wasn’t it Royal Little (or another business luminary) who said, “When you’re green, you’re growing; when you’re ripe, you’re rotten.”?

Q. Will you be attending VOICE 2010 and why?
A. Definitely – the Good Lord willin’ an’ the creeks don’t rise!  The information, insights, and networking rewards of attending VOICE 2007 and 2008 were stellar!  I refer often to the program books (real books!), my lengthy notes, and even the recordings of them both.  Having had the good luck to attend both, I saw the growth and progress from the first to the second, and I’m sure that 2010 will continue that rise.  Wouldn’t miss it.  I might also mention that having had the chance to help on the volunteer committee last year allowed me to see more of the industry and meet more of its leaders than I could have by simply attending; it made it especially enriching for me.

Anything else you’d like to add?
Yes: Thanks very much for the chance to work with you and for all your help!  On the occasion of every contact, I’ve come away borne up on a cloud of thankful enthusiasm and positive thoughts.  I certainly hope to keep you both as a part of my professional life and incomparable friends!

Choosing music for Stan's demo

Click HERE to listen to Stan’s narration demo and Click HERE to listen to his commercial demo