Welcome to my first official newsletter as ElaineClarkVO! Since my final Voice One company newsletter in December 2018, a lot has happened in the past 4.4 years. Not long after dividing the company I founded in 1986 and owned for 32 years into two parts [selling the school/training division while retaining the production, directing, and coaching side] the world changed, friends and loved ones were lost, and voice-overs and podcasting became the ‘privileged’ form of artistic expression as microphone-recording performers safely took advantage of their home studios and sanitized professional recording studio booths. And for you VO cynics out there thinking about AI, cool your jets… we’ll deal with that discussion at a later date.
So, what have I been doing from January 2019-May 2023? Here are a few highlights:
2019 began with a move out of my spacious 2500 square foot San Francisco office/theatre/classroom/recording studio into a smaller office/studio across town that I shared with the training division’s new owner. There, I continued my usual business of producing a wide variety of client projects, voice-over demos, and teaching my physicality, emotional personality, and layering technique classes that for decades were the school’s foundational core curriculum of the commercial, narration, and character tracks. There’s Money Where Your Mouth Is, the 4th edition of my groundbreaking voice-over book, was published. I wrote it for all levels of voice actors and as a 15-week college course with more techniques, insights, interviews with top professional voice actors, 40-years of experience as an actor/director/producer/casting director/copywriter/audio engineer, and over 200 practice scripts. I cast and directed a 6-month recording project for the Japanese government, was the keynote speaker at WoVOCon (thanks Liz de Nesnera for that honor), and created two new company brands ElaineClarkVO and Voice One Productions. Then out of the blue, my publisher at Allworth Press told me that I was selected to write a podcasting book. So, I mapped out the chapters, signed the contract, and feverishly spent a hundred hours researching podcasting, dusting off knowledge from my early years in radio sales and as an advertising agency media buyer.
In 2020, Voice-Overs For Podcasting was published! The virus raged, the world shut down, the new owner of the school and I parted ways, I got released from my expensive San Francisco office lease, opened a bottle of champers, moved my recording studio and business home, and joined the Zoom world where I coached a steady stream of podcasters, voice actors, sales people, business executives, sports announcers, and newscasters all over the world. I voice acted and auditioned a bit and spoke and lead virtual workshops with people in small rectangle boxes at Podfest and VOAtlanta. When asked, “Where’s Your Podcast?” I took a deep sigh, flipped the switch on an idea, and I created Real Talking Tips, a free 52-episode audio and video communication training podcast that supports the information in both books and Elaine Clark apps: Activate Your Voice and Adding Melody to Your Voice. I referenced my podcasting book to create, post, and publish the podcast! I leaned in on my Theatre, Speech Communication and Education degrees to define the problem, offer a new or unique learning component, and provide an easy homework assignment. Learning sticks better if you use Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, and Kinaesthetic movements! And yes, I upped my game with a new lap top, lighting kit, and camera! And, I co-wrote a farce with Scott Munson and had a reading of it on Zoom with some very talented actors!
2021, I recorded the audio version of Voice-Overs for Podcasting in addition to recording and casting a video game, a couple toys, a few commercials, a very special e-learning project that I’ll be sharing with you very soon, several audiobooks, numerous demos, and continued coaching and guest speaking on numerous podcasts and webinars. Based on my experience as the CEO/Founder of the first voice-over/acting/improv/on-camera school, I was contacted by several voice-over schools to help them optimize their business and hone their course offerings. The Society of Voice Arts and Science (SOVAS) selected ElaineClarkVO.com as the 2021 Voice Arts® Awards Outstanding Website. Makes me want to dig up my old John Phillips Sousa Award from my high school band days to put next to it!
In 2022, Gerald Griffith asked me to be the Opening Speaker at VOAtlanta. Our history dates back 10 years or so when he called my office and our ‘voices’ met. We chatted about his conference and school idea for over an hour and many times thereafter. Meanwhile, across the pond. Melissa Thom decided to start BRAVA with me as head of the character department. So I coached the Brits on Zoom and in Bristol, several more podcasters and voice-actors, the Oakland A’s stadium announcer, did a table read of the re-worked play at the Bristol Old Vic, a staged reading of the play in San Francisco, and produced more voice-over demos.
2023, I hung out with the Brits by way of BRAVA at the Game Developers Conference, returned to VOAtlanta with a booth in the Exhibition Hall and as a speaker on the Master Coaches Panel and Voice-Over 360° breakout session, and made updates to the play and plans for production with my co-producer.
Okay, now to the part about you and your ‘call-to-action’. I’m pleased to announce the @ElaineClarkVODemos YouTube Channel. It’s a talent database of demos that I produced over these last few years - AND - a place for clients, casting directors, and producers to find quality voice talent for their next project. Click the link, take a listen to the demos in the various categories, subscribe, ring the bell, write a note, and support yourself and your fellow voice actors. This is a free database. It’s up to these actors to respond to the audition or hiring requests and book the job directly or through their talent agent. Of course, I’ll be adding new demos to it so check back often.
For those of you who cast, hire, or sign voice talent, you’ll find each actor’s website and/or email at the end of their voice-over demo video so you can contact them directly. If you have specific questions shoot me a note at elaineclarkvo@gmail.com. Together, let’s get quality trained voices out there for more people to hear and hire.
Click below to learn more about this exciting free ElaineClarkVO VO talent database!
