Judging by comments, the top concern of aspiring voice actors is how to get an audition. But there is a better question to focus on.
Aspiring voice actors constantly ask:
How can I get an agent?
How can I get an audition?
How can I get a gig?
Where do I get a demo?
Important questions, but before we answer them, I have a better one:
“What am I doing to get better at this?”
What have I done today to get better at voice acting?
What have I done this week to better my skills?
What am I doing to become a better artist?
Can you answer these questions with a tangible list of positive actions?
What are your daily efforts towards your goal of becoming a voice actor?
Whether you’re doing this for fun or professional aspirations, you should never stop considering this question before all others. That’s where I would want your main focus, not just as an amateur or beginner but as your career establishes.
Because if you aren’t persistently working at improving your skills, your art and your game, you are complicit in slowing your ascent and adding drift from any momentum you’ve earned.
Those that focus on the easier pragmatics- networking, marketing, demo, studio tech- they won‘t progress as quickly as those who dedicate to upping their art and craft.
No matter how far along you are, a steady growth of your skills and artistic capacity always serves as the strongest and quickest way to draw opportunity.
“What am I doing to get better?”
That should be the key question, your focus, your priority. This should be true of anyone aspiring to be a creative professional. If this is your primary focus, the pieces of the puzzle will more rapidly fall into place.
The good news is, you don’t have to wait for someone else or some external event that will allow this or give you the sign-off to proceed. Anyone can choose to work at getting better, even on their own.
Even if you’re stuck at home or isolated, there are things you can do everyday. (See my “Stuck at Home? Do This:” page.) And if you are further along as an actor, there are also always things to work on. (See my “I’m Ready to Voice Act. What Do I Do Now,” page).
You don’t have to be great (yet). You do need to be dedicated to the growth of your creative firepower.
Don’t get hung up on comparing yourself to others. Focus on what you have control over. What’s important is that you are steadily working at improving your abilities, your powers and your confidence. Daily. These are the things an actor is hired for- to make something irresistibly well.
An actor’s job is an endless exploratory adventure, an ongoing process of tapping into and channeling all the hidden rivers of experience, emotion and imagination within. Is your imagination sharp and bold enough to see clearly? Are your emotions ready to deploy fully and with nuance in service to your imagination? This above all is what an actor needs to have at the ready, motor running,
The best actors dedicate themselves to perpetual improvement and renewal. This is how they get traction and how they continue to thrive. This creative growth is the radiant power that draws attention, opportunity, and ultimately, employment. It’s the flower that blooms with an irresistible design and scent that brings the bees.
If you are someone who constantly asks yourself, “What am I doing to get better at this?” before you concern yourself with, “How do I get a demo, an agent, an audition or a job?,” you’ll find that opportunity and progress will more readily find you.
The key to the progress you seek is to prioritize your efforts at getting better.
[…]when you’re just starting out, and you want feedback for your experiments/self directed projects, and I want someone with acting experience to give feedback, who should I ask?
For feedback on your voice acting, I’d take a class with someone qualified. See my FAQ 8b.