No, I don’t think anyone’s ever accused me of having Adonis DNA, and I can’t even handle Dr. Pepper, let alone TigerBlood. But I knew early on that the relative anonymity of being a Voice Talent and Actor could still have its rewards.
Sometimes there’s a tangible, immediate benefit: like the talent fee and the wonderful dinner our It’s A Mystery group received from the Fayetteville Shriners after a recent performance. But the good feeling that has lasted even longer was the news that we had a small part in helping them raise around $8,000 for a kids’ burn center.
More of my time has been devoted to volunteer reading lately for an outfit called Gatewave, which provides free audio content for the blind and visually impaired. I’ve always loved to read, and used to get scolded by my kids when I didn’t “do the voices” as we went through the stories. I agreed to do regular reads for Gatewave at the behest of friend Melissa Exelberth, and the group’s director asked if I’d like to read old Science Fiction short stories from the pulps instead of news stories from current publications.
I jumped at the chance for the more creative outlet, and of course immediately found out I’d been away from long-form reading longer than I’d realized. Also, of course, I picked a story with lots of characters and a long runtime. Still, thanks to my editing skills it all worked out fine. And each successive story block I’ve read for them has become a little easier.
The payoff…other than feeling good about doing something good for someone I’ll probably never meet? I’ve noticed in the last few e-learning narrations I’ve been paid to do, that I’m doing them better. I can handle the long-form without getting tired so soon. And, I’m a better “teller of the corporate story”. My friend Bob Souer is even encouraging me to add audiobooks to my demo list, based on what he’s enjoyed of my Sci-Fi tales.
In some ways, things like these are instances where it appears you really CAN have it both ways. So don’t diminish things you’re tempted to try just because of the pricetag or the amount of work for the fee.
While I know a guy’s gotta make a living, and I fully subscribe to my radio friend Bob Inskeep’s motto “Ya can’t eat ‘Famous’…”, there sometimes CAN be something in it for you. …even if it isn’t all about you.
— over and out —
