If you’re taking a voice acting class for the first time, please don’t be shocked or offended if your teacher/coach doesn’t throw you behind the mic right away, especially if you’re totally new to acting.
If you’ve never done any acting before, your teacher wants to make sure you have a solid foundation and understanding of acting terms and basics before throwing any curveballs at you with voice acting techniques.
You wouldn’t start building a house without a solid foundation, right? The same thing goes for folks who are new to voiceover who have also never taken an acting class. It’s a good idea to start with a solid foundation.
Is it totally necessary to take an acting class before doing VO? Not necessarily… but I think most people agree that it absolutely helps.
So if you’re taking a VO class from a theatre-trained teacher, at a theatre, you can probably expect some theatre-based activities, games, and exercises designed to help give you a basic understanding of these principles and a stronger base to create your characters in voiceover.
The last thing I want to do is feel like I haven’t done everything I can to help students do their best work, nor do I want them to feel confused and overwhelmed by the time they get behind the microphone – especially if they’re totally brand new to acting.
