The first year of my “retirement” from corporate software sales, and returning to pursue my “first career” of acting and voice overs, is coming to a close. It’s been quite the learning experience. I’ve taken lots of classes, attended plenty of workshop, started working with two coaches (one for audio books and another for “speech/voice”), and I’ll probably add another in the next month or two. Progress has been slow but steady. I’ve narrated 8 audio books, acted in a few student films, auditioned for a number of Equity productions (haven’t gotten anything yet!)… and have made less than $100 in the process! :>)
Of course, I didn’t expect to negotiating for million dollar movie contracts right out of the gate (or for the foreseeable future), but that wasn’t the goal anyway. I enjoyed the job I had at AvidXchange, and was happy to be part of the start of a company that is experiencing meteoric success—but it wasn’t “feeding me,” creatively, in a way that was satisfying. When my dear friend, Jon Cavaluzzo passed away unexpectedly last year, that was the “wake up call” that it was time to move on.
So… here I am, at the start of “Year Two” of my new (old) career of being an Actor and Voiceover Talent. I’m in the process of establishing my goals for the new year, so keep your eyes on this blog, but part of it will be focused on generating income.
Primarily, I expect that to be in the Voice Over arena, doing: audio books, eLearning and narration. I joined the Audio Publishers Association this year, and plan to get more engaged in that industry.
More to come.