When I’m really honest with myself I know that one of my great weaknesses as a voice actor is that I tend to stick pretty close to my comfort zone. Now, there’s a strong argument in favor of this plan. After all, the things that I do best are the things I’m most likely to book. And if I don’t work, well, it’s not a pretty picture. The same is true for you, no matter where you are with your own business. I don’t need to spell out all the details.
But, if we stick too close to our comfort zone to much of the time, we start to get, that’s right, comfortable. You know what another word for comfortable is? At least for those of us who are preformers of one kind or another? Boring. You know how much work boring books? Exactly.
So, a couple of days ago I had one of those moments that jolted me awake to the fact that I must work outside my comfort zone more often. I’d received an audition from my agents in Portland, In Both Ears. The audition had 2 male characters, one a sort of archtypical announcer guy and the other one of the fast-talking “disclaimer” guys. While I can talk quickly enough, I tend to stay away from the disclaimer stuff because, you guessed it, it’s not in my comfort zone. The announcer thing, while I don’t do a ton of that kind of thing any more, was familiar. So I sent in an audition for only the announcer guy.
Fortunately for me, the client liked what I sent enough to ask my agent to have me read for the disclaimer part. I say fortunately because once I’d sent along the audtion for that part too, it was only about 3 hours later In Both Ears called to say that I’d booked … the disclaimer guy.
So, what’s it going to be? Stick in the comfort zone all the time and grown more and more boring with each passing month? Or, step out of the comfort zone and find a way to be interesting again? Maybe even find a way to be more interesting when working in the comfort zone?
Bob!
MUST you hit me with a velvet covered 2×4 first thing in the morning when I’m only on my first cup of coffee?
Yeah…THANKS for that! 😉
Peace!
Liz
Liz,
Duck!
Be well,
Bob
Too late!
Peace!
Liz
Liz,
Peace also with you, dear lady.
Be well,
Bob
had similar experience this past year, booked in a series of spots as the high-pressure, barking, growling car dealer announcer i never thought i’d be right for (or any good at). still am not sure about it myself, but the agency keeps using me for that instead of the character guys in the spots…and character voices are MY comfort zone. at least they have someone else doing the fast-paced disclaimers.
kind of strips the mental gears when all my professional instruction so far keeps telling me to dial back, be more natural. i guess the lesson is to be able to do both and apply whatever is needed to the job at hand.
Bob,
You are so right about the ‘comfort zone’. Not only does it lead to..boring, but it also leads to…apathy. It’s all too easy to get into a groove, a routine, a comfy place that makes us feel like we’re doing our best, when actually we’re just “doing”. And just doing isn’t good enough. Recently, I felt like my daily Sports Calendar that I produce for a local radio station was sounding a bit stale. So I changed a few of the lines in the “usual” opening and used a different music bed, and, viola, it sounded brand new. The worst part was that when I realized how much more fresh it sounded, I also realized that I should have made the changes weeks ago. I didn’t because I was working in the comfort zone, becoming apathetic. If good enough is all you want, then that’s all you’ll get.
Rowell and Derek,
Thank you for your insightful comments.
Be well,
Bob
Hey there, Bob…
What a tremendous article! A little shake up–wake up is never out of line. We only grow when we stretch…
I can’t WAIT to hear that spot!
(Taking huge breath, really tanking up on air)CongratsBobandWelcometoDisclaimerLand.ForSeveralYearsNowI’vebeenthe
DisclaimerVoiceforNationwideInsuranceRadio.NottheSexiestWorkinTheWorldBut
HasPaidLotsofBills.ProducersBringMeinFirsttoRipThroughtheDisclaimerSoTheyKnow
HowMuchTimeTheyhaveforTherestOftheSpot.It’sFuntoReadsoFastYourLipsFlyOffYour
Face.(Gulp for air.)
Best,
BP
Bill,
Good one! This was a different kind of disclaimer read, fast but not all in one breath because this was more of a parody of a disclaimer than the actual thing. Great fun, though.
Be well,
Bob