As an actor and voiceover you need to give yourself plenty of room to play. You need to allow yourself room to create and discover, often under great time constraints and the pressure to deliver your very best on the fly.

At SOUND ADVICE, I refer to a specific technique I developed I call ‘stretching the canvas’.

I call it that simply because far too many talent make a habit out of ‘ramping up into their performance’ anticipating a longer runway than we are typically given, such as during an audition, where we‘re often only given a single take or two. And if we’re given the luxury as voice talent to audition in front of those most likely to hire us the pressure to deliver can introvert us, rather than the other way around. So, by giving yourself a broader playing field right off the bat you’ll more than likely deliver a far more impactful, desirable performance instead of revving up into the delivery and, ultimately, offering a mere passable take.

We create a certain muscle memory the first time we do anything, so giving ourselves the freedom to create and ‘go too far’ from the very start allows for room to fully animate even the most dry and unimaginative text. We’d rather see you go too far and calibrate you back a bit if necessary, than have to come at you with a whip and a chair to offer anything of real value.

The goal is to continually surprise our selves with each and every take. Every true professional embraces this precept, which is in part what makes us valuable artists: The ability to honestly explore and continually create right from the start.

Self-direction is a performance muscle that only develops and responds with continued application to increase skill and agility, to ensure you’re a talent that can consistently be counted on. To master it, talent need a routine that challenges their comfort zone, keeps them agile, and creative with every genre.

Copyright © 2020 by Kate McClanaghan. All Rights Reserved.