Interview with our Dutch Voice Actor, Marcel. In this new edition of our interviews with professional voice actors, in addition to offering voiceover tips, advices about how to prepare a professional demo reel or discussing audiobooks, we present you “Take it as it comes”, the last stage play penned by our Dutch voice actor Marcel.
What were your first steps in the voiceover industry? How did you get your first job? How were your beginnings?
I started my voice acting career about 25 years ago. By that time I was a stage actor, and the producer of the play I was starring in also had a voiceover agency. He took me to his studio and we recorded a sample CD, and we distributed it among other producers, voiceover agencies, studios and advertising companies. That’s how my career as a voice talent started.
What advice would you give to newcomers?
Things have changed a lot in the last 25 years. When I started, acting experience and a good voice were enough. Nowadays, however, many clients prefer to work with voice talents that have their own recording studios. Thus, it’s not enough to read a text well, it’s also necessary to know how to edit sound. Before you begin your career as a voice talent, make sure you have enough sound editing experience.
Tell us a little bit about your new play, Take it as it comes. What is it about, and how can we have access to it?
My Spanish publisher is about to release my third book. The presentation took place recently, and it is now available in bookshops and online stores. The title is Take it as it comes. I wrote it in Dutch and English, and it’s been translated to Spanish. It’s about the relation between two sisters who are in a hospital’s waiting room when visiting the son of one of them, who is seriously ill. It’s a tragicomedy.
Synopsis of the play: It is what it is
Bridget is in hospital to visit her son, who has cancer. Her sister is with her to give her moral support. What else? Ah yes, the dog died last week. Yep, it’s been one of those weeks. In the waiting room they meet two patients with that same disease. Funnily enough, these cancer patients also give Bridget moral support. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? It’s not easy being a mother, if your child is about to die. But it can’t be helped. Life is tough and then you die. No use in fighting it. Just take it as it comes.
Audiobooks are popular nowadays, and many people prefer to listen to their favorite novels instead of reading them. Since you’re a very experienced professional voice talent, have you ever considered make an audible version of your book?
I had never considered the possibility of publishing the book in an audio format. It’s a good idea. In one occasion, I was hired as an actor to play one of the characters for an audiobook. But in the case of a stage play, it’s a little more complicated. I would need to adapt it; perhaps as a radio play. I will think about it.
What skills are necessary to write a stage play and do voiceovers, especially audiobooks? Do the any of the requirements for both things coincide?
Writers and voice talents have several things in common. Voice talents not only have to read a text, they have to be able to change it, detect mistakes and correct them whenever necessary. Writers must be able to understand characters, so they can write about them, for instance, in a stage play.
Previously you gave us some advice for people who want to pursue a a voice talent career. Getting back to this, one last question. In your opinion, what should be included in a demo recording? What’s the best way to prepare a demo in order to attract the client?
If you wish to record a demo and send it to voiceover agencies, make sure that it contains different types of text. Ensure that the script can be used for corporate products, e-learning, that it has faster, more enthusiastic parts, that can be used for commercial purposes. Thus, you leave to the voiceover agency the decision of what parts will be more convenient to send to each client.
Listen to the whole interview here.
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