The world of Voice Acting is flooded with amazingly talented people and standing out from the crowd may seem like an impossible goal. I am quickly learning however that to get noticed you need to stand out from the crowd in some way. Now that sounds easy enough on paper, but how do you truly stand out from a crowd that is full of people that pretty much seem to offer the same skillset as you? Well for me I discovered that the thing that makes me stand out was right under my nose the whole time! I am an improviser and improv is basically my biggest passion outside of voice acting, not to mention the fact I have been doing it for a lot longer. I regulalry teach improv classes to adults and to children, I helped to build an improv community in North Wales, I attend regular sessions run by others, I am part of an improv troupe 'The Oickers', I attend improv shows and festivals in my downtime and I even run a successful podcast all about improv called 'The Liverpool Comedy ImprovCast.
When I decided that I was going to pull the trigger and finally try to live the voice acting dream, I decided that I was going to properly invest in my future and signed up for 'Gravy for the Brain' which is basically the best VO coaching platform in the UK and to be honest in the entire world. Through GFTB I have unlearned everything I thought I knew and properly started from scratch, becoming a truly well rounded Voice Actor that now offers way more than just a voice, but so what, doesn't everyone offer the total package these days?
Fortunately for me, through my interactions with the wonderful mentors at GFTB they highlighted the fact that my improv is actually something that I have in my toolbelt that many others don't and that is really what makes me unique. I don't just do improv, I live and breathe it, I teach it, dare I say I am obsessed with it! & this is what sets me apart from others, this is my niche. I may be new to the voice acting world, but my improv skills haver given me a way in to the industry and now I am able to offer improv sessions for other member of Gravy fo the Brain because I leaned into my special skill. It is of course just a foot in the door, but it is getting me way more attention than before people knew I was also an improviser.
So what is your niche? What is is that you can offer that other voice actors can't? When you work that out you may well find that you to have a foot in the door and will have eyeballs on you that weren't on you before. You still have to be a kick ass voice actor of course, but perhaps your niche is what will finally get the right people to pay attention.
Comments