 Even though
the Middle Tennessee event was a small convention, it had the largest assembly
of actors in one place at one time since Anime Expo in July. Fans enjoyed
the presence of Debi Derryberry, Sonny Strait, Kira, Jackson Hamlett, Bill
Timoney and Tiffany Grant, and they flooded the performers with questions
during a busy hour. Instead of asking questions about the roles these actors
had created, the people in the audience were mostly interested in learning
how they could start an acting career, and they wanted to find how the
panelists got started. |
 "The audition
came up," Derryberry joked when she was asked how she got the non-speaking
role of Ryo-ohki in Tenchi-Muyo. "Before I did this Tenchi show, I didn't
know there was this whole world of people who would watch it. I was surprised
that there would be people who would E-mail me and ask me about Ryo-ohki."
Derryberry said the trick to success is training under a good acting teacher
(she recommends Sue Blu), getting a good agent and old-fashioned perseverance.
"It took me 2-3 years to make a living at it," she said. |
 Strait said
his father also was a voice actor, and he learned from his dad about the
ways to mimic voices of characters such as Donald Duck. For ten years Strait
made his living as a cartoonist, then he switched to theater and from there
to voice acting. His motivation? "Hunger," was Strait's reply. Strait believes
in on the job training, whether on acting or singing on stage, to get ready
for the competitive world of auditioning for roles. |
 Kira is the
second actor we've heard in recent years who said that her move into acting
came because she and her brother liked making up their own stories and
acting them out (Lisa Ortiz and her brother did the same thing). "We'd
turn down the sound on really bad movies (on TV) and make up our own dubs,"
she said. After some success with ADV Films productions, Kira said "Confidence
is a big thing. Don't be scared if you go in for an audition." |
 Hamlett, the
oldest member of the panel, said acting makes him fell young again.
"I discover the child within and let it go. It's so much fun. It's a job,
but it's a great job." Hamlett was raising grapes in California when an
industrial accident left him with a disability settlement that allowed
him to pursue an acting career. |
 Timoney said
he grew up with Bugs Bunny and Kimba the White Lion on TV, then was inspired
to act by watching the Kato character in the Pink Panther movies. As an
adult he realized that there were jobs in creating cartoon voices, so he
bugged a friend who worked on those recording session and finally got a
part. Getting a role is a rare and prized achievement, he said. "Unlike
any other industry you can find, you don't spend your life acting. You
spend your life trying to find a job," he said. |
 Grant repeated
her story of auditioning for a role when ADV Films started holding casting
calls in Texas, getting a part in a dubbing session and working for the
company ever since. "Once you're hired by a company, they tend to keep
hiring you," she said. Grant notes that actors have to live in areas where
dubs are created, which in the U.S. is mostly Los Angeles, Houston and
Austin in Texas, and Wilmington, N.C. While it helps to get paid, the fun
comes from creating a character, she said. "You can do so many diverse
characters with your voice that you can't do on film," said Grant. |
