Jamie McGonnigal comes from New York's world of musical theater and works
hard on off-Broadway stages. Kristen Nelson is studying acting and picking
up dub roles as she works to advance in the business. Both performers appeared
before Anime Boston fans to talk about their work and hopes (and one of them
got to borrow a bear). Nelson said her favorite part was a role in Boogie
Pop Phantom where she got to make a departure from the Japanese original
performance and give the character a "sexy" accent. Second favorite was Megumi,
the woman who shouts "Liar! Liar!" at anyone within earshot. "It was so cathartic,
saying liar, liar - I just got to let it rip," she said. Then there was the
mother in Kare Kano who comforts a child who wets a bed; Nelson said she
felt a strong emotional connection to that role. McGonnigal really liked
playing Omi in Weiss Kreutz and Takeo in Magic Users' Club, saying "Takeo's
such a sweet guy, he's fun. He's the first role I got to dig into." The fans
at the panel had more cheers for Takeo than for Omi.
The actors are far different when it comes to handling the stress of a recording
session. Nelson said she's nervous in the studio for each session and has
to work to relax. "Before I go into a studio I relax," she said. Yoga gets
you into that relaxed state with energy. You also warm up. If I start to
feel a little pang in my stomach, I take a little breath out and regulate
my breathing a little bit. You go into this mental state that if it sucks,
it sucks and it's a recording - we can fix it." Another trick Nelson uses
is to increase the symptoms of nervousness; if you're shaking, try to shake
harder and psych yourself out, she recommended.
On the other hand, McGonnigal, the veteran stage performer who has survived
a New York City mugging, doesn't let recording sessions get to him. "The
first thought I get is `No one's going to die.' I don't take it too seriously."
What McGonnigal really likes are studio sessions like the one where he had
some extra time, was playing around with fill-in roles and came to a page
where an airline flight attendant had to speak. "The producer said `Jamie,
that's a female role.' I said `Please let me do that part,' and they said
`Fine, give it a shot.' I made it a cross between Mario Cantone and Carol
Channing. This was so much fun and they fell out of their chairs in the studio.
It was about fifteen lines of off-screen dialogue." (By the way: Jamie had to give back the bear.)
Jamie McGonnigal comes from New York's world of musical theater and works
hard on off-Broadway stages. Kristen Nelson is studying acting and picking
up dub roles as she works to advance in the business. Both performers appeared
before Anime Boston fans to talk about their work and hopes (and one of them
got to borrow a bear). Nelson said her favorite part was a role in Boogie
Pop Phantom where she got to make a departure from the Japanese original
performance and give the character a "sexy" accent. Second favorite was Megumi,
the woman who shouts "Liar! Liar!" at anyone within earshot. "It was so cathartic,
saying liar, liar - I just got to let it rip," she said. Then there was the
mother in Kare Kano who comforts a child who wets a bed; Nelson said she
felt a strong emotional connection to that role. McGonnigal really liked
playing Omi in Weiss Kreutz and Takeo in Magic Users' Club, saying "Takeo's
such a sweet guy, he's fun. He's the first role I got to dig into." The fans
at the panel had more cheers for Takeo than for Omi.
The actors are far different when it comes to handling the stress of a recording
session. Nelson said she's nervous in the studio for each session and has
to work to relax. "Before I go into a studio I relax," she said. Yoga gets
you into that relaxed state with energy. You also warm up. If I start to
feel a little pang in my stomach, I take a little breath out and regulate
my breathing a little bit. You go into this mental state that if it sucks,
it sucks and it's a recording - we can fix it." Another trick Nelson uses
is to increase the symptoms of nervousness; if you're shaking, try to shake
harder and psych yourself out, she recommended.
On the other hand, McGonnigal, the veteran stage performer who has survived
a New York City mugging, doesn't let recording sessions get to him. "The
first thought I get is `No one's going to die.' I don't take it too seriously."
What McGonnigal really likes are studio sessions like the one where he had
some extra time, was playing around with fill-in roles and came to a page
where an airline flight attendant had to speak. "The producer said `Jamie,
that's a female role.' I said `Please let me do that part,' and they said
`Fine, give it a shot.' I made it a cross between Mario Cantone and Carol
Channing. This was so much fun and they fell out of their chairs in the studio.
It was about fifteen lines of off-screen dialogue." (By the way: Jamie had to give back the bear.)
