Mari
Iijima had a bit too much adventure in the weeks leading up to Anime
Weekend Atlanta. The company that was reproducing the copies of her
self-published Wonderful People CD messed up the first batch, and she
had to have them make a second batch. Those discs were ready and on
sale at the Georgia convention, and information on mail orders is
available at Iijima's web site. Iijima is best known for her Minmay
role in Macross, but she's also started an acting career since her move
to the U.S., 15 years earlier. She's had a role in the Psy Girls video
game, which required a different style of acting than she used for her
anime work. "I had to play avery spunky ninja girl who jumps into a
computer - it's kind of a female version of The Matrix," Iijima said.
"When I was Minmay I spoke much higher. For this role I had to speak
much lower. "It was fun to put that part of me into the role."
Vic
Mignogna has graduated from playing second banana to Chris Patton in
ADV Films dubs to lead roles of his own, especially Edward Elric in the
upcoming Funimation dub of Fullmetal Alchemist. Small roles are fun but
large roles can be especially rewarding, said Mignogna. This actor is
exceptionally grateful that he's gone from bit roles to lead parts in
just a few years in the dubbing business, and he gives much of the
credit to John Grumion, who was working with Mignogna on a video
project. Grumion was acting on projects at ADV Films at the time, and
he told Mignogna of the potential at the Houston company. "I don't have
a voiceover kind of voice, but there is a place for (all) actors to do
voice work, and it's just been the greatest privilege. I love the work!
If you're in school, let me encourage you do to do something you love.
My dad put on a three piece suit, took a briefcase and went out the
door to work every day and he hated his job. Find something you love
and make a living out of it, and you'll be so happy.''
Larissa
Wolcott has an unique story on how to get a role, since she was the
actor cast to replace Jessica Calvello in the difficult Excel Excel
role in the Excel Saga dub. Wolcott said that Calvello
was pushing her voice so hard in that lead role that she was starting
to develop nodes on her vocal cords, a condition that ruins the voice.
ADV Films producers already have said that Wolcott was chosen because
they listened to an audition tape where her voice sounded just like
Calvello's. "I guess they heard Lost Universe," Wolcott said about an
ADV dub in which she previously had appeared. When Wolcott got into the
Excel Saga sessions, "I tried to march Jessica as best as I could. It
was a long and difficult process but a fun and rewarding process." At
the time she dubbed Excel Saga, Wolcott also was appearing in a weekend
musical stage production of Hair, which meant she was commuting to
Houston for Excel Saga dubs during the week. Wolcott said she had three
advantages in finishing the series; her directors let her take breaks
more often to usual, to preserve her voice; Calvello already had voiced
many of the tracks for the second half of the series; and earlier in
her career, she had developed the talent of being able to speak fast
and be understood. ""I guess it served me well in Excel," she said.
Christine
Auten has one of the big roles in an upcoming ADV dub, but it's
something she can't discuss in detail yet. Auten will be Kekko Kamen in
the upcoming ADV dub of one of the company's best-known titles from a
decade earlier. Previously, Auten had been another kick-ass female when
she was Priscilla Asagiri in the ADV dub of Bubblegum Crisis 2040. "
Who wouldn't want to be Priss and who wouldn't want to be Lady Death,"
Auten said in referring to another lead role in an ADV project. "I've
been really fortunate that I get to play a lot of characters I wanted
to be when I was growing up. Auten said she's a Star Wars fan, but she
always wanted to be Han Solo, not Princess Leia, so that explains the
affection toward the battling Priss in BGC. She also enjoyed Neil
Gaiman's Death comics, so the Lady Death role was a natural. Yet, with
all of the spunky fighting roles, Auten also enjoys the motherly roles
she's played in series such as Princess Nine.
Mari
Iijima had a bit too much adventure in the weeks leading up to Anime
Weekend Atlanta. The company that was reproducing the copies of her
self-published Wonderful People CD messed up the first batch, and she
had to have them make a second batch. Those discs were ready and on
sale at the Georgia convention, and information on mail orders is
available at Iijima's web site. Iijima is best known for her Minmay
role in Macross, but she's also started an acting career since her move
to the U.S., 15 years earlier. She's had a role in the Psy Girls video
game, which required a different style of acting than she used for her
anime work. "I had to play avery spunky ninja girl who jumps into a
computer - it's kind of a female version of The Matrix," Iijima said.
"When I was Minmay I spoke much higher. For this role I had to speak
much lower. "It was fun to put that part of me into the role."
Vic
Mignogna has graduated from playing second banana to Chris Patton in
ADV Films dubs to lead roles of his own, especially Edward Elric in the
upcoming Funimation dub of Fullmetal Alchemist. Small roles are fun but
large roles can be especially rewarding, said Mignogna. This actor is
exceptionally grateful that he's gone from bit roles to lead parts in
just a few years in the dubbing business, and he gives much of the
credit to John Grumion, who was working with Mignogna on a video
project. Grumion was acting on projects at ADV Films at the time, and
he told Mignogna of the potential at the Houston company. "I don't have
a voiceover kind of voice, but there is a place for (all) actors to do
voice work, and it's just been the greatest privilege. I love the work!
If you're in school, let me encourage you do to do something you love.
My dad put on a three piece suit, took a briefcase and went out the
door to work every day and he hated his job. Find something you love
and make a living out of it, and you'll be so happy.''
Larissa
Wolcott has an unique story on how to get a role, since she was the
actor cast to replace Jessica Calvello in the difficult Excel Excel
role in the Excel Saga dub. Wolcott said that Calvello
was pushing her voice so hard in that lead role that she was starting
to develop nodes on her vocal cords, a condition that ruins the voice.
ADV Films producers already have said that Wolcott was chosen because
they listened to an audition tape where her voice sounded just like
Calvello's. "I guess they heard Lost Universe," Wolcott said about an
ADV dub in which she previously had appeared. When Wolcott got into the
Excel Saga sessions, "I tried to march Jessica as best as I could. It
was a long and difficult process but a fun and rewarding process." At
the time she dubbed Excel Saga, Wolcott also was appearing in a weekend
musical stage production of Hair, which meant she was commuting to
Houston for Excel Saga dubs during the week. Wolcott said she had three
advantages in finishing the series; her directors let her take breaks
more often to usual, to preserve her voice; Calvello already had voiced
many of the tracks for the second half of the series; and earlier in
her career, she had developed the talent of being able to speak fast
and be understood. ""I guess it served me well in Excel," she said.
Christine
Auten has one of the big roles in an upcoming ADV dub, but it's
something she can't discuss in detail yet. Auten will be Kekko Kamen in
the upcoming ADV dub of one of the company's best-known titles from a
decade earlier. Previously, Auten had been another kick-ass female when
she was Priscilla Asagiri in the ADV dub of Bubblegum Crisis 2040. "
Who wouldn't want to be Priss and who wouldn't want to be Lady Death,"
Auten said in referring to another lead role in an ADV project. "I've
been really fortunate that I get to play a lot of characters I wanted
to be when I was growing up. Auten said she's a Star Wars fan, but she
always wanted to be Han Solo, not Princess Leia, so that explains the
affection toward the battling Priss in BGC. She also enjoyed Neil
Gaiman's Death comics, so the Lady Death role was a natural. Yet, with
all of the spunky fighting roles, Auten also enjoys the motherly roles
she's played in series such as Princess Nine.
