The voice acting industry has always been a male-dominated arena. Rough 71% of all voice actors are male, while only 29% are female.
However, this means that there is a plethora of opportunities for new female voice actors as more diverse shows and movies emerge.
If you're interested in becoming a voice actress, you should know that there is some hard work involved. It's more than showing up to a studio and saying some lines.
You have to prep your voice, practice reading lines, and maybe even take an acting class or two.
Here are nine tips for women who want to get into voice-over work.
1. Always Warm-Up Before Auditions
One of the very first things you should do before an audition is to warm up your voice. This is equally important for rehearsals as well as recordings. Don't assume that your voice will automatically do what you want it to do.
The point of warming up your voice is to stretch and loosen up your vocal cords. Even five minutes is more than enough.
Some of the different ways to warm up your voice include:
- Articulation and resonance warmups
- Enunciation warm-ups
- Diaphragmatic breathing
- Humming
- Yawning and stretching your tongue
- Practicing runs and riffs
2. Practice Sight Reading
There will be times when you don't receive a completed script before a recording and have to read new lines on the spot.
As such, there won't be much time, if any, to rehearse the lines or memorize them.
It's important that you're able to sight-read fast enough to deliver the lines on time.
One way to do this is by reciting books or scripts out loud that you've never read before.
You should also try speed reading so you can better understand a scene before you say your lines.
3. Avoid the Wrong Food and Drinks
Did you know that the foods and drinks you consume can have a significant effect on your voice?
You need to monitor your diet and change it up if you have a role coming up the next day.
Some of the worst things to consume are milk, bacon, and citrus. Milk can increase the mucus in the back of your throat. Bacon and citrus can both dry out your throat and mess with your voice.
On the other hand, water is essential so you can stay hydrated and keep your vocal cords healthy.
Warm herbal tea also helps to warm up your voice and keep it from getting strained.
4. Relax Your Jaw
A big factor in how your voice sounds is the shape of your mouth. You'll want to relax your jaw to create more room in your mouth.
That way, your tongue can move freely and it will create more room for oral resonance.
In addition, having too tight of a jaw can cause some serious strain after a long recording session.
Always remember to take some time to do some jaw exercises as well to avoid developing TMJ problems.
5. Practice Your Breathing Technique
Your breathing technique is another essential part of improving your voice-acting skills.
There may be times when you're expected to run a long set of lines in quick succession without a break.
Other times, you'll have to make yourself sound out of breath or winded to match your character's current condition.
One breathing exercise involves holding the "eee" sound until you run out of air and gradually building up your endurance.
Another exercise involves exhaling on "shhh" for as long as you can.
6. Work on Your Range
There's a wide variety of successful voice actors who can do all sorts of weird accents and voices as well as those who sound exactly like they do in real life.
However, finding success in this industry will be easier if you have a wider range of characters you can do.
Plenty of male character voices are covered by female VAs, so don't just go for the female roles.
You could easily portray a man with a higher-pitched voice or a child.
Female voice-over actors with lower-pitched voices will also find a lot of success due to how uncommon they are.
7. Use Good Recording Audio Quality
Professional voice-over work needs to be done on equipment that can record it in high quality. The same goes for any audition audio you want to send out.
Some of the equipment you'll need for high-quality recordings are a microphone, an audio interface, editing software, and headphones.
Even if you can't afford professional equipment, you can always rent a timeslot at a local recording studio to get the best audio quality.
8. Take Acting Classes
Voice actors are actors, plain and simple. Even though you're not on screen yourself, you should still consider taking acting classes.
Acting classes are all about teaching you skills in communication, memorization, improvisation, and innovation.
If you look at all the best voice actors while they work in the booth, you'll see that they're not just standing there and saying lines.
They're putting emotion into their performance and may even be acting out their roles.
9. Explore Your Opportunities
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to limit your options.
You may want to eventually become a voice actor in animated films, but that doesn't mean you should only focus on taking related roles.
Beginner voice-over actresses should try all kinds of areas, even if they're not sure they'll be good at it.
This includes trying ADR voice matching, commercials, podcasts, and audiobooks. You can also flex your skills on social media to gain more attention.
Helping Female Voice Actors Excel
Even though the industry is male-dominated, female voice actors can still find success by following some of these tips.
Take care of your voice, enroll in some classes, and don't be afraid to take some risks. The world of voice acting is constantly evolving, and you're sure to find roles that fit your talents.
Jamie Hill can help if you need some quality female voice-over services based out of the Los Angeles area.
She has done work in commercials, trailers, animation, and more. Reach out if you have any inquiries regarding her talents.