The
recent political campaigns have raised
an interesting issue for us as voice
actors. Having to deal with the
occasional voiceover session that might
be in opposition to ones personal views
or values is something every actor must
deal with at one time or another. This
is generally a pretty uncommon problem
from my experience, but at certain times
(such as political campaigns) a voice
actor might be requested for a session
to promote a candidate, ballot
proposition, product or service he or
she might oppose.
There is no single correct solution to
this quandary. For some, the issue is as
simple as black and white, and they will
refuse the work (and income - no matter
what the fee might be). Others will take
the view that they are an actor being
hired to play the role of a character.
They view their performance for the
voice over session as being no different
than if they were playing a role of "the
bad guy" in a stage play. If the project
is a commercial and the topic is known
in advance, the actor can make the
decision to refuse the work. However, if
the booking is accepted and the topic is
not fully understood before arriving at
the studio (which can, and does,
happen), a serious problem may result,
which could affect the performer's
future in the business. If you are hired
for a session it is expected (and in
fact you are obligated under verbal
contract) to perform to your best
abilities at the session.
There's a reason the word "acting" is a
part of the voiceover business. Acting
is all about taking on the attitudes and
characteristics of someone or something
other than the real you. It's about
pretending, it's about play, it's about
creating illusion, and it's about
stepping beyond your true self to
momentarily become someone else.
The reality of all forms of acting is
that performer is playing a role of a
character. The words on the script are
NOT the words of the performer (unless
the performer wrote the script to
specifically express his or her personal
point of view). The script contains the
words of a character. That character may
have a belief system quite similar to
that of the performer playing the role,
or the personality and belief system of
the character may be the complete
opposite. But the fact remains that the
performer and the character in the
script are two completely separate
entities. The only exception to this is
when the actor's real name is used and
they are expressing their personal
opinions.
What it ultimately comes down to is the
actors ability (and/or willingness) to
accept the role of the character he or
she is being asked to play. Not all
actors are right for every role, and not
all characters are right for every
actor. If a role is being cast through
an audition process, the actor will have
a fairly good idea of the character he
or she will play - and their performance
at the audition will generally reflect
their acceptance (or lack thereof) of
the character, pretty much guaranteeing
they won't get the job - assuming they
were to go through with the audition.
However, many bookings are made directly
from demo tapes, in which case the voice
actor must be prepared to deal with a
variety of situations. If personal or
moral values are a serious issue with
you as a voice actor, you have four
options:
1. Focus all of your marketing
efforts on only those producers who you
know work on projects that are in
alignment with your personal philosophy.
This will reduce the amount of work you
will get, but you will avoid the
conflict of having to choose to refuse
work. The characters you play will most
likely be close to your own personality,
so your growth as an actor may be
somewhat slow.
2. Make every effort to find out
as much about the message you are being
asked to deliver BEFORE you accept the
booking. Sometimes this just isn't
possible, and asking a lot of questions
can create an image of being very
choosy. If you end up refusing a lot of
work based on your personal beliefs you
may end up losing work by getting a
reputation of being a primadona. The
world of voice over is a relatively
small community - the producers and
agents all know each other and word can
spread quickly.
3. Arrive at a personal
acceptance and understanding that you
are playing a character - and that the
character you are playing is NOT you!
This can be a stretch for some and can
be impossible for others. However every
good actor will tell you that the only
reason your character exists is to play
a part in the telling of a story. And if
the character is not believable, the
effectiveness of the story will suffer.
They will also tell you that an actor
who cannot create a believable character
should not be playing that character in
the first place. The worst thing (and
least effective performance) an actor
can do is to play his or her self doing
the lines of the script. The hardest
thing for an actor to do is to create a
believable character when that character
expresses feelings, a philosophy and a
belief system that is in direct
opposition to that of the actor.
or
4. Get out of this business -
because you will find yourself
constantly being frustrated and
confronted with the necessity of making
uncomfortable choices.
As an actor, voiceover or otherwise, we
are constantly making choices about the
characters we play in the scripts we
perform. Our acting ability can often be
challenged by a difficult script or
character. Regardless of the challenges
that might confront us, we are the ones
who must make the choice as to how we
will deal with the situation.
Copyright © James R. Alburger -
used by permission.
Article
Source:
http://www.voiceacting.com