Sweet Spot is lucky to have a guest blogger this week. A big thanks  to our wonderful summer intern, Arielle, for sharing her story!

 At the beginning of this summer, I was lucky enough to get involved with two amazing internships: one at Abrams Artist Agency (a well-known talent agency) and another at Sweet Spot Voiceover (an up-and-coming voiceover coaching company). Just a few weeks into my internships, I found myself with a growing interest in voiceover work, but soon got discouraged when I started to realize voiceover actors only get a few minutes with the script before they go into the booth to record. The first thing that went through my mind was, “Oh great, just another road block that dyslexia has put in front of me.”

My dyslexia has been the most difficult struggle for me as a stage and on-camera actor and now as a prospective voiceover talent. Dyslexia is more then just a reading disability: the words get jumbled not just when I’m reading, but also when I try to say them out loud. Dyslexia restricts me from finishing a script when I only have a day to read it, or when I need to memorize my lines before the first rehearsal, and of course, the dreaded “cold read.”

At auditions I try to quickly memorize my lines to avoid looking at the page, but they still sometimes jumble on me. When it comes time for a performance, I’ll sometimes trip on lines, even though I have them memorized. (Granted, the anxiety that comes with knowing that this is a struggle of mine is a big part of the problem.) Nevertheless it’s pretty frustrating when I know I am fully prepared for an audition and my brain knows exactly what I want to say, but my mouth won’t cooperate.

Sometimes it makes me feel incompetent or stupid (I hate that I allow myself to get discouraged by thinking that way). Dyslexia doesn’t define me, its just one struggle and I always remind myself that everyone (especially actors) have struggles, too. I refuse to let Dyslexia stop me from doing the one thing that fuels my passion. It’s not a reason to give up (no one should ever give up on what makes them feel alive and leaves them falling asleep happy at night,) but sometimes the struggle brings me down.

I’m determined to not let Dyslexia get in the way of me pursuing voiceover. But I am left wondering how will I get past this. I don’t have all the answers quite yet (because I am still learning,) but I know that in time, I will. I also know that I am not alone in this struggle. So I ask my fellow voiceover actors out there reading this blog for any advice or to share their story. It’s always more comforting to struggle with a buddy, right?

I think the majority of voiceover actors would consider what we do as creative. Some might even call it artistic. But if you’re a commercial actor and you’re being honest with yourself, at the end of the day you’re hawking a product. So what happens when you’re asked to lend your  voice to something questionable; a product, company or person, you don’t believe in?

I was recently talking to a guy whose ad agency obtained some new business. Great news, right? Well, maybe not. The new client (that shall remain nameless) does some things, environmentally speaking, that might be considered questionable at best. When the Director approached the creative team to announce what they’d be working on, they refused. The boss’s response: “Do it, or quit.” The Director wasn’t trying to be insensitive and actually brought up a good point, which is that if you dig deep enough, most of the agency’s clients have a dark side. Soft drinks make kids fat, sportswear is sewn in factories in India, probably with child labor and another client uses GMO in their dairy products. Ultimately, the creative team had to kick their morals to the curb and work on the new account.

As voiceover actors we have it a little easier because we work freelance, floating from gig to gig. We also have in our favor, anonymity. Most people listening won’t ever know it’s us, except for maybe our friends and family.

But it’s important to give some thought to what your deal breakers are ahead of time. Maybe you won’t sell hot-dogs because you’re a vegan, or a political spot for the other side, or anything for the company that rhymes with Shmonsanto…

We all live our lives with a set of rules, a moral code if you will. But when you’re code is called into play; you need to have a game plan. Communicate to your agent ahead of time what those products are so you’re not put in an uncomfortable position. And never accept a job without asking what the product is first.

On the other hand, we all need to feed ourselves. Don’t beat yourself up if you drew a line and circumstances forced you to cross it. A fellow performer said she looks at voicing products she doesn’t agree with as a fun acting challenge. She also says, “It’s not really how you make your money, but how you spend it that matters. So if voicing a commercial you don’t believe in allows you to support other causes you do believe in, then look at it as cheating the system in a good way.”

Where do you draw the line? What products do you refuse to voice? Or do you feel as commercial voiceover actors we’re paid to do a job and it’s not our place to let our own personal beliefs interfere with that job?