Today we have a guest blogger! Jenna Robino has been coaching with Sweet Spot and is just about ready to record her demo! Sometimes as coaches who’ve been in the business for years, we forget what it’s like to be just starting out. So we asked Jenna to share her experience for those of you in her position. Every actor’s journey is different, but there are a lot of similarities too. It’s nice to know you’re not alone in this, right?

I always have to remind myself that my VO journey doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. But, the big but, I am human, so I have my moments where I compare myself to others and I second guess every action I have taken. And when I am in this mental space, I am not connected whatsoever to my heart and it causes me a lot of friggin’ anxiety! I can actually feel my chest tighten. Is there no room for love, kindness and acceptance? Good luck getting into my thought stream! No matter where you are in your voice over journey, at the beginning like me or maybe you have five, ten years into this and are a booking machine, doesn’t it feel like it’s never ending? That we are constantly having to adjust, change, evolve? So why am I stressing and why can’t I just enjoy the ride?

As a lover of words, I came across the sanskrit word Lila which means “Divine Play” while attending a workshop at a yoga and health center in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. It was the place I called home for a year and a half of my life, before moving to Brooklyn, NY, for love and the pursuit of this branch of acting. I think of this word often when I am at the beginning of my coaching lessons and classes. Can I get out of my head, into my heart, and just play? I find that treating my mind, body and, yes, spirit with kindness and compassion is the key to opening up this channel of divine play for me.

I’ll never forget crying in front of Talia at the beginning of our first session together after reading Martha Graham’s well known quote:

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost.”

I am sure you have read this too. A diamond of wisdom. If you haven’t, you’re welcome.

Lost, Lost!? If I don’t bring my life force out to play in the room, into my day, what’s the point in any of this? Those tears I shed that day in the studio, were remembrance tears, tears of yes, YES, this is why I choose to be a voice over actor and why I choose to persevere and trust in this vast unknown. I have something unique to give and I believe you do too. So if I can give you and myself some advice, find, connect and surround yourself with things and people that bring OUT your life force, your lila.

Ahhh, now that’s more enjoyable isn’t it?

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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?