Mike Lenz recaps 2017 and offers some exciting discount codes for helpful voice-over courses!

Jordan Reynold's voice is based in Los Angeles, California but has been heard all over the world. Voicing internationally known companies such as AT&T, BMW, Sprite, and Cisco - to voice dubbing celebrities - to screaming as various video game characters - to guiding thousands of customers on hold - to explaining hundreds of new startup businesses products online.

His voice encompasses a broad spectrum from cool and conversational to a diverse body of engaging characters.

Jordan produces voice over demos for some of the top voice actors today: demoswithchops.com

He also played a key role in designing the Roswell Pro Audio RA-VO microphone: A high quality microphone made specifically for voice over.

Nicole Britton - I'm a voice actor who manages to jam 23 years of acting experience into my tiny booth every day; my passion for performance filters into everything I do . I am skilled in voiceover for Narration, e Learning, Corporate Training, IVR and Commercials and have a bevy of Characters and Kid voices on the tip of my tongue. I am proud to be a chicken "clucking " aficionado ;) Represented by RSH Management and Voice Hunter, proud member of World-Voices.org and SAG-AFTRA.

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After studying theater at CU/Boulder, I headed straight for the Big Apple to continue learning my craft at Playwright's Horizons Theater School. While working with award winning theatre companies such as Ensemble Studio Theatre and Blue Light Theater Company, I cultivated a diligent work ethic and an ability to interpret scripts and bring them to life.
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In Los Angeles, I worked as an actor and a stilt walker (yes, you read that correctly.) These outlets presented opportunities to travel the world whilst being creative. Never a dull moment, I was the lead singer in a rock band and co-wrote for several music placement projects.
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I currently reside in Atlanta, GA where I work full time from my professional studio. When I'm not in the booth, I enjoy spending time with my lovely little family and tending to our lovely little farm where I get so much inspiration from my chickens. Additionally, I play the ukulele/piano/mandolin/guitar/egg shaker and sing/dance/juggle - not all at the same time. 

Along the way, I have had the honor of working for Pandora, Walt Disney Imagineering/California Adventure Theme Park, Tropical Smoothie Cafe, Willy's Mexicana Grill, Dollar General and many more.

Mike Lenz interviews Edge Studio CEO, David Goldberg.

Information about Edge Studio:

We are VoiceSTA certified. We have 1000+ clients, 20+ years experience, and 0 complaints ever registered in the Better Business Bureau.

Currently I oversee all areas of our business. I interact with everyone in the office daily to ensure that every customer is receiving the best possible experience. I am directly involved with marketing, production, casting, sales, career building, and internal operations. I am always available to customers and make certain that each is treated as though they are the the most important one that Edge Studio has regardless of how much money they spend.

* Started a recording studio by myself and continued to grow the operation to a team of very impressive experts
* Partnered with related businesses to further expand the suite of services offered to customers
* Pride myself on only being an email or phone call away from any customer with any question or concern they have
* Currently have three locations in Washington DC, Fairfield Connecticut, and New York City
* Speak at numerous industry events and/or send a member of our team
* Edge Studio maintains a level of recognition and professionalism currently achieved by very few companies

Feel welcome to call us. We're all for speaking!

Specialties: Audiobooks, Documentaries, Corporate training, eLearning, Commercials, Telephone Systems, Cartoons, Animation, Medical, and all types of Voice Over Production, Casting, and Training.

For over 20 years Matt has specialized in concert promotion, promo, commercial, corporate, and Radio and TV imaging.

Most recently the promo voiceover for ABC's "The View". Matt has had the pleasure of working with most of the major networks. He voices local and regional campaigns for Shane Co Jewelers, Subway, Crew Car Wash, Grange Insurance, Boost Mobile, Microsoft and hundreds of corporate narration's and product promotional social network videos.

Matt's studio is equipped with broadcast-quality recording equipment. Connect via ISDN, Source Connect, or have your file of choice transferred directly to your computer.

Evan is a millennial (born in 1990) and he loves telling a story, especially yours.
In 2006, Evan narrated his first self-produced documentary, inspired by a chance meeting with ski filmmaking legend Warren Miller. Since then, he has lent his signature sound to hundreds of projects around the world. He also hosts a podcast where he explores the question, "What makes creative people creative?" It's called the Get Creative Podcastand it can be found wherever you get your podcasts.

Hi, I'm Mike Lenz.  

I'm a professional voice actor, the author of Paid To Talk - A Journey Into Voice Acting, and the host of a popular podcast, Mike Lenz Voice - A Journey Into Voice Acting.  I really appreciate you stopping by!

I love being a voice actor and helping clients give voice to their projects, but my life didn't always look this way.  In fact 10 years ago my life looked a lot different than it does today.

Back then I was running my small brick and mortar business and serving as Mayor of my hometown.  I'd been involved in politics for about 10 years and really thought that politics was my future.  I’ve always been a creative person and I enjoyed the communication part of serving as Mayor - speaking to groups, and doing radio and television interviews. 

But honestly, the pressure was draining every creative bone in my body. 

Fortunately for me, I lost my re-election bid, and although I was disappointed at the time, that event forever changed the course of my life and led me down the path to the world of professional voice acting where I am today - and I’m loving every minute of it!

After leaving politics, I had a lot of free time to explore other passions.  One of those passions - screenwriting - led me to a filmmakers group, and at one of our meetings, a marketing representative from a voice training company came and passed out flyers.  I decided to check out the company and as soon as I took my first lesson I was hooked.  

Getting trained was a lot of fun and it was an exciting day when my demo CD’s arrived in the mail.  But that excitement was quickly tempered by the fact that I was now faced with the prospect of trying to go out into the world and get a voice-over job…and I didn’t have a clue where to start.  

Well, I can tell you that having spent a good chunk of change on my training and wanting desperately to get my first paying voice-over gig, I spent countless hours scouring the internet and doing research on the industry, cold-calling radio stations and production studios, and handing my business cards and demo CD's to everyone.  Slowly but surely, the work started to come my way and I’m thrilled to now be able to record audio books, voice eLearning projects and explainer videos, voice commercials, and interview amazing and inspiring people on my podcast, all from the comfort of my home recording studio. 

As much as I love helping my clients, it's also very important to me to help others who might not be as far along on their journey.  That's why I wrote my book, created my online course and launched my VO podcast.  I meet so many incredible people and I'm thrilled to share what I've learned and learn from them as well.

Elise Napier is a graduate from the University of Southern California, where she earned a BA in Psychology with a minor in Neuroscience and Theatre. She is looking to continue to learn and pursue all avenues in the entertainment industry, specifically voice over acting. She's a quick learner, dedicate worker, and thrive with organization and color coordination. For more information please contact her at elisenapier2@gmail.com or visit elisenapier.com. 

About me: Hey, I'm Tim. I'm a husband and a father, first and foremost. I've spent over 3 years in the podcasting space, learning everything I could about what makes a podcast great. Prior to getting into this arena, I spent my time touring the country with a band of my best friends (including Liam, one of our project managers here). We got the opportunity to play on MTV, at the Bamboozle, on Warped Tour, and various other opportunities for not-so-humble brags. My background is in sales and marketing -- both online and off, and that's allowed me to help podcasters get amazing results. I've also been the voice for many incredible companies like TOMY Toys, Disney, AT&T, The Travel Channel, The UFC, Expedia, Honda, and more. I'm a nerd, and wouldn't have it any other way... and I eat, sleep, and breathe Syracuse sports (GO ORANGE!)

For more information on this and other episodes, head over to mikelenzvoice.com

Audible Best Selling Narrator, Andrea Emmes was born in Hollywood, FL and grew up in both Tennessee and Rhode Island, started her career in musical theater. Cutting her teeth at The Trinity Arts Center in Rhode Island, Andrea eventually made her way to Orlando and began her eclectic career singing/dancing in various shows at Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, Pirates' Dinner Adventure, performing as a magician's assistant, headlining on the Las Vegas Strip and touring Los Angeles as an L.A. Award winning artist with her album, "I'm On My Way".  

Having worked in tv, film and video games, Andrea, a total Book Nerd, now enjoys narrating audiobooks at her home studio in San Jose, California.

Her wide range of character voices and dynamic/emotionally invested performances has reviewers and listeners alike commenting on how she effortlessly pulls listeners in, and has versatility and charisma.

Fun Facts: Andrea has a Bachelor of Science in Game Art and Design; was a game designer for Disney Interactive; once interviewed Ernie Cline for his amazing novel Ready Player One as a Gamer Review for ForbiddenPanel.com and gets her gamer-geek on playing games of all kinds with her husband and their cat, Lucy.

I’m a voice actor–which basically means that I love to talk–whether it be narration for commercials, documentaries, instructional films, industrial videos, trailers; or imaging voiceovers for promos and radio stations around the country; or IVR (phone prompts and messaging services) for phone directories; or any other kind of VO!

I’ve voiced campaigns for Acura, Honda, Primerica, Akamai, Schlage Locks, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Roche Molecular Diagnostics, YAMAHA drums, Vic Firth drumsticks, Atlanta Institute of Music, Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Browns, Georgia Lottery, Southeastern Conference, Sportstime Ohio, and many more! In radio, I’ve been the imaging voice for 94.7 WDSD, WWTX 1290 AM, The Ken Coleman Show on WDUN 550 AM, and Lonestar 92.9 KDCD FM.

Brent is the New Radio and TV Signature Voice of the NCAA and March Madness 2016! Also, he is the voice of the International Champions Cup Professional Soccer Tourament and is heard by millions of fans in Stadiums Worldwide. That voice that gets you pumped up for the game? Thats Brent! Clients like NCAA, Nutri-Shop, GoPro, HBO International Boxing, SeaLaunch, and Jiffy Lube, all count on Brent to get their message to the world. What are you waiting for? Send him a script and get your project Rockin!

 Hey there, I'm impressionist Brian Hull, and here is my channel 
where I do hundreds of impressions and have some comedy with them too! 
You may know me for my Disney and Pixar singing videos that have 
gone viral, but here is where the real magic happens! 
Come subscribe to check out my latest content uploaded every Friday! 

Though I love to travel, there’s no place like my home in Missouri. I was born and raised just north of Kansas City, and being a Midwest girl, I believe in hard work and authenticity. I’ve always been fascinated with people and I’m the kind of person who strikes up a friendly conversation with the cashier at the grocery store, or the guy standing next to me in a long line.

When I got to college and discovered that you can actually get a degree in communicating effectively with other human beings (who knew?), I couldn’t get signed up fast enough! Heading into my senior year, I had the crazy idea of becoming a TV advertising executive, so I landed an internship at a nearby cable station. One day, a producer asked me to read the script for a commercial and I suddenly discovered my passion for voice over! That was 10 years ago, and now here I am, recording in my home studio or with real people in their Kansas City area studios. When I’m not behind a microphone, I still hone my skills regularly by reading to my four young children or watching HGTV with my husband; when you’re in voiceover, the commercials become a lot more interesting! I love meeting new people through social media, so feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter.

I’m half right-brained/half left-brained so, from me, you get the best of both worlds. I love pretty things, but I’m happiest when they are neatly ordered. You could say my world points to ordered chaos. In fact, my five—yes you read that right, five—children are all budding artists. They take after me in creativity; the ordered part, well, we’re working on that.

Odds & Ends

• I have my Masters in Arts Marketing and Development.
• I love Pinterest; looking at pretty is a great way to spend an afternoon.
• I still use paper to-do lists, especially in stylish notebooks.
• My heart skips a beat when I check something off on my to-do list.
• I LOVE WHAT I DO!
• And, my goal is that you feel the same way about your work.

So . . .

Are you ready to expand your business with a greater digital presence? You can focus on what you love, and hand off the Newsletter, Pinterest board, revamped Website, or Social Media Management to someone who lives, eats and breathes Digital Marketing.

For more info on this and other episodes head over to mikelenzvoice.com.

Gabriel Kunda is a professional voice actor recently signed by Atlas Talent Agency. 

Dustin’s honest to goodness voice and professionalism have been bringing brands to life for over 20 years.

His clients rely on his keen understanding of how to connect with both the soul of the listener and the script – and the fact that he sounds as trustworthy as he is to work with.

Dustin’s clear, natural and believable reads are ideal for narration, commercials, promos and radio & television station imaging. He has been heard nationally on network television and radio, broadcast cable, MTV and VH-1. Dustin’s corporate narration clients include: The United Nations, General Electric, Pepsi, Intel, Delta Airlines, UBS, Kraft Foods, The Four Seasons Hotels, UPS, Cisco, The United States Air Force, Pizza Hut, American Express and many others.

Dustin has a fully equipped personal studio with ISDN, Neumann U87, Sennheiser 416, Fousrite Red 7, Focal monitors and all available connection and delivery methods.

Dustin is honored to be one of the founders of World-Voices Organization, an industry association for voice actors.

For more information about this and other episodes head over to mikelenzvoice.com.

Julie Williams brings almost four decades of voice-over excellence to the table.  From showing travelers how to change their tickets at Orbitz.com, to instructing employees how to make the perfect Pizza Hut Pizza, to feature stories on HGTV, to teaching virtual high school Biology and Geometry eLearning course, a Savvy Woman Homebuyers series for Women’s Entertainment Television and helping lawyers with a Bar Exam study course, I have voiced hundreds of eLearning projects.

I’ve also voiced hundreds of commercials over the past decades for such notable clients as Coca-Cola, Pampers, Imperial Sugar, Disney World, Foley*s, Dillards, and more. Most of her clients are repeat clients who return time after time. Why do I get hired so often? Because I communicate the story of the script by offering a transparency in which the focus is never on the me, but on the message. And that’s a skill I pass along to my students.

An audiobook narrator with many titles to my credit, I’m proud to say I earned the honor of being an Audie Finalist in 2010 for my performance of Lord of the Ringless, by Dee Aspin–my very first audiobook! I’ve taught at the top VO conferences in the world.

For more information on this and other episodes head over to mikelenzvoice.com.  

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Joan Baker, author of Secrets of Voice-Over Success, has performed hundreds of promos and commercials for TV, film and radio throughout her highly regarded career. ABC News, American Express, Other clients include: King World, ESPN, BLOOMBERG TV and radio, SHOWTIME, HBO, NBA Entertainment, COURT TV, Imus in the Morning, Olay, Lens Express, Sony Music, JP Morgan Chase, American Express, Costco, and The New York Times Classified represents just a few of the numerous clients who regularly call upon her unique sound. You could even say that Joan’s talents reach the highest levels of American royalty and deep into the political power structure: She voiced a TV ad campaign for The Muhammad Ali Center and narrated a documentary about the founding of the William Jefferson Clinton Library, now a part of the library’s permanent display. And Joan also has it going on live! She provided the live voice announcements for the “Museum of the Moving Image Salutes Will Smith” which aired on Bravo TV.

Prior to authoring Secrets Of Voice-Over Success Joan built a lucrative following among people (actors & corporate executives) seeking training in the art of voice-over acting. Nancy Grace and the late Johnnie Cochran are counted among her high profile students. Today she travels the country as a lecturer and seminar leader through a variety of arts institutions. She’s the creator of the powerful “Make Millions With Your Voice” seminars through the Learning Annex.

She has been featured in numerous publications and TV segments: Interview Magazine, Adweek, Backstage, The NY Post, Media Week, Broadcasting & Cable, Cable World, NY Daily News, Radio World and Black Enterprise. Also on television’s Weekend Vibe, SHOWBIZ Today on CNN, Fox 5 NY, ABC News Now and E! News. She is represented exclusively by Innovative Artists.

In honor of her late father, James P. Baker, who past away from complications of Alzheimer’s disease, Joan contributes all royalties from the sales of Secrets of Voice-Over Success to the Alzheimer’s Association of which she has become a steady patron and advocate for a cure.

For more information about this and other episodes head over to mikelenzvoice.com

What’s the deal with “Zippy,” anyway?

Long story short, the nickname “Zippy” comes from a character I played in a 2nd grade talent show. It was my first acting experience, and wouldn’t you know it- the name stuck!

With that being said, should I call you “Christopher?”  “Chris?”  “Zippy?”  I’m confused!

It doesn’t matter- I’ll answer to any of the three!

So acting’s been in your blood since you were a kid- pretty cool.  Did you do anything with that passion?

I was able to parlay my love of acting into a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the California Institute of the Arts, where I was privileged to get a mix of both classical and experimental theatre training from some of the top instructors in the country.  They also had great Halloween parties.

What happened after college?  

I got a job.

Then what?

I took standup comedy classes over at Mi’s Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica, California.  I enjoyed being a part of Westside’s community, and it led me to go through their improv training.  I was lucky enough to be a regular performer, both as part of a house team (Ghost Party Orchestra), and as a member of their flagship improv show, Mission IMPROVable (as Agent Hammertime).

Oh goodness, another nickname?

Yup.  I guess it’s kind of my thing.

So, improv you say?  Like what they do on ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’

Well, Mission IMPROVable is sort of like that, but since a TV audience watching an 8pm show at home is a lot different than a live audience coming to watch a 10pm show at a comedy theater, the energy at Mission IMPROVable is unmatched.  Plus, I think our games are better.  But I’m biased.

Ghost party Orchestra’s form of improv is known as longform.  Basically, you put a group of performers on stage, someone in the audience yells out a word, and you do a full show of interconnected scenes based off of that one word.  It can get pretty crazy.

Wow- this Westside Comedy Theater sounds like a pretty cool place.  What else did you do over there?

Sketch comedy!  There wasn’t a lot of it going on when I first got there, so some friends & I decided, “Why not us?”  I co-created, co-wrote, co-produced, and co-performed in two regularly-running sketch shows while I was there: Kaufman & Kaufman Presents, and The Get Buck Variety Riot.

First of all, that’s a lot of “co’s.”  Second, this Westside Comedy Theater sounds like a pretty cool place.  Where can I go to learn more about it, and what nights are you there?

http://www.WestsideComedy.com

If you’re ever in Los Angeles, I highly recommend you give them a visit.  Sadly, you won’t find me there these days, as I moved to the East Coast.

Wait, what?!  But…but…you love WCT!  I don’t get it!  If you loved being there so much, why did you leave, mmm?

Well you know the phrase “When opportunity knocks, you…”  Wait.  What is the rest of that phrase?  I mean, I know it’s got something to do with answering a door…or is the whole phrase just, “When opportunity knocks?”  And what if you have a doorbell?

…But I digress.

I had been an L.A. kid all my life, but at some point, I knew that I had to see what the East Coast was all about.  Thankfully, a short stint as a creative writer over at WWE allowed me to move east and experience new things like weather (it snows here!), public transportation that doesn’t stink, and East Coast food (Oh, the food!).

Hold on just one second.  Did you say WWE?  Like, the professional wrestling company?

That’s the one.

You know it’s all fake, right?

Next question.

Okay okay.  I see that you’re a voice actor.  How is that going for you?

Quite well!  After  WWE, I took a chance and explored an avenue I’ve always been interested in: Voice acting. To date, some of the clients I’ve worked with have been MTV, and the University of Louisville.

One last question: What do you like to do for fun?

I enjoy watching sports (especially the Lakers, Dodgers, UCLA, and Raiders), bowling, karaoke, and chocolate chip cookies (no nuts!).

For more information about this and other episodes head over to mikelenzvoice.com.