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Women Power in Voiceover at VO Atlanta

Why Voice Over artists should go to conferences

This year, I have attended a few awesome VO conferences (both in person and virtual) and am excited to go to so many more. They’ve all been terrific, and each one has a different feel and different learning opportunities and people to meet. And I have attended conferences or in areas that intersect with VO — audiodrama festivals, mystery writers conferences, fantasy cons, and more. That’s a lot of conferences. Sure, conference-attending can be overwhelming, tiring, time-consuming, and costly BUT the benefits so incredibly outweigh all that. I have a few guidelines to help you decide when it’s worth going

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Children in Kabul using the masks they made

Arts in Education: Mobile Mini Circus for Children in Afghanistan has returned

Since I visited this incredible program in 2013, they were forced to shut down and seek safety when the Taliban again grew powerful and violent in the Autumn of 2022. Now, once again (as of January 2023), they have 27 teams in 11 provinces, serving children of all ages and genders, with a social circus program that also provides food and other instruction. You can learn more about them on their Facebook page (they post most often on Facebook). Support by sharing or donating if you can. — I am walking down the dirt road, my headscarf up over my

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Holly Adams wears her Center shirt

Reflecting on the past to set goals for the future

It was just my birthday month and I think humans are never too old to celebrate leveling up. Because this time also coincides with Winter in our hemisphere, I find that my inner landscape mirrors my outer environment. My gaze turns inward, reflecting on past years, but I also notice the small shifts that may turn into big growth as the year progresses. There are a few things that I’m excited about coming up (and goals I want to achieve), but before I get to upcoming projects, I’m taking a bit of time to look back on the year past

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Holly Adams standing in front of a project

Are You the Boss/Employee You Would Want to Have?

For many of us, looking at product quality and net earnings (or losses) is a fundamental start of the yea activity — whether we are theatre teachers having to make do with a smaller budget or independent artists looking to streamline our process without compromising quality. For a change of pace, why not do a “year in review” as a performance assessment on yourself? Most of my colleagues are in charge of their own work (as educators, project leaders, or performers) and don’t have the opportunity to get structured feedback. Here’s a few quick questions you should ask to take

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Holly Adams warms up in her booth before starting her recording for the day

Vocal warm up techniques for audiobook narrators: Part two

I play a lot of characters and I mean a LOT. For me, getting into the mind of every kind of person is both satisfying and illuminating. I love capturing both the hero and the villain, the mom and the sword maven, the dog and the cat — you get the idea! But diving into each one of these personalities means significantly changing the way I speak for every character. Some of that is functional: because a single-narrator audiobook only has one speaker, you need a way of telling who’s who (as opposed to full cast where this is less

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Mystery & Adventure Agency cemetery photo

Celebrate Halloween with these unique and creative activities

Today is the day! The ghouls and goblins have populated the fronts of houses, the children are excited about “what to be,” and the parents are dreading the sugar crash while sneaking a few king-sized bars. Some of my friends and colleagues bemoan the hype, commercialism, and calories. I personally LOVE Halloween (I’m a theatre person, remember, with an active inner child), but this blog is dedicated to those who don’t. You can make this holiday about something more meaningful. Here are my recommendations for doing something for All Hallows that doesn’t have anything to do with haunted houses or

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Holly Adams warming up in her booth

Vocal warm up techniques for audiobook narrators: Part one

I’m not gonna lie, recording long narration (audiobooks) can be vocally brutal. A bajillion characters, lots of booth time, plus whatever else you have going on in your life, especially if you are doing outdoor shows or working with kids. Despite years in the theatre, including numerous musical theatre leads, I struggled at first with the extended booth time. Even a singing heavy show, you should only have an hour or so of vocal performance — max. I’m often doing a book a week, plus other performance work, meaning I could spend 8 or 9 hours recording on a heavy

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