I believe that everything happens for a reason and having said that, I'm venturing into the voice-over industry. If you've listened to my podcast, I talk about the drama club at my high school, Tuloso-Midway Rand Morgan High School, in SE Texas, and how they welcomed me and did not care that I had a stutter. This amazing group of people told me that I could anything in this world once I set my mind to it. Slowly I started to enter speech tournaments where I competed in Prose, Poetry, and Oration. I won some awards and our team even went to state for a one-act play. This may confuse a lot of people but when I'm acting, I do not stutter. When I am immersed in the character that I am playing (and if that character does not stutter then I do not stutter). Someone once told me that it's a different part of the brain that takes over and once I commit the lines to memory, it's showtime. Once I walk onto that stage, I'm not Pedro, I am that character and once it's all over and I walk off the stage, I am back to my usual self (aka stuttering).
I find that there is a joy to acting and I can express myself that I could not do otherwise. I searched for VO schools and found one here locally in Texas called Such A Voice and let me tell you that it was a very interesting experience when they saw my email address and podcast. I scheduled my "voice evaluation" and was contacted by Brian Thon (pronounced - Tone) where I was emailed several scripts and I picked one that fit what I wanted to pursue in VO. First let me say that I was treated with respect, professionalism, and integrity when I met Mr. Thon. I disclosed my stutter and I appreciated the honesty when discussing the VO industry and having a stutter. After I read my script (that I practiced all weekend), Mr. Thon was pleasantly surprised and gave me glowing compliments. I was accepted into the program and I have been working with an AMAZING COACH Erika Ward. I'm still in VO training and later this year I'll be recording my professional demos. My niche is promos - reality tv. What works best for me are .10 and .15 second spots. I'll update my progress here and see if I can upload some of my recorded samples.
I would also like to thank Guy Arledge for his OUTSTANDING VO masterclass and the other amazing staff at Such A Voice who have been nothing but supportive in my VO journey.
