Question for August 14-20, 2011

[Sukisho]

It's been a long time since the last question was posted, so we're trying to get this going again! Let's see how it goes. If there's a question you'd like to have here, then just contact me, cydonia or seishiro (http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showthread.php?59788-VAA-Staff-Listing...-we-are-here-to-help-you-with-your-board-issues) ^^
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Why did you choose to do Voice Acting rather than Stage Acting? Or do you do both?

[Elfee]

Studied stage acting for 7-8 years and took a gap year last year and stumbled upon VAA. I was bored at the time and decided to give it ago and found i really enjoyed it doing it for fun. I find there is more freedom in voice acting than stage acting which can be pretty restricted. VA, you can jump about, make funny faces when performing etc whereas stage is pretty "blocked", you move to certain areas, people can see your expressions etc and my main issue was i didnt know what to do with my hands, either they were glued to my sides or folded, its distracting when performing when you are wondering where your hands are lol.

but i am returning in a fortnight to my stageschool, i do miss working with other actings face to face :( but VA/VAA has taught me so much which im hoping will benefit stage acting and vice versa :)

[kiryu-kun]

I studied stage acting and performed with a theatre group for a little while and had a lot of fun, but VAing always seemed to be an interesting challenge. I gave it a shot, recorded a bad demo reel, and then sort of dived in... and it's been a one-of-a-kind experience.

Bringing a character to life through just voice is far more difficult than having my whole body, which actually makes stage acting a less daunting prospect- something that I wasn't expecting. I'll still go back to it, but being tested with every role and hearing improvement from character to character is something I never got out of stagecraft.

[Subaru-camui]

personally I like both but with the way stage acting is I dont think I have the right apprearance to be on stage for the majority of things, with voice acting the apprearance doesnt really matter, as long as you can have emotion and dedication. also the majority of the people i idolize are VA so... XD

[CrowSama]

Did stage acting since 1st grade and it was quite the experience. My only beef with stage acting is you HAVE to look the role to get that part, where as in voice acting as long as you got the voice they don't care about what you look like at all. It's easier to develop the voice and personality needed for a character than the looks so I decided to go to Voice Acting. That, and I happened to randomly stumble upon VAA and decided to give it a shot. I still have yet to do feats in Voice Acting but I'm loving this so far.

[Ryusuke]

I chose voice acting because...I have stage fright. XD

[Cydonia]

I actually prefer stage rather than voice acting. I think it's because it's where I really started out when it came to acting in general. I didn't start voice acting the same way that most people seem to have. I didn't grow up watching anime or anything since, unfortunately, I'm in the UK, and we don't have awesome tv channels. XD I started watching anime when my family first invested in a computer when I was 14. I started acting in school and stuff, and I've got more of a stage presence than I guess you could call it... mic presence? XD I use a lot of body language when I voice act which I have pretty much gotten from stage acting. Unfortunately though, I haven't been in many stage productions because despite having good stage presence, I was rather shy at the same time back in the day. I think voice acting has thoroughly improved my confidence though, regardless.

[TheCheetoBandito]

I actually prefer stage rather than voice acting. I think it's because it's where I really started out when it came to acting in general. I didn't start voice acting the same way that most people seem to have. I didn't grow up watching anime or anything since, unfortunately, I'm in the UK, and we don't have awesome tv channels. XD I started watching anime when my family first invested in a computer when I was 14. I started acting in school and stuff, and I've got more of a stage presence than I guess you could call it... mic presence? XD I use a lot of body language when I voice act which I have pretty much gotten from stage acting. Unfortunately though, I haven't been in many stage productions because despite having good stage presence, I was rather shy at the same time back in the day. I think voice acting has thoroughly improved my confidence though, regardless.

I never knew you did stage Holly! Maybe we'll get to perform together someday!

I've actually been stage acting way longer than I've been voice acting! I did my first play in 4th grade then played several minor roles up until 7th grade. It was always a very recreational thing, just something fun to do besides sitting at home playing video games XD. From Intermediate through High School though, I started to pick up a lot of momentum doing theater and it soon grew into a passion and the thing that came to identify me. I finally found my thing and decided I'd love to pursue a career in it. Throughout high school I enjoyed a good mix of minor and major roles and even had fun doing a little community theatre :P. My involvement in voice acting came from TriPredRavage, because when our friendship first formed we found we had a lot of similar interests and started to recognize familiar voices in the shows we liked. He then recruited me for my first small fandubbing project, which I wouldn't do any more of for a long time. In the years after high school I really began to look at voice over as an accessible creative outlet and TPR introduced me to the VAA and I did some training with Edge Studio. Its been a fun ride ever since :P

But I digress! I don't overly choose to do voice acting over stage acting. I'm a more of a voice actor at the moment because I can fit it to my schedule, which consists of both work and college. Stage acting requires a lot more commitment and sacrifice of time, which I don't have much of XD. Once I graduate college and get steady employment and far more free time, you can bet I plan to do some community theatre :). I'd love to take some formal acting training as well. Screen acting, for instance, is an unexplored venue I can't wait to sink my teeth into.

[TriPredRavage]

Honestly, I've never really done stage acting. I was in one school play, and that was it. And I think the reason why I never really flocked to it was because I have no stage presence. If you watch my recording videos, you'll see I don't really move a lot when acting, but I have really good control of my voice and how I can act with it. What's funny is I'm very expressive and have a lot of body language when I talk naturally, but not while acting. It's weird. I dunno. But I always liked cartoons and stuff as a kid, so it was just a natural progression, I guess.

EDIT:

My involvement in voice acting came from TriPredRavage, because when our friendship first formed we found we had a lot of similar interests and started to recognize familiar voices in the shows we liked. He then recruited me for my first small fandubbing project, which I wouldn't do any more of for a long time. In the years after high school I really began to look at voice over as an accessible creative outlet and TPR introduced me to the VAA and I did some training with Edge Studio. Its been a fun ride ever since :P

Aaaah, yes. Good times! XD

[Ovarku]

If it was up to me having no limitations on what I wanted to do, I'd do both, but since I have a shyness that is hard to shake, hell, I even had stage fright at a spelling bee in high school (thanks to that, I spelt antonym wrong), I'm doing voice acting.

Believe me, I need to do stage work more than anything to conquer that fear.

[Amanda Lee]

I don't like the stage, I guess I've just never been the "theater" type. Voice acting is so near and dear to what I love. It's unique and fun. It's also more of a challenge than stage acting. Actors on stage get to use hand motions and facial expressions to express what a character is going through, while all voice actors have is their voice. It intrigues me and I guess the challenge is what makes me love it.

[Chrisiscool86]

Simply put. Voice acting is just...better. I love voice acting. It's so fun to make that kind of magic happen just behind a mic and watch animations and anime and commercials happen. Stage acting...I mean you have to look the right way most of the time. I'm a really short, tan, and hairy guy. With a semi-deep voice. Kinda hard to get cast in anything stage-wise. Not to mention I have no theater background. Voice acting came first and that was it ^^

[Emihimei]

I love stage acting... but I'm not exactly pretty, so I don't suit the stage. Great stage presence will only get you so far. So when I realized that, I turned to voice acting.

[Haruhost]

I've done both stage and voice acting. I enjoy acting on stage because it helps me gain stage presence and get reactions "in the moment" while voice acting tends to make me wait till a project is completed.

Needless to say I love doing both but it's Voice Acting that really captures my heart, otherwise I wouldn't be here.

[Sukisho]

I have stage fright really so acting with my voice seemed like something interesting to do. I also find it challenging since you just have your voice to work with and try to express the characters and such with only the voice.

[AmyAnn]

I actually prefer stage rather than voice acting. I think it's because it's where I really started out when it came to acting in general. I didn't start voice acting the same way that most people seem to have. I didn't grow up watching anime or anything since, unfortunately, I'm in the UK, and we don't have awesome tv channels. XD I started watching anime when my family first invested in a computer when I was 14. I started acting in school and stuff, and I've got more of a stage presence than I guess you could call it... mic presence? XD I use a lot of body language when I voice act which I have pretty much gotten from stage acting. Unfortunately though, I haven't been in many stage productions because despite having good stage presence, I was rather shy at the same time back in the day. I think voice acting has thoroughly improved my confidence though, regardless.

Basically, this. Fellow UK person and the most we got was CardCaptors at 6am.

I've done quite a bit of stage acting but not enough to fill a resume. I've worked with the BBC at one point and done a number of stage productions in the local theatre [Competing against one of the biggest youth theatre companies in Scotland] and shows for kids at playschemes. I love stage acting but I have terrible stage fright. It doesn't help that I go red within any heat and the stage lights are always really warm to me. I also got teased quite a bit because I loved stage acting. With voice acting, I can disguise myself as someone else without people seeing me and knowing who I actually am but I do keep alot of stage mannerisms.

[silentcomposition]

I did plenty of stage acting in school. Really helped me learn how to put on an alternate face, and body movements.
I'd say it helped more with blending in with normal people after high school when I needed to. :P

It's fun, and all.
But not as much fun as voicing an army general giving orders to his troops to fend of an on-coming invasion of Zombie Penguins. ><

[Geekums]

I do both stage performing and voice over.

Perks of Stage Performing: I love the stage because it's a chance to shine to a live audience. When you're out onstage, you can feel all of the awesome energy from everyone watching you. A live audience also has reactions of laughter, surprise, and even crying. Acting onstage a type of experience that you'd only get... well onstage, hahaha. When I'm in character and I'm having dialogue with another character, it feels like a work of art; an interactive masterpiece! There's a certain type of flow that you get when you're working with someone else, and after a while, it just feels so right. The flow, the energy, the people... it's awesome!

Perks of Voice Over: With voice over, you can be basically anything! You can be a skilled swordsman, to a creepy henchman -- the possibilities are endless! I grew up watching cartoons and playing video games and I always said to myself "I wish I could be these people (or creatures) because that'd be awesome!". Well now I can -- just not literally. Talking about energy before, I personally get a specific type of energy behind the microphone. It's not the same as in front of a live audience, but it's a type of energy that I just can't explain. I always get pumped when I record - ALWAYS!

Acting is acting no matter how you slice it. I love doing them all -- except sitcoms *shiver*.

[Murdog09]

Growing up, I didn't have any aspirations of being an actor of ant kind at all. I wanted to be a Police Officer like my dad. But as time went on, when I reached High school, I didn't want to play Basketball cause I knew that there we're kids on the team that I didn't like (they bullied me in middles school, but I'm growing up now, and they're still working at TacoBell trying to pay child support... funny how Karma works huh...) Anyways, My brother, who is an actor, told me to tryout for the school musical instead! sooooooooo I did!! And I've never looked back. I found out that on the stage is pretty much where I belong, and I never want to leave it >.<. I do REALLY enjoy voice acting though cause it gives me a new challenge to test myself with, though I do find myself moving around and acting like on a stage when I'm recording... XD

[justindtorres]

I do both. But I feel much more limited in the characters I can play in theatre. I do love the stage but now I've made that decision to put the same amount of effort I did into becoming a stage actor as being a voice actor, we'll see how far it goes. (fingers crossed)

[Ishtar]

I started with theater, but I am not confident when it comes to memorizing lines.
I did some film/commercials, but the schedules were horrific.
Finally, I did some voiceover and found it fit very nicely with both my lack of memory skills and scheduling. Plus, I don't make a very believable child, small animal, or old woman (or old man for that matter) on stage, but I can make it believable using my voice. That opens the options up quite a bit, making it more fun.

[11linda]

I do both.
I like voice acting because you cannot use your body as away to help with your emotion (and you usually don't have the next line/person saying what they need to so you know how to start...) I am just starting Voice acting, but I must say I like not having to remember the lines by heart, or having to show up for practice to work with all the fellow cast members (unless there is a get together through something like skype)
I love theater. Let's face it, it is really hard to not miss a beat when you are up on a stage. Knowing that you worked hard for months for this moment and are ready. Voice acting doesn't really give me that same feeling, because I am not preforming live /usually/ I love playing off of another, and being able to use my whole body to show emotion. Also I get to learn dance and singing... now singing you can do with voice acting but dance?

[Bgilbert]

I'd love to do stage acting more often, but time/availability makes it hard to do so. While VA work certainly requires its own efforts, I can at least do it at home whenever I find a break.