by Liz Solar | Feb 28, 2018 | Voice Over
About ten years ago, I awoke with two things I never experienced before: a sinus, and ear infection. Neither my PCP, nor even an ENT could see me, so I drove to Emergency Department of my local office.
There was no quick remedy or pixie dust cure — In fact dust was one of the culprits – to alleviate my painful and congested sinuses. Diagnosis: myriad allergies dust mites, grass, dogs and cats. While I was equipped to forgo housework, no way I would give up my trusty canine, when a Neti pot, and Claritin were in abundance. (more…)
by Liz Solar | Feb 6, 2018 | Voice Over
Trigger warning: This post is packed with sports analogies and clichés.
“You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.” Wayne (The Great One) Gretzky
This past weekend, an audition came through my email which demanded my attention. It was for a high-profile client, with a rate over minimum wage. How special. How rarified was my talent orbit that I was one of the chosen few to be invited in to Voice Over Mecca. (more…)
by Liz Solar | Jan 20, 2018 | Voice Over
Silence is always beautiful.*
Said no business owner ever. The absence of a ringing phone, or pinging email means: A. You’re in a remote location – perhaps against your own will– severed from your electronic lifeline.
Or, B. It’s January, the season that inevitably follows the joyous holiday season, also referred to as Fourth Quarter. In the world of voiceover, where I reside, silence is not only disturbing, it’s against the laws of nature. We talk for a living.
Sure, you feel all clean slate-y, and ready to embrace new beginnings, only to soon find yourself gazing out your office window, regretting the purchase of that organic watermelon radish you bought at the winter farmers market. The anxious crunch provides little more than a palate cleanser to the bad taste of your own stasis.
Stop brooding, and get busy with these 8 ways to be productive right now. (more…)
by Liz Solar | Dec 1, 2017 | Voice Over
Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning. – Maya Angelou
Looking for that perfect, one-of-a-kind gift for someone special?
How about: your voice?
Our ability to employ speech to express human emotion is a gift. We are empowered to tell stories, make someone laugh, or buy something they didn’t even think they wanted. Unique as a fingerprint, the human voice – a wondrous result of individual physiology, environment and background – vibrates to the world who we are.
How about sharing some of those good vibes to make the world sound a little more human? (more…)
by Liz Solar | Oct 20, 2017 | Voice Over
You can’t be everything to everybody. A truism because it’s, you know, true. In life, we are many things to a variety of people: Spouse, partner, parent, sibling, employee, manager, cook, athlete, artist, voice actor. It’s exhilarating. And exhausting. Why do we insist on being some many things in our voice careers when, let’s face it, we’re only really excellent at one, and pretty good at a couple other things?
All that time spent pitching jobs we perform adequately, if not brilliantly, might be better spent unearthing projects – some right in our own back yard – that best flaunt our talent, and better suit our unique sensibilities. Streamline and simplify. In other words, find your niche. (more…)
by Liz Solar | Oct 6, 2017 | Voice Over
“I found these in the front yard.” My son, grass stained, and sweaty from mowing the lawn, dangled a heavy set of keys, and dropped them into my hand. Among myriad car and house keys was half of a small plastic bar code card, its other half probably chewed away by the blades of our lawn mower. I recognized the logo on the other side as that of my local yoga studio.
Checking into class that evening, I handed the keys to the studio manager, and told him the story. On my way out of class, he stopped me, and said, “Hey, we found the owner of the keys, and he left you this.”
He slid a small envelope across the counter addressed to me. (more…)