The Voiceover Artist On A Mission

She may look like a wild child, but voiceover artist Christy Harst never was. “I was raised in a very strict Catholic home,” says Christy. “I was not allowed to watch MTV.”  So, Christy’s upbringing was extremely controlled. “I wasn’t allowed to watch a lot of programming, but on Sundays we did get to see PBS’s NATURE.” There were a very few others Christy was allowed to watch, but in general, growing up Christy was raised in an atmosphere which did not allow her to consume tv shows that her parents deemed unsuitable.

“It was in a small rural town in Norwalk, Ohio where everybody knows everybody,” Christy tells me. “And school did not come easy for me, but I wanted to be a broadcast journalist and become the next Barbara Walters.”  

Christy Harst, voice-over artist.

Christy had athletic talent. At 5’9, she played volleyball and “I had a very good vertical” so she was able to get a volleyball scholarship and graduated from Baldwin Wallace University, “but I never played volleyball to go pro.”

She also spent time in community broadcasting. “I worked in college radio, and this led to an internship at MTV.”  Isn’t that ironic? And while interning at music television, Christy got to see the environment of what it was like to work in network television. “I dealt with a female executive at MTV who was just a real mean person,” says Christy, “and this changed my desire to work in television.” 

What she’s referring to is the chaotic and sometimes hostile environment that she and many people perceived to be intense and repelling.  And “the low pay” for television was revolting. “Graduating in broadcast journalism, you’re expected to move to a very small market and work for very little money,” The guild orientation of pay and moving your way up into bigger cities Is true.  To be a television reporter, you typically start in a small town and pay your dues to earn your way into a larger market where the pay is much higher. And that’s when Christy’s professional direction changed paths.

Christy in the studio preparing to do a commercial voice over.

“So, I got into PR and marketing,” says Christy, “And while doing so, I’d hear the voices used in radio commercials and think, “I can do better so much better than what I’m hearing.”  Christy elaborates to say, “But I didn’t want to leave the security of a salary and benefits.”   However, with her inner voice telling her to move forward, even though she felt fear in doing so, Christy did make the successful leap into voiceover. And her work is outstanding.

However, Christy was experiencing resistance because of her gender determining her casting.  “I wanted to find a way for women to voice male centric brands and sports and no one was doing it.”   

And to create a discussion of how women could walk through a door that has been closed to women, Christy created “BUILDING DOORS”, a forum that discusses letting women become the voice for male brands.

Building Doors is Christy’s forum to get women into voicing male sports.

Not attempting to be confrontational, Christy speaks candidly about her goal and the reaction, “I’m pissing people off and I like it,” says Christy. “I thought to myself, is it not realized that women buy the swag at athletic events or influence male brand purchases?”

I wanted to create an environment where women would be of consideration. And being a former college athlete, Christy took a special interest in opening doors for women, especially in sports.  www.christyharst.com

Christy feels that women on the sideline working at an on-field athletic event “aren’t there just to appease men, but it’s definitely one of their purposes.” And research has proven that the football sideline commentator is frequently a woman and is there because that’s what men watching want to see.

But Christy’s years in the Catholic church still influence her thinking to this day. “We are all given a gift by God, and you figure out what your gift is and then you use that gift and then give it away.” 

So, no question Christy believes that women should be given a fair chance at voicing male-centric brands but acknowledges, “I reap what I sow,” and to Christy, raising the issue of women being allowed in sports is an important issue to her.

Nominated for a SOVA award in 2018, here’s the demo that earned her that recognition.

The result of her present-day life is now refreshing. “I’ve never been happier in my whole life. I am in complete control of my income and environment.”  And under that premise, Christy, the child who could not watch MTV, may be leading a movement, but she’s anything but a wild child.

The Animator and His Voiceover Destiny

This guy needs help. Well, at least he looks like he does. But animator Chris Woodworth needs no help at all. He’s completely sane. From Wigan, England, Chris is an animator - with the goal of becoming the voice actor for animated games and films that he has animated. And he’s got the credibility and talent to achieve it. Educated at Wrexham for three years with an animation degree, Chris went on to get a master’s in 3D animation at Bournemouth University. 

But there were telltale signs as a child that Chris would love to be a character in films. “When I was a child, I wanted to play these characters I saw on TV because they were so freakin’ cool.”

“Growing up, we were often told, “calm down,” “settle down,” “pipe down.” So, “The feeling of letting loose every once in a while, and at the same time telling a genuinely compelling story, is a pretty amazing feeling.”

“But from these TV shows, I knew, even though I was Very young, what I wanted to do”

and as Chris adds, “I saw the word animation, and I looked it up and studied it.” www.chriswoodworthvo.com

Immigrating from Africa to England at just two years old, young Christopher was always interested in things that stimulated his theatrical senses.

“And TV influenced me from the very beginning,” he says. But Chris found an interest in all of the arts. He loved music, the art of magic, drawing, and theatrical studies. So, when it came time for Chris to harness those interests, he chose to learn to play the saxophone and the piano. And he took a very big interest in drawing, which foreshadowed his animator career to come. He also studied the art of magicians and how they do it.

But the theatre interested him the most, and so began a string of plays. And these theatre productions became the foundation of Chris’s interest in voice acting. But his animator skills were obvious, as seen here:

“People need a dose of escapism and positivity, as tough as life is.,” says Chris. And to Woodworth, “One of the purposes of actors and voice actors alike is to inspire people and raise spirits.” To Chris, that directed him to go even deeper into animation. “Even though he was silent, Charlie Chaplin has always been a huge influence on me,” and that’s because “his expressiveness and storytelling ability was so profound, it captured my imagination in an incredible way.”

Charlie Chaplin

Chris also points to the uncanny ability to display the truth through characters that Tom Hanks has. “Tom has always been a huge influence on me.”

Chris Woodworth in the voice-over studio.

So, Chris, in professional life, is an animator.

But along the way to his animation credits, Woodworth’s interest in voicework took shape in the form of voicing previously produced shows of which you can see Chris here.

Here’s another example of Chris’s creativity.

Voice acting appeared in Chris’s life because “it was an opportunity for me to explore a plethora of emotions and also learn more about myself and my triggers.” And in animation, “you have a chance to show your truth through fantasy scenarios.” Here’s Chris in a voice study session with another actor reenacting Disney’s Encanto.

And here’s Chris in another voice study with another colleague in the same type of two-voice scene.

My first animation job was as an animator for the video game GTA4. “And along the way I had a quirk where I liked doing voices for my own interests and to make people laugh.”

So, that was the beginning of Chris’s entry into voicing video games. “I wanted to go into video games; it was a journey into self-awareness; I guess acting is like therapy.”

So, here’s therapy at work with Chris and another artist doing “Nadine & The Drakes.”

Therapy for all of us comes in many forms. For Englishman Chris Woodworth, it comes in the form of living theatrically. But no, Chris himself is fine and is not losing his mind. And if there’s one thing Chris doesn’t need in the world of animation, it’s “help.”

The BiPolar Voiceover Artist That Overcame Her Terrifying Mania

Jenna Birmingham is an exceptional commercial-producing talent. One of the nation's most heard. But she manages a problem. "I'm bi-polar, and being bi-polar has challenges, and I'm trying to break that stigma," says Jenna, "but I wouldn't be who I am if I didn't have it." Says Jenna.

Jenna Birmingham in the studio

Jenna was adopted, and "I was very blessed as a child to have been adopted by a wonderful family, but "I loved to talk and got in trouble for talking so much." And she was a rare child. "Walking at 9/10 months old, I was talking in sentences at one year old and would spend all day trying to learn how to tie my shoelaces."

Certified in the third grade with an IQ of 159-160 (only 1 in 31,560 people have this intelligence quotient), she was placed in the gifted and talented program. This is when educators identify a highly intelligent child who would not benefit from the standard curriculum and give them advanced classes so they can learn at their unique IQ level.

Music became interesting to Jenna early on, so she learned to play the flute. "And I also sing, but at 14. I was diagnosed with bipolar," she tells me, "And it took a couple of years to accept my bipolar condition." Early on, Jenna learned when a manic mode would set in, "I'd talk to my doctor, get the medicine I needed to stabilize before things get out of hand.”

Jenna was prescribed 1500 milligrams of lithium, prescribed at 14 years old by a California psychiatrist. "That doctor didn't give a shit how I felt, so I self-medicated and took drugs to kill my meds. Pot didn't work, LSD didn't work, but METH really worked and made me feel like myself again." Jenna confides, "And on weekends, usually all three at the same time." And, as Jenna continues, "I carried different personas everywhere I went from school to church to family to the boyfriend. I learned to eat while on drugs, so I wouldn’t get caught and I could keep doing what I wanted.”

Rocky Mountain Academy Rehabilitation Center in Bonners Ferry, Idaho.

But trouble hit when she got addicted to METH, and that's when Jenna was sent to a place that could help her escape the vortex of addiction. It was Rocky Mountain Academy in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. This was one of the schools in the CEDU program known as part of the Troubled Teen Industry. A CEDU is an acronym for Charles E. Dederich University, which lives by the credo, "See yourself as you are and do something about it." Jenna adds, "I had hit rock bottom, but I said to my parents, "So, you're sending me to the fucking potato state?”

But here's a significant statement. "I am 99 percent sure that had I not gone there, I would have never lived to see 18."

Through all of this, Jenna turned 18 in February of 1994, and "I wound up meeting a guy, and we got married in March." She called her mother and said, "Mom, I got married last night." That marriage turned into a pregnancy in October, "even though I was on the pill, I got pregnant anyway." And that meant "money was hard as a young Mom." So, Jenna's husband (at the time) joined the Navy, "and I had my son in Italy, and while there, doing voiceover simmered in my head."  

In 2007, while stationed in Hawaii, Jenna was hired by a five-station radio group, Visionary Related Entertainment. "It was definitely an aha moment." Her first voice sweeper was for McDonald's. This experience led to voices.com for about a year, and "that's when I started getting bookings as a voiceover artist and I produced liners. “I fell in love with production while working at Visionary Related Entertainment. I started for free in the Promotions department, and they eventually hired me as a freelance voice and producer. When they let me go, I said I was willing to do it for free; they said I was too good to do it for free. I was paid $10 an hour.”

“Before the day was out, I was hired to work for Ron Jacobs for his online radio station, where I gained more confidence in my production skills. He also wouldn’t let me quit when I was getting ready to move back to California. I had to write a letter of resignation. He was not happy.”

"To do this, you have to have thick skin." But that made no difference to Jenna. She began her education with voice classes and became a premier female voice talent known for exceptional voice acting in many sectors, especially commercials. “But Dad passed and left me some money. My first thoughts were to travel and invest in classes because you should never stop training."  

The result? Automotive, commercials, imaging, promo…you name it—all under one roof. Go to www.jennabirmingham.com to hear Jenna at her very best.

Winner of an enormous number of awards, here's the Best Automotive Performance Female award.

Here's her nomination for best commercial female performance.

And here are some examples, just a few, of Jenna's award-winning production work.

Besides being a voice actor, Jenna works as a voice talent for Audacy. "I cut about (20) commercials a day, and at my hub, I can voice for (11) U.S. markets and (250) + stations across the country as well as streaming channels." Voicing about 1000 commercials a year, Jenna Is, in truth, a voice to be reckoned with. "I've voiced over 550 commercials already this year." So, what is Jenna's definition of being who she sees herself to be? "I live up to the title of BadAss, which to me means, "Owning who you are with things you do well. I don’t see myself as a badass. I realize that I act like one according to other people, but I’m just me doing my thing. I’m not trying to be a badass per se.”

So, it's been a long time since the little girl on the trike in the creek has had life so simple.

Having just been hired as the new imaging voice for New Country Music Radio, Jenna is literally heard around the country by millions of people daily. She continues to manage her bipolar condition "because episodes can be SCARY."

But look where the adopted child with bipolar has landed. She is undoubtedly one of the country's leading female voice talents.

And even though there is a mental condition to manage, two children to Mother, and scads of commercials to voice, deep down inside, she's still the little girl who wanted to get her shoes tied when she was a child.

And as offbeat as she may appear, what you're reading about is one of the country's most successful female voice artists. Inside, she's still that little girl. But let's face it: by constantly studying through classes and continuously learning the little girl…has grown up.

The Voiceover Nerd You've Heard…

He was born as an outcast. “The biggest nerd you’ve ever met,” says Jerry Beharry. Born to a Hindu Father and a Muslim mother.  “I was so different, I resented my roots and always wanted to be anybody but me.”

“I was treated so cruelly by the kids at school…and It’s not easy to be different.”

Experiencing high expectations from his parents, Jerry chose pre-med in college, “because I’m a people pleaser,” and Jerry found school to be easy and was an academic all-star. “My parents did not pressure me, but I felt their influence to do very well in school.” says Jerry. “So, in high school, they called me “Doc,” which added to the pressure that everyone expected.”

“I wanted to become a pilot,” says Jerry, “and then 911 happened. And because I look like one of those that high jackers of the planes, I thought, there is no way that passengers would ever trust me to be in the cockpit because of what I look like.”

So armed with two bachelor’s degrees, Jerry entered tech. It provided a salary and benefits, “and it was easy for me, but I never felt like I belonged in that world,” says Jerry, “and then suddenly Jerry got laid off on April 10th of 2023, “and that prompted a search for a new life.”

Jerry in his voice-over studio.

“I’d dabbled around with VO before acting on-camera, but never thought about VO as a professional career,” says Jerry, “But, my first call for my first film changed all of that.” It was Marvel Studios “Guardians of the Galaxy-volume 3.”  He filmed in January of 2022. And that one film led to being cast in “A Family Affair,” “The Family Plan” for Apple TV,” The Electric State”  for Netflix and is currently filming at this writing for Hulu “Reasonable Doubt.”  And Jerry’s next film to be shot is slated for next month. The film is “Superman” and is slated for release by director James Gunn in 2025.

But voiceover was the preamble to his interest in filming movies. He began classes and studying extensively. But he handled his entry into voiceover very differently. “I spent (18) months just preparing for the career.” Jerry hired the well-known demo producer Chuck Duran to produce the audio demo and Remy Cashman did his video demo and “It was the best demo $2,800 dollars money could buy.”

“That demo portrayed me in the very best possible light and showed everyone what I sounded like and what I was capable of,” he says. “And I always felt that people didn’t need to just hear me, they needed to FEEL me.”  And this led to being cast as the voice of Academy Sports and Outdoor four times. www.TheDulcetOneVO.com

Jerry’s voice over work ranges from video games to pizza commercials and beyond.

Jerry is a rare voiceover artist in terms of how many jobs he books, because of his dulcet voice. “I book 7 out of 100 auditions,” he tells me. And for the record, the successful VO actor will book typically about two percent of what they audition for.  That is two percent, not seven percent. “I do everything in my power to come in first place in everything I do, because I Hate to lose.”  And as Jerry explains, “I was always told what I couldn’t do.”  This negative perception led all the way back to being nine years old when he was told he could not play baseball, “So, when I got up to bat, I knocked the ball out of the park.”

Jerry’s reinvention from a “burned out tech guy” to owning a medical transport business, which didn’t work out, was part of his journey to voiceover and shaped his foundation. So, when this athlete/tech guy discovered voiceover, it gave him solace. “All along, I was not on an incorrect path.”  His skillsets in voiceover are commercials, e-learning, animation and video games. And oddly, Jerry is The Voice of God for the videogame “Predecessor,” “of which his son watches.

And now to irony. Jerry’s son, Jayan who is interested in flight and engineering is filling the space in aviation that Jerry did not pursue because of the way he looks. Bound for Auburn, Jayan was accepted out of 55,000 applications for only 4,500 open slots in aerospace engineering at Auburn University.  So, in a very unusual way, Jayan is on his way to becoming what Jerry himself saw fascination involving aviation.

Jerry’s son Jayan.

Jerry’s marketing skills to promote his voice are unparalleled. “I have 100,000 followers on Instagram,” and although Jerry sees himself as a Type B personality, “I learned you have to put yourself out there, and the moment you stop learning, you're dead.” www.instagram.com/thedulcetonevo

Jerry also believes in using professionals to help his career. He has (7) agents and on (25) rosters around the world.

And so, the nerd you have heard has finally discovered himself.  And all his voiceover accomplishments occurred with him starting in July of 2023. You read that right. Jerry Beharry, the nerd, the person who worked in tech, has only been on voiceover full time for that short about of time. And now unlike any time in his 47 years he’s lived, Jerry Beharry now knows, it pays to be an outcast.

The unexpected rise from little girl to successful voiceover artist

A beautiful child is enchanting. They possess the promise of the future. They embody the beauty of humanity. They let us know in a moment's notice that for them, all things are possible. For Jessica Holtan, the power of her beautiful, natural-sounding voice became her reality. But she wasn't thinking about a life in voiceover, even though the use of the voice was how her father provided for the family.

Born to the parents of radio station property owners, Jessica was around the broadcasting business from childhood, yet "that was my parents' thing - not mine, but it did help me develop my personality and work ethic." Jessica tells me. "So, radio is not my background." Jessica was interested in acting. The world of stage performing. Musical theatre.

Jessica acting on stage.

And as you'll read, she did become an actor, but part of her creative professional journey is acting with her voice.

"Dad's career pushed me into performance by finding theatre as a way to meet people, but I was never in radio."

Radio station ownership is the crème de la crème of the terrestrial radio business. We all know about the disc jockey; we hear the advertising; we recognize the music the station is known for. We know where to find them on the dial. But we otherwise know very little about who owns the station. And that the FCC station signal owner is the elite individual in the industry. It's not who you're hearing that controls anything. It's the ownership and the culture that the ownership stands for. But nowadays, few privately owned radio stations exist, like Jessica's parents Bob and Colleen Holtan. "I did do some imaging for KDEC-FM In Decorah, Iowa, just a few commercials in the beginning, yet I still wasn't thinking radio."

www.jessicaholtan.com

And that might have been a good thought process versus her upbringing. Why? Because of radio deregulation, which allowed a corporation to own more than two stations in a market. An example would be iHeart radio and Clear Channel radio. They bought up all the independent stations around the country, and now what you hear is corporately owned property.

There are other conglomerates as well, but upon the deregulation of radio, big money could buy many stations, hundreds in fact, and that changed the dynamic of what radio life inside the station would be like forever. But when Jessica was growing up, radio was owned by real people, not big companies. This allowed the owners to play what they wanted on the air.

Nowadays, the station you hear on the radio is controlled by people who not only do not live in your city but hold the power to put a new song on the air. So iHeart radio, for example, has (868) stations. Yet, it's generally just a few select people who can green-light a song to be heard. So, a new artist who completely deserves radio airplay may never be heard.

When Jessica was growing up, it was the golden era of radio, and she never considered using just her voice. "But as I got older, I wanted to continue to perform but also find a way to operate out of our home in Nashville." Enter voiceover. It showed up in her life because "all voiceover IS acting," she says. Nowadays, she works for herself. She voices from her home studio. And Jessica has the autonomy to voice or not voice any project she wants. She is not controlled by a corporation because Jessica IS the corporation.

So, just like her parents, Jessica runs her business as she sees fit and has taken the principles her parents once embodied and lives them every day. But "it has nothing to do with broadcasting; it has to do with my voice."

Jessica had it in her DNA to perform and work in the arts in various ways, and she continues. At ten years old, she did "Annie," the musical, so theatre provided the fundamental that singing and acting were not the only forms of acting available. And that was when a good friend of Jessica's showed her how voiceover operates. So, with extensive study and being porous to the world of voiceover, here's the result of a well-trained theatre actor.

Her friendly voice found its way into audiobook narration.

Jessica is very versatile. Here's corporate narration.

And recently, Jessica received The Reeds Award for political campaign voiceover. She embodies a philosophy of her subtext when she approaches any acting situation. "People communicate on "a frequency" and to relate to them, you must connect to their frequency." And that's not "word salad," she speaks. It is true that when you connect to someone, you must do so by relating to them on the frequency they are vibrating to connect to them.

These days, Jessica is a mother of three, in a loving relationship with a musician, living in Tennessee, and raising her children, and her life looks just like the happy family that she was raised in.

But it all started with her parents and the example they set. Meanwhile, Bob and Colleen will celebrate their 58th wedding anniversary in June. The world of professional voice acting fits Jessica's lifestyle perfectly. She can still be an actor on many fronts and live in a fantastic world of creativity. It was all she ever dreamed of. 

Music Interfaces with Japan…the incredible evolution of voice over artist Tony Waldman

By Keith Brunson

So how does a professional drummer who's a former resident of Japan, educated at Columbia, and fluent in Japanese become a world-renowned voice actor at 40? In the back of his mind, he thought, "Well, probably I can do voiceover," that one word…would change Tony's life forever. www.TonyWaldman.com

To say that Tony Waldman is not a worldly man is an understatement. He is a prominent international voiceover artist, an accomplished drummer, a former resident as an American of Japan, and is fluent in Japanese. On an educational level, he has a degree in music from The College of the Holy Cross in music and can read sheet music on drums. He holds a master’s degree from Columbia University teaching English as a second language.  His quiet and respectful demeanor is overwhelmingly obvious as he practices stoicism when you speak to him. Right away, you get the impression that Tony is special.

Tony Waldman - voice over actor

That's the setup. But here's the story. You'll discover that Tony's influences are rooted in art, communication, the Far East, listening, and speaking carefully. Japanese culture has profoundly affected this gentleman's character and talent.

Born in Long Island, Tony lives in Queens. He lives and breathes in the world of creativity, and as you'll learn, he accomplishes at an Ultra-high level and is not frustrated that he lands 1-2 auditions out of a hundred, "and those are pretty good numbers." He's right. And yes, you read that right. Tony gets cast in two percent of what he reads for. But when he's hired, it's not for something you haven't heard of. You didn't know it was Tony Until now.

He was the original voice of Bottomless Potamus, the yellow hippo from “The Hungry Hungry Hippos”.

"I was a founding member of the band "Edensong," at 13 years old. He was heavily musically influenced by the band "The Left Banke," who had the hit "Don't Walk Away Renee." For the uninitiated, that song was a major hit, and its writers still enjoy publishing residuals to this day.

But even a highly cultured man who's multilingual and knows the most difficult language in the world can have challenges. All those problems led him to where he is today. So, his obscure fascination with Japan introduced him to this world-class voice artist. "I lived in Japan for four years and became fascinated with the world of video games and music production for video games."

But in 2009, Tony hit a snag: " I could not get a job, and realized I didn't want to teach all of my life." But it wasn't until 2016 that Tony experienced his cosmic shift. "The true ah-ha moment was when a friend was producing a videogame and needed extra sound effects." So, Tony enlisted the assistance of voice star Dan Green, the voice of Yu-Gi-oh anime. Tony then produced a demo of voice acting for demos. And this led to his first paying voice gig for the Buzz driving ad counsel with the responsibility of saying one word, "probably."

"It was one word that created a new life in using words, not music, to communicate." He is the voice of Mr. Monopoly.

He is highly prominent in the world-famous video game Genshin Impact.

He is the voice of Clue Junior for the trailer.

He is the voice of the Kentucky Derby.

He was also very popular as the voice of choice for the national campaign when Burger King ran the campaign “The Return of the Surge of Burger King.”  

Here is his commercial demo.

Here is his animation demo.

And his prominence in the Hasbro world of characters is unparalleled, with multiple famous characters, including the original voice by of Bottomless Potamus from "Yellow Hungry Hippo." He comments, "I saw that character as a stoned Barney." He is the voice of Shah Torre in the game "Mobile Legends."

And, all the while, in a chaotic world, Tony's life of Zen is in the middle of the uptight urban world of New York City. "Japan changed my life."

He operates out of a home studio and is respected for his ability to envision a character in his mind and make it come out using his voice. So, it's staggering to believe that this Renaissance man has been able to manifest such success. But there is no question that Tony Waldman will "probably" do just fine now, tomorrow, and for all time. So, here's to harmony and the fascinating person that Tony is and will always be.

It All Started at Macy’s for this Voiceover Artist

By Keith Brunson

For professional voiceover artist Dominica Ivey, it all started at Macy’s. “I was the voice you heard over the public address system nationwide.”  Bear in mind that Dominica created this voiceover in-store opportunity for herself “by asking.” Given her perfect diction with no detectable accent, Macy’s thought she was the perfect voice for the retail floor in All Macy’s nationwide. She was in her mid-twenties. But she just didn’t feel like she fit in. And that’ll be important later in this story.

Dominica’s desire to speak properly and sound good began in childhood. Her Mother, in particular, emphasized the importance of speaking properly. But Dominica had eccentricities. She behaved like an adult, even in childhood.  

She desired to be perceived well and not just to have “good” speech; she wanted exceptional speech at a young age. “I wore heels and nice outfits to school in the third grade.”

 “So with such creative energy and adult-like behavior, my parents did not know what to do with me.” Dominica explains further, “No one in the family was interested in the arts.” 

Influenced strongly by the late Diahann Carroll of the hit shows “Dynasty” and “Room 222,” Dominica aspired to be as classy as possible. She was a little girl with thoughts like an adult mind.

At 13 years old, Dominica “started doing things with my voice.” Characters were her interest. Practicing the art of pretending to use her voice percolated inside her. But like so many, Ivey never thought that anything but a corporate job would ever suffice. She had been raised with an emphasis on education and a notable career with benefits, but she did not even think of the life of an entrepreneur. So, she graduated from broadcasting school with honors, “but the PAY was so low” that she abandoned being a broadcast journalist.

It’s true. Unless you’re in the nation’s top five to ten markets, you’ll work for years for very little money. It’s just the way the TV news industry is. You’re paid well if you’re in a top-ten market. New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta. Just six of ten markets pay a journalist well. The rest of the country is a low-paying field that requires years of living on a very low salary in television news. Dominica was not interested in that journey.

And then, “I started seeing all of these ads for voiceover education.” So, based on these advertisements and being encouraged by a friend to do it, Dominica entered the voiceover field late in life. “It’s the one profession where no matter your age, there is no discrimination,” she comments. “You can be 109 years old, and they’ll cast you if you sound right,” says Dominica. “And so, I have reinvented myself as the only self-employed person in my family.”

Dominica Ivey in her home studio

“I wanted to do something meaningful with my life,” and “I found it in voiceover.”

Her first client was Carolina Tractor. “I knew it would be a long time to get really good at voiceover, but I had no choice; I had to.”  And so, from that first client, Dominica discovered that all the voices she heard in her head as a child had value…and this is where this story gets interesting. While possessing multiple characters in her head, here’s Dominica voicing an elderly lady:

That character is just one that she does. Here are others:

 Listen to Dominica Ivey’s voice-overs here: https://dominicaivey.icanvoice.com/

Dominica discovered she could do more than just characters. Here’s her audiobook voice.

And here’s her commercial voice.

That genre led to narration, which, given her inability to regionalize her voice, worked Very well.

But the world of voiceover offered Dominica an identity that really had an impression on her. “I’ve never really felt like I belonged until I entered the voiceover world.”  In voiceover, Dominica can now be anyone she wants to be using her voice. “I remember working as a bill collector at one job, and they’d use my voice to get people to pay past-due debts.” But voiceover was about working at home in your own studio, which Dominica calls her “lab.”

 “And when I am in there, everything I have experienced in life is useable to communicate a message, just like in grade school.” But it all began at Macy’s, in the office, a million miles away from this A-lister on the rise. “I finally found where I fit.”

The Paranormal Investigator Who Became A Voiceover Artist

By Keith Brunson

Schuler Johnson is sure that ghosts exist. So convinced in fact, that he has made a career out of his passion. And it organically became a profession, landing him on Discovery Plus as the narrator for an episode. The show is called “A Ghost Ruined My Life.” Schuler is seemingly Very humble. Thousands of people attempt to get on Discovery each year, certified by NATPE (the National Association of Television and Programming Executives) as “the most prominent brand on earth.” But Schuler walked right into it with no resistance, and the first television show he voiced was on Discovery Plus.

Schuler himself is calm, collected, level-headed, and ultra-polite when he speaks of what has launched him into a voiceover career without aspiring to become a voiceover artist. All because of his uber interest in what some refer to as “the other side.” But before we delve further, here’s the back story on Schuler and how it is easy to see that investigating the paranormal would become his destiny.

Schuler Johnson

Raised in Indianapolis, Schuler took a special interest in the audio-visual world at 16 years old, “and I really dove right in while being a high school sophomore.” Schuler was extremely interested in the paranormal. “It always just fascinated me, and it always has.” But after high school, “I didn’t know what to do with my life.”

Shuler and friends during a paranormal investigation.

So, Schuler attended Vincennes University and got an associate degree in I.T. computer science with a minor in A/V. And that degree prompted additional confidence in Johnson that would make a real difference in his career trajectory. “I was just so passionate about the supernatural, but I had no idea it would lead me to what evolved in voiceover. I had launched a podcast in 2018, but I still didn’t feel I was a voice that would make the cut for what was to come.”

Enter Eli Roth, a producer for his show on Discovery Plus, “A Ghost Ruined My Life.”

Eli Roth, producer for Discovery Plus.

Eli read an investigation Schuler was involved with and contacted him. “We talked, we connected, and from that conversation, he chose to feature an investigation I was involved in.” For the uninitiated, Roth is a highly respected writer and director who’s decorated with accolades for his auspicious career. So, it’s almost ghostly on its own merit that Schuler would have direct access to a well-known producer on all platforms for being a true talent and an A-list producer. And yet, here he was…directly communicating with Schuler. That is in itself like something as odd as an apparition itself. It was now 2021.

Roth wanted to produce an episode about one of Schuler’s investigations. And within that interest, he asked Schuler to voice the episode. This is Unheard of. You can call it good karma or “right place, right time,” or just good luck. But no matter how you look at it, “I had always been told that people liked the sound of my voice, but to become the narrator of this episode was something I never even thought about.” Schuler is right.

Producers, 99 percent of the time, take an Idea and Do give credit under the category of “Story By” to the show’s origin. However, producers typically hire an established V.O. artist who matches the content to evoke the most effective response when viewed by the audience. “And even though that’s true, I did, in fact, become the narrator of this episode, but it came out of nowhere, and it opened the door to voiceover I did not expect.”

Discovery Plus show with Schuler Johson doing voice-over work.

In 2023, Schuler began associating with ACX and garnered his first audiobook credit. Johnson had led a podcast about the supernatural launched in June of 2019, demonstrating that Johnson was no novice to the controversial topic of ghosts. https://www.piotparamornal.com

The site offers information about all things paranormal but is a cut above what is good. The site is excellent, and the stories are all part of the paranormal journey that Johnson is passionate about. “I know that ghosts exist, but I do believe it to be unusual that my interest in this topic would create a whole new arena of professional opportunity that I never even thought about.”

So, if you’re a believer of things that go bump in the night, you’re not the only one. The New York Times, in 2021, with a story written by Anna P. Kambhampaty, wrote that many people believe in ghosts and that it is a real thing to many people. But then Schuler had always felt this way, and it is now strongly believed that spirits, ghosts, whatever you want to call them, are a supernatural reality that will remain in the thoughts and perhaps the nightmares of many people who believe in spirits that can terrify a person or calmly fascinate them.