In August 2021, our School Director, Danny Scott, chatted with Cissy Jones, Melissa Hutchison, and Gavin Hammon — three incredible voice actors who are not only friends in real life but also starred together in Telltale's The Walking Dead Series! Danny asked the fantastic trio about their careers, experience, and day to day life as working voice actors. Then, they shared advice for aspiring and professional voice actors.
In the Q&A video, they discuss topics like their first VO jobs, imposter syndrome, and live recording sessions. Listening to them talk about these insanely relatable topics is refreshing and encouraging. Advocating for yourself is a key topic of importance. Cissy shared a lesson learned from a challenging session where the director kept pushing until she heard something in her voice pop. Melissa shared a lesson from when she was doing a lot of battle cries for a video game and it impacted her voice for weeks after that. Both echoed the important reminder for voice actors to always advocate for themselves. If you need water or if you need to take a vocal rest, find a way to make it happen.
On specific advice for voice actors in the industry, Melissa encouraged voice actors to stay positive, visualize, and manifest. Cissy explained that our job is to create theatre of the mind and to relax and have fun! And Gavin reminded us we're only competing against ourselves; being your authentic self and building relationships truly is key. We couldn't agree more!
Cissy is an incredibly talented voice actor and she's also a sought-after teacher. She's an award-winning actress whose voiceover career spans the gamut from animation to video games and everything in between. Aside from winning a BAFTA for her performance in the 2017 Indie videogame FIREWATCH, you can hear her as Lilith Clawthorne in Disney’s The Owl House and nine separate characters in Telltale’s The Walking Dead: The Game series, including Katjaa, Jolene, and Norma. At Voice One, Cissy teaches Video Game Finesse, where students add complexity and individuality to training and layer emotions, attributes, and idiosyncrasies into creating multiple characters.
Award winning voice actor and two time BAFTA nominee, Melissa Hutchison grew up with an acting background in theater. She swapped the stage for the studio and took her talents to pursue a career in voice over and she's been in the VO industry for 20 years! Melissa's body of work ranges from television and radio commercials, children's interactive toys, video games, and animation. She is best known for her role as Clementine in the award winning game series, The Walking Dead. Melissa is a core instructor here at Voice One and teaches classes regularly such as Character Styles, Characters in Action, Character Deep Dives, and Turn it Up to Eleven.
Gavin Hammon has lent voices to video game characters, educational toys (and super uneducational toys), commercials, animation, narration, promo and plenty of stuff too weird to classify. He’s been a working voice actor for 17 years and has been teaching toy vo, concatenation, and gibberish classes for over 5 years. He was born, raised, and lives in the SF Bay Area. Gavin is a guest instructor at Voice One and teaches classes including Characters in Action, Two Takes on Toys, and Double Your Chances.
Be sure to watch the whole video for all of their words of wisdom! What advice stands out to you?
Creating Characters with Danny Scott
Double Your Chances with Gavin Hammon
Character Styles Deep Dive: Animation with Melissa Hutchison
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (October 2-8) and what's coming your way next week.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (September 25-October 2) and what's coming your way next week.
Celebrating Hispanic Voice Actors for Hispanic Heritage Month
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (September 11-17) and what's coming your way next week.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (September 11-24) and what's coming your way next week.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (September 5-10) and what's coming your way next week.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (August 28-September 3) and what's coming your way next week.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (August 21-28) and what's coming your way next week.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (August 14-20) and what's coming your way next week.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (August 7-13) and what's coming your way next week.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (July 31-August 6) and what's coming your way next week.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (July 24-30) and what's coming your way next week.
What does the SAG-AFTRA strike mean for Voice Actors? NAVA shares a helpful resource.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (July 17-23) and what's coming your way next week.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (July 10-16) and what's coming your way next week.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (July 3-9) and what's coming your way next week.
Pedro Pascal, The Mandalorian, and Voiceover
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (June 26-July 2) and what's coming your way next week.
With 148 Character VO Emmy Award nominees, who stands out and why?
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (June 19-25) and what's coming your way next week.
Video game voice actors discuss Artificial Intelligence and its impact on Voiceover
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (June 12-18) and what's coming your way next week.
The story behind why Kayleigh McKee decided to become a voice actor.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (June 5-11) and what's coming your way next week.
How do voice actors protect themselves with the rise of AI?
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (May 30-June 4) and what's coming your way next week.
A deep dive with ZeniMax Online Studio’s VO Lead, Becky Ichnoski about how all of Tamriel’s characters get their voices!
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (May 22-28) and what's coming your way next week.
A hilarious social media handle has dedicated itself to narrating animals' inner monologues.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (May 15-21) and what's coming your way next week.
Celebrating AAPI Voice Actors for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (May 8-14) and what's coming your way next week.
If ad agencies are thinking about poetry, as voice actors we must also keep this top of mind.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (May 1-7) and what's coming your way next week.
Pros and cons of celebrity voice acting
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (April 24-30) and what's coming your way next week.
In honor of National Poetry Month, Sally shares her love of poetry.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (April 17-23) and what's coming your way next week.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (April 10-16) and what's coming your way next week.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (April 3-9) and what's coming your way next week.
The Youth VO Program returns this Summer! And it's better than EVER!
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Mar 27-Apr 2) and what's coming your way next week.
Sarah Natochenny voiced Pokémon’s Ash Ketchum for 17 years. Q&A.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Mar 20-26) and what's coming your way next week.
Warning -- spoilers ahead! Click to read about voice actor cameos in The Last of Us.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Mar 13-19) and what's coming your way next week.
Everyone can embrace and actively support equity.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Mar 6-12) and what's coming your way next week.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Feb 27 - Mar 5) and what's coming your way next week.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Feb 20-26) and what's coming your way next week.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Feb 13-19) and what's coming your way next week.
We've created a guide you can use for your Super Bowl watching party!
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Feb 6-12) and what's coming your way next week.
From Robin Williams to Tina Fey, here are 25 reasons why improv will not only make you a better actor, but will change your life!
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Jan 30-Feb 5) and what's coming your way next week.
Words of wisdom on the video game industry from Voice over veterans.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Jan 23-29) and what's coming your way next week.
Erika sits down with Marvin Greene to discuss the importance of studying the craft, his favorite breakthroughs, and more!
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Jan 16-22) and what's coming your way next week.
Guest post: Overcoming audition anxiety with improv!
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Jan 9-15) and what's coming your way next week.
Get out of your own way and own your year in VO by applying this advice. Here are four simple steps to help you reach your goals!
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Jan 2-8) and what's coming your way next week.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Dec 12-18) and what's coming your way next week.
Check out these gift ideas for the voice actors in your life
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Dec 5-11) and what's coming your way next week.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Nov 28-Dec 4) and what's coming your way next week.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Nov 21-27) and what's coming your way next week.
We wish you happiness, success, and good company this Thanksgiving
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Nov 14-22) and what's coming your way next week.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Nov 7-13) and what's coming your way next week.
Cissy Jones, Melissa Hutchison, and Gavin Hammon share advice, discuss their careers, experience, and day to day life as working voice actors.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Oct 31-Nov 6) and what's coming your way next week.
Expert Voice123 tips from Natasha Marchewka and Katherine Tole
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Oct 24-30) and what's coming your way next week.
What are the "right" settings for voiceover recording?
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Oct 17-23) and what's coming your way next week.
Many actors are affected by dyslexia, but it isn't talked about enough.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Oct 10-16) and what's coming your way next week.
Celebrating Hispanic Voice Actors for Hispanic Heritage Month
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Oct 3-9) and what's coming your way next week.
Spotlight on a phenomenal voice actor, composer, singer, and teacher.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Sep 26-Oct 2) and what's coming your way next week.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Sep 19-25) and what's coming your way next week.
Insight and advice from Kaitlyn Robrock, the voice Of Minnie Mouse, for voice actors
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Sep 12-18) and what's coming your way next week.
Interviews with this phenomenal voice actor and teacher
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Sep 6-11) and what's coming your way next week.
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Aug 29-Sep 4) and what's coming your way next week.
Helpful Insights from Working Voice Over Actors and Creatives
A quick look at what's new, what's here this week (Aug 22-28) and what's coming your way next week.
