I oversee and manage multiple awards shows for an international b2b communications company, based in Toronto. We produce world-renowned publications and events for the media and entertainment sector.
In my particular role, I am the direct contact for entrants (typically advertising agencies, film/TV networks and studios). I acquire and manage jurors (who are great leaders within their respective industries), and I order and distribute awards for several shows that range from national marketing and advertising competitions to international film and television competitions. It is a full-time job, which I have held for nearly four years now. My official title is Awards Supervisor.
Career path
Before this, I would moonlight as an Event Coordinator and Production Assistant for various projects.
As well, I have spent the last decade working as a commercial voice actor. I have had the great pleasure of working with countless brands and various studios in downtown Toronto, for work that has appeared on film, television, radio, cinema, and everywhere online where you can find a ‘skip ad’ button.
Influence and inspiration
During my studies, I was introduced to the world of voice acting, as we had multiple classes dedicated to vocal elements (such as dialects, singing, etc.) and an intro to voice acting (studio etiquette, radio ads, etc.). I got to learn from industry veterans who had worked on stuff I had watched growing up like Rupert, Sailor Moon, and Goosebumps. While studying various crafts and techniques, I discovered a huge passion for voice work. Plus, I loved that I wasn’t being seen/critiqued for how I looked on camera.
From that point on, I decided to focus my time and efforts on starting a career as a voice actor and left the rest of acting on the back burner.
My college professors were instrumental in helping me to pursue voice acting as a specific career and led me to some great industry contacts that ultimately helped me get my first professional voice demo, join the ACTRA union, and land me an agent, all within my first year after graduating.
I believe something that may have possibly separated me from some of my peers, when I was first starting, was that I was a young guy exclusively looking to dedicate himself to voice work. While other young actors would typically reject voice auditions in favour of theatre, film, or television, I was the guy who consistently sought out radio, animation, and video game auditions. For my agent, I became the most reliable ‘young man voice’ on her roster, and got to do a great amount of work, because of it.
While I’ve always had a crush on animation and video games, my main love, and primary source of work has been commercial voiceover. It’s the most abundant work, and also the fastest workday you’ll ever experience.
For folks who consider commercial voiceover as ‘selling out’ or not being real acting, I present to you this delightful quote from one of Canada’s top marketing and advertising minds and radio legend Terry O’Reilly, who said being able to tell a story and identify and develop a character all in the span of 30-60 second ads is the equivalent of “doing ballet in a phone booth.” It’s real, it’s difficult, and when it’s done right, it’s amazing.
Standout NC experience
The Acting for Film and Television program was a great jumping-off platform for me. It offered courses that specifically addressed how to work on my voice as an instrument, while also teaching me how to record and distribute my work, so I could do it all myself. Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait for student films, or non-union projects to become available. I was already equipped with everything I needed to start building a portfolio for myself, right from day one.
Plus, the industry contacts my professors provided me with, helped me navigate the tumultuous first steps in the real world as a working adult. I used the tools and techniques I developed over the two-year program to impress a mentor into taking me under her wing. I leveraged that new relationship into getting a demo and an agent. And here I am, nearly 10 years to the day since I had my last class at NC, and I’m still using tools and resources that were made available to me when I was a student.
Admittedly, I never really got involved in any extracurricular stuff at Niagara. But something we did as a class, which I really appreciated, was go see theatrical shows together, on our own time.
We would be told in advance what we were going to see, so we could do research on the performers, the venue, the production companies, etc. Then, we’d go as an entire class to watch the performance, and get to stick around afterward for a Q&A with the cast and crew.
It was a great example of people who were actively making their own work and provided a rare and invaluable opportunity for us students to pick their brains.
Those experiences, along with the dedicated projects we did both individually as the ACTN department, and together with our BRTF partners, were not just fun, but great examples of building the work yourself, and not just waiting for opportunities to pass you by.
Words of wisdom
It’s hard for me to provide any advice for starting a career in voice work. The industry has evolved so much even in just these past 10 years since I graduated, that advice I feel would have helped me back then, is now considered obsolete.
