Going on 15 years as a voiceover teacher, casting director Andy Roth started teaching and coaching to supplement his income. “I came from a family of two teachers, so if there was one thing I was sure I was never going to do with my life, it was going to be [to] teach,” he admits.
But Roth says he loves it now, instructing a class at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts during the summer and at Stonestreet Studios during the year. “Part of the reason I gravitated toward casting direction and not direction is because I like the people contact,” he says. “I really like that quick connection to another person to help them move forward in the business and present them in the best light, and once I got comfortable with teaching, it really gave me that same connection.”
Having started his own voiceover career in 1994, Roth knows the importance of passing along knowledge to budding voice actors and making sure they understand the industry in full. “People think, Oh, I have a great voice, or, I have a unique voice, or, Everybody has always told me I have a great voice and I should do voiceover…. It’s not the voice that books—ever. It’s the personality, and the personality comes through in the read,” he says. “There’s a lot of people that really think that having a good voice, quote unquote, is gonna do it for them.
“People [also] think they can get into voiceover work on the sideline—they can keep their day job and move forward, and they can go off and do a voiceover audition and make $2 million and then go back to their office job. It’s a job,” Roth says. “It’s a full-time job; you’ve got to be willing to get out there and do it.”
For those who are “willing to get out there and do it,” the rewards are substantial. “It’s a really positive environment. You don’t have competitors in voiceover; you have colleagues. Even among my fellow teachers and casting directors, there’s not a very competitive vibe,” he adds.
Being recognized for what he loves to do is just the icing on the cake for Roth. “My job is the sum total of every positive decision I’ve ever made. I really can’t imagine doing anything else.”
Check out interviews with all of the 2014 Readers’ Choice winners, coming to you throughout the week!