Game Day, Alexis Pellek, a dependable & curious storyteller

Clubhouse Recap: the “Working” Voice Actor Game Day: Romance Novel Reads!

June 24, 2022 by Alexis Pellek, posted in voiceover

Today is the last Friday of the month, and that means Game Day at the “Working” Voice Actor club on Clubhouse! Today’s theme was “Read a boring script like a romance novel” and what a riot. So much fun to hear people’s sexy interpretations of everyday copy like instructions, labels, signs, etc. Replays are never turned on for Game Day, giving us the freedom to get crazy with reads for things like:

baby powder instructions for use (who knew you should sprinkle it in your sheets???)
how & where to apply insect spray, and what pets can and cannot be sprayed with it (and where and where not to do so)
waffle mix instructions
how to clean a Reddi Whip nozzle
a technical document about FAQs & spreadsheets (that’s what I picked to read!)
instructions on washing hands
instructions on hand washing an extremely delicate piece of clothing
how to register your car so you don’t get towed
all the intimate details of activated carbon A4 filters

Thank you to George, Roshelle, and Megan for organizing this space, and thanks to everyone who played along! Catch the next Game Day on the last Friday of July, and in the meantime check out the “Working” Voice Actor club on Fridays on Clubhouse at 9am PST/noon EST.

Clubhouse Recap: the “Working” Voice Actor Discusses Casting Sites and Plays a Very Silly Game

June 2, 2022 by Alexis Pellek, posted in voiceover

Recently, The “Working” Voice Actor covered some important topics: casting sites and 1-star movie reviews on Amazon. OK, the movie reviews weren’t exactly hard-hitting news — they were the subject of last month’s Game Day (always held on the last Friday of the month). Let’s get to that in a moment.

Two weeks ago, the topic for discussion was casting sites, pay-to-plays, all those different places for VOs to find work. People talked about their experiences on different platforms — the pros and cons of various sites, things they’ve learned, tips and tricks. A brief discussion of those other sites took place, too. You know the ones I mean, those names we dare not speak….Fiverr and Upwork. (I am so interested to hear the panel at eVOcation next weekend called, “We don’t talk about Fiverr, no, no!” What a brilliant title!)

Jen Greenfield talked about CastVoices, which just celebrated its First Birthday!, and said she’s working with the CV team to get more auditions on the site. She also shared the idea that casting sites, along with direct marketing, should all be “spokes in the wheel” of your voiceover business. You should have as many spokes in your wheel as you can, and you get to choose what’s right for you and your business. (Also check out Jen’s YouTube video about shifting your perspective about cold calling.) Check out the replay to learn more about the discussion on casting sites.

Game Day

So, this past Friday on Game Day, George had collected a big group of 1-star movie reviews, which he had pinned to the top of the Clubhouse room. Each player got to choose two to read (they were usually pretty short) out of all these reviews shared in Google Drive. I remember one of mine; it was for Avengers Infinity War and it read, “I wish Iron Man died.” That someone bothered to write that review on Amazon is just silly. And that was one of the more coherent ones! Some made no sense whatsoever, but it made last week’s Game Day all the more fun. But don’t look for a replay of this one — Game Days are never recorded because they can get a bit crazy.

Thank you to George, Roshelle, and Megan for organizing this space, and thanks to everyone who contributed to the discussion! I’m looking forward to the next one, and I hope to see you there: Fridays on Clubhouse at 9am PST/noon EST.

Clubhouse Recap: Game Day at the “Working” Voice Actor

April 29, 2022June 2, 2022 by Alexis Pellek, posted in voiceover

The last Friday of every month is Game Day at the “Working” Voice Actor club on Clubhouse, and today was a really fun one: scripts with mismatching specs. Our wonderful host George set it all up for us players, and here’s how it worked:

We look through the script choices and pick one to read. The scripts are legit copy, but the specs are totally off.
We tell the audience what the product/title is, but do not tell them the specs
We read the script according to the specs.
Hilarity ensues.
We then reveal the specs.

Everyone had a ton of fun performing and listening! When I woke up this morning, I didn’t expect that I’d hear a sarcastic Amtrak ad, or a monster-truck-style promo for Ancient Mysteries, or two sensual reads for extreme Jello sticks, or a bored/pretentious/Valley Girl version of the opening monologue to the Lord of the Rings (which I chose and had a blast reading), but I’m sure glad that these things were a part of my day!

(And I’m also glad that replays are turned off for Game Days.)

Thank you to George, Roshelle, and Megan for organizing this space, and thanks to everyone who played along! I’m looking forward to the next one, and I hope to see you there: Fridays on Clubhouse at 9am PST/noon EST.

Clubhouse Recap: The Working Voice Actor’s Game Day! Bad Direction

February 25, 2022June 2, 2022 by Alexis Pellek, posted in voiceover

Today’s session of The Working Voice Actor on Clubhouse with George Nowik, Roshelle Simpson & Megan Selke was a fun one! Because it was the last Friday of the month, that meant it was Game Day, and today the topic was bad direction.

The brave VOs who took the stage were asked to read some short copy — it could be from anything you happen to have within reach — and then were given silly, obscure, crazy direction for their second take. Everyone did an excellent job interpreting the bizarre wishes of the fictional directors, and we heard interesting reads of things like:

ingredients for caramel rice cakes
the label from a gift soap set
proofing instructions for a pizza dough recipe

It was the copy about the pole greaser in New Orleans that seriously confused everyone (turns out it’s a Mardi Gras tradition). I may have been laughing out loud in the grocery store at that point.