Meet Alaina Wis of Burbank/Studio City

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alaina Wis.

Hi Alaina, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My background is in theatre originally. I went to school for musical theatre and worked at regional theaters in Chicago for a year after graduation, before getting my dream job offer to work at Hong Kong Disneyland as a Principal Vocalist. On the side, I quietly started experimenting in VO, without any formal voiceover training or experience. After two years at Disney, I moved back to the States and realized I wanted to continue performing full-time, rather than cobbling together a bunch of odd jobs between acting contracts. So I dove head-first into voiceover and got serious about my setup, my training, and my materials. And after about a year and a half I was able to quit all my other jobs and just do VO and theatre. I worked at Equity theaters at night and did VO during the day, all the way up until Covid hit. When that happened, I was forced to take a break from theatre for 18 months. Fortunately I’d already been doing VO, so it was a natural pivot. I’ve done a few theatre projects and also got into screen acting during the last six years, appearing on Chicago Med and in several indie films, but VO accidentally-on-purpose became my main hustle.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I do feel that voiceover has been the path of least resistance for me. I haven’t had to struggle nearly as hard as I did in theatre or in screen acting to stay employed and provide for myself. That said, no, it isn’t always easy. There are times I feel like, “What happened? I thought I solved this problem ages ago and here I am again, not getting the opportunities I want to get or not advancing at the rate I thought I would by now.” There are times it almost feels like I’ve gone backwards instead of forwards. Our industry has been impacted by AI, back-to-back strikes, and world events affecting the global economy, so things are always shifting and changing. I always stay as adaptable and versatile as I can, so that if one area of my business is affected, the whole ship doesn’t sink.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m predominantly a voice actor specializing in gaming, animation, and commercial. People might know me from games like Zenless Zone Zero, Code Violet, Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, Starfield, DC Dark Legion, Tainted Grail, Mobile Legends, Fantasian: Neo Dimension, and Skyrim: Bard’s College Expansion.

I think I’m most proud of my work as Robin Locke in the UC Fly Girl expansion for Starfield. It was some of my most emotionally-wrought work, almost entirely self-directed, and I was proud that I allowed myself to just experience those emotions in real time and not plan anything out at all. I think the final result is a really heartbreaking story and a very relatable character.

I think what sets me apart from others is that I take a hybrid approach to my voice acting business. While I’m extremely proud of my home studio and all the work I’ve been able to do with clients from all over the world, I also realize that some of the best opportunities are still geo-locked to LA. So I travel back and forth between LA and Chicago several times a year to open myself up to the opportunities that most excite me in gaming and animation. I have my routine when I come to LA: I rent a studio and keep my workflow going as I would at home, but I also take meetings, attend classes, and spend time with friends inside and outside of the industry. There’s a certain kind of “magic” that only happens in LA, so I want to make myself available to that by showing up and letting things manifest. And I love showing up here with a full heart and a genuine excitement to be here, because for me, it’s a change of scenery. I get the best of both worlds this way – proximity to my family and support system, and the opportunity to work at the highest level possible.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I think seriously pursuing a career in voice acting requires taking risks every single day. Everything from auditioning to direct marketing to applying to agencies to getting in classes with decision-makers to investing money in your business involves some element of risk. I’d say most of the risks I take regularly are personal – that is, what’s on the line is really just my time and maybe my pride, if something doesn’t go how I planned. But doing that consistently over time does compound, and each time you take a little risk and you survive, you’re teaching your brain that it’s safe to keep putting yourself out there.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://alainawis.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/belleieve
• LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/alainawis
• Twitter: http://x.com/alainawis
• Other: https://linktr.ee/alainawis

Image Credits
Tyler Core Photography