Today we’d like to introduce you to Rick Wasserman.
Hi Rick, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My story begins in Kalamazoo, Michigan where I was born. (Yes, there really is a Kalamazoo.) When I was seven, my family moved to a suburb of Philadelphia where I found my way into stage acting. I graduated from Temple University and then headed to UMKC to earn my MFA in Acting. It was there that I took my first voiceover class – a weekend intensive with visiting faculty from the Connecticut School of Broadcasting. I was confident I would do well in voiceover since I had a deep voice and people would often remark that I sounded like I was on the radio. When I finally moved to NYC, I was humbled by not booking a single VO gig for half a year. Finally, I was given some brilliant advice from an agent’s assistant: audition for your voiceovers with the same process you learned as a stage actor. (Well…duh.) That same day, I booked my first voiceover job: the promo voice for a new show on HBO at the time called The Wire. After several more gigs at HBO, I was soon hired as the voice of Food Network, then came ABC Daytime, the UFC, A&E, and then finally I became the voice of AMC Network.
I moved to Los Angeles (where I currently reside) and I remained AMC’s signature voice for the next 15 years, helping create the voice identity for promos of shows like Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and The Walking Dead. I also became involved in acting for animation (Thor and Hulk for Marvel Animation projects), video games (Halo, Call of Duty, Diablo, Starcraft and Batman Arkham), commercials, trailers, documentary narration and more. My desire to get back on stage led me to create the Tri-Booth, a mobile voiceover studio, with my trusted friend George Whittam. The Tri-Booth gave me the freedom to travel to perform on stage away from my home studio without losing voiceover work. Today, I live a quiet life in Culver City with my wife, two sons and sweetheart pup, Pebbles, where I continue my voiceover career, teach voiceover, produce voiceover demos and build Tri-Booths. I also cook whole-food, plant-based meals for my family and I exercise – neither of which requires me to use my voice at all. 🙂
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Just like singing and dancing, voice acting is a performing art and is therefore subject to trends. The current trend for voiceover is “highest authenticity” or “most natural”. My voice doesn’t exactly sound “real” – I sound like a promo announcer. I actually have to try and sound “normal” which is quite strange. While my voice isn’t exactly in trend right now, there is still plenty of work well suited for me. I am currently a voice for Curiosity Stream, Impact Wrestling, and Vh1 among other gigs.
The Tri-Booth business wants to grow. Our vocal booth business began before the pandemic when VO pros wanted to do some traveling and needed a mobile studio to take away the anxiety of losing voice work while on vacation. When COVID showed up, all of the recording studios shut down, leaving many artists without a place to record. We provided them a way to continue working. Also, all of the artists I knew who were actors, singers, dancers, hosts, models and comedians found themselves suddenly out of work due to the shutdown – but voiceover didn’t stop, so I provided Tri-Booths to many performing artists who turned to voice acting to continue earning a living wage. These days, voice actors are traveling again and our booths sell regularly. Soon, we are launching a booth rental system and are trying to find a way to make it all work while having time to enjoy our lives and not just tend to the business. We’ll get there.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My day typically consists of getting up at 5am, making school lunches then walking my eldest to school, running and/or weight-lifting, then recording VO auditions, building Tri-Booths, and coaching for a few hours. Then it’s time to pick up my youngest from school, prep dinner, hopefully spend some quality family time, then back in the sack to start it all over again the next day. (It’s not all go ALL the time – we manage to watch The Great British Baking Show.)
Performing voiceover is almost meditative for me now after 25 years of it. Teaching voiceover is the most satisfying work I do – my clients have booked work that changed their lives. I am always more excited about their success than my own. And Tri-Booth is something I created (along with George Whittam) which makes me an inventor – something I never thought I would ever be. And I build each booth with my own hands which taps into something primal in me.
What matters most to you? Why?
Family matters to me. Truth, honor, justice, and integrity matter. Listening matters. Making a contribution to the hive matters.
Voice acting and teaching and booth building isn’t my life – it is my career. My life is treating others the way I want to be treated, forging and maintaining relationships, striving to become the best version of me, taking breaks to appreciate what I have, sharing, creating, laughing, and helping. That is my life. And I am grateful for it.
Pricing:
- Tri-Booth – $1500
- VO Coaching – $125/hour
- VO Demo – $1250
Contact Info:
- Website: bookablevo.com, tribooth.com, rickwasserman.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wassermaniac/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bookablevo, https://www.facebook.com/thetribooth
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/RickDWasserman
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@tribooth
Image Credits
Photo Credit: Zaugh Photography
