Today we’d like to introduce you to Barbara Heller.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I moved to LA about 15 years ago with my sister. She came to LA to be a songwriter, and me an actor… I chose to live in LA because I found the climate, terrain, and the people here worlds warmer after living and training in cold NYC. I also loved that there was an option to practice Judaism, hiking, and meditation in a vibrant big way here.
I came to LA to turn my dreams into reality. I used to daydream in my teens and in college at both NYU (Tisch) and the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL, about riding my bike along the golden mountainous Pacific Coast with my hands up in the air, and running into Leonardo DiCaprio at places like The Viper Room.
What wound up happening was not at all what I expected.
I got very lucky within my first month here and through the referral of a good friend from NYC, was able to find free housing (a guest house), a used car (a two door 15 year old Nissan), and my first job Nannying on the weekends for my friend’s extended family. So I had to shlep from Long Beach to LA every day?-not a bad deal! It lasted about 6 months but it was all I needed to set up my life in LA.
Within my very first month here, I sat at a Shabbat dinner and met someone who would become one of my mentors for life. He happened to be Creating an animated Pilot and upon meeting him I boldly asked “Hey, could I get a part on your show?” He asked me for a demo which I happily provided and he listened to it. This man got me my very first lines on a TV show and thus my SAG card. I thought to myself, “LA is going to be a piece of cake! Clearly, I am being called by the Universe to do this for a career!” Only two weeks after that, through the referral of a teacher of mine, I landed my first Voice Over agent at ICM. I was new to both LA and the Voice Over industry and competing with celebrities at that agency. I had so much to learn-how to conduct myself at a VO audition, how to slate, I was learning it all on the job and imitating those around me. I had to pretend like I knew what I was doing even though I clearly did not. I took some classes but was sorely disappointed by how little I learned and how expensive they were! I also once missed a huge opportunity and told one of my agents that I couldn’t go to a reading at Nickelodeon because I was having my big Server exam at The Cheesecake Factory so that I could actually “earn some stable money while I was auditioning.” The big agent never called me again. It took two full years to find another Voice Over agent that would listen to my demo.
During that time, I had dozens of meetings with other smaller agents for both on camera and voice over. I kept hearing the same thing, “You actually have talent and can write your own stuff so you’re going to have to create your own work if you want someone to get you work.” I had no choice but to listen or drop out completely of the business. I took multiple writing classes, read books on writing, interviewed my favorite writers and improvisors. I took classes at both The Groundlings and became a Graduate of UCB. I produced and wrote six different TV shows with show bibles and shot five pilots all on my own. I hired cast, crew, musicians. One of my pilots almost got bought by the TV side at Funny or Die. I’ve had many writing meetings from the pilots I’ve written and shot, but none have been sold as of yet.
My greatest success, I feel to this day was writing an original Musical about the challenges of dating and becoming more religious as a Jewish woman in the 2000s. Its called Finding Barb. We did two completely different versions of the show one 45 minutes in length and one nearly 2 hours in length. It ran off and on in LA over two years and at two different theatres. Then we went on a short tour with it. I stopped the tour when I realized that I couldn’t continue to both star in, completely finance the show myself, and still hold down my part-time teaching jobs. After years of feeling like I was getting nowhere as a writer or actor, and hating temping, waitressing and nannying, I tried dropping out of the business completely. I tried to take on new types of jobs but always missing doing creative work and also failing at the new jobs as well, I started a teaching business-teaching all of the things that I had been studying and doing myself and teaching on the side for years: Creative Writing, Jewish studies, Mindfulness, Voice-both for the singer, and Voice Over Training for aspiring Voice Over Artists. Teaching allows me to feel like I am contributing in a big way to the world whilst feeling sometimes like I fail at auditions, and writing meetings.
I also went back to the very first thing I did as a professional performer-Cabaret. Cabaret is a place where I can practice almost all of my artistic passions in one place-writing, impressions, singing in different genres, teaching, and improv comedy! Cabaret is not Burlesque. My shows are totally G rated and there is never any nudity. I feel the need to say that because whenever I say “I do cabaret” people immediately think of the Movie and that is not at all what I do.
I find Cabaret work to be more fulfilling for me than doing stand up because it allows for me to do my Celebrity Impression Parodies and tell genuine stories, without having to get the laugh, and I can bust into song at any time and cry if I feel like it. As an HSP-Highly Sensitive Person, it helps to have the room feel a whole range of emotions on stage just like off the stage. I also like to share big insights that I’ve learned in life and somehow Cabaret feels like a safer space to sometimes do that than at The Comedy Store.
How did you wind up getting a Voice Over agent again? One night while attending a Casting Director workshop-back when they still had those things, a fellow student, who would become a dear friend of mine, Susie Geiser, overheard me doing an impression of Sandra Bullock and asked me if I wanted to go in to see her Voice Over agent. She walked me into the place and a relationship was made. I found a place where they would help me to get a lot of work. I signed with TGMD and stayed with them for seven years mostly doing Voice Matching for big Celebrities in Big movies and some commercials. A few years ago, when their business started to make some major changes, I thought it was a good time to see if there were other places for me to explore. I got very lucky and found Arlene Thornton and that has been my home for the last few years. With Arlene I have been able to grow by leaps and bounds. She sees me as the Versatile Artist that I am. Not only do I get voice match and Animation auditions but Commercial, video game, promo, and Audio Books. She works harder than any agent I’ve ever had and I’m grateful to be part of the Arlene Thornton family. About a year ago, I took a trip to NYC and signed with Innovative Artists. So now I’m bi-coastal and I spend time in both NYC as well as LA.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
NOOO. Not smooth at all. I go through ups and downs all the time. So many times I’ve wanted to quit. All of the people in my generation in my family besides me are doing WAY better than I am financially and whenever I’m with my cousins or other family members the comparing and despairing happens. Why do you think I teach mindfulness classes? Because I need it myself! I think one of the biggest struggles for me has been trying to figure out how to make great money consistently. I have made money mostly as a Voice Over Artist but have been wishing to make money as a writer, actor, songwriter and producer. It all takes time to learn the ins and outs of selling/branding/promoting your work.
Also, having multiple talents has not helped. I am NOT complaining and I LOVE getting to do lots of different kinds of Creating, however, I say YES to a lot of projects and for years I’ve been hearing people tell me “You have to focus on one thing.” I’ve really tried but it doesn’t work. So I keep chugging along and getting better at my craft, taking notes seriously, and working hard. Never a dull moment for sure.
Also, dating has been rough. I have been craving a husband, and children for many years now and I keep praying and staying open and hopeful. Dating can be very painful! I wrote Finding Barb to channel some of that pain and turn my angst into Art!
It hasn’t been so easy having a sister who came out to LA at the exact same time as me and got has seemingly only grown consistently in her career success and who also happened to move in right next door to the man who would become her husband. But I’m sooo happy for her and I kvell (get all choked up) for her success all the time. I could not be prouder and happier for her than I am. I’m one of her biggest fans and I love that I get to be an Aunt to her delicious children.
Because of all of this, I struggled with major anxiety for a couple of years. I am not such a Western medicine person so I prayed for other ways to heal and Thankfully was able to find ways to help me cope whenever the anxiety came back. Prayer, practicing Mindfulness, and Creating has been VERY helpful with that and kept it under control. I’m grateful for this struggle because I have developed tools and a Workshop to help others with this and I teach it to all kinds of communities. It’s very fulfilling to know I could help others in the ways that I wanted to be helped myself when I went through the same struggles. You can join one of my online Creativity Workshops or Private Coachings on Finding you Creative Clarity, Voice for the Singer, or Voice Over Technique at: www.BarbHeller.com
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
Like those Theatrical Agents told me to do long ago, I continue to create my own content that is mindful, funny, Family Friendly, and gets people to think about how we choose to spend our time and how to make Friends out of Strangers. We are all One Connected Living Breathing Soul and my hope is we will all treat ourselves, each other, and the planet that way. A new podcast and music video by the same title: “See One Beautiful Soul” which explores Stories of Forgiveness, Failure, and Freedom, comes out in late August. and I’m continually writing new music with my Producer Christine Kern. You can check out and follow our latest songs on Spotify under my name Barbara Heller. We have a new music video which I wrote and directed for our song “You Are Gold” coming out on my birthday, July 28th. The theme touches on BLM. I hope people receive the message from it that we are all connected as one living, breathing, soul-not just the outside packaging/boxes people perceive us to be in-and we should treat ourselves, each other, and the planet like the precious Gold we are. Both of these music videos were made during the Pandemic and I still don’t know how we were able to do it. It took a lot of miracles and calling in favors from good friends. Sickness and darkness shouldn’t stop anyone from Creating beautiful things.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I hope my new music gets stuck in peoples’ heads in a good way and someday soon I can perform them live again. I hope that Children’s Book I just finished writing and illustrating will help some parents process some of the trauma of Covid with their kids at bedtime. I hope the podcast, See One Beautiful Soul, helps whomever listens to it think about Forgiveness in a very easy way. I hope more families live closer to each other because of it. I’d love to make a Feature of my Staged musical, Finding Barb someday. And I think hosting a Talk show is in the cards for me. So many times someone will watch one of the my docu-shorts which show me talking openly to people on the street about very powerful subjects, and they’ll say, “I don’t get it, why are you not more famous or hosting your own show with comedic sketch and musical interludes?” to which I’ll answer, “It’s all happening. Someday you’ll see me doing that.”
Pricing:
-
Join Barbara for one of her Online Finding Your Creative Voice Workshops or Private Coachings!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.BarbHeller.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @barbieheller
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraHellerArtistandEducator/
- Twitter: @BarbIsFunny
- For Workshops and Private Coaching: www.FindCreativeClarity.com
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.
com/c/ BarbaraHellerArtistandEducator - Join her on Spotify: https://bit.ly/
AddBarbieOnSpotify - To order the Children’s Book for Kids of All Ages: https://bit.ly/
andthenonedaytheworldcoughedbo ok - See One Beautiful Soul, the Podcast: https://bit.ly/
SeeOneBeautifulSoulPodcast
Image Credit:
Stephanie Day, Elisabeth Caren, Samantha Lee Ann, Jessica Gallant
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
