Today we’d like to introduce you to Charlotte Ann.
Charlotte, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born in New York city and made my acting debut as an Angel in my first grade Christmas production, but when my Mom re-married when I was young, we totally changed directions and moved to Ohio. What a shock! Big city to…well…seeing cows on the way to Target.
There were a few options when it came time to apply for high school. I could go to the public high school, the rigorous Ivy-League prep school, or the arts high school. I was the kid who wanted to go where her friends were going but…my Mom pushed me to leave my comfort zone and go to the arts high school. I’d been playing trumpet for a few years and she thought I should continue studying. I wasn’t convinced but after she took me to the high school’s production of Guys and Dolls, I was hooked. It was so professional, and I wanted to be a part of it.
I studied theatre, trumpet, and choral music throughout high school but by senior year, knew I wanted to pursue acting in college. I applied to a few schools but after visiting the University of Southern California (and with a little encouragement from my high school theatre teacher), I knew where I was supposed to be.
I studied theatre at USC and graduated Cum Laude. Voiceover wasn’t a main-stream thing though so after college, I continued in the on-camera acting world. It was hard though. I had a day job (I had bills to pay!) which was hard to leave with a moment’s notice for auditions. I hated the hours upon hours sitting in giant cattle calls for the hope to be cast in something I wasn’t passionate about. After a few years, I thought it was time to find another calling.
I explored my options. I ran a successful event planning business for a while and I earned my real estate Broker’s license. Nothing felt like what I was going to do forever though.
Then I thought back to a commercial acting class I took in college. There had been one day, just one, where we got to visit a voiceover studio and I thought maybe I’d take another class. So, I did. I took a commercial voiceover class, and then another. Eventually, I made a demo. Then took more classes. Started auditioning, made more demos, reading many marketing books.
I started with a mic in the corner of my apartment, printing out scripts one by one to record auditions. My a/c had to be turned off to record. My Husband had to be silent. It was challenging. After several years recording nights and weekends like this (I still had my day job), my Husband and I decided it was time to build a sound booth.
What we thought would take 3 months’ worth of weekends, took a year of every free second, we had. But finally, FINALLY, it was done, and I got to work in my new digs.
Eventually, I was successful enough to take a leap and transition to working part-time instead of full-time at my day job. After two years of that, I was ready to give it the full go. I quit my job and with the support of my Husband, began doing voice-over full-time. I’ve never looked back and I’m thankful for the luck I’ve had in this industry every day.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It was never a smooth road. I left the acting world for a while after realizing that I had bills to pay and didn’t have parents that could fund my acting career endeavors. I tried other careers, but nothing ever felt truly right.
These days, it’s expected that you record studio quality sound from home. That takes a great environment. That takes money to build that environment. I was lucky in that I have a very handy Husband so after years of recording in a corner in my apartment (literally holding sound foam behind my head to better the sound), he was able to help me build a sound booth.
It’s always challenging when you’re starting a new career and still living out on your own. I couldn’t devout my time to voiceover full-time since I had to have a day job. It was exhausting coming home from a 40-hour work week to get into the booth for several hours each night and on the weekends.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Charlotte Ann Voiceovers, LLC – what should we know?
I am the only member of Charlotte Ann Voiceovers, LLC. I do voiceover for a variety of projects ranging from commercials, to e-learning and narration, telephone systems, and video games. In the gaming world, I’m best known for playing Double in the cult favorite Skullgirls.I’ve also been heard around the country as the voice welcoming you to every Cinemark theatre nationwide. I’m proud to have been able to work with companies that I’ve admired as a child. I play Princess Styla in Zelda: Tri Force Heroes. What little girl didn’t want to be a Nintendo Princess?!
In additional to voiceover, I help some clients proof-read their copy and on occasion and I’ll source original music to underlay on voiceover projects. Business-wise, my clients keep coming back to me because I never miss a deadline. I understand the business side of things, not just the creative side, and my goal is to make each client’s life easier. I’ve got a friendly, believable voice, but I’m still able to communicate complicated concepts clearly. I’ve got great diction which makes my voice easy to understand. I can also voice many different ages from teens to Moms.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
No one deserves more credit for my success than my Husband. If he hadn’t believed in me and pushed me to first go part-time at my job and then quit completely to pursue voiceover, I never would have. Not only did he support me financially in part, but he always had faith that I could do this, even when I couldn’t. He also did most of the building on my booth and is my go-to guy for all my IT issues.
My Mom is really the one who pushed me to attend an arts high school and she’s always had my back – even when I told her I was going to be a theatre major in the middle of a college orientation. Haha, she thought I was going to be a math major. Whoops – thanks to my Mom for not totally freaking out!
My high school theatre teacher, Todd Decker, gave me my love for the theatre and helped to build me as an actor in the very beginning. He’s also the one who coached me when preparing my college auditions and refused to let me wonder if I should go to USC or Ohio State. He knew as an actor, that I should be at USC, and he didn’t let me chicken out.
My college commercial acting professor Joseph Hacker, is the one who introduced me to voiceover. If it weren’t for him, I don’t think I would have ever realized this was a viable career option.
And my many voiceover coaches who have helped me to better my skills every day. Nancy Wolfson, Richard Horvitz, Lori Alan, and Joyce Castellanos among others.
Contact Info:
- Address: Pasadena, CA
- Website: http://www.charlotte-ann.com/
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charlotteannvo/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Charlotte-Ann-Voiceover-149903761713072/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/charlotteannvo
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/charlotteannvo/voice-over/
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
