Early Inklings

I have been in an unusual voice school for most of my life. First I learned narration through stories my parents read aloud to me. My father used voices for characters and great energy in his reads. As I learned to read, I copied Dan's dramatic interpretations of stories with kids I babysat for and in school.

In college, loving stories and the best writing, I was drawn to English as a major. My favorite classes were my writing classes, especially poetry where my professors encouraged charismatic reads as well as sharp writing. When I graduated from college, I returned home to Chicago with the hopes of finding similar opportunities to engage with writing and voice as I had found in school.

I wanted to continue my work with poetry but had little notion about how to do that. Many people advised me to pursue teaching where I could create a world of language and literature that could inspire others. But I wasn't interested in teaching, initially. I decided advertising was the best show going for writers getting paid to be creative. Without a degree in business, however, I found the competition out of my reach. For one position of copy writer at the prestigious Leo Burnett in Chicago, three thousand applicants submitted their portfolios.

After a short stint working in a diner, I headed down to Miami where my mom lived to find my way...somewhere. I got a job bar tending in a touristy outdoor mall. It didn't take me long to decide I needed to get back to school. I took the GRE exam, got accepted at the local public university, and got back to English classes. At some point an adviser counseled me to consider teaching. There it was again. Without any other plan, I agreed to pursue a MS degree in secondary English education.

After graduating, I landed a job in a prep school south of Miami. Finally I found I could get paid to read and talk!

I have been teaching for the past 15 years now. I still find that inner voice calling, however. One morning, I read in the paper that a voice coach was offering an inexpensive workshop to people interested in exploring voice overs. I signed up and immediately loved the class. As the teacher guided each student, he spoke about writing, grammar, and reading comprehension. He talked about emotionally charged language and writer's intentions. Most attractively, he spoke passionately about the art of reading aloud.

Now I am a student of John Burr, a former sound engineer and producer who works with emerging talent in the field of voice overs. Though many in my academic family are skeptical of this departure from the stable and predictable world of teaching, I am excited about the new path, a path I feel I've been traveling towards from an early stage in my awareness of language.

I look forward to learning more and getting experience in the field.