Reputable Portland Coaches

[Rich Strange]

Hi y'all.

I live near Portland, Oregon and have recently come across some names of voice-acting instructors / coaches here. I've never heard of them outside of Portland. Does anyone know if these people are reputable? Would anyone recommend them?

Mercedes Rose (coach)
Leslie Jane (coach)
Marc Rose (engineer)
These three run a company called "The Voiceover Driving School" (http://www.voiceoverdrivingschool.com/).

Lastly is Ellen Bloodworth who is teaching a voiceover workshop at Portland Community College. She doesn't even have a Voices.com page but seems to have agency representation (Ryan Artists).

Thanks.

Rich Strange

[Julie Williams]

Hi Rich,
It's not unusual for union talent to not have a voices.com page. Personally, I think everyone should, but union talent get most of their work through agents... rather than online sites, these days... so don't hold that against Ellen. I have never heard of her... but you might
1) Contact the talent agents in Portland area who represent Vo talent.
2) Check out her web site
3) Ask for references
4) Listen to her demo. If you dont' think she's good...dont' study with her. There are a lot of people who teach because they can't make a living at VO. (I am NOT saying she is one of them. I don't know her... just cautioning you that they are out there!)

Voiceover driving school is a great name!

[Rich Strange]

Thanks Julie.

I think I remember reading something about you possibly doing a Seattle workshop this fall. Is that still a possibility?

[bobbin beam]

Julie offers excellent advice. ALWAYS check references.

[Julie Williams]

Rich,
I usually only take the time to do a workshop every year to 18 months. My income comes from VO, primarily, not teaching. This year I had two workshops, and the second one only had three attendees. I had a wonderful time with them, and we spend the entire time (even though with fewer participants we could have ended a couple of hours early) and really dug in to working on improving delivery. However, planning a workshop takes a lot of work.

There is a lady in Seattle who would like me to go there to teach her child, but I would have to fill a workshop to make it worth travelling there.

At this point, my inclination is to wait a year or so before I do another. It takes so much focus away from my own VO marketing.

Perhaps next summer I'll consider a Seattle workshop. And I'm still thinking about Hawaii. I'd LOVE to go there! I'd do it as a vacation!

Thanks for asking.