Here at Such A Voice we bring together some pretty incredible professionals from all different parts of the world to provide our students with a top voice-over education. Our staff members have such a wide variety of backgrounds and unique personalities. From working VO actors starring in movies, videogames, and national TV commercial campaigns, to producers spending their days working on voice-over demos as well as broadcast voice-over work, to copywriters, casting directors and many other industry skills in between! We genuinely love bringing our expertise and our experiences together to create the best programs for our students.
For this week’s spotlight in the series, we’d like to introduce you to one of Such A Voice’s Personal Coaches, Guy Arledge.
Tell us a little bit about yourself. Who is this cool guy, Guy?Well, I’m a native and lifetime resident of Atlanta; I’ve traveled all over the world for business and pleasure, but never lived anyplace else, despite the poor performance over the years of our professional sports teams (enough to drive away almost any loyal Atlantan). I got my first experience behind a microphone while a student at Georgia Tech, landing a job after I bluffed my way through an interview/audition at WSB Radio, the local NBC radio and television affiliate. I fooled the program director a bit too well, because to my horror within hours I was on the air in afternoon fringe drive time, with over 200,000 people listening to me break into broadcasting!
After college, I moved on to work for AT&T, and worked with our advertising agencies on business-to-business and corporate campaigns. One of those agencies was pitching a new business account and their creative director asked me to do them a favor, knowing that I had radio experience. My friend asked me to read some demo radio and television spots as part of their pitch. Not only did they get the business, but the CEO and the marketing VP requested that I be hired to do the “real” commercials for them. So… my VO career was born. My agency friend got me an agent and I started doing VO and on-camera work on a part-time basis.What was your favorite voice-over job you’ve done so far?Not exactly voiceover, but related in a way. I went on an audition for a TV commercial. About two dozen actors joined me at the casting agency, all of us looking to land one of two slots for a cold remedy. When my turn came up, I wasn’t handed a script… I was asked to sneeze. No kidding! Just a sneeze. So in front of the director, two people from the ad agency, and the client, I sneezed on cue. The director said, “Great sneeze!” and I was on my way, thinking that it was the most ridiculous waste of time I’d experienced in quite a while. You can imagine my surprise when I learned a couple of weeks later that I had landed the part – and picked up a nice (low) four-figure check – all based on a sneeze!Inquiring minds want to know, if you were stuck on an island what would you bring to do & who would you bring with you?I’d bring my Kindle – but I’d need to have some way to recharge the battery and power a satellite dish to download more books! As for bringing someone with me, why my wife, Laura, of course (Laura, did you read that?)!What’s something you’re really proud you’ve overcome?I was pretty shy as a kid – but I think the radio job helped me overcome it. During those days at the station, I had the opportunity to be around every major television and motion picture star that came through Atlanta – really big names, like John Wayne, Bob Hope, Ann Margret, James Garner, Jane Fonda… and I learned that they were “real” people, just like me (well, maybe a bit more talented, but real nonetheless). It was a wonderful growth experience for me.You’ve worn a few hats here at Such A Voice, which one have you found to be the most rewarding and why?I really enjoy teaching the SAV Master Class. In many case, I’m the last stop before students in the class start knocking on doors to pitch their talents, so that class gives me an opportunity to encourage, bolster confidence about their abilities, and share marketing tips. I’ve found it to be both fun and rewarding.What is your perfect pizza?Hmmm… now we’re getting into serious stuff. How did you know pizza is perhaps my favorite food? As for my favorite pizza, I have a two-way tie for first place, and in both cases I bake them myself. One version is baking on a pizza stone preheated for one hour in a 500 degree oven. I’ll attach for you! The other version is baked in the Big Green Egg and has a thicker crust. Here’s my recipe: Crisp Thin-Crust PizzaGuy with Whoopi Goldberg in this undated photo, presumably sharing tips on making pizza.
Do you consider yourself an introvert or extrovert?
I bounce back and forth – depends on the situation.College or life experience, which do you feel best prepares you for life?Life experiences, in my opinion – especially those life experiences acquired during college!If you had one piece of advice for aspiring voice actors, what would it be?Be supremely confident that you can do this – and then work your tail off to make it happen. There’s no substitute for work – practicing voiceover skills, observing every example you spot, and pour just as much effort into the marketing side of things. It’s a business, after all – you have a manufacturing department (your voice product) and a sales department (your marketing effort). Both are essential.
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Well, I’m a native and lifetime resident of Atlanta; I’ve traveled all over the world for business and pleasure, but never lived anyplace else, despite the poor performance over the years of our professional sports teams (enough to drive away almost any loyal Atlantan). I got my first experience behind a microphone while a student at Georgia Tech, landing a job after I bluffed my way through an interview/audition at WSB Radio, the local NBC radio and television affiliate. I fooled the program director a bit too well, because to my horror within hours I was on the air in afternoon fringe drive time, with over 200,000 people listening to me break into broadcasting!
