For voice-over actors, self-direction can often seem like a daunting task. Without the benefit of a casting director’s input, it can be pretty challenging to find exactly the right tone or approach for your audition. But in reality, self-direction can be your best ally: it gives you the freedom and space to create performances that are uniquely yours, allowing you to explore and experiment from the safety and (relative) comfort of your own home booth.
In traditional environments – or the ‘good ol’ days’ of live auditioning – a casting director would guide the actor (or actors) through line deliveries, character motivations, and emotional beats. They might also be clued in on what clients were specifically looking for, or what kinds of reads they wanted to stay away from.
However, in a self-directed setting, you have the chance to become both the actor and the director. This means you can play, explore, and make bold choices that might not even arise in a traditional audition room. You can invent acting scenarios, build character profiles, and approach a script with a fresh and personal perspective without feeling self-conscious or limited by someone else’s ideas.
One effective way to harness the power of self-direction is to use lead-in lines or prompts. Before reading your script, try improvising a line that your character might say right before the script begins. What just happened in the room before you walked in? What did someone say to you just before the script starts that you are responding to? Lead-in lines help you create an emotional runway by grounding the character in your self-created reality and they set the scene for a more authentic and connected performance. Of course, make sure you edit out your lead lines before you send in your audition!
Self-direction also gives you the space to hone your script analysis chops and dive into character work. Instead of relying on external cues, you have the autonomy to dissect the text, understand its nuances, and ask questions on how best to deliver its message.
I always start with what I call the ‘Big 4’: WHO am I? WHO am I talking to? WHY am I saying what I’m saying? And WHY is someone listening to me, or resisting? And my ‘5th Beatle’, if you will: WHAT just happened to compel me to speak? Once you’ve determined your answers, you can set your approach and deepen your understanding of the role, thereby infusing your read with genuine emotion and relatability.
Improvisation is another valuable tool in the self-directed voice-over process. By allowing yourself to go “off script” briefly, you can stumble upon fresh ideas, unique inflections, and unexpected moments of truth. This works especially well when you’re doing a ‘partner read’, and trying to establish a relationship based on a shared history, which, of course, you are imagining and executing. Improvisation can break the cycle of predictable reads and help you find the distinctive voice that cuts through the competition.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of self-direction is the ability to take risks. In the comfort of your own booth, you can try things you might not attempt in a high-pressure recording session. You can exaggerate a character, lean into vulnerability, or experiment with different pacing and dynamics. Once on a whim, I sang/screamed one take of my tag lines on an audition and booked a big job for ‘Twisted Tea’. I was just feeling it, and crafted it for a few minutes until I was satisfied with it, and included it on the mp3 as a third take. Would I have done that in front of a casting director in a controlled audition? Highly unlikely. And look, even if these fun experiments don’t make it into the final take, the process itself can lead to breakthroughs that can elevate your performance, on this audition or the next.
Ultimately, self-direction is an exercise in trust: trust in your abilities, trust in your instincts, and trust in the process of creative exploration. It allows you to approach auditions not just as a technician who can follow specs and try to be a few of the 15 suggested adjectives/attributes or embody the spirit of celebrity prototypes, but as a unique actor and storyteller. By embracing self-direction, you can transform auditions into opportunities for personal growth and discovery – and hopefully book a few jobs along the way.
In the end, self-direction is not a limitation, but a gift. It gives you the freedom to inhabit a character fully and authentically, making choices that feel true to both the role and to yourself. In a world where remote auditions and home recording are the norm, self-direction can be your best friend – a way to hone your craft, find your voice, and stand out in an increasingly competitive industry.
For questions or comments, feel free to reach out anytime at jasonyudoff@suchavoice.com or at www.JasonVO.com
P.S. If you haven’t yet taken our introductory voice-over class, where we go over everything one needs to know about getting started in the voice-over industry, sign up here!
