FEATURING MORGAN
You've worked across so many genres— commercials, animation, video games... Do you have a favorite and why?
I have had the most success being the voice of big long-running commercial campaigns, which brings up my favorite part of VO- the walk to the mailbox to open residual checks! But I truly love working on every type of voiceover.
For all, you need to bring yourself fully and authentically, and each requires a little bit different aspect of yourself. Every genre allows you to collaborate and become part of that team bringing something to life... the ad agency working on a commercial spot, a marketing team needing corporate narration, a studio producing animation, a publisher putting out an audiobook, or an instructional designer building an e-learning series. We are part of the solution.
What are some of the most memorable or meaningful roles you've voiced?
The Citibank campaign I voiced for seven years was one of the first times a female of 770 FRO voice was used on a major financial campaign. Helping to break those gender glass ceilings has always meant a lot. My street cred with my two sons went way up when I did the game play narration for GTA V for Rockstar Games.
My first animated series always holds a huge place in my heart. I played Lt. Carmen Ibanez in Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chronicles, one of the first CG series with an amazing cast and production team. I got my first action figure with Farrah Goodfairy in Ever After High. And, of course, being one of the voices of Subaru for 15 years and counting has been an incredible blessing!
How has the voiceover industry changed since you started, and how have you evolved with it?
When I started, the game was to move to a major market, get your skills up to get representation at a major talent agency who would have relationships with all of the ad agencies and producers. It took work to get there, but once you were there, it was a little like a trout pond. A certain number of people were around it, a majority of the work was only accessible from the pond, and most of it was union. In addition, most agencies had VO booths with directors where we did our auditions, in community, with collaboration on a daily basis.
Over the years, the industry has changed, so the way we must run our own VO businesses has also had to change. There still exists a certain amount of work at these highest levels that requires working relationships with agents and managers to get access to it... AND there is also so much more work that can be gotten in different ways on our own.
Today, the VO business requires a true entrepreneurial approach. We are the CEO and the employee, the talent and director and engineer and marketing director and admin. The good news is that at the moment there is more work than ever, and more we can do from wherever we are in the world (with reliable internet). Now, we also need to actively create the community and support that was built into the way things worked before.
"Today, the VO business requires a true entrepreneurial approach."