Welcome to our feature MV Talent Show, where every installment a different MV Star shares a skill, passion, and/or talent they possess that's outside of the adult industry. If you're an MV Star who wants to be interviewed then let us know in the comments below or email our blog editor at jonathan@manyvids.com. This week we have ServeAngel who shares her passion for voice over acting with us:

Tell us about your voice over work:

I have been doing voice work since I was 10 years old! In school, I took pride in doing the announcements in the morning and afternoon. I got over the fear of speaking to a thousand or so peers and teachers rather quickly! As I moved into high school, the radio club was extremely appealing to me, and I was told that I was the most promising when it came to that! When college rolled around, I managed to secure a spot for myself somewhere I could really spread my wings!

My major was television, radio, and film, with a media production concentration! There, I worked on several short films and animations, a few radio dramas, alongside a ton of really talented people! I didn’t just work the camera, star in productions, and do audio... I also worked in the art department making props and costumes, I wrote A TON of content. I provided a filler wherever people needed it on set. I loved bringing stuff together and took pride in being able to fill in the gaps for people, especially when it was the last minute or when folks were clueless. A lot of my best work happened this way! While keeping my creativity flowing, I started working online in sex work!

People always really loved my voice and the personality that went with it, so, of course, I milked the living hell out of that. Even though I got paid for the minute with plain ol’ conversation, I really enjoyed working on independent projects online and in person! I’ve done serious work, playful work, casual work, advertisements, cartoon voices, sexy voices—pretty much everything! It’s enjoyable being able to fill the role and provide a voice specifically for an emotion, character, moment, and idea! It’s not so much challenging, as it is exciting! Exploring my personal range and providing an uninhibited eagerness to clients and people I work with is extremely fulfilling! I use my voice every day professionally, and I have since 2013! No one can stop me.

What does it take to be a successful voice over artist? What does it take to get good at it?

I really do think that anyone could be a voice over artist. Some might think that it’s easier than acting because you can’t see what the actor is doing. This is not true at all. Providing the voice is rather straightforward, but providing the emotion that’s needed to ensure believably, you need to be okay with being vulnerable. You need to be okay with criticism, to trying again and again, and changing what your safe zone might be. Over time, the fright and fear of judgment go away and if you really genuinely want to be a v/a, it will go away faster. Obviously, practice is always good. Talk to yourself in the car, in the shower, whenever.

I was always a playful and jokey person, so I always did little voices for friends and close ones just to get a reaction, so being a v/a is kind of like that! It’s just that sometimes you need to be open enough to access an emotion that might be a ‘bad/ugly’ emotion (which is it’s own thing... there are no bad emotions/feelings). Having a large range (emotionally) is important, so being open to going to those places in your mind will provide a better performance. I think people put too much focus on being able to do several voices or accents—it is good to have those things but being comfortable in your own (or a slight variant of it) at first is extremely crucial! Other than that, you just gotta WANT it.

Some people seem to think it’s an easy job, how is it challenging?

A lot of people struggle with several aspects of voice work. You need the ability to let yourself become vulnerable at a moment’s notice, being open to a director’s notes, being open to judgment, being open to emotions, but not letting yourself be swayed by them—it’s all difficult for the average person. Not being afraid of allowing yourself sound like an idiot is really important because you’re gonna sound like an idiot sometimes. That’s the gig.

There’s also a lot of people who want to be voice actors! We all grew up with cartoons, with amazing voice talent being broadcast to us every single day! Of course, we want to be like them! Because of this over-saturation, some may find it challenging to get their foot into the world of voice acting or voice over. However, I really do believe that’s totally an excuse. People say that the adult market is over-saturated. If you’re providing a good product, it doesn’t matter how many other people are there besides you. You have the ability to make yourself better every day. Those who give up and don’t strive to be and do better will never be who they want to be. It doesn’t happen overnight. You will do a lot of no-name projects, projects that never come to fruition, projects with shit writing, projects with shit people—that’s the gig. Sticking with it and building a portfolio is hard but, damn, is it fun.

Does this talent crossover with your adult work at all?

100%. When I first began working online, people were super enamored with my voice. I started in a video game platform called Second Life. Everyone uses an avatar and pretends to be someone they’re not. I made myself. I would go on voice and talk as myself. More and more people would just pay and tip me to speak, and eventually, I started to do cam, too. Finally, I shifted my voice. I started adopting a persona/character voice for when I would work, and it only entranced people even more. Becoming well-versed in live voice entertainment fueled my learning curve. It caused me to become extremely okay with the unexpected and with improv.

I really do think that having to do so much live voice work allowed me to become who I am today. I’m comfortable with talking for hours without end about any number of subjects, with a superior confidence that lights up a room or, the common ear, I suppose. I am often flooded with custom audio orders because of my talent for voice over and for my undeniable editing skills. Remember, I went to college for this. It totally pays off. I love making immersive audios that bring you into my personal world. My favorite audio that I’ve made so far is called In Her Dungeon and if you listen to it, you really are in my dungeon. The heavy, seductive footfalls from my heels echo through the deep, cavernous dungeon, the whines and moans of two other servants beside you only bring you deeper into my world. If you close your eyes you can see me, standing there, towering over you. And that’s really what I live for. Creating that moment. It’s very cyclic, no?

What advice do you have for someone who wants to get into this field?

Take any and every job you can get. Even if you don’t get it, you put yourself out there and let yourself become a little more vulnerable, a little more open in something you otherwise wouldn’t have! There’s plenty of sites online for open calls for amateurs and beginners; however, you will most likely not be compensated. In my opinion, that’s fine. I love doing voice work, so unless it’s a huge commercial project, I do not mind doing it for free. Independent or student work is my favorite to provide voice for. Being open to failure, to judgment, to doubt, to fear—you have to be ready for nearly anything when you step to a microphone. OH, speaking of that... you need an excellent mic, too. None of that iPhone earbud bullshit. Go on Amazon, buy yourself a nice $100 mic, and thank me later.

Who are your artistic heroes?

Often, I draw inspiration from a few different venues. I could be out in public, at a coffee shop and hear a really good voice. I have worked with a lot of talented women online who are in the sex work community just as I am, and I’ve picked up on the ways they say certain words. I had a mentor for a bit when I was new and she was a British woman who had incredible control over her pacing, choice of words, and it definitely shaped me. As for inspiration and heroes in the “vanilla” world, I would most likely draw upon Matthew Mercer for his ability to tell stories and offer immersion through the voice alone, Mark Hamill for the absolute abandon of concern for reservation, Cree Summer, Nancy Cartwright, Tom Kenny, and Tara Strong.

There’s a lot of powerful voices that surround all of us, be it in the popular media or sitting right across from you at a DND session. I really do think that people were made to play pretend and explore the world that we live in. Being able to dive into the head of a character and let it speak through you is such a fulfilling, overwhelming experience. Whether you are on local radio, voicing a popular cartoon, providing a voice over for a documentary, roleplaying as a stuck-up elf during a tabletop game, or just doing a funny voice to make your friends laugh— it’s something that we can do to give our lives a bit more depth, feeling, while it showcases and broadcasts the positives of being utterly vulnerable, and being comfortable with that vulnerability.

ServeAngel