voice actors, stop giving a shit!

Here’s a story. I was taking a class in stand-up comedy and the comic/instructor told us to “stop giving a shit.” In other words, stop trying to make the audience laugh. Stop caring so much. Stop trying to control the outcome. Just write and speak from your heart, and with the help of a few techniques, something funny might just happen. Three weeks later I was in the presence of American Zen master, Dennis Genpo Roshi. His pathway to enlightenment was to free the 10,000 voices within by allowing them be heard. The critic, the lunatic, the disempowered female, the father, the mother – all need to speak. Then he turned to one very uptight yet earnest young man and said, “I would like to be “the one who doesn't’ give a shit. And what I mean by that his the one who has stopped seeking and grasping.” My jaw dropped. “Stop giving a shit?” Now I’ve heard that same phrase from both a grouchy stand-up comedian and a peaceful Zen master in three weeks. Voice actors, take note.

Fear causes us to give way too much of a shit. How am I coming off? What will people think? Am I being funny? What if I make a mistake? So I say it to the voice actor, “Stop giving a shit.” Yes, there will always be fear in any kind of voice acting situation. So lean into it, embrace it, let your courage push through and something unique is going to happen.

And if something dopey happens, well, we used say “tape is cheap.” But bits are even cheaper.

Stop trying so hard. Let the words fall out of your mouth.