Arts & Entertainment
Harness Your Voice
Lesson time 11:09 min
Nancy shows you how you can use your voice to make change and bring joy to others.
Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars
Topics include: A Little Girl from Ohio · Use Your Voice For Change · Use Your Voice For Fun · Passing the Tool Belt
Teaches Voice Acting
The legendary voice actor reveals her creative process for giving life to animated characters with emotion, imagination, and humor.
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- Everyone has a voice. But it's up to you to decide how you want to use your voice in your life. You can use your voice to put forth a unique point of view, to try to bring about change in your community, or you can use it to bring a little joy to those around you. I'm going to share a few stories of how I've learned to harness the power of my voice. And I challenge you to think about how you, too, can go get vocal. I was auditioning to do the commencement speech at my high school graduation. And they were picking five students to do it. I thought, OK, so what I want to do my speech about? I talked to my teacher about it, my-- my favorite teacher of all time. And he gave me this poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "lives of great men remind us we can make our lives sublime and in departing leave behind us footprints on the sands of time." I thought, wow. I love that. It put, like, a dream there for me. It was like a vision that I had for myself for my future. So I wrote this whole speech. So in front of the class, in front of the senior class, we had auditions. And there were about maybe 12 of us all together. And we one at a time went up there and we gave our speeches. So then later on in the day, they announced the winner. And I did not make the finalists. I didn't get selected. And I was devastated. So now I'm not going to be able to do it. I didn't even tell my mom and dad I had written the speech. I wanted to surprise them at the actual commencement. I told my mom on the day of the graduation that I had written the speech. I said, but, Mom, I didn't get selected. I messed up. She goes, no, you are going to do it. You're going to do it. Let's do it right now. So in our den, I stood up there. There's my Aunt Millie and my cousin. There's Peggy and Suzy, and some of my siblings were there. And I did my speech, and I did it perfect. And I got a nice round of applause. And you know what? It was the best feeling that I got. I kept my integrity. And my mom said to me, you know what? That's the best speech. Yours is the best speech of all. And she gave me a big hug and said that I would have plenty of opportunities to make my mark on the world. I actually believe that it's the artist that makes the difference in the world. It's the artist who is putting the future there through films, photography, theater, dance, sculpture, music, and animation. It's the artist who gives hope in a troubled world. Not everyone has the luxury to be paid as an artist. But it's very important that you find an outlet for yourself as an artist. And I encourage all of you seniors, underclassman, 10-year-old boys, your brothers and sisters, moms and dads to follow your passion. Life is an art, so make it beautiful and make it your own. You just never know how big the stage will be or when the curtains will part. But if you treat every opportunity with intention, you'll be ready when it's time t...
About the Instructor
For nearly 40 years, Nancy Cartwright has voiced some of the most iconic animated characters on screen, including everyone’s favorite 10-year-old underachiever. Now the Emmy winner takes you into the recording booth to teach you the art of voice acting. In our first class to feature original animation, you’ll learn how to develop characters, get performance tips, and hear Nancy’s career advice. It’s time to get animated.
Featured MasterClass Instructor
Nancy Cartwright
The legendary voice actor reveals her creative process for giving life to animated characters with emotion, imagination, and humor.
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