Arts & Entertainment

Taking Your Career to the Next Level

Lesson time 12:37 min

Nancy introduces you to the cast of characters you will find along the way in this industry, and she shares tips on how to find representation. She also talks about how to handle auditions, rejection, and the business side of your career.

Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars

Topics include: Who's Who in Voice Acting · Auditions: Put Your Best Foot Forward · Rejection is Inevitable · Being a Pro on the Job · Taking Care of Business

Nancy Cartwright

Teaches Voice Acting

The legendary voice actor reveals her creative process for giving life to animated characters with emotion, imagination, and humor.

Preview

[MUSIC PLAYING] - I want to address something that I think is really, really important. In fact, you really can't make a career without what it is I'm going to tell you next. It's about relationships. It's setting up networking. It's your agent. It's your manager. It's getting yourself ready to get hired to do the job and actually get paid for doing what you love. [MUSIC PLAYING] - So let me introduce you to a cast of characters that you're going to want to meet with as you develop your career. The first person that I would love for you to introduce yourself to would be a manager. A manager can actually work with you. The manager can hold your hand a little bit. They're available to do lunch with you. A manager can sit down and like, help you plan out, what's your next step that you're going to take? And you can write out a whole program on what you can do that week to help your career. And that, by the way, is an example of a great manager. Also, the manager is the liaison between yourself and the agent. So what exactly is an agent? An agent is like a gatekeeper. They have the key in the relationships to the people on the other side of the door that have the power to cast you. Now, the main difference between an agent and a manager is an agent represents hundreds of clients. And it's like, how are you going to get somebody to believe in you and all of your passion and all of your talent when you are swimming in a sea of all this other talent? So how do you find a manager or an agent? That's the big question. Network with your friends. Find out if they have representation they are happy with. Get them to introduce you to them. Maybe you're exactly what they're needing and maybe they lost a client similar to you and then you come along. And it's like, bingo, kismet. One specific thought I have on agents is that when you're first starting out, you might want to try to go with a boutique agency. They're a little more family-oriented. They don't have as many clients, so starting out, that would be kind of an ideal person to represent you, would be somebody that has a very small agency. When I say small, like, you know, they could have, you know, 100, a couple hundred clients. Actually, I would highly recommend that. The other very important person that you really need to meet up with is a casting director. The casting director is the liaison between you and getting the job. He or she is hired by the producer to make sure that that cast is supreme. The manager will use the lines that he or she has, coordinate with the agent and set you up with a general meeting with a casting director. And believe me, they are absolutely going to want to meet you. Since their job is trying to hire new talent, they are constantly wanting to be the one to find new talent, and that would be you. Let me give you an example. I met with this casting director. This was probably in '86. I met with Bonnie Pietila, and it was just a general meeting. ...

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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