History Acting first originated in Greece in the 6th century BC with the Greek tragic actor, Thespis being widely regarded as the founder of the profession. That is why, today, actors are often referred to as thespians. Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, defined acting as ‘The right management of the voice to express various emotions’ and declared it to be a natural talent that was innate and could not be taught. During the Christian rule of Rome, acting began to decline as an art, and liturgical (of or relating to liturgy or public worship) drama began to be performed throughout the middle ages. Then acting takes a big jump to the 16th century, where modern professional acting began to emerge through Italian comedy. William Shakespeare is perhaps the most proficient of this kind of playwrightand is certainly the best known. The old style of acting did not die out completely until the beginning of the 20th century with many popular actors of this time seeming overly historic to many modern audiences. The intro of the motion picture and T.V. began to bring a wealth of opportunities and stardom to aspiring actors and began to change the art of acting forever. The first voice over was done in 1900! This was the achievement of Reginald Fessenden, a Canadian inventor, though most people believe that the first voice over was done be Walt Disney, as Mickey Mouse in “Steamboat Willie” in 1928. One of the most influential and prolific voice actors of all time in not very well known by the public, but very well known in the industry. This is Don Lafontaine, who started his voice acting career in 1962, recording VO (voice over) for a movie trailer. As voice acting grew, it was still very “Behind-the-scenes.” Literally and figuratively. But voice acting really came out into the light, with onset of digitally animated films of recent years. The public is now used to big actor names in animated films. Tara Strong, number one best voice actress of all time, was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Feb. 12, 1973. Her maiden name is Tara Charendoff, and was changed to Strong when she married Craig Strong. Her very first voice acting job was as Hello Kitty. She is most known for her roles as: Dil Pickles/ The Rugrats, Bubbles/ Powerpuff Girls, Batgirl/ Batman, Ben Tennyson/ Ben 10, Truffles/ Chowder, Raven and Gizmo/ Teen Titans, Toot Braunstein and Princess Clara/ Drawn Together, Timmy Turner/ The Fairly Odd Parents, Hello Kitty/ Hello Kitty’s Furry Tale Theater, Twilight Sparkle/ My Little Pony, Bebe and Cece Proud/ The Proud Family, Ember the Dragon/ Spyro: A Hero’s Tail, Sari Sumdoc/ Transformers: Animated, Daisy/ Wow! Wow! Wubbzy and Omi/ Xiaolin Showdown. Tom Kenny, or more commonly known as the voice of Spongebob Sqaurepants, is number two on my top three voice actors list. He was born in East Syracuse, New York on July 13, 1962. His full name is Thomas James Kenny. Tom Kenny has many voices, but he is most known for his roles as: Spongebob and Gary Squarepants/ Spongebob Squarepants, Ice King and Starchy/ Adventure Time, Eduardo/ Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends, Commander Peeps/ Wonder Over Yonder, Mumbo Jumbo/ Teen Titans, Mayor of Townsville and The Narrator/ The Powerpuff Girls, Pat/ Handy Manny, Cupid/ Fairly Odd Parents, Algonquin C. Lumpus and Slinkman/ Camp Lazlo, and the Pro-bending Referee/ The Legend of Korra. Dee Baker, number three on my list of best voice actors, was born in Indiana, on August 31, 1962. His full name is Dee Bradley Baker, and has many different credit names, such as, D. Baker, Dee Baker, D. Bradley Baker, and Olmec Dee Baker. He is known for his amazing jobs as the voices of animals and alien creatures. He is known for many roles as: Appa and Momo/ Avatar the Last Airbender, The Many monsters of/ Ben 10, Turner/ Handy Manny, Tarrlok, Naga, Oogi, and Pabu/ The Legend of Korra, Perry the Platypus and Ducky MoMo/ Phineas and Ferb, Realistic Fish Head Announcer/ Spongebob Squarepants, and Silkie/ Teen Titans. The Wonderful World of Loving Your Job By: Sage Williams Budget Salary/Monthly $8,061.20 Bank Rent (Without roommate) $1,000 $3,000 Misc. N/A Left over $2,042.88 each month. Food $278.00 Car Insurance N/A Car payment N/A Student loan payment $25,000 in a time span of 10 years. Entertainment $25 Renter’s Insurance $20 Gas $60 Water $150 Trash $20 Electricity $100 Cable T.V. $150 Cell Phone $60.00 Taxes $2,015.30 Clothing $100 for a time span of 5 months. $120 Student Loan: Career Options Education Required Work Environment Expected Salary Actor Proper dramatic education, through Bachelor Degree. On Stage, Under many cameras. $1,151.60 month a a Singer To get into a singing college I know that you need a classical background in singing. On stage in front of large crowds, or behind a microphone in a studio. $5,500 month a Voice Actor There is no required education to be a voice actor. Recording and animation studios, behind microphones. $8,061.20 month a Broadway Proper dramatic education through Bachelor Degree. On stage, live performances. $20,000 month a $25,000 for 10 years $6,018.32 was spent. Radio a Covered in most universities under communication department. Recording studio, behind microphone. $23.99 hour per Singing and acting, or just putting on a good show for an audience is what I love to do. Singing and voice acting have always been a passion of mine since I was little. I have just always felt that a job like this is perfect. Most people when they are kids want to be actors and singers and things like that, and now that I’m older I see that I am one of the only one’s of my friends that actually stuck with it and dreams of doing it for the rest of my life. I would be great for this job because I work hard and I focus on what I want to achieve. When I get sight of something that I want more than anything in life, I won’t just stop because I had one bad day, I will always work hard to make my dreams come true, and I know that that sounds a little cheesy but that is certainly true. Money isn’t the only thing that matters in a profession like this, it is about entertaining the public, and a lot of the time, having some fun. When you get a good cast to hang out with, that can be almost like your new family away from your family. When you have these kind of ties with people like that it makes wanting to come to come to work a reality. Voice acting is very different than most jobs. Voice acting doesn’t just mean have a funny voice, it is being able to move your voice up and down with the story. Think of it as like reading a childrens book to a 4 year old, you would read it fun and with different emotions in your voice not just a flat robot voice. So now you know about the world that I want to live in when I am older and I think that acting really is a great profession, if you have the talent for it that is.