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.