We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brittany Christine. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brittany below.
Brittany , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
It’s such a specific and unique path, not your everyday job. The easy answer is, I had been living on an isolated island in the middle of the Puget Sound called Vashon back home in the Pacific Northwest. It was only accessible by boat, and I didn’t have one, so I’d have to pay to take the ferry every time I had an audition in Seattle.
The cost of a round trip ticket & gas for the travel, plus time away from my summer job, (which was working the garden center at a home improvement store) meant the commute started to add up quickly, and any time I didn’t book the casting I was going for, I was at a loss, so I was trying to figure out a way to cut costs while still being able to do what I love (which is acting) that’s when I made friends with the community radio station owner out there, and he offered to let me use his studio (when someone was not in a session) for my auditions.
From there, I told my agent Melissa Baldauf (who still represents me in that region, at Big Fish Northwest Talent) that I wanted to get into voice acting and had access to a professional studio close to my island home. She offered up her friend Scotty Burns as a coach or mentor, (who I didn’t know at the time was the voice of Bowser from my favorite old school Nintendo game Mario Bros!) and I met with him over a wknd to pick his brain and discuss where to start.
We grabbed a coffee for our first meet and greet and he brought a big pile of commercial scripts with. (I had no idea they were actual spots currently auditioning on casting sites at the time) he had me try some out with his direction, and we selected which we thought would showcase my abilities. From there he said why don’t you come to my studio tomorrow and we record these to put into a reel for Melissa to pitch you to clients.
The rest was history! The very first VO audition I was given I booked, which was a regional Black Friday radio campaign for Best Buy. I’ll never forget the first time I heard my voice play on the radio when driving. My first spot played on Seattle Stations KBKS FM, (106.1 CHR) KCMS FM, (105.3 Christian AC) KISM FM, (92.9 Rock) KJAQ FM, (96.5 Adult Hits) KJR FM, (95.7 Classic Hits) KKWF FM, (100.7 Country) KPLZ FM, (101.5 Hot AC) KQMV FM, (92.5 CHR) KUBE FM (93.3 Rhythmic CHR) KZOK FM, (102.5 Classic Rock) so you couldn’t not hear me.
Knowing what I do now, I would have made audio reels much sooner and they would have taken priority over my acting ones. I think the skills that were the most essential to this was the ability to adapt quickly when given what changes to make by the audio engineers or producers, as well as knowing what foods not to eat on the day of recording, same with not drinking alcohol the night before or caffeine the day of.
The obstacles that stood in the way were things like not having my own home set up, (which I do now) not knowing people within the industry that could take me under their wing (before signing with my agent) and not having taken any classes, workshops, or lessons prior. If you lack the paid work experience, (as I had) then the more trained up you are, the more chances you have at booking more gigs.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Hi everyone reading, I am Brittany Christine. I started as an Actress that branched into Voice Acting out of convenience and being broke at the time, and it turned out to be the best decision I ever made for my career!
The types of services I’ve done range on all platforms of audio & visual marketing, including; local, regional, & national radio ads, international TV & web commercials, worldwide sporting events, public support links, internal and external industrial videos for several companies, various types of pitch decks, navigational hosting for software or websites, training modules for work, multiple school curriculums, a global franchise telephone answering service, competition cartoon comedies, experimental animation movies, plus (from one client alone) my voice plays annually at ongoing food, health, beauty, fashion, and business conventions globally. My voice has aired in trailers, shows, music festivals, film festivals, podcasts, concerts, airplanes, cable, & a few streaming networks. You’ve probably heard it on some point, in social media campaigns as well, but without my face attached to it- how would you know it’s me? I also recently got into Audiobooks, which I am very excited about!
I particularly like scripts that make the consumers think, or strongly feel something when listening. I want people to react and be moved, and I believe my performances have helped the brand/products/services/or filmmakers I work with, achieve great success. I only hope to continue to aid more, in reaching their business or artistic goals. It’s a joy for me to create in this medium and it’s currently my favorite form of storytelling.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Financial freedom generated from work that I genuinely enjoy doing, and know is truly helping my clients. There is nothing more satisfying than getting to make a decent living in what you are good at, while serving others. I want everyone I work for to be so happy with me, they don’t need to look any further for their marketing, creative, or acting needs, and hope they keep coming back for more! Here’s some voice examples of me doing that:
- Commercial Voice-Over Reel: https://vimeo.com/
794968791 - Commercial Reel: https://vimeo.com/
792128327 - Character Voice-Over Reel: https://vimeo.com/
790828023 - Audiobook Voice-Over Reel: https://vimeo.com/
791068967 - Corporate Voice-Over Reel: https://vimeo.com/
792125421
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Exactly what the WGA and SAG AFTRA TV/Theatrical/Streaming/Video Game strikes are now fighting for, fair wages and residuals. Somewhere along the way that was grossly lost. Bring back the days of working artists having celebrity like paychecks. I have a great body of work, yet still no mansion in the hills (I’m ready for that anytime now Hollywood, please and thank you.)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.brittanychristine.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brittanychristineofficially/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/actressbrittanychristine/
- Other: Internet Movie Database: imdb.me/brittanychristine Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/actressbrittanychristine
Image Credits
Michael Doucett