We were lucky to catch up with Dianna Conley recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dianna, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you’ve thought about whether to sign with an agent or manager?

I am fortunate to be represented by Vox Inc in Los Angeles. They’re one of the big agencies in town, and it’s incredible to be represented by them! I’ve had some big opportunities come my way. Traditionally, you get into one of the big voiceover agencies through a referral from a fellow pro. However, I saw that Micaela Hicks, one of the Vox Agents, was going to be at a voiceover conference I was attending, and I signed up for her workshop. During the workshop, Micaela asked for us to turn the intensity “up to 11”, I decided to take this reference quite literally, and my next read was an 11-year-old girl describing a monster in a full-on metal scream!

I was so impressed with Micaela’s direction and how she goes to bat for her talent, as well as Vox’s commitment to representing LGBTQ+ talent, so I decided to submit, and was accepted based on my performance in the workshop, along with my portfolio.

I think that Vox was impressed by my ability to throw all caution to the wind, as well as the chance to have a non-binary talent on board!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’ve been a professional actor my whole life. I was also that kid who would imitate every accent they heard, and even the birds at the beach. I was lucky that my parents fostered my creativity and took joy in my imitations, weird noises, and accents. I did my first professional play at the age of four. I even started a radio station during my school lunch in sixth grade. As I got older, I went to college for communications and got a Master’s degree, and eventually started teaching college Communication classes. After the recession, it became hard to find college teaching jobs, so I returned to my passion. As a late 20-something, I wasn’t interested in competing in the looks-obsessed on-camera world, so I turned to voice acting.

As a professional voice actor, I give life to voices in so many different genres. Voice acting is one of those professions that everyone is familiar with, but no one really thinks about. Sure, we’re aware of voice actors in cartoons, and video games, but people don’t think about the voice behind Siri or Alexa, or the voice on your company’s corporate training, the voice that makes airport announcements, or reads you an audiobook.

As a voice actor, I work mostly in animation, video games, commercials, e-Learning, audiobooks, and corporate narration. As an ADHD’er and chronically ill person, I am most proud of being in an industry that helps bring accessibility to everyday life. Reading a book in print isn’t always accessible, and audiobooks offer a great alternative. Audio Description helps blind people enjoy television. One of the roles that I’m most proud of is playing the character Zoya in Goodwolf’s Studio’s Code 7, a text adventure video game that is fully accessible to blind people. Not everyone has the patience or ability to read subtitles, and I’ve done live-action dubbing as well, which helps widen the accessibility of foreign language content.

As a chronically ill person, voice acting is helpful in my life in two ways. Firstly, it has allowed me to work mostly from home during the ongoing pandemic, which allows me to keep safe. Occasionally I record in a professional studio that is following the SAG-AFTRA safety guidelines, but usually, I work from home. As the pandemic continues, those of us who are still taking COVID precautions have become more and more isolated. Less people are willing to be safe, and the sad reality is, many of us are losing friends, as people don’t want to “jump through hoops” to keep us safe. During these times, we turn to media. Animation, television, video games, help us keep company and feel less lonely, even as the outside world pretends that the pandemic is over. Voice acting has been helpful in keeping me connected to the world through working, and also consuming the work of my many amazing colleagues.

I’m also proud to be able to authentically portray LGBTQ+ characters. Recently, the voice acting industry is having a ton of super-important conversations about authentic casting. I believe it’s important to have actual queer actors play queer characters (as well as People of Global Majorities (PGM) playing characters that are PGM). LGBTQ+ actors can bring diversity to a writer’s room that might not be as diverse, as well as reflect a deeper reality of a character. Representation matters. I remember not even knowing it was possible to be bisexual until bisexuality was featured on “The OC” on television. I am excited to be able to portray LGBTQ+ characters, and hopefully, inspire young people to know that their identity is valid. We are also seeing a rise of authentic representation for neurodivergent characters, and as an ADHDer myself, this representation is hugely important. ADHDers get told often in life that they’re lazy, unproductive, disruptive, and weird. Seeing ADHD characters accurately portrayed in the media helps me realize that my “different” way of thinking is an asset to my career as a voice actor, and also valuable in society. I’m also ethnically Jewish, and with all of the recent anti-semitism, it is super important for Jews to be visible and active in the industry.

I am proud to help my clients bring their projects to life. From voicing small children, to singing metal as an 11-year-old, to bringing the elderly person down the street to life, it’s so exciting to get the creativity going. I also regularly train in singing, and love to showcase my singing talent, when that’s a part of the script!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I sleep in until after 2pm most days. I go to bed at around 6am! I make it a point to socialize as much as possible (outside, with masks on — there is a pandemic). I often post pictures, reels, videos, and statuses about loving the flexibility that my job brings. My job IS super flexible, and it allows me to socialize at non-traditional times, take weekdays off to enjoy something special.

Non-creatives often look at my “lifestyle” and assume I’m “never working”, but the truth is, I’m ALWAYS working. Auditions come in 24/7 and some of my clients live in Europe. So while I’m up til 6am, I’m not out at the bars (even back when it was safe, before COVID), I’m in my booth recording jobs and auditions for clients overseas. Every friend that I get to meet up with outside with masks on, is another friend I might have to cancel on because suddenly a client needs to me record a job, immediately.

To be a freelancer means always worrying if the next job will come and never having income instability. It’s not an easy life. Just because we are often working in an industry we are passionate about, doesn’t mean it’s easy. I think, in general, the world assumes that voice actors must be wealthy. Sure, there are a few that are, but your average voice actor is struggling financially and relying on another job or a partner for financial security. Eventually, 10 or 15 years into the process, some stability can happen, but it’s not an easy road.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

It’s time to get political. What society could best do to support artists, creatives, and create a thriving creative ecosystem would be to have universal healthcare, and possibly, a universal basic income. Creativity does NOT thrive under the current model of late-stage capitalism. Most creative people are working day jobs just to have access to health insurance, and to survive.

Most creative people do NOT have access to health insurance. SAG-AFTRA has a great healthcare plan, but you have to become eligible for the union AND make a certain amount of money each year to keep this plan. So this means you have to work for a time before joining, pay to join, pay dues, and keep working to keep your health insurance. This means if you get injured, or get COVID, and can’t work, you might lose your health insurance.

I am privileged that I receive health insurance through a partner, but without this, I would not be able to pursue voice acting. As a chronically ill person, I have too many medical bills, and not enough energy to work a traditional job while working a “side hustle”. Despite what they say, you CANNOT do it all, at least not while being mentally and physically healthy.

I don’t believe we should have to hustle and work 120 hours a week to have to make a living. I don’t believe we should have to worry about an injury, COVID, or long COVID keeping us from surviving. I believe all humans deserve free healthcare, a place to live, and basic necessities.

I understand that a universal basic income will probably never happen, but free, universal healthcare exists in so many other nations, it is DEFINITELY possible for the US to institute this. But unfortunately, most people in power assume that people who work hard will be able to afford healthcare, and that it’s somehow our fault if we are disabled or can’t work. And that’s not to mention the fact that getting access to disability benefits requires you to stay in literal poverty — many disabled people can’t even get married without losing their benefits due to their partners’ income!

Our current system of capitalism in the US is actively hostile to those of us who want to pursue creative pursuits. If we were all guaranteed, at minimum, health insurance, we could be less concerns with “surviving” and more able to create. You can’t be truly free to create while just trying to survive.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.diannaconley.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diannaconley/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diannaconleyvo/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/DiannaConleyVO
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DiannaConleyVO

Image Credits
Headshots by: Katie Oros