We were lucky to catch up with Laura Doman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Laura, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?

Yes, and thanks for asking! My idea was to reinvent myself later in life, to become an actress and voice over artist – something I’d wanted to do since I was a little girl. Hey, who doesn’t want to follow their dream? It just took me a little longer than most, but better late than never!

I grew up as a theater kid and discovered voice work in high school when I became the first student to read the morning announcements over the P.A. system during homeroom. Not that many kids were listening! But I also loved business and making money, something that’s rather hard to do working full-time as an actor. So after college, I specialized in high tech sales and development, first for well-known Fortune 500 corporations like IBM and Texas Instruments and later for small, innovative start-ups. I truly enjoyed consultative sales, helping customers solve complex problems and using my penchant for performance by delivering lively sales presentations. Until I began traveling extensively, I even found time here and there to do some community theater and through my agents, a little on-camera work in film, TV, and local commercials.I loved having a foot in each world.

After our first child was born, however, everything changed. I stepped away from life on the road and became a stay-at-home mom and school and community volunteer, contributing primarily in marketing and public relations. But I wasn’t done with either business or acting. I wanted to be an entrepreneur and I wanted to expand in a creative direction.

I found the way to do both when our younger child began middle school. She loved acting as much as I did at her age, and she performed extensively in children’s theater from ages 6-12. She wanted to move into film and TV work, and was quickly signed by a professional local agent. As it turned out, the agency also needed experienced older actors and Mom here fit the bill.

And so I began my journey as a full-time actress in 2016, training extensively and accumulating credits in films, TV, commercials, and industrials. I circled back to my early work behind the mic and began training in voice over, too, with improvisation classes thrown in for good measure. In 2018, I built my home voiceover studio, acquired representation, and began narrating corporate and training videos, recording commercials and the occasional telephone system, and providing voiceovers for films (like a 911 operator, people off camera, and even a talking goldfish!).

While most of my acting jobs are booked through agents, I find much of my voiceover work myself by marketing directly to production companies and end-clients. It’s truly an entrepreneurial venture, as I handle all aspects of running a business myself, from cultivating clients to invoicing and accounting. And I love it! I get to perform AND run a creative business.

This year, I have expanded again with public speaking engagements, webinars, a video series, and consulting services. Some of my topics are about reinventing yourself later in life with a dream career. Others teach how to get into voiceover or film/TV the RIGHT way, bypassing the many scammers out there. More often than not, I’m helping small business owners become more comfortable and effective speaking on camera themselves when they make their own videos. After all, doesn’t it seem that just about everyone these days is making videos to promote their products and services online? A few tips, tricks, and techniques from the actor’s handbook go a long way to making the camera work for YOU.

I’ve also been invited to write a chapter for an upcoming marketing book on new and best practices for leveraging videos to promote businesses. Very exciting! This project ties together all the elements I love: Storytelling and performance. Business and marketing. It sums up what I seem to do best: bridging business and entertainment. Isn’t it funny how everything seems to come together?

Laura, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Sure! I’ll start it off with a question. A challenge, really, to anyone else contemplating doing something completely new or different, especially if they’re a bit (ahem) older like me.

Who says we’re just one thing in life? Not me! We all play so many different roles in our careers, families, personal relationships, and communities. We’re multi-dimensional people who bring a lifetime of skills and experience to whatever we’re doing. It’s what makes each of us so interesting!

I bring my life and career experiences to my work in four different areas, primarily as a:

– Film/TV and commercial actress, and
– Voice over artist,

but also as a:

– Public speaker and
– Performance consultant.

As a film and TV actress, I’m constantly drawing on these life experiences to bring stories to life and make my characters as compelling as possible. People may think that there are few roles for women over 50, but this is definitely not true. We may not be the leading ladies, but there’s a world of opportunities beyond the usual mother or grandmother roles. I especially enjoy playing flawed authority figures, eccentric neighbors, and anything against type, like the evil mastermind lurking within a seemingly harmless little not-so-old lady. Bwa-ha-ha!

Most of my work comes through my agent, but I also find opportunities through referrals, networking, and industry professionals with whom I’ve worked before. It’s always nice when a producer or casting director asks for you by name! Lately, I’ve been doing a bit of work in commercials and industrials, which is another name for business projects like training videos.

My business background comes in quite handy for roles in which I play a corporate executive. It’s also a plus in my voice over work, in which I narrate commercials, corporate and medical videos, explainers, and training films. I have always enjoyed bridging two worlds, helping people understand one another. In my previous corporate IT career, I explained technology to end-users and in turn, made sure that the development teams understood what their customers wanted and needed. Now as a voice over artist, I bridge business and entertainment. The popular term is “edu-tainment” – explaining a product, service, or concept in an engaging, often fun way that teaches while entertaining the listener.

I’ve always enjoyed public speaking and I’ve been delighted to talk with groups of all sizes at in-person conferences and through webinars. I’m so glad that networking groups are beginning to meet again in person, as I love addressing these audiences face to face. I talk about:

– Reinventing ourselves later in life and how to do it successfully,
– How to get into film/TV acting and/or voice over, and
– How non-actors can become more comfortable and effective on camera when they’re speaking in a video.

Finally, I enjoy helping business people use the camera to their best advantage when they’re guests or speakers in a corporate video. I have 25 short videos (and counting!) on my YouTube channel so far on this very subject, sharing actor tips, tricks, and techniques that are easy to learn.

What do I bring to my clients? A professional, experienced, and multi-faceted performance tailored specifically to what they need. Someone who is easy to work with and direct, and who understands and delivers excellence and top customer service.

What sets me apart from others?

– I am adept at many things and can segue seamlessly between them: on-camera work, voice over, improvisation, presentations, engaging live audiences, and clearly communicating complex or technical concepts and terminology.

– My voice over studio is broadcast-quality and equipped to connect with clients for directed sessions from anywhere in the world.

– I truly love what I do and bring passion to my work. Audiences and clients describe me as warm, funny, friendly, caring, and joyful. And a down-to-earth person they can easily talk and relate to.

What am I most proud of?

– My family: husband and two young adult kids.
– Learning that gratitude and a positive attitude are keys to a happy life.
– Following my lifelong dream … and demonstrating that life’s not over until you’re permanently horizontal!

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

The hardest thing for non-creatives to understand is that money is not the primary motivator. I understand this well, coming from the corporate world myself! And my husband questions why I’m auditioning for free, when he thinks everyone should be paid for their time.

The IRS classifies a creative pursuit as a hobby vs. a career if expenses outstrip income over several years. Interesting that many new businesses also lose money when they’re first getting started, although sinking money into a new business is considered an “investment” rather than a hobby. The truth is that on-camera and voice acting are highly competitive fields, with the vast majority of actors earning far below a living wage. Most have full-time or part-time jobs to support themselves. And we have to invest heavily in our creative careers throughout our working lives: training, coaching, demos/reels, home studios, subscriptions to casting sites, etc.

It’s frequently said that an acting career is “a marathon, not a sprint.” True! It can take years or decades to see success as a working actor, with no guarantee at the end. In fact, most never achieve material or career success, defined as being able to support oneself with the income generated from it. There’s a much higher probability of success for voice actors; I know plenty earning well into the high five and six figures.

Acting is a passion. For most (who aren’t burned out by the grind), it’s a source of joy and creative expression. It’s also said to new actors, “if you can do anything else … do it.” Because the industry is full of struggle and constant rejection.

So why am I pursuing it? Because I absolutely love it. Always have. Even when I was working corporate IT sales, I saw every sales call as an audition, every sale as a booking. I brought the artist’s soul to my corporate work, especially when I gave presentations. But since I also loved business, I made the conscious choice of doing so full-time, with any acting jobs on the side. Now that I’m older with a nice retirement nest egg, I have the luxury of pursuing acting without the constant worry of having to pay bills from my on camera or voice acting.

I do see these twin pursuits as careers, especially in voice over, where I have more control over finding job prospects. I am running an entrepreneurial business with marketing, invoicing, and accounting responsibilities, as well as the creative work itself. The consulting and public speaking gigs are much better understood by non-creatives, because they are transactional services, much like anything else in the business world.

Oftentimes in this field, resilience is defined by the strength to stand by your choice to be in this career. It can be hard to soldier forth when the naysayers are well-meaning friends and families who just don’t understand our decision.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I have five goals or missions! Are you surprised? With everything I’m doing, I figure: why settle for just one? If nothing else, they keep me out of trouble! These goals/missions are:

1. To fully express all the creativity that I have within, through film/TV, commercial, and voice acting; my writing; and the artistic sensibilities that go into designing my website and other materials. These options were rather limited when I was working in technology and later knee-deep in diapers and crying babies. Now it’s my time to artistically shine.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lauradoman.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura.v.doman/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laura.v.doman
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauradoman/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lauradoman
• Youtube: https://bit.ly/3KlVoPd