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

Alright, Laura thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I think in an industry where there are a lot of talented people with great voices, succeeding in voice over actually has little to do with talent or with your voice. I actually think it has to do with your work ethic, your training, and your creativity. I think it’s often the people who work the hardest and have the greatest resilience, the talents who continue to work on their craft and get ongoing coaching, and the ones who take the most creative approach to look for work who succeed. I’ve seen a surprising number of very talented, classically trained actors have no idea why the fail to book work, and often it is because they expect that the work will just come to them.

Laura, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I actually came into voiceover late, as a second career in my mid 30s. I had dreamt about doing it since college and one day I sat next to another voice talent at a party. I sat with Marie Hoffman, another Jersey based voice actor who does a lot of audiobooks and eLearning and I heard about her journey. I had this moment of, “if she can do it, what am I waiting for?” After that, I began working with various coaches toawrds my first demos, haivng my home studio built, and having a website done. Within six months of that chat I launched my business.

Initially I started to book a lot of commercials and explainers, and as the years progressed I expanded into other genres like Radio Imaging, eLearning, Politicals, etc. I pride myself on offering fast turn arounds and meeting the budget needs of my clients big and small. I work hard to get to know my clients and build meaningful relationships so that we work together again and again and I’m really proud of that. In 2021 I branched out into coaching and video demo production. My demo team, producers from All Systems Go AV, actually produce narrations and commercials so they have their pulse on current industry trends. They are fantastic to work with and their quality is just incredible. I am really proud of the video demos we create for our students. We have a unique production process and I think it comes through in the end result. I think the common thread, whether I am working as a voice talent or a coach, is that I out my heart and soul into all that I do and I care deeply about the outcome, and I know that the people who work with me get that.

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

When I started my business, it was long before covid, and working at home was a true luxury and a privilege, not as common as it is today. While it may have been more typical in the voice over world, at the time my twins were just in grade school and they needed a lot of time and attention. My husband commuted to work in NYC, and launching my voice over business meant that I would be working from home and there for more available for things like attending school events or helping with after school homework which my husband simply could never do. While I had certain income goals that I needed to meet, as a mother my family goals were just as important and fueled my motivation. I wanted my children to know that they were my top priority and everything I did at work I did for them, so that we could provide them with as much opportunity. Every time I stepped into my booth and in front of that microphone, my kids were and are my why. I had quite a fire in my belly and honestly I don’t know if I could have started my VO journey when I was younger, before I had kids, because being a mom gives you the courage to take leaps that frankly I don’t think I would have been bold enough to take earlier in life.

Have you ever had to pivot?

So I have learned that while you can get into some genres in voice over with hard work and training, others, like promo, are not so easy to get into with out representation from one of the big 5 agencies. I mentioned that early on I started booking a lot of commercials, and I still do, every week. By 2017 it occurred to me to branch out and consider what was similar. I read for an agent at one of the big 5 agencies at VO Mastery in LA and she encouraged me to get more coaching re-do my promo demo and even suggested she would listen after. I had about 10-12 sessions and did the demo. Well, she did not seem so interested, and it was not my most favorite demo. Although I tried my best to market that demo, I think the coach was not the best fit for me and I only used that coach because she sent me there. I should have trusted my gut, that had always led me the right way, and switched coaches earlier. There are a lot of great coaches, and we all need different types of guidance. Long story short, my promo dreams kind of fizzled. What I learned is that while I have many wonderful regional agents, the larger agencies are the gatekeepers of the promo world, and I simply do not have access to that genre at this moment. That’s ok, I’m doing fine, but I wish I had understood that before spending so much time and money going after it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lauraschreibervoice.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauraschreibervoice/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lauraschreibervoice
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraschreibervo/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUj38PWB_tVLMsbSX2LLxpg

Image Credits
For Headshot, the Credit it Naki Studios, 2021