We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Maddie McGuire a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Maddie , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I’m extremely grateful I’ve been able to earn a full-time living from creative work or other business endeavors for the last eight or nine years. And on par with the lifestyle of most creatives, the work ebbs and flows financially. Last year was the most challenging year of my career (and the first time that I didn’t qualify for my SAG-AFTRA health insurance since I became a member of the union), and this year has been the most profitable and rewarding year of my career.

I moved to LA from Chicago to pursue a career as an actress. Acting was the first love of my life and I was all in. I took every class I could, I would work for free to build my resume, I started writing and producing my own projects, and I eventually created a boutique production company with my friend Corrin called Red Mouse Pictures. We were hired to create actors’ reels, short films, web series, music videos, and docu-shorts, while we were creating our own projects. It was a fun side hustle that brought in some income while allowing us to utilize our creativity, but it wasn’t a full-time living by any means.

My career completely changed when I started doing voiceover. The question I get asked most often is “How did you get started in voiceover?” And I wish I had some glamorous answer that was an easily repeatable roadmap for someone else to follow – but my acting manager at the time thought I had a cool voice and had connections and DPN Talent Agency in Los Angeles. I had a meeting with Vince (who’s been my agent for my entire career), and they threw me in a VO booth with a few scripts to see how I’d do. I was GREEN and before jumping straight in to sign me they were going to hip-pocket me for six months – which is an agreement to get you opportunities and test the waters to see if it can become a longer working relationship.

My first day going in to audition at DPN I was scared as hell. This is way back before everyone had at-home studios, we would all go into our agency to audition at the audio booths they had there. You would all wait in the lobby to get the scripts you were going to audition with that day and then be told when to go line up at a certain booth to audition. When you’re waiting in the lobby everyone knows everyone and they all know you are brand spanking new. The first three months I knew I was doing a horrible job. I couldn’t shake my fear, my performances felt so stale and phony – it was a truly terrible feeling. I would sometimes cry the second I got back to my car because I knew I was floundering and felt like I was wasting this incredible opportunity.

Kim, one of the engineers at DPN, stopped me one day before I was leaving. She said, “You have so much potential. I can tell you’re a good actress, you have a great textured voice, you have so much going for you. But the way you’re consistently showing up right now will not work at DPN. It’s too competitive and the voiceover industry is fast. But I know you can do it, so let me help you.” For the next ten minutes she broke down the difference between Radio, TV, Promo, Industrial, etc; she literally helped me design an audition process for how to handle the material when I came in next and before I left she pretty much told me I can do this, but I need to dive in and turn the ship around asap. I booked my first job a week later. And then my next job, and then my next, and then my next. It was like an avalanche of bookings came in and didn’t stop.

The owners of DPN started recognizing who I was, my agent and I became great friends as well as wonderful business partners, I had made a ton of friends and I was making more money than I had ever made before (the first year it wasn’t a lot by any means, but to me it was life-changing and allowed me to quit my part-time jobs). My voiceover career continued to grow year after year. I was hustling driving all around town to auditions and jobs, working with different campaigns and with different clients. I continued to get better and better and I knew how to deal with the fast-paced nature of the industry. Sometimes with voiceover, you’re not getting your script until you walk into the booth and notes can fly at you fast and before you know it, they’re rolling another take. Voiceover has helped me gain the confidence to be bolder in my work and in how I show up. It’s allowed me to trust myself a lot more as an artist and feel comfortable taking more risks.

Covid was really difficult for me as an artist – voiceover was something always done outside of my house and now everyone was required to get an at-home booth and studio. I was not use to self-directing my auditions, I was not used to editing or needing to deal with my own sound quality. I struggled and was lucky to still have some work coming through, but I was uncomfortable and wanted things to go back to how they were…. I admittedly wasted a bit of time waiting for things to go back to normal as the industry was evolving around me. My agent really helped me get my head in the game and stay motivated. I stayed afloat for 2020-2021 still making enough money to support myself, but it was difficult and I missed working at the capacity I was.

Through this time I got my life coaching certification and started my own company, Performer’s Parent. Initially, I was going to support parents of performers in the industry, but it’s evolved where I’ve become a career and confidence coach for artists of all levels. I help them construct a roadmap for their career based on their personal goals and definitions of success and dive heavily into mindset work so they can feel empowered to have longevity in this career path and deal with the rollercoaster of emotions.

I was happy to have started my business when I did because 2022 was a HARD voiceover year for me. I felt like a total beginner again. My style had become too slick and commercial for the laid back/natural trend and I again felt phony and like my performance was put on. As I would be rehearsing before an audition I’d feel great and the second I walked into the booth it was like I forgot how to act or how to talk. I was put on a few avails and was close to booking a few jobs, but very little came through. It was the first year I didn’t qualify for my health insurance through SAG and was the first year I really couldn’t support myself as an artist. Mentally I was a mess and my agent told me, “Everyone has a slump, it’s not about it happening – it will happen. It’s about how fast you can pull yourself out of it.” He recommended I get a coaching session with Carroll from Carroll Casting, who cast me in my first national campaign for Volkswagen. Our coaching session honestly felt like a spiritual experience – she really validated me and helped me re-work my mindset. We designed a new auditioning process for me that helped me tap back into my old acting roots and create a character. We created a mind space I would go into before I walked into the booth and a routine afterward to help me shake it off. I started having fun with my auditions again and within a month of our coaching session, I booked the largest campaign of my career that’s lasted over 8 months so far.

I’ve loved working with the clients, we’ve created a great working relationship. It’s been the best financial year of my life, I’ve regained confidence in myself and my abilities. I’ve grown as a voiceover artist by tackling the volume of content we record. I still have my coaching business and I love supporting performers. And despite me being more than comfortable with the income I’ve made this year from voiceover, I also am a project manager for a podcast production company called Fast Forward Productions. Sam Valentine owns the company and we met during my first ever feature film. She employs all artists and it’s such a fun company to work for, I’m also an admissions coach for the coaching company I got my certification through. It’s been a complete 180 from last year, and I definitely am choosing to work a lot, but I love all of the work that I do and voiceover will always be my number one priority.

This year has taught me to trust myself more as an artist and an entrepreneur, and has proven to me I’ll always be able to figure it out and dig deep to challenge myself to grow in the way I need to. The one thing I would go back and change is I wish I had gone to Carroll for coaching sooner. I mentally suffered a lot last year and I should’ve asked for help a lot earlier on, but I honestly think my ego was in the way and I was scared to admit I felt like I had no idea what I was doing after years of success. But now, I ask for help all the time and I’m constantly researching new ways to elevate myself and learn more. It elevates me past where I can get myself to alone and helps me move faster past my own personal roadblocks – which is a takeaway from my entire journey in voiceover that I also take into my business as well.

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

I took my first acting class when I was ten years old and it was NOT to pursue acting as a lifelong career path. My parents made me take the class because I was brutally shy. Like so shy I would have a panic attack at the thought of going to a classmate’s birthday party. I was so freakin’ scared for so many of my first acting classes, but this thing turned over inside of me and it was my passion firing on. I completely fell in love with acting from a very early age and have truly been obsessed with it ever since. I went to high school and college online so I could dedicate all of my time to acting and I’m glad I had supportive parents who allowed me to go rogue and go after my crazy dreams. I moved to LA, and took every acting class possible under the sun – I craved more. I’ve been lucky to work on many different types of commercial and theatrical sets. I’ve interned at two top management offices and a huge casting office. I had a boutique production company so I also got heavily into producing and I also started taking writing seriously. I’ve written and produced many of my own short films and web series, and have written a ton of pilots and feature film scripts. I took a writing class with Kimberlea Kressal and it changed how I viewed storytelling and crafting a character in such a profound way. I really believe all actors should take a writing class or read screenwriting books because it can deepen their understanding and love for the character in a way an acting class can’t. Through writing, I’ve become a script analysis fiend. I’m obsessed with it. I feel like I’ve become more fearless as an artist across all mediums and truly feel so dedicated to the story, character, or client I’m working with. I’ve always loved adding more tools to my creative toolbox and growing as an artist is something I’ll do throughout my lifetime.

As a coach, I help actors strengthen their mindsets. Your mindset affects everything you do as an artist (and as a person). It’s the most powerful tool you have at your disposal. There’s a lot of rejection in this business and it’s a subjective business – which can cause artists to crave validation to make sure they’re doing a good job and on the right path. It’s not like sports with the stats don’t lie – whether someone thinks you’re a great actor or not is totally up to their personal opinion of you, which is out of your control. So I do a lot of work to help actors tackle personal roadblocks that are holding them back, create a deeper connection to themselves as a person and as an artist, and create a game plan they feel excited about so they don’t feel stuck or like they’re working their ass off and have nothing to show for it. I also help artists dive into script analysis so they can get out of trying to perform during their auditions and really feel liberated to create an interesting character that feels authentic and exciting to them. And due to my years and years in this industry, I love helping them strategize for their careers and create a career roadmap. I love using my knowledge and wisdom to help artists and I’m always growing and learning more myself, so I love being able to use my experience and new findings to empower other artists. I also always make sure to help creatives reconnect to their “why”. We can all get very burdened and bent out of shape from the day-to-day challenges of being in this industry, and it’s nice to protect the reason you got started – that love of the craft that offers you strength in the most difficult of moments.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Art is really important to me and I think it has a profound impact on every single human’s life. When we watch a great TV show or movie, we learn lessons that may be difficult to learn in life, we can be emotionally impacted, and we can feel less alone… art changes us. It moves us. It helps us grow and evolve. We’re exposed to things through art that can challenge our biases. There is nothing I feel is more powerful or impactful than art. And that goes for theater, novels, paintings… any and all types of art. So, getting to be involved in an industry that is built on storytelling is such an honor and privilege. I understand it’s still a business, and I love the business side also – but some of the best days of my life have been when I’m fully immersed in a character I love or am being challenged to go deeper into the craft. No two days are the same. No two moments in a performance can ever be fully replicated. Being an artist and a creative has also changed me as a person. I’m a fantastic listener, I’m insanely patient, and I understand another person’s perspective on a way deeper level than I used to. I ask questions before speaking my opinion and I really have learned to leave a lot of my judgments and criticisms about others at the door. I love psychology and the study of wellness, and to me acting is the study of people. We get to understand individuals we may have never come into contact with or befriended in our everyday lives, and through getting an opportunity to play them as a character we get to understand who they are and have empathy for them. I don’t know a more powerful way to challenge your own beliefs and shift your own perspective. Acting has shaped some of my favorite parts of who I am, and challenges me to grow every day.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

As an actor, you are your own instrument. You are the product and the creative vessel. The more you understand yourself and learn who you are, the easier time you will have transforming into a character. For so long I would take every acting class I could, I would read all the books, attend all the workshops, learn everything about the business… but I was neglecting myself as a person. I think this was in part due to being really young and taking a risk leaving my hometown – you want to just go all in for your career to prove to yourself you can do what you set out to accomplish. But the second I started going to therapy and started working with a life coach… my career improved dramatically, as did my life. The more I started learning who I was on a deeper level, the more I was able to understand the characters I was playing and the more I was able to handle the volatility of the industry. Therapy and coaching are some of the best resources you could ever invest in for yourself in this career path and it’s something I wish I had done earlier, but man oh man I’m so happy I started when I did.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://performersparent.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/performersparent/?hl=en