Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sarah Marince. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Sarah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you’ve thought about whether to sign with an agent or manager?

After many years of doing on camera work full time and voice over work on the side, I decided to wanted to try and take VO to the next level and pursue it full time. That meant setting up a home studio, auditioning on various voice over audition websites, working with a coach and eventually creating my voice over demo.

After a year or so of continuing to audition on websites and “cold calling” potential clients I attended my first voice over conference, “That’s Voice Over Career Expo” in 2018. I met so many wonderful VO talent and I left feeling so inspired and motivated!

One area of the industry I learned a lot about was talent representation and management. I knew I had to have my ducks in a row before I ever submitted my demo to an agent or manager. I went home and continued to audition and build my client base.

A year later I attended another voice over conference, “VOA- Voice Over Atlanta.” It was at this conference that I sat in on a session where talent managers from ACM Talent spoke. I was already very aware of who they were and who they represented and I left the session telling myself “I’m going to be on that roster one day.”

I did submit my demo and information shortly after the conference via email but didn’t hear anything back. I just continued to work hard and said I’d submit again next year.

Fast forward to April of 2020. Due to the pandemic, a lot of in person classes and coaching had been put on pause. The Atlanta Voiceover Studio started hosting virtual classes over Zoom where they would have a guest host, usually an agent, manager or coach, listen to you read live and offer advice and suggestions. I loved it! It was a great way to interact with people in the industry I wouldn’t normally get to chat with and I could learn from hearing other people read.
On one particular class, a manager from ACM was the special guest. I felt really good about how my reads for her went and I did receive nice feedback.

About a week after the class my phone rang. It was ACM. I almost didn’t answer it because I didn’t know why they would be calling me! But, the manager I read for was calling to see if I would be interested in having a (virtual) meeting with all of the managers to discuss representation! Of course I said “yes!” We had a great meeting and a few days later I officially signed with ACM Talent. It has been the best career move I’ve made to date.

When my time finally came to have the conversation with the whole team I was ready. I had been preparing for that call for a few years and I think because I stayed focused and worked hard it showed them I would be a good addition to their roster.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

For as far back as I can remember I have been a performer. Whether it was putting on shows in my parents basement with my siblings, competing all over the country as an Irish Step Dancer, touring with a band singing to tens of thousand of people or more recently recording in a sound treated room by myself for commercials that will be heard on tv, radio and online….performing is in my blood!

My mom and dad are both creative. My dad works in radio, plays piano and the accordion and my mom was also an Irish Step Dancer growing up. They made sure we were exposed to the arts at an early age which influenced my decision to attend a performing arts high school in my hometown Pittsburgh, PA.

After years of performing onstage in Nashville, TN I moved to Florida where I started working as an actress on-camera full time. Some of those on-camera jobs required voice over which is where I got the introduction to what would become my dream job.

It took years to get to where I am now and I know I still have so much to learn. I love talking with other VO talent at conferences and learning about how they run their businesses. You have to wear many hats when you run your own voice over company. I would say the actual recording is a small part of it! You are a business manager, an audio engineer, a social media marketer, and the talent. You also have to be ready at a moments notice. Sometimes auditions and jobs come in and they need to be recorded ASAP- so it’s essential to be prepared!

I travel quite a bit and I always travel with a condensed version of my at home studio. I bring my mic, my interface, my laptop and all the cables I need. I’ve actually recorded jobs in some pretty cool places. Just this year I had to record out of hotels in England, Ireland, Palm Springs and on a Disney Cruise! I’m always prepared on the road!

One of the jobs I’m most proud of is the voice over work I’ve done for Walt Disney World Resorts. I have been a Disney fan my whole life….I even worked in entertainment in the parks back in the day! I’ve had the opportunity to record both singing and voice over for shows in their parks overseas and most recently recording for the Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary Celebration in Hollywood Studios. Visiting the parks and hearing my voice is such a thrill.

I believe I have clients that come back over and over because I’m consistent, take direction well, have quick turn around times and I’m prepared before every live session. My end goal is to give the client exactly what they ask for without any issues. Recording sessions are hard work but they should also be fun! When everyone goes into it with the right attitude it’s a win win.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I started performing country music around my hometown of Pittsburgh, PA when I was 13. I performed at a lot of different country concerts that came through that city on the side stage and many different country radio events. After my high school graduation I packed up and moved to Nashville to pursue becoming a country artist. I was there for 8 years and in that time I had so many wonderful opportunities like touring and songwriting. As an unsigned artist I had a song chart on Billboard and my music spent weeks on the country music charts. It was a blast, but it was also a grind. Being in the music industry in Nashville tested me in so many ways for so many years. I was ready to make a change and I knew for my mental health I needed to pivot in my career path. It was bittersweet to leave Nashville but I have zero regrets from my time there and it only prepared me for other opportunities that would come my way.

During my time in Nashville I had become the face and voice of a restaurant chain called Eatn’ Park. I loved doing all of their on-camera work and they gave me my first voice over job! After learning about on-camera opportunities in Florida, I decided to make that move. I had to start over to enter into this new area of entertainment. I only had footage from the commercials I had done from Eatn’ Park and I knew if I wanted to put together a solid on-camera reel to send to agents I needed to create some work! I flew to NYC for Halloween and my mom and dad filmed me interviewing people dressed up in costume on the street and I asked to interview people in different industries just to get footage for a reel.

Once I had a enough to send out I found as many talent agencies as I could and sent my reel, resume and headshot to everyone! I was quickly signed to a few agencies in Florida and the work started to come in. While I was there I worked for HSN, Hyatt, Wal Mart and Marriott to name a few.

I pivoted career paths one more time when I started working in voice over full time. That was an easier transition. I believe that every experience and interaction I had in Pittsburgh, Nashville and Florida prepared me for where I am now.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a voice over artist is making my clients happy! That’s the end goal, right? I think being prepared while being able to adapt on the fly is crucial to the session going well.

And it’s always a bonus when they come back again for more work!

Contact Info:

• Website: sarahmarince.com
• Instagram: @sarahmarince
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmarince/
• Other: Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/sarahmarince