stevenpiziks (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
stevenpiziks) wrote2008-08-13 11:18 am
stevenpiziks) wrote2008-08-13 11:18 am
Aran, Voice Acting, and Billy West
Aran wants to be a voice actor when he grows up. He loves animation, you see, and he spends large amounts of time imitating the voices he hears. He was fascinated to discover that one actor often plays several voices on the same show, and those "behind the scenes" clips of the actors doing the voices for a show absolutely rivet him. He wants to do that.
It occurs to me that voice acting would be a good career for an autist. The script and microphone act as a filter between you and everyone else. An encyclopedic knowledge of the field is helpful, and autists are really good at acquiring that. Voice acting, like "regular" acting, requires a single-minded perseverence that autists are known for. So who knows? This might lead to something for Aran.
Aran is an enormous fan of Billy West. All of you have heard Billy West, even if you've never heard =of= him. He's played a billion voices on TV and in movies over the years, and is the current voice of Bugs Bunny. Aran knows him best as the voice of Fry (and the Professor and Dr. Zoidberg and Zap Brannigan and . . . ) on FUTURAMA.
Last weekend, Kala and I went to see a comedian at the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase. It was an enjoyable evening that began with dinner at an Irish pub, segued into dessert at Kilwin's, and ended at the Showcase. The comic was very funny. ("Have fun with life! When you make reservations over the phone and you spell your name, don't say 'D as in dog.' Have fun with it! Try, 'Yeah, that's D as in W, A as in H, and N as in 'enter.' You can take a whole hour on a single reservation if you want.")
At any rate, I bought the tickets for it on-line beforehand, however, and I discovered that in two weeks the Comedy Showcase is featuring . . . Billy West.
!!
I showed the page to Kala. "We're going," she said firmly.
Unfortunately, the Showcase is part of a bar and you have to 18 to get in, meaning there's no way we could bring Aran. :(
Kala did some searching and found Billy West's web site. He has a forum there, and he does post to it, meaning he seems to be at least a little accessible. She e-mailed him, explaining what Aran's deal was. "Are you making any appearances during the day that we could bring him to?" she asked. "He'd love to get the chance to meet you."
Even if he isn't appearing anywhere, we're kind of hoping he'll add, "But if you want to bring him by the club before the show . . . " or something.
At minimum, we'll bring some FUTURAMA stuff to the show along with a Sharpie and see if we can get him to autograph it for Aran.
It occurs to me that voice acting would be a good career for an autist. The script and microphone act as a filter between you and everyone else. An encyclopedic knowledge of the field is helpful, and autists are really good at acquiring that. Voice acting, like "regular" acting, requires a single-minded perseverence that autists are known for. So who knows? This might lead to something for Aran.
Aran is an enormous fan of Billy West. All of you have heard Billy West, even if you've never heard =of= him. He's played a billion voices on TV and in movies over the years, and is the current voice of Bugs Bunny. Aran knows him best as the voice of Fry (and the Professor and Dr. Zoidberg and Zap Brannigan and . . . ) on FUTURAMA.
Last weekend, Kala and I went to see a comedian at the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase. It was an enjoyable evening that began with dinner at an Irish pub, segued into dessert at Kilwin's, and ended at the Showcase. The comic was very funny. ("Have fun with life! When you make reservations over the phone and you spell your name, don't say 'D as in dog.' Have fun with it! Try, 'Yeah, that's D as in W, A as in H, and N as in 'enter.' You can take a whole hour on a single reservation if you want.")
At any rate, I bought the tickets for it on-line beforehand, however, and I discovered that in two weeks the Comedy Showcase is featuring . . . Billy West.
!!
I showed the page to Kala. "We're going," she said firmly.
Unfortunately, the Showcase is part of a bar and you have to 18 to get in, meaning there's no way we could bring Aran. :(
Kala did some searching and found Billy West's web site. He has a forum there, and he does post to it, meaning he seems to be at least a little accessible. She e-mailed him, explaining what Aran's deal was. "Are you making any appearances during the day that we could bring him to?" she asked. "He'd love to get the chance to meet you."
Even if he isn't appearing anywhere, we're kind of hoping he'll add, "But if you want to bring him by the club before the show . . . " or something.
At minimum, we'll bring some FUTURAMA stuff to the show along with a Sharpie and see if we can get him to autograph it for Aran.