ACTING AT THE MIC - 4 Week V/O Class with Maggie Phillips, Professional Voice Actor/Coach and Jessica Felrice, V/O Agent, Abrams Artists

Saturday, June 25, 2011, 10am ET / 7am PT

Good acting is good acting, whether it's on a stage, in front of a camera, or behind a mic. Advertisers are not looking for a voice, they're looking for a person. The breakdown of a casting session repeatedly says "a regular person, casual, non-announce, no sell." Your job is to bring that regular person to the mic. In these 4 sessions, our goal is to discover YOUR VOICE. Your voice as a mom or dad, a teacher, a truck driver, an employee, a friend... You will explore your instrument through various kinds of current copy, discovering and expanding your range as you work. And you will be coached according to your needs. Every actor, every voice is unique. You will get the individual attention you deserve as well as working on the techniques needed to pursue a voice-over career. Major emphasis is placed on script analysis. You will be trained to view the black and white words as a goldmine to explore on your way to delivering reads that are not only professional, but highly considerate of the buyers intentions. Individual vocal problems are addressed, such as glottal attacks, throat or mouth tensions, or breathing issues. You will work at the mic at every class. And the learning that happens as you listen to your peers is invaluable--you get to hear what works and what doesn't. In the 4th class, Top NY V/O Agent Jessica Felrice will come in and give feedback on everyone's work as well provide insight into the V/O industry. Limited to 12 actors Maggie Phillips has been a working union actor and teacher for over two decades. A 15-year stage career at some of the top LORT regional houses, she has had the opportunity to perform many of Shakespeare's ladies, Tennessee Williams' heroines, and a Eugene O'Neill victim. On the other end of the spectrum, her experience in contemporary theater is vast, both comedy and drama, and she has had the great good fortune to originate several roles in new plays. In front of a camera, Maggie created the role of Marianne on "The Guiding Light", and has an indie film "Aquarium" which won an Honorable Mention at this January's Sundance Film Festival and played at Brooklyn Academy of Music in June. As a voice-over, she has been heard on scores of commercials for everything from retail to pharmaceuticals to automobiles to cosmetics. As a narrator, Maggie has worked for many clients, including The Discovery Channel, The History Channel, The Learning Channel, and Court TV. Promo clients include Lifetime, A&E, and Buena Vista's A.M. network lineup--Live with Regis and Kelly, The View, and General Hospital. She is the founder of the original V/O Gym. Always a favorite among our actors, Jessica has been with Abrams Artists for 9 years and has worked in the voiceover department for eight. Another terrific guest from this premiere agency, she's recently booked her clients in network TV spots for Walmart, Kay Jewelers, Baskin' Robbins, McDonalds and EA Games Class Testimonials: "I'm thrilled to recommend Maggie Phillips' ACTING AT THE MIC class. Maggie is an excellent teacher who brings a tremendous amount of experience, wisdom, and good humor to the classroom. Her approach to voice-over gives the actor techniques for delivering lively and authentic "reads." Maggie's style of interacting with students is both professional and friendly. On top of all this, the class was a lot of fun!" -Karen Ostberg "With Maggie's years of experience as an actor, educator and voice-over artist, I approach copy and the voice-over world in an entirely new way. Her subtle but skilled direction has given me more revelatory moments than I can recall. She has something to offer everyone; from the most seasoned professional to the curious newcomer. I would enthusiastically recommend Maggie Phillips' "Acting at the Mic" class without hesitation." -Andy Wagener "Acting At The Mic with Maggie Phillips was very informative and enjoyable! In class we discussed everything from the business to audition techniques. Best of all, we each had time to work behind the mic in every class with feedback and coaching from Maggie herself! I learn by doing, and I learned a lot from this class. I recommend this class to all who are interested in voice overs. Whether you're an amateur or a professional looking to brush up your mic skills, there is always something to learn! Plus Maggie, is so easy to work with and she is very encouraging when working on techniques! I hope to take more classes with Maggie in the future!" -Alissa Simmons "I am currently a student of Maggie Philips in the study of Voice Over. I originally pursued a career in Los Angeles in the early 80's with random classes that more or less became known to be non-professionals and lost a great deal of money without the proper guidance. Feeling discouraged I abandoned my dream. Many years later Ms. Philips became highly recommended to me by two people quite successful in the field of Voice Over. I was elated to be accepted in a group class situation through Actors Connection and felt immediately I was in the right hands. Afraid I would be intimidated by experienced students I found myself in a group of friendly individuals who all embraced Ms. Philips advice and encouraging and constructive criticisms. It was apparent she was passionate about her work and excited about our hunger for learning. When the class came to an end I approached her about private lessons and once again I am delighted to be a student continuing to learn about the possibilities of a career in this field. Because of her, I am enjoying this journey and feel very positive about my future. Although my travel time for each lesson is about 4 hours, I can honestly say its worth every minute. I would recommend her to anyone at any level of study as I find her advice to be quite valuable." -Robin R. Southern "After being absent from voiceover work for many years, I feel lucky to have found Maggie Phillips. She teaches with a velvet glove. She makes voice acting accessible and fun!" -Suzi Nauser

Maggie Phillips

Maggie Phillips has been a working union actor and teacher for over three decades. A 15-year stage career at some of the top LORT regional houses, she has had the opportunity to perform many of Shakespeare's ladies, Tennessee Williams' heroines, and a Eugene O'Neill victim. On the other end of the spectrum, her experience in contemporary theater is vast, both comedy and drama, and she has had the great good fortune to originate several roles in new plays. In front of a camera, Maggie created the role of Marian on "The Guiding Light", and starred in the Indie film "Aquarium" which won an Honorable Mention at this January's Sundance Film Festival and played at Brooklyn Academy of Music. As a voice-over artist, she has been heard on scores of commercials for everything from retail to pharmaceuticals to automobiles to cosmetics. As a narrator, Maggie has worked for many clients, including The Discovery Channel, The History Channel, The Learning Channel, and Court TV. Promo clients include Lifetime, A&E, RLTV, "Live with Kelly", "The View", and "General Hospital". She is the founder of the original V/O Gym.