Birthday/Sign: October 11 ~ Libra/Monkey
Favorite Color: Purple (as if you hadn't guessed it yet)
Favorite Food: Thai
Pets: Two cats - Momiji & Kusanagi
Husband: Married very happily to Matt Greenfield (3-8-03)----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1: Are you yourself an otaku, or is animé strictly buisness?Yes, I am definitely an anime fan, and I am thrilled to be a part of this great industry.
2: What are your top 10 favorite anime titles?Hmmm... My top ten. Well, I will list them, but in no particuar order - except Eva. That's still my fave.
1 Neon Genesis Evangelion
2 Blue Seed
3 Golden Boy
4 Martian Successor Nadesico
5 Dragon Half
6 Princess Nine
7 RahXephon
8 Spirited Away
9 Legend of the Mystical Ninja
10 NoirNOTE: This list changes frequently as I find new shows I like.
3: Do you actually talk the way you do when you act, or is it like you have an acting voice and then your normal voice kind of thing?Well, the character that is closest to my normal voice would probably be Becky Farra from Gun Smith Cats. Of my approximately 325+ credits - and God only know how many characters - I have played a pretty wide variety of roles. I have played authority figures, vixens, feisty teenagers, children (boys mostly), warriors (one had a French accent), an old lady and even a tree! So, my answer would be that I have done many, many voices and people DO usually recognize my voice at conventions ;-)
4: Do you ever hang out with other voice actors and, if so, who are your voice acting buddies?Although we normally record our sessions indivually, I am good friends with many of the other voice actors. In fact, I know several of them from outside of voice acting. Some of my friends are Monica Rial, Kira Vincent-Davis, Allison Keith, Spike Spencer, Andy McAvin, Jay Hickman, Hilary Haag, Jason Douglas, Brett Weaver, Randy Sparks, Amy Howard, Lisa Ortiz, Rachael Lillis, Juliet Cesario, Scott Simpson, Michael Brady, Kelly Manison, Chris Patton, Greg Ayres, Laura Chapman and several others. I am also accquainted with many more and I have had the pleasure of meeting one of my personal idols twice, Peter Fernandez (Speed Racer), as well as Corinne Orr (Trixie).
5: Who is your favorite anime character that you did not voice?Wow, that IS a hard one! I really like Ryo Hayakawa in Princess Nine, but I also LOVED Kabapu in Excel Saga. There are so many I like though, it's hard to pick just one.
6: I recently finished 'End of Evangelion.' The ending didn't make any sense. What did Asuka mean when she said "Disgusting." It's all very confusing to me. Could you please fill me in a little if you don't mind?
I'll try... The most widely circulated translation of the last line of EoE is "I feel sick", but Amanda Winn Lee (voice of Rei Ayanami, who also directed EoE) said she asked several translators, and she felt "disgusting" was the most accurate adaptation. You could say she is disgusted with/sick of the situation or wih Shinji himself. My favorite explanation though, is this one: My husband, Matt Greenfield, directed the TV series and is very familiar with the whole Eva franchise. Matt has said that although (Eva creator) Hideaki Anno seems to change his mind frequently about what various things mean in Eva, Anno once said that Asuka's comment about feeling "sick" was a reference to morning sickness. Now THAT gives ya something to think about, doesn't it! Of course, Anno is quite passionate about the idea that every person should decide for him or herself what Eva means to them.
7: I heard there are new episodes of Evangelion coming out. What's in them? - OR - What are these Director's Cut episodes of Eva? Why was the footage cut out before?
Just to clarify, there are no "extra" episodes of Eva, nor was any footage ever cut from the show by ADV or Gainax. There is additional footage for the last six episodes only. After the series aired in Japan, Hideaki Anno (the original creator) was in the process of making the movies. However, he felt the movies would make more sense if he added in a few bits to the end of the TV series here and there. Sooooo - before the TV series came out in Japan on home video, he added in those extra bits (probably another 10-20 or so minutes overall, but spread out) to make the movies flow better. So the revised version came out on home video in Japan, followed by the two movies (Death & Rebirth and End of Evangelion). What ADV negotiated for was the version that originally aired on TV in Japan because the series was just finishing airing in Japan at the time and the additional footage had not yet been created. So, the Eva Director's Cut being released by ADV in January and February of 2004 will only be the last two volumes with episodes 21-26. Those discs will contain the original broadcast versions as well as the new extended versions, so if you get these, you will have ALL of the show in both versions.
8: I'm afraid the new Live-action eva movie I keep hearing about will screw up the characters. What can you tell me?
Take a look at the piece HERE for answers to your burning questions about the current state of EVA live action!
9. I was wondering if there are any prerequisites for getting a job as a voice actor?
While there are no "prerequisites" per se when it comes to acting, there are things you can to work toward your goal. Voice acting is, first and foremost, acting. Many people have said to me "I'm too shy to be in a play or on-camera, but I think I'd be really good at voice acting." Wrong. Acting is about shedding your inhibitions, following your heart and being able to take a LOT of rejection. I recommend getting as much training and experience in whatever venues are available to you. Usually this means local theatre either through school or community groups. Other valid avenues are acting classes and working in independent films. The most important thing to realize is that, in order to work in a chosen field, you have to live where that work is happening. If you live in Kansas and have dreams of making it on Broadway, you won't get far. In the US, there are very few places that record voices for anime: Austin, Houston and Ft. worth in Texas, New York, Los Angeles and one studio in North Carolina. Almost all the work in LA is through the union, and some of the work in NY is also union, though not all of it. In Texas and NC, the work is all non-union. There are also many other fields for voice work: several places record for video games, books on tape, and toys. You might also consider voice-overs for radio and TV ads or educational/industrial films.
10: Does ADV buy the rights from a Japanese company to dub the anime, and is it really like 'first come, first served' or do you just watch some and pick which ones you want to do?"
First of all, I am an actor and writer for ADV on a contract basis and am not directly employed by ADV, but I do have a pretty good understanding of licensing procedures. Since ADV has been around for almost twelve years and is the largest distributor of anime in North America (not to mention distribution in other countries like Australia, Canada and the UK), ADV has a lot of clout in the business. ADV is often on the ground floor of many projects like Burn Up W and Excess, BGC Tokyo: 2040 and KaleidoStar as a co-producer. So, many times, ADV already has the rights to a show by virtue of the fact that they helped finance it. Other times, companies approach various companies such as ADV to request a partnership for distribution. Often, ADV execs are looking at storyboards and/or rough animation way before a show is done to decide whether or not they will license something for foreign distribution (outside Japan). Nowadays, it is pretty rare for a show to run on TV that isn't already licensed by someone for English language distribution - even though the agreement may not have been publicly announced.
11: I was wondering if you have any control over what Anime Titles ADV choses to license?
No, I'm afraid voice actors and writers don't have any say over what shows are licensed. And as for me personally, I don't even know what the options would be since I am pretty much clueless about what shows are on-air or in production. There are few things I know about such as Sister Princess Repure (second season for a show I wrote/had a role in) which I would love to see ADV have the chance to do, but those are merely wishes. I try not to get too caught up on what's going on in Japan or what's popular over there, because there's no guarantee I'll get to work on it and I would hate to get my hopes up.
12: There is this awesome show that I think would be popular over here, do you know if ADV will license it?
ADV has a very close relationship with all the major studios in Japan so Matt Greenfield and John Ledford (ADV's co-founders) know pretty much everything there is to know about it. You see, most TV shows on the air in Japan are already licensed for foreign distribution before they even go on television there. In fact, many shows that ADV distributes are bought into by investing in the production as a co-sponsor (which is why their name is sometimes in the credits as a production partner). Matt and John often make decisions on what shows to license or invest in by reviewing storyboards and script synopses. Some people make the assumption that because a show has not yet been announced by a US company, that it has not been licensed, but when you're talking about a company like Gainax or Gonzo, it's a sure bet that it has. Matt Greenfield was recently discussing why US companies have to wait a certain period of time (whatever the terms are in the contract) before announcing US rights for a certain show. In Japan, DVDs are very expensive, and there is a HUGE market for Japanese animé fans buying imported American DVDs!! That's because they are so much cheaper. Therefore, the original Japanese companies want to allow some time for them to make money off the original release first. It really makes sense if you think about it!
13: There's a show ADV has announced, and I'd like to see about flying there to audition for it. What are the chances?
The problem would be that you would probably spend about as much money on flights, hotels and rental cars as you would on recording the show - if you got a lead role. If it was a smaller role, you'd almost definitely lose money. Naturally, there can be situations where an actor is needed for a pickup on short notice, and you normally get paid nothing for those. There have been times when Houston actors have had to drive over 500 miles round trip to Dallas/Ft. Worth to do pick-ups for Funimation. If you accept a role in a show though, you have to agree to the terms and conditions. Things like pick-ups and getting called on short notice are part of the job.
14: I know you write scripts for ADV. What does that job entail? Do you speak Japanese?
I cannot translate Japanese at all. Our expert staff of translators work on the shows so that at least two people review every script. They work from the original Japanese script plus listening to the dialogue track on the show. The ADR writers (like myself) face the basic task of adapting that translation into something that sounds good in English and suits each individual character while retaining the original intent AND keeping within the number of mouthflaps. That's the easy part. The difficult part is puns and cultural references. Those are HARD to convey, but essential to the process. We must make note of all those little sounds you hear - the gasps, screams, running sounds, and other non-dialogue utterances. All these "vocal foleys" have to be in the script so the director can be sure the actor records all of them in the booth. We are also responsible for noting the timecodes at which the dialogue and vocalizations are spoken. I always watch the entire series (I've only worked on shows with 24-26 episodes) before writing a single word so I know all the hidden secrets and revelations that inevitably come out toward the end. In other words, although it may not get revealed that a certain character is really another person's mom or really in love with another character until episode 22, those actors need to know that information from the start to convey their performance adequately. Of course, to do the actual writing, you must watch the individual lines over and over and over to make sure the line on your script can actually be performed by the actor in that amount of time. Therefore, the writer has to act out every line of the script multiple times. This is where I get to do impersonations of all my fellow voice actors!
UPCOMING CONS (as of 03/17/2008):
Stellarcon 32/Deep South Con 46 ~ March 14-16, 2008 (High Point, NC)
Tekkoshocon VI ~ April 11-13, 2008 (Pittsburgh, PA)
Kawaii Kon ~ April 18-20, 2008 (Honolulu, HI)
AniMix ~ July 18-20, 2008 (Killeen, TX)
KakkoiCon ~ August 1-3, 2008 (Minneapolis, MN)
San Japan 1.5 ~ August 8-10, 2008 (San Antonio, TX)
Tomo-Dachi ~ August 29-31, 2008 (Londonderry, Northern Ireland)
OFF-SITE INTERVIEWS:
Interview with AnimeOnDVD.com
MISC INFO:
Check out Voices for Peace, a non-profit project I'm a part of. It's an album of war protest songs both modern and classic. All profits from the album will be donated to CARE and Doctors Without Borders.
Check out the most recent review of NGE on NPR (National Public Radio) - http://www.npr.org/rundowns/segment.php?wfId=1778628
