The Cyantian Chronicles

This week didn’t exactly go as planned. Let’s see…
Sunday night, chased down a feral kitten with my hubby. We caught her and secluded her in a bathroom. Named her Quinn because she was a kind of very light grey with a pale grey mask and tail. She was maaaad.
Monday was Halloween, and I had a kitten to deal with. Fed her, noted that I was able to handle her despite her hissing and growling really angrily at me. Gave her a light bath, to which she responded by pooping in the bath. She pooped again when I blew dry her. Fed her several times, got into contact with local human society and made arrangements for her to be picked up on Tuesday morning if she wasn’t too feral.
Halloween was undertaken with much trick or treating and candy obtained and a little girl who didn’t seem as in to it as she had been before we left.
Tuesday morning, I had Quinn eating out of my hand, purring and not acting feral at all. I would’ve kept her if I could’ve afforded the vet, knowing that she’s feral, has never had human contact and yet she warmed up in 24 hours and had stopped hissing and would now meow at me when I’d come in to check on her and feed her. AT one point she looked really happy and was flexing her itty bitty paws while leaning against the door of her carrier, which she walked in and out of without a problem of complaint and was really enjoying being petted and scratched. Turned her over. Suspicion is that she’s a ragdoll. That made me want her more.
Two hours later, I get an email: Hey, we’re holding vocal tryouts at FUNimation for . Want to come? – WHAT?! I put my name on the list over a month ago thinking nobody would call for a year or two since it’s like.. 200-300 people long. That way I’d have TIME to take some acting classes since I don’t have any experience. Panicked, then scheduled for later in the day. Checked out manga of the anime, found it interesting and found several characters I thought I’d like to do.
Went to FUNimation in the evening for a new experience, checked these books they call sides that give you an example of the dialogue and a picture of the character and you practice. Met the casting director, who told me to look over all the female parts … and the male lead. (I did not like the male lead, he swore a lot and was a whiny Shinji-type emo boy). I had ten minutes to read over them, then was taken back into an actual sound room. I’ll note that they repeatedly asked me to tell them if I was uncomfortable with anything and I told them what I wouldn’t do.
The sound room has a really fancy wire mesh type microphone – that I didn’t fully realize WAS the microphone at first. It was situated between two flatscreen computer monitors that could be rotated. The one on the left was vertical with the sides on them so I could read the dialogue. The other one, I imagine, shows anime when they’re actually dubbing.
I did the first character, one I was comfortable with, a female prison warden. Realized in a panic that – oh.. I can’t HEAR MY VOICE in the headphones. I hear myself, but it sounds far too even and I probably shouldn’t be listening to my own voice. Everything I said sounded pretty much the same. Then I was asked to do a younger primary character. (I was amazed I was actually asked to do primary characters.) THEN, instead of asking me to try for the boy, they asked me to do the psycho girl that I hadn’t even bothered to really look at because I didn’t think I had a good younger girl voice anyway. The instructions were to go extreme and maniacal and that they might even ask me to do it a second time, even more extreme.
I went all out. I went so far out, that I got tunnel vision, which I’ve never experienced before and think I may have overdone it because it was just so much dialogue that I’d never say in a voice I’d never use in a way I don’t speak. I wasn’t asked to do it a second time.
I have absolutely no idea how I did. While I got a lot of approving looks and compliments on it being ‘Good Stuff.’ Did I mention they’re incredibly nice? – I have NO idea other than I was able to go all out because I can laugh and say, They’re not hiring me to do a voice. First voice audition where I don’t know what I’m doing and unfortunately, don’t breathe right. I had to stop to take a breath where I know I shouldn’t have twice. I need to practice breathing while talking loudly. So now I DO at least know what I need to practice and I’m even more interested in pursuing it as a hobby. I’ll take a few classes in the spring if I’m able and get Kim in them too. She’d enjoy it.
They mentioned that recording wouldn’t really begin until months later. Release date of this anime isn’t until next year anyway. They also mentioned that it would get harder. I hope I at least surprised him that I did what I did despite obviously being a very quiet, reserved person. It was kind of funny that he kept bring up that it was a very violent anime and making sure I knew what I was getting into. Violent, yes, gory, no. Big difference to me. Ultimately, I would like to be in more general animes, but I wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity to go in. I’d still enjoy doing it, because I like the characters. And no, do not ask me what the anime is. While they did not tell me I couldn’t say, I feel like I should NOT say.
After that… I was reaaally exhausted and still am. 0.0 That’s something I never thought I’d go in and do.
- Tiff

I’m working on a calendar, maybe it’ll be for 2012… maybe 2013. In any case, it will be full color. Right now, I have 9 pictures ready and need to make 3 more. Most of them are from recent artwork over the last year. So who do we need for those remaining months? As of right now:

January – Silver

February – Sheana Darius

March – Jasmine

April – Quinn

May – Syrys

June – Group Image

July – Open

August – Sheana

September – Open

October – Quinn

November – Open

December – Jasmine