I recently attended the One Voice Conference and Awards in Dallas. This was my first time attending this particular voiceover event and it was terrific; a nice balance between small, intimate conferences (which have their own charm and drawbacks based on limited attendance) and large conferences [which seem to overflow unendingly with vendors trying to sell you stuff and which allow insufficient opportunities to create real connections with others in your field).
One Voice is produced in both the U.S. and Europe by the team at Gravy for the Brain. Their experience and connections mean they attract a wide range of voice actors, coaches, casting directors, and agents. Candidly, Dallas is not a place I would choose to spend time in the summer, as it's ridiculously hot, and the hotel venue, the Hyatt DFW, isn't particularly well suited for managing anything larger than a small conference. There's only one restaurant and one snack bar, meaning lines are long. And it's a real challenge to do things like store your luggage prior to leaving for the airport because they have insufficient storage space, and your bags are thus stored chaotically in multiple locations. Having been an operations executive in my previous life, that kind of inefficiency drives me nuts. But we’re there for the conference, not the property’s services and amenities. So it’s not really a big deal.
Back to my point regarding conference size. I found One Voice to be about right for the purposes of balancing education and networking. I was able to attend a lot of great sessions hosted by really great voice actors, casting directors, and agent, and I also routinely saw the same attendees and speakers over and over. So there were ample opportunities to reconnect with old friends, meet new ones, and do so in an environment where meaningful conversation could be had. That's not a given at large conferences where multiple meeting halls and even hotels may be occupied by just one conference. To that point, I will be attending VO Atlanta in March, and that'll be my first chance to see what the VO industry defines as a large event Again, having come from a global business background before becoming a voice actor, I know what a really large conference looks like, and I'm not convinced VO Atlanta will qualify in my experience. But we’ll see.
While at One Voice, I also spent some quality time with my teammates from Voice Over For The Planet, a group of voice actors providing first-rate VO services for companies interested in environmetal responsibility. Most of the team of 13 (now 14) were able to attend and used the conference as an opportunity to meet up, spend time together, strategize, and have a few laughs. Very cathartic and what an amazing group of actors!
As a footnote, I was nominated for a One Voice Award in the category of Best TV/Web Commercial. It was nice to be recognized for my work by 19 of the industry’s most experienced judges. And competing in arguably the largest category means that my commercial spot was selected over roughly 99% of all those evaluated. I didn't win, which isn’t a surprise, given that many of the finalist nominees have an IMDb page the length of my arm and decades of experience and previous awards. But the nomination taught me a lot maybe next year will be my year.
Next up, the SOVAS in Los Angeles in December, an event I attended last year and really enjoyed as well. I’ll report on that conference and awards gala early in 2025.
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