Contestants for Commercial & Promo
Live show on November 3rd
7-9 p.m. EST
Avery Luna – Maricopa, Arizona USA
Heyo! Let’s start with a few key features. I am: Tall, erratic, and stupid with a splash of genius. Oh, and my voice go deep. Not that that defines my voiceover life. In fact, Im generally pretty bubbly, sometimes even “girly”, which sounds HILARIOUS with a deep voice by the way. Motivating yourself to start voiceover just when it feels like its becoming the #1 most desired job in America is tough, you really gotta find a way to stand out in a crowd. Luckily for my lanky self, that’s never been a problem ;).
Jaime Wells – Glendale, California USA
WICKED camera shy but loves to be heard! I’m new to the professional world but have been making voices for as long as I can remember between Dungeons and Dragons, Podcasts and simply parroting people around me. I’ve dipped my toes into video games, audiobooks, commercials and animated pilots and I can’t get enough of the VO world!
J.D. Kaye – Los Angeles, California
J.D. Kaye (that’s me!) is an internationally award-nominated voice-over talent. He has had a long and varied career. He sings Barbershop Harmony, performed stand-up comedy, plays the Bass, and has entertained at 3 U.S. amusement parks! He can be heard in the Netflix film The Platform (English dub) and also regularly as the voice of “The Russian” for the online video game hit Unknown’s Battlegrounds. His first love is his wonderfully large family, and voice-over comes in a close second.
Jen Lawton-Hunt – Shefield, England UK
Jen is a trained actress from the North of England. She’s a fairly new voice on the scene and is thoroughly enjoying immersing herself in all the VO world has to offer! Jen loves nothing more than delving into a character and prides herself on finding the emotional connection with the listener. She is seriously chuffed to be one of the 36 chosen out of the thousands of brilliant entries, and can’t wait to get cracking with the next round!
Jenn Henry – Boston, Massachusetts USA
Jenn Henry turned up in the VO Community’s living room about 10 years ago and no one has made her leave yet. As a result, she’s had to do National commercial, video game, and non-broadcast work beyond her wildest dreams and couldn’t be more grateful to those who embrace and elevate her daily.
Joshua Gray – Chicago, Illinois USA
Hi, my name is Joshua Gray. I’m a filmmaker/Youtuber by the name of SonGoshuaku. My main focus is telling stories through my writing, directing, and acting. However, I’m versed in the technical side as well. Such as cinematography, editing, visuals effects, etc. Overall, you’ll find me to be an enthusiastic creator!!!
Laura K. Welsh – Temecula, California USA
Laura is currently on an extended VO journey–inspired from a young age when she listened to her father read Winnie-the-Pooh in all the different characters, and then further after hearing the radio drama of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. She’s passionate about all aspects of the VO industry, and loves to help other fellow VO travelers she meets with their goals and dreams.
Rory Barnett – London, England UK
A real man of the world, Rory’s ancestry is British, with French, Irish, Danish and Russian thrown in for good measure. He speaks French fluently, and has studied German, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Latin and even Ancient Greek. This makes him pretty good at accents! He worked at the BBC for more than 15 years, before becoming a full-time voice actor. He’s also lead singer in a band and proud owner of a Jack Russell called Bernard. He has a mildly obsessive mind for trivia, facts and figures; you’re most likely to find him in flowery shirts and fancy footwear.
Stephen Bones – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Steven Bones is a VO Talent based out of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Known for his light hearted animated style and great vocal versatility. He has voiced commercials, corporate videos, TV promos, cartoons, dubs, and even video games in his VO Career. Notable VO works include, Tag in Rimba Racer, Kumar in Bola Kampung The Movie, Chuck Chicken, Zuke in No Straight Roads (Video game by Metronomik) and many more! And for anyone wondering, Steven is Malaysian of Chinese ethnicity.
Contestants for Narration, Documentary & Audiobook
Live show on November 10th
7-9 p.m. EST
Chad William Fischer – Lufkin, Texas USA
A lifelong stage actor and submarine veteran who was introduced to the world of VO at The Puget Sound Naval Shipyards media department. Pursued voice over full time upon his military separation in 2016 and has never looked back. Studied acting formally at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in LA in 2019 to work on his craft and pursue a more diverse range of performance medium. Has worked commercially for many clients including Verizon, MTV, Chipotle, Petco, The Seattle Kraken and in video games for The Division 2, Battletech, Ghost of Tsushima, Shadowverse and many more! When he’s not in the booth, he’s spending time with his wife and 3 kids or working with his daughter Emma on their Pokémon YouTube channel CBX PKMN
Craig Williams – Houston, Texas USA
Craig’s voice is mid to low range and is as varied as RP British to subtle Scottish and many layers in between. Ideal for making something sound trusting and relatable. Craig started his voice career in 1987 as a nightclub DJ. During this time, he also gave back to the community by volunteering for hospital radio and presenting a weekly show. After some time away from the microphone, he returned to voice over in 2015. Since then, he has built relationships with clients such as Amazon, Google, Rolls Royce, Spotify and much more. Specializing in corporate narration, eLearning and commercials, Craig can make the mundane sound really interesting and bring many different emotions to a read.
Jo Pickard – Yorkshire, UK
Jo is a sought-after priceless talent with a voice that will move and amuse you. Jo has charmed audiences world-wide for 20 years, on all platforms using her individual flair and vibrant sparkle. Presenting and voicing for the very best in the business, from the Olympic Games to National Campaigns. Jo’s inventiveness and effervescent nature flows out creating characters galore for both animation and gaming projects. She has presented over 200 live major events, television shows and adverts, and is recognized as the voice of narration for many channels. Currently you will find Jo on most major Television channels both voicing and presenting ‘Old Wife, New Wife’ and ‘The Omaze Million Pound House’.
Joanne Lichtenstein -Burbank, California USA
A versatile performer with a flair for accents, Joanne has worked in audiobooks, corporate narration and performance capture; loaned to her voice to radio and television campaigns, animations, podcasts, podplays, phone systems and theme park attractions; and dabbled in stand-up comedy. Living in England and traveling extensively helped hone her vocal skillset, and she’s fluent in both US and UK!
JOHN MEISSNER – Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada
Kind – Creative – Distinctive… That’s John Meissner! He’s married to Paula Meissner who competed in this same category last year. John is also a father, former soldier and first responder, who brings decades of life experience to his performances. John loves reading bedtime stories to his kids, VDP wines from Germany, Sci-Fi movies, dogs, horses, a Pittsburgh Rare steak, spending time with his family discovering nature, and sitting around the campfire just staring at the stars. His voice easily commands the room with a compassionate, signature style that draws the attention of anyone who is listening.
Michael Paladine – Brooklyn, New York USA
Michael is Brooklyn-born and raised and has lived in New York City for as long as he’s alive. He first got into acting nearly a decade and a half ago behind the microphone studying the art of voiceover, and has been privileged to work with and learn from many great teachers, including some on the august panel. Looking forward to the challenge . . .
Sarah Borges – Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom
A life lived in two halves, Sarah was born in Pascagoula, Mississippi, spent her school years in Seattle, and then headed off to London to attend drama school, and has been based in the UK ever since. A classically trained singer and instrumentalist as well as a trained actor, Sarah brings a musical ear and love of character exploration to all her voice acting projects. When not recording, Sarah enjoys singing with a big band, swimming, wrangling her ex-commercial rescue chickens, and growing tasty veggies.
Stephanie Németh-Parker—Basel Switzerland
Stephanie is a Cuban-American SAG-AFTRA audiobook narrator, voiceover artist and actress with 20+ years acting experience. With a voice that’s warm and strong with an underlying vulnerability that can easily turn snarky when needed, her versatility and adeptness with accents has enabled her to work in many different areas of the voiceover community – from commercials to corporate narration, animation to audiobooks. She was the voice of Omega Watches for over 5 years and has done over a hundred voiceovers with clients including IKEA, Audi, Novartis, Roche, and Swiss Airlines to name a few.
Steven Vlahos – Toronto, Ontario Canada
Steven Vlahos is an actor, improviser and sketch comedian based out of Toronto, Ontario. A graduate of the Humber Theatre program and Wexford Collegiate’s Musical Theatre program, Steven has been performing for more than a decade. He has appeared in numerous film, tv, and theatrical productions. Most recently you might have heard him as the voice of Psycho Goreman on Shudder. Also, his mom thinks he’s a really cool guy.
Vijayan Menon – Mumbai, Maharashtra India
I’m Vijayan Menon, Male, 49 yrs, from Mumbai, India. I have been into full time voicing for the last 12 years and more and have been lending my voice to Commercials, Radio Spots, Corporate Films, Audio Books, E-learning etc. I love my work and enjoy it every single day. The thought of getting behind the microphone always gets me excited and more so after I have connected with artistes from different parts of the world. Its a wonderful experience.
Will Reierson – Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
Will Reierson is a 23-year-old voice talent from British Columbia, Pluto- I mean, Canada. He got his start in VO after being told by a talent manager that he had potential. That comment clearly went to his head, because he’s been pursuing Full-Time status for the past four years, in spite of the stage fright! (Seriously, it can buzz right off). Will is currently still peeling himself off the floor from making it to the live show, so please forgive him if he seems a bit dazed.
Contestants for Animation & Gaming
Live show on November 17th
7-10 p.m. EST
Baldwin Williams – Beltsville, Maryland USA
Baldwin Williams is a 23-year-old DMV native specifically hailing from Prince George’s County, Maryland. He has been voice acting for two years and enjoys doing character voice work. Baldwin wants to leave his mark on the voice-over industry, while also collaborating with up-and-coming creatives in their endeavors.
Beth Pierce – Nashua, New Hampshire USA
Beth is a 16-year-old aspiring voice actor, who brings her theatre experience to the mic. When not voicing, Beth runs her own company where she volunteers and performs as princesses for birthday parties. Watch her journey as she follows her dreams and voices for her life.
Daisy Rose Gilbert – Melbourne Australia
Professional Pole Dancer and Disney Princess, Daisy is brand spanking new to voiceover. A natural mimic, she has a love for voice impressions, quirky characters, accents and sound effects. Having dreamed of voicing cartoons her entire life but not knowing where to start, she purchased her first microphone and set up a makeshift blanket fort recording studio in August this year. She found some auditions online and within one week had landed herself a number of VO jobs. With a very small amount of animation and video games produced in Australia, Daisy is excited to be a part of this international competition and hopes you have as much fun watching her as she has in front of the mic!
Iliana Spirakis, Toronto, Ontario Canada
Iliana Spirakis, this Greek Queen who is quite the newbie in the world of Voice Over is “super-duper-wow excited” to be part of The Ultimate VO Survivor take 2! Born and raised in the beautiful city of Thessaloniki, Greece, and based in Toronto, Iliana is a passionate storyteller whose acting journey started from a very young age. Inspired by the ancient Greek plays she watched as a child and the importance theatre played in her culture, she knew from very young that this was her life’s dream and purpose. Iliana’s passion is acting and whether it is on stage, in front of a camera or behind a mic, her love for play is always present.
Kara Kovacich Stewart – Los Angeles, California USA
I am a graphic artist for a large aerospace company and a professional voice actor. I’d tell you about my day job but then I’d have to kill you. Not unlike a video game NDA. 😉 I have an amazing husband who is incredibly supportive, but can’t stand to hear my death screams from the other room, so I’ve sworn a Solemn Oath to ALWAYS warn him first… (poor guy!) We have our first little bundle of energy on the way (Coming soon, Feb 26th!)
Lizzie Wofford – London, England UK
Lizzie is an award-winning actor, singer and voice artist from the West Midlands in the UK. She trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts and with the National Youth Music Theatre of Great Britain. She has worked as an actor in a diverse range of media including musicals, plays, pantomimes, films, concerts and immersive theatre. Lizzie played Izzy Blake on The Archers for 6 years and continues to work as a voice artist for audiobooks, video games, audio drama and corporate and commercial work. She is a co-founder of Midlands-based theatre company The Unruly Regiment and can often be found facilitating and performing in primary schools across the country with West End In Schools. (Shakespeare is her jam.) Lizzie is a keen rock climber, can legally tow a caravan and lives in North London with her tiny terrier, Tawni.
Maria Catalano – Torrance, California USA
Maria Catalano is a native Californian. She always shines best when allowed to use her talent and imagination in…well, whatever she does! She is a lifelong combination of professional singer/ songwriter, (Christina Aguilera), vocal coach, IT business owner, band business owner, professional mom, and now her exciting endeavor into voiceover! She loves to inspire, excite and ignite others into action!
Matt Chalik – Hobart, Indiana USA
Matt Chalik has been loudly expressing himself since the moment he was told to sit still and stop making mouth noises. It’s been his life ever since. Art, music, acting, speech, writing, directing, coaching. All spokes on the wheel of creativity.
Whichever you witness, you’re going to remember it.
Patrick Collins – Ayr, Ontario Canada
Patrick started watching cartoons at a similar age as most toddlers. Unlike most, however, he hasn’t stopped. On top of being a volunteer firefighter in his small community of Ayr, Ontario, Patrick primarily works in the eLearning and Narration side of the voice-over industry when he’s not having a blast with his beautiful wife Lisa, children, Hudson & Ivy, and dog Matey. Thanks to amazing coaching and an insatiable appetite for the fun parts of life, Patrick has recently been making strong strides in the animation field with recent castings in several small projects. Patrick has his sights set on bigger, bolder, and wackier features in the near future. Patrick only asks one thing of everyone he meets, and that’s to always remember that somebody loves them.
Zear Woods – Eugene, Oregon USA
After a successful career in the BioPharma industry, newcomer Zear Woods is hitting the Voice-over scene in a fabulous second act. His high energy and creative spirit shines as he brings his characters to life, showing his true dedication to the art of storytelling. As a lover of Sci-Fi, Mystery, Drama, Comedy, and Time Travel, you never know where this chameleon might show up next.
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