Voice Acting: ‘And … Cue Announce!’ How To Prepare For The VO Ride Of Your Life – Live Announcing, by Marian Massaro
Voice actor Marian Massaro smiles before announcing a New York Emmy® Awards show – one of many live announcing challenges she has met – and enjoyed.
VOICE ACTING
‘And … Cue Announce!’ How To Prepare For
The VO Ride Of Your Life: Live Announcing
July 12, 2016
Note: This article recently appeared in
The Gold Standard, the newsletter of the New York chapter of the
National Academy of Arts & Sciences, and we appreciate the chapter’s
permission to reprint and share the multi-talent author’s experiences and insights on live announcing.
By Marian Massaro
Voice Actor
The lights go down, the music goes up, you hear the Director say those three magic words “And & Cue Announce!!” …
and you’re off on an incredible, magical night.
You are part of a team
of remarkable people who put together an awe-inspiring evening that’s
about to change others’ lives. The room is filled with excited guests
waiting to hear if their names will be called. This is the world of the
live announcer – one of the many genres of voice over, and one of my
favorites.
Could live announcing really be as fun and exhilarating on the inside as it
appears to be on the outside? Totally.
Does it take a certain kind of
voice actor to be able to perform this type of voice over? Absolutely.
“To be an effective live voice over performer, you must be able
to watch and react in the moment to lead the audience through what is
happening. Aside from studying names and facts, you must understand the
feel of the show. It is important for your show voice to have command and
depth so the audience listens – but not so much that they are distracted
from the visual. This isn’t an easy balance. I am always grateful for
experienced voice over talent.” – Kathy Connell, Executive Producer, Screen Actors Guild Awards
CAN YOU DO THIS?
Live announce isn’t for the faint of heart. There is no ‘take two’
here. But in my opinion, it’s the ride of your life!
I’ve had the
amazing opportunity to live announce the esteemed New York Emmy®
Awards for the past several years, in addition to live announcing the Screen Actors Guild
Awards® and Critics’ Choice Awards, to name a few. What an amazing
honor.
It is especially fun when you do the show again, as you often
work with the same people, and you become a family.
George Cauttero,
Director of the New York Emmy® Awards explains:
“A great live
announcer has to be able to cut through the noise in the venue. Listen to
what’s happening as the event evolves. If things turn – adjust your
read.”
HOW TO PREPARE …
So how do you prepare for a night where anything can happen at any
time?
If you’re lucky enough to get a copy of the script ahead of time – which doesn’t always happen – you’ll quickly learn that YouTube is
your best friend. Any names you’re unfamiliar with can usually be found
here.
Many times, you’re given phonetic spellings of the names, but I
like to do my own research as backup. If there’s a name that’s
particularly difficult to pronounce, I’ll write it phonetically in the
script and white-out the actual name, so there’s no chance of error.
Of
course, watching award shows is also great training. Improv classes,
as well, can prove to be invaluable in preparing for a live event
because it teaches you how to react ‘in the moment’ and think on your feet.
FOLLOW SCRIPT, WATCH SHOW, SPEAK …
Throughout the show, you’ll follow the script as well
as watch what’s happening on stage – since changes can often take place – and you’ll know when you’re up next.
At all times, you’ll wear headphones that will have the director in your right ear, and the live show in
your left ear.
When it’s your turn to speak, you’ll push a ‘talk’ button
that puts your voice live on the air.
In cases where you can’t see the
stage from your announce position, you’ll have a TV monitor nearby so
you can follow the show in real time.
EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED
Adaptability is key, as noted by Barry Adelman, Executive Vice President of Television for Dick Clark Productions:
“We look for someone who can convey energy, excitement and the
attitude of the specific event.“For example, the voice for the Golden
Globe Awards needs to project a more formal attitude than the voice does
for New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. By the way, the same announcer can
absolutely do both if they are versatile enough.“The announcer must be
continually in the moment, because anything can happen. (Sometimes an
introduction is written for two presenters and only one walks out!)
She/he must be completely sure of the pronunciation of each name…
Many of our shows have ‘walk up’ copy that updates the winners’
accomplishments as they come to the stage. When a nominee is up for
several categories, this copy may be constantly updated, so the
announcer needs to be able to adjust to the copy options on the fly.”
Bob Dussault, Post Producer for the Screen Actors Guild Awards®, adds:
“The announcer is a hugely important component to the success
of the show, and assists and complements the director, performers,
presenters and hosts, and binds the audience to the outcome. The
audience will take its cues from the announcer and, especially at a
live event, the audience is as much a part of the overall spectacle and
experience as are the performers – they feed off each other.”
IF YOU WANT TO DO THIS …
What advice can be given to voice actors interested in doing live announce? Dussault continues:
“Become a student of the genre. Understand its history, its
present, and what is trending for the future. Become familiar with the
work and style of the awards show executive producers, and do
everything you can to get on their radar and meet them.”
Adds George Cauttero:
“Study
the announcers working the awards shows and game shows; see how these announcers approach their assignments. See what you can
appropriate/borrow from them.”
What else can you do to prepare?
All good habits come into play
here. Eating well, getting lots of sleep, drinking lots of water, exercise,
positive thoughts, meditation – and even visualization, work amazingly
well.
I treat each show as if I’m training for a marathon. I’ll block my
calendar weeks before the event to give myself time for anything that might come up.
On show day, I’ll take a bag with me filled with
goodies:
- things to soothe my throat if needed,
- snacks to keep my energy
up, and - markers and highlighters for last-minute changes to the
script.
Good snacks? Fruit, nuts and protein are great choices. I
always bring water – although it’s usually provided for me, as well.
I
always have apple juice or black Australian licorice on hand – as
they’re great at keeping any mouth noises away. Grether’s Pastilles and
Entertainer’s Secret are also with me, as they’re terrific for soothing
the throat, if needed. (Peanut butter would not be a good option here.)
THEN ENJOY THE PARTY!
Of course, what’s an exciting night like this without an after party??? The
evening is just beginning!
Wear your best, and get ready to toast to a
terrific show! It’s everything and anything you can imagine. All in a
day’s work.
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ABOUT MARIAN
Marian Massaro has been the live announcer of the Screen Actors’ Guild Awards, the Critics’ Choice Awards, and for the past five years, the New York Emmy Awards. She is a multi-talented and sought-after voice actor who has voiced national commercials, narrations and promos for many Fortune 500 companies.
Web: www.marianmassaro.com
Twitter: @marianmassaro