I’m Rachel Ondang, a voice actor and graphic designer. I’m a Southeast Asian from Vancouver, Canada. I recently graduated from On The Mic Training’s intensive full-time diploma program where I was taught by current voice actors in the industry. I learned everything from Commercial, Animation, Video Game VO, Broadcasting, Narration and ADR/Dubbing. 

I’m a huge fan of worldwide animation, with a soft spot for student films and indie game devs! My voice has been described as sweet, youthful, bright & bubbly, and I am always up for working with passionate people! My goal is to be in an animated series alongside those who trained and supported me to where I am now!

1.What inspired you to become a voice actor?

Ever since I was a kid I loved watching animation. I’d watch Tom & Jerry with my grandpa, and as I got older it transitioned into other Saturday morning cartoons, eventually onto Japanese anime and even animation from students and foreign ones. I have always been interested in sound production and animation production behind the scenes and the more I looked into it I realized how much skill and talent goes into voice work. It’s not just talking into a mic. It’s energy. It’s a connection. It’s bringing someone’s character that they passionately made to life! I followed the greats and wanted to learn how to be able to do it and just have fun! I’m lucky to live in a voice acting hub where it’s easy to connect to studios, voice actors and production houses. But I’m glad I took the plunge to apply to a voice over school that had a full-time diploma program.

2.Can you describe your process for preparing for a voice acting role?

Once I find an audition, I keep a data spreadsheet of the information. (Fun, right?) I keep track of due dates, time zones, studio and project/character names as well as where I am in the pipeline. It’s a very important step to see what I’m booking for and not to forget anything. Then I usually prep the script by analysing the story and character. Asking questions if I need to with the producer. Once I’m ready, I do a bit of “voice and movement”. Which are gentle exercises for my body and voice. It helps to warm up outside of the booth and helps me relax before recording! I have honey medium-hot water for my voice and get into the booth to have fun!

3.What has been your biggest challenge as a voice actor and how have you overcome it?

So far, my biggest challenge began before I even started. I used to barely be able to talk to people. (If you can believe it!) I’d stutter, panic, and sometimes even refrain from talking at all. The foundations and full-time schooling I did for voiceover helped create a safe environment for me to open up and take up the space I deserve in the world. The school helped me with finding my voice and creating long lasting friendships as we encourage and help each other grow into this industry. It also helped connect me with wonderfully talented voice actors that help coach and teach me. My instructors were patient with me and my friends helped me with encouragement and motivation.

4.Can you tell us about a particularly memorable project you’ve worked on and why it stands out to you?

It was the very first one I ever did! I was reached out to be an extra for a Halloween audio drama called “The Red River Reaper” and I was the newscaster! I remember it being a Saturday and I wanted to be the best newscaster I could! I set up my studio perfectly, and I was so excited to tell everyone, even my grandma! I’m still so grateful for the opportunity– it really was great to hear myself in a finished project, one that I was able to share and is now out there for others to enjoy and listen to. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it!

5. How do you handle the pressure of performing in front of a microphone?

Doing something relaxing before. Get some good night’s rest. Eat good food that won’t mess with your voice/mouth. Have a bath/shower to relax. I personally love to practice vocal exercises in the shower and it gives me more energy. But practicing on the mic for hundreds of hours seems normal to me now. I’m more nervous off the mic than on it! Because it’s fun to play!

6.Can you share any advice for aspiring voice actors just starting out in the industry?

There’s a lot of advice out there, but I would say to soak it all up like a sponge– but it’s okay to take what works for you, and leave the rest. Not all advice works for your local area or niche. Look into who is giving you the advice, and not all advice is behind a paywall. Watching, listening and practicing are the basics of learning any type of skill. Talk to those in the industry. Watch out for scams or fake agents. Do not rush into big decisions. Networking and branding is a powerful tool– don’t underestimate it! But most importantly, the biggest thing I’ve learned is something my instructor said to me: “Approach all recordings with play.” If you’re not passionate and excited for it– people will be able to tell.

7.Can you tell us about a time when you had to adapt to a new character or voice?

Voice acting is all about new characters! A lot of times you might have a similar voice print for a character, but the differences lie in tone, intention, energy and connection of a character. Though I am still quite new to the industry, I have been told that a lot of times you might be cast for many roles or extra roles. Could be anything from a newscaster to a goat! Improv is very helpful to do things on the spot or help with dubbing. One voice print that I am in the process of learning is a young male child voice!

8. How do you stay motivated and engaged during long recording sessions?

Taking breaks when necessary. My home studio can get pretty warm, and sometimes I take a break or do stretches and have a snack in between recording takes. I also save the most vocal straining parts to the end of recording, such as screams, death sounds, efforts and laughing. Learning how to create energy is something I’m still improving on. I’ve been taught to take a moment off the mic to hype up with a gutteral “YES!” with an inward fist pump, or a “WOOHOO!” shout while fist pumping to the sky. (Please warn your sound engineer first– they’ll thank you for protecting their ears!) and even doing jumping jacks or something then immediately saying your lines without room for that energy to drop.

9.Can you tell us about an experience you had while working on a project where you had to improvise or come up with an unexpected solution?

I had an unexpected recording to do. It was a bigger project and I would have liked to record it in the professional studio, but it was booked up. I rigged my home studio to the best of my ability for the audition, adding pillows and extra carpet to get the noise floor as low as I could in my old apartment. I managed to get it! I’ve heard similar stories of voice actors travelling and unable to record in their home booths, and instead had to make a pillow fort under a hotel desk and record an audition on the floor.

10.Can you share a funny or interesting story from your time as a voice actor?

In my full-time class for voice over, I was learning “efforts” for the first time. Things like punching noises and the like. It didn’t come naturally to me, and I remember for my test I had to do a death scream for video game voice over. My instructor Jason Simpson was really patient with me, and would casually tell me, “Are you able to give me a blood curdling death scream please?” in the softest tone and it was the funniest juxtaposition to me. My favourite would have to be dancing with my cohorts behind the mic as we’d hype each other up for our reads while trying not to laugh! (I’m a master at terrible dancing!)

11.Can you share your favorite voice acting moment or performance?

My school had prepared an agency showcase that we spent months after graduation to prepare for. We made our own scripts and I picked something completely out of the box. I wanted to go in there with a fun and memorable script and go wild with it. I wanted to be playful and show how much fun I was having. I was lucky enough to have one of the founders of the school to direct me and the sound engineer who helped with my demo with me. I was super nervous before going in, but it felt second nature once I was behind the mic. I completely forgot it was being recorded and live streamed!

12.Can you tell us about a voice acting project you turned down and why?

I’ve had to turn down a few roles. I mostly only accept paid work first and foremost. I have tried to do some unpaid projects in the past, but it’s unfortunate when I’ve been casted for a role for a project that does not even have a script or characters yet. Voice acting is post production. It’s one of the last things to add to a project. It should never be focused on pre production. I have also been pressured to provide work for free, which I would advise those wanting to have voice acting as a full-time job consider having firm boundaries. All creatives should be paid for their work. Prepping, editing, analysis, mixing and more is a lot of work and isn’t just an hour’s worth of work. There are guides out there on how much people should be paid fairly.

13. How do you keep your voice in good condition for voice acting?

There’s a few different ways that I have learned. One– don’t overuse it or restrict your voice in a way that might damage it. Abstaining from talking is the fastest way to heal when sick or after a particularly rough session. However hot water with a dab of honey, (not boiling but not lukewarm either) helps soothe it for me. There is also the hum or straw method– taking a straw and humming through it. Putting it in water helps even more if you have it, but humming actually helps immensely! I never go anywhere without one. Bubble/Boba straws do not work, however. I’d also research the different resonances to be able to do different ranges!

14.Can you tell us about a time when you had to take on a role that was completely different from what you were used to?

I wish I could go into details! But it would break the NDA unfortunately. But I definitely took it as a challenge to try something outside of my niche range! My biggest hurdle is improving my lower resonance and mature-type voice prints. But if I was picked for a role, I had something they wanted, and if they believed in me, then I needed to believe in me just as much!

15.What are your thoughts on All Ages of Geek and what can we improve on to make it a better platform?

I have a soft spot for indie devs and students in the animation and creative industry! So having more spaces and more communities where they have a chance to shine is absolutely wonderful to me! I love watching projects grow and come to life! 

16.Where can people find you online?

I can be found at the following! Please don’t hesitate to reach out! I’d appreciate the support! <3

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RachelOndangVO

Website & Demo: https://www.rachelondangvo.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSPU_5kA5Uqz7dnLkxtXJqQ

Last thoughts:

Don’t give up! Always be looking for things to work on and improve! Approach with fun, and take up the space you deserve in the world!

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