"Christopher Burke, Voiceover Artist"

Chris Burke, Math Teacher is a cool title. Chris Burke, Webcartoonist is cool one, too. Christopher Burke, Writer would be really cool, and I need to work a little more toward that without using my classwork as an excuse. But another new title I'd like to add: Christopher Burke, Voiceover Artist. Voiceover Talent might be the more preferred term, but that's something that I have to find out. There's a story. There's always a story (Writer, remember?), but this one is short. I took a class at a community college a couple of nights ago called "Voice Overs: Getting Paid to Talk". Well, if you know me, one thing I can do more than write is talk. So, if anything, it was a fun night out. And it was, too. And informative. I did worry at the start that I'd paid good money to walk into a sales pitch, but it wasn't that at all. End result: I was pretty good at it. I was off at first, but with a little direction, I was able to read the copy in front of the class the way it should be read. And at the end of the class, when we were all recorded, I got my lines done in a single take. It helped that I had a sarcastic part (oh, that's so me), but I thought for sure I'd trip over my tongue, reading and speaking at the same time, particularly without reading glasses on. The following morning, someone at the studio (and training program) called me with a critique. She liked my voice, mentioned a couple of comments the instructor had had, and told me she liked the "warm" quality of my voice for narration and nostalgic roles as well as the conversational tone and, of course, the sarcastic delivery. So, yes, this is something I would like to pursue. Something that I would like to investigate, at least. The problem, naturally, is the start-up costs. You can't get anywhere without a demo. And the demo can't be something homemade. Also, getting it done cheaply is probably just as bad; anyone can record you, but if you aren't getting any feedback, then it probably won't be very worthwhile. That being said, if you know any A/V departments or studios who have things that they wish to record, or if you're a teacher and you'd like someone to narrate one of your presentations, drop me a line. I could use the practice and the exposure. I'll ever record your voice mail message if you think it won't confuse your friends. Or even if it will.