Chris Tenney’s Eye-opening
Voiceover Journey
By Ray Schilens, July 16, 2023
Lots of incredible people come through our doors at Radio Lounge, curious about becoming a voice actor. “They said I had a great voice”, “I wanted to try something new”, “I want to get rich quick”. Yeah, good luck with that. So, one day Chris came to visit. Chris had a beautiful smile and an innocent but passionate desire to do voice acting. But there was one thing that made me pause. Chris had unique personal challenges that were going to translate to new challenges for me as a voice acting coach.
I wasn’t sure I could make this work. My rule with coaching the students that wear the Radio Lounge brand, is to approach it with success as the ultimate goal, and a very lean process that had worked for me and my students for many years, no exceptions. But Chris was the exception, and I was hooked by his passion.
In our first encounter I took this gentle giant through the Radio Lounge Discovery Flight (I’m a pilot), where we take new students through our initial orientation process. We make them aware of certain realities of the VO business, expose the warts, adjust expectations, and then put them in the booth for an up close and personal taste of what it feels like to be “the voice”. Most folks get charged up by this experience. Chris certainly did.
I could tell that Chris had potential, and most importantly, drive and a passion to make this happen. Chris also shared with me that he has autism, which presented certain challenges for him. We talked a little bit about that, and the conversation was more for me to find a path to getting him positioned for our industry. As an observer and coach, not a specialist regarding Autism, I saw Chris as an individual who was calculated, deep, and very specific with his responses during our coaching sessions. My initial goals were to relax his reads and give him the confidence of being able to deliver his lines in a more casual and relatable way. Less structure and more connected to the message. This is something that Chris will continue to work on as his VO career grows. What drove success was his passion to make this happen. That was the most exciting part of our journey.
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From the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences
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So, we began, a little more gently and specific on turning words and phrases into emotions and a believable message. Every session, we made progress. Some days it didn’t seem like it, at least to me. But Chris began believing in what was possible. And every session, Chris got better and better at his craft. With every piece of progress, my belief in him got stronger. We were going to have success.
It was working. My style, I guess, suited his ability to soak in the tasks we were working on. My approach is never aggressive, always focused on what went right, and building on every single aspect that grows confidence. The funny thing about voice coaching for me, is that it’s so much more about a state of mind, with less emphasis on the rote practice.
Chris continued to inspire me with his dedication, and that dedication accelerated his journey toward recording a commercial demo. By this time, I fully believed we could do it, together. I was teaching me! Demo day, graduation day, and Chris is set to launch his new business. That beautiful smile got even bigger. We were both smiling. But we weren’t done, just yet. Chris says we need to do more. He wanted to explore his passion for anime voice acting. Anime is a completely different genre from commercial voice acting, so we got busy. Again, it was as much a learning experience for me as it was for Chris and we were able to get it done with flying colors.
Several weeks later I got a call from Chris, and he wants to schedule studio time for a narration project. The organization discovered Chris through his website and loved his voice. Sure, pretty cool. Wait for it. The organization was Autism Speaks, a North American based nonprofit addressing autism issues and solutions.
When I spoke to their director, I asked if they chose him because of the connection. They said they didn’t. They didn’t know. This wasn’t a lucky charm event. It was much deeper than that.
Check out the finishes work above.
I am always amazed at how life places us with opportunities. We just must know how to hear and respond to them.
In a society where many find themselves fighting for inclusion, representation, and accessibility, the power of Chris’s persistence created an opportunity that opened doors and minds. It shows employers that while it is forward thinking to hire people based on fair representation, in this case autism, it doesn’t mean we forget that people with disabilities are also human beings that can be hired on their own merit and their ability to do the job.
I am honored to be part of Chris’ story, and this young man, the gentle giant, has experienced success. Chris, this will happen over and over. Enjoy the ride. ♦
Ray Schilens is a professional voice actor of almost 40 years, with a style best described as genuine, warm, and rich, in the style of Garrison Keillor and Donald Sutherland. He can be heard on regional and national advertising campaigns including driving sales for luxury automotive brands such as Acura and BMW, entertaining audiences for The Houston, Syracuse and Tacoma Symphony orchestras, and delivering a message of hope and healing for MD Anderson and Johnson and Johnson. Ray teaches voice acting at Radio Lounge, studios in Houston, TX with in audio production services for film, broadcast, on-location audio experiences, and digital media; as well as voiceover coaching and the production of high-end voice talent demos.
From the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences
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