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CBS Audition Spotlight Winner
Devon Irelan Talks Dreams,
Challenges, and Success.
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–By Kayla Bowles, January 19, 2024
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Hello SOVAS readers! Today, I have the pleasure of sharing the conversation I had with voice actor and winner of the CBS Audition Talent Spotlight at That’s Voiceover! 2024, Devon Irelan. Hello Devon, thanks so much for having this conversation with me!
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Devon: Thank you for having me, I’m such a huge fan of SOVAS and everything you guys do!
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Kayla: We’ll get into more details, but I’d love to know what inspired you to get involved in the voiceover industry.
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Devon: I became fascinated with voiceover when I was about 15, and a video game called Metal Gear Solid came out. It was the first of its kind in that it was very cinematic and also utilized voice actors. In the game when a character was introduced, both the character’s name and the voice actor’s name was displayed on the screen. It was fascinating to me that there were people creating these characters with just their voices, and from that point on I became obsessed with voice acting in all areas, games, animation, commercials. So much so that I could often instantly pick out actors’ voices in other projects and know who they were. It never occurred to me that it was something I could ever do myself, but I just became a very passionate and active observer of the craft and the industry for more than 20 years.
In 2022 I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. At the time I had been working at a dry clean business for about 11 years. My RA diagnosis meant that a lot of the physical aspects of that job I would no longer be able to do, but my company was unwilling to accommodate me. That meant having to leave an industry I spent over a decade working in, since my resume was now useless. I was going to have to start from scratch. On top of that, my firstborn daughter Eivor was less than a month from arriving, so not an ideal time to be out of a job and looking for a new career. But I figured that if I was going to have to start from the bottom wherever I went, why not start from the bottom doing something I actually loved and cared about? Watching the VO industry closely for a couple decades gave me a good jump off point as far as knowing what genres I wanted to go after, what coaches I wanted to work with, and who I wanted to make connections with. I went all in on chasing this dream in that moment, and I never looked back.
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Kayla: That’s incredible. You took a leap of faith, and it really paid off! How did you first hear of the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences?
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Devon: I became aware of SOVAS in my first year of voiceover, and attended the That’s Voiceover Career Expo in 2023. It was amazing to see all of the hard-working professional voice actors in one space working together to network and learn from one another. To also see the amount of work and dedication that Rudy and Joan put into that event was awe inspiring, and getting to see voice actors I admired so much like Deborah Wilson, Will Wheaton, and Lori Alan was surreal. That first TVO definitely helped me feel like I belonged in this business.
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Kayla: Congratulations on your win of the 2024 CBS Audition Talent Spotlight! Could you give me a brief overview of what going through that process was like for you?
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Devon: Thank you! It was a crazy and amazing experience. I was shocked when I found out that I had made the Top 40 out of so many entries, I honestly didn’t think I had a chance of making it that far. The Top 40 was so loaded with talent, so the next day when Joan announced me as part of the Top 6, I remember saying out loud “No f’ing way.” It didn’t even feel like it was happening to me. I felt like I was watching it outside of my own body. We were given 15 minutes to prepare for the final read, and were paired with coaches from the Woman Power panel. I was paired with the brilliant Beata Pozniak who gave me some great direction. I remember being really nervous as I walked on the stage, but once I sat down in my chair I felt incredibly calm. Just like in the top 40, I thought for sure I’d make it no farther than this, considering the amazing talent on that stage with me. I approached my final read intent on simply being myself in my performance, on being professional and taking direction, but ultimately sounding and feeling like myself. When Joan announced that I had won, every single thought flew out of my head. I had no idea what to think or say. One of the most surreal experiences I’ve ever had. I’m so grateful to have had that opportunity. I’m not usually comfortable with attention, but to let everyone see me work and be at ease doing it, definitely something I feel blessed to have been a part of.
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Kayla: How is this achievement beginning to inform your career outlook going forward?
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Devon: For me it was definitely confirmation that I belonged in this place with these amazing people. That I had made the right choice back in early 2023 to pursue this dream. It’s definitely a lot more attention than I’m used to, but I’m grateful for it. I’m looking forward to working with Vanessa Gilbert and RSA Talent. I just want to continue to grow my career, grow my skillset, keep practicing and learning, and be part of as many amazing projects with the amazing people in this business as I can. This is the last job I’ll ever have, and I’m grateful that it happens to be my dream job.
From the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences
Article continues…
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Kayla: The CBS Audition Spotlight clearly shows you have the chops for promo performance. What other voiceover genres are you most interested in pursuing?
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Devon: I’d love to do more animation and gaming. Games are how I was led to this business in the first place so I would love to be able to one day do some AAA titles, maybe even work with some of the people who inspired me as a kid. I’ll continue to work hard in those areas to hopefully that becomes a reality.
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Kayla: Is there a genre you’d like to pursue that you find particularly challenging?
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Devon: I would love to try dubbing someday. It looks so challenging and fun. To be able to fit the dialogue within a specific amount of time, and match the emotion of the on-screen characters is something that seems so difficult to get right, but I would love to try it sometime.
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Kayla: Speaking of challenges, what do you find most challenging about the business side of the industry?
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Devon: I find networking to be a challenge for me. I want to get better at reaching out both digitally and in person. I tend to isolate at events like conferences, and as a result I don’t get to talk to as many people as I should at those kinds of events. I’ve resorted to going to these conferences wearing the most colorful shoes I can find, hoping that it will inspire the other person to break the ice so that I don’t have to. But I’m trying to get better at that.
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Kayla: As you are well aware, the county of Los Angeles, a global center for voice acting, is currently in the grips of an historic wildfire crisis: lives have been lost, well over 10,000 homes have been obliterated, and the fires continue to spread. One of your responses was to start a Go Fund Me Campaign to help a fellow voice actor who lost his home to the fire. Share with us what moved you to take action?
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Devon: I met Roland Wiley at that same TVO Expo back in December. He is an incredibly friendly and supportive guy, not to mention a wonderful voice talent. He won the Audio Description Jam that weekend. My good friend Tina Kamriani and I got to spend some time with him at the Expo and had some great and inspiring talks together. Tina had been in contact with him as the fires were making their way through Altadena, and she reached out to me when he and his mother Alice were evacuated from their neighborhood and eventually lost his childhood home. It was so heartbreaking to see he and his mother lose everything, all the memories stored in the home they had lived in for decades. Tina and I wanted to come up with some way to help them so we created a GoFundMe to help them get back on their feet. It’s been astounding the support that it has received, we’re so very grateful to everyone who is donating and sharing Roland‘s story.
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Kayla: Is there a particular voice actor whose career and talent inspire you on a personal level?
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Devon: I am incredibly fortunate that one of my favorite voice actors also happens to be my mentor and a great friend. Vanessa Marshall has inspired me since I first heard her as Olga in Metal Gear Solid 2. The amount of talent she possesses and her incredible work ethic amaze me at every turn. She’s done so many different roles across so many different genres, I hope that one day my resume could be even half of what hers is. One of my greatest blessings in this career is that Vanessa is one of my biggest advocates. Always there to remind me of who I am and what I’m capable of. She even pulled me on stage during MGS Con to read copy from Metal Gear Solid in front of not only an auditorium full of people, but also the cast of the very game series that set me on my career path. She inspires me every day.
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Kayla: What would you say is the biggest risk you have taken in relation to your voiceover career?
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Devon: I think I would have to say starting it in the first place. An expecting father who just lost the only job he’d had for a decade deciding to chase a childhood dream isn’t usually a recipe for success. But I knew it was what I had to do. It was what my spirit needed to do. I decided that there was no reality in which this didn’t work. I sort of had to burn my boats and take over the island.
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Kayla: As a final, and hopefully fun element, I’m going to ask you some rapid-fire questions? This is a bit like a game show and the questions come from the late celebrity interviewer James Lipton. We can call it the Lipton Challenge: What is your favorite word?
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Devon: Baklava.
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Kayla: What is your least favorite word?
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Devon: Wretch.
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Kayla: What sound or noise do you love?
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Devon: My daughter Eivor’s laugh!
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Kayla: What sound or noise do you hate?
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Devon: Plastic wrap.
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Kayla: What is your favorite food?
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Devon: Fried chicken.
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Kayla: What is your least favorite food?
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Devon: Beans.
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Kayla: What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
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Devon: DJ.
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Kayla: What profession would you most not like to do?
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Devon: Anything that crushes my soul.
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Kayla: Good answers! Thank you again for talking with me! Before we wrap up, do you have any final thoughts?
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Devon: I submitted my first audition when I was 39 years old. It’s never too late. You’re not too old, your time hasn’t passed, your time is right now. Life is too short to spend doing things you hate. Do the thing that speaks to your soul, tell the people you love that you love them, and do everything in your life with joy. Nothing can stop you after that.
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♦♦♦
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Kayla Bowles is assistant to Rudy Gaskins and Joan Baker, founders of the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences™ (SOVAS™), creators of That’s Voiceover!™ Career Expo, and the Voice Arts® Awards. She currently studies the art of voice acting with Joan Baker, and has studied with Real Voice L.A., The Acting Studio, and Broadway Evolved. Though new to the voiceover business, Kayla has already booked a local TV commercial, a role in an indie animated series (in development), and has lent her voice to various passion projects. She is currently an undergrad at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY.
