Quotes

I started doing voice over when I was about fourteen. It was just one aspect of show business that seemed to go along with the on-camera acting I was also doing. I was acting on camera in commercials and TV shows for a long time, but had never heard of anime until just a few years ago [as of 2005].

[on working in the voice over industry] I can dress however I want, I meet new people all the time, and I get paid for doing something that leaves me feeling good in every way. That certainly doesn't suck! These may seem like simple things, but I really appreciate getting to live out the dream I've had since I was a little girl imitating voices into a tape recorder!

[getting involved with New Generation Pictures] I sent them a voice over demo, and they called me in to audition. They cast me in one show, and it just never stopped. I think I'm on my eighth or ninth series with them! Everyone there has been amazing to me. I have such an affinity for Jonathan Klein. He's just a really nice person. I've worked with all these other talented directors through them, and it's always a great experience.

[on preparing for roles] I'm embarrassed to say I don't even read the scripts ahead of time. I used to but even for the 26 episodes of R.O.D the TV, I never read a script until I got into the booth and started recording. It just works better for me that way. I know some actors who study the show in Japanese and read ahead, which is great. I used to do that, but I tend to have more energy when I'm seeing it for the first time, right before I perform.

[on working in the recording booth] If my character has a lot of long paragraphs, I make sure I read the lines out loud in English when they play back the preview of the scene in Japanese. That helps me to match the lip flaps, which can be tricky!

[working on Haibane Renmei] It was awesome! I remember the day I auditioned for the part of Hikari. I knew I really wanted to be on that show. I enjoyed every moment of it, and even have screenings of it in my little home theater. I have a nine foot by ten foot screen, a candy counter and balcony seating upstairs! Haibane is my favorite 'screening' material, and it's beautiful to watch.

I admire the 'legends' in the [voice acting] industry. I run into these highly respected voice actors when I go to my agent's (most auditions are at my agent's office), and I can't even believe I'm in the same booth with them.

[on working at New Generation Pictures] Carrie Savage is really talented. Rachel Hirschfeld who plays my little sister Anita on R.O.D the TV... she's really good, and she's only twelve! I'm constantly inspired by Taliesin Jaffe who directs and does a million voices in every accent.

I wish I could meet every single person that's into anime. It would be so cool to break through the screen and find out about them and what they like about what they're seeing and hearing. Even though it's just 'acting,' I know that people are watching and being influenced... This whole anime thing is so much bigger than I knew! I find myself reading anime magazines and going to the anime store, lately. I'm happy if fans are watching and getting excitement and joy from it.

Anime Expo in Anaheim was a blast, and thank you also to those of you who came to the R.O.D panel! It was so awesome to get to spend time with true anime fans! I had so much fun getting to meet so many fun and sweet people. I took pictures of everyone! Hopefully, I'll get to go to more of the conventions.

[on being cast in R.O.D -THE TV-] I wanted the job [on another show] because it was twelve episodes and a lead. After talking, [the producers] decided to go with someone else, even though my voice was right for it. I think someone is watching out for me because I usually only get the roles I really want and feel are right. And then guess what happened? I got one of the leads in R.O.D the TV, for twice as many episodes, playing a character I absolutely feel great about!

[on turning down roles] Sometimes, I don't audition and am lucky enough to just be asked to be in a show. This role was really sexual and violent. I hadn't had a chance to even get a script, so I wouldn't have known until I started actually recording. Fortunately, the producers called me and said they felt they should tell me what the role consisted of before I said I would do it. They knew me well enough to know I would regret doing something like that, but they really wanted my voice for it.

I had no idea (and probably still don't) just how much sex and violence there is in anime. Yes, being a Christian, it's definitely something I think about, though... I know I was incredibly influenced by what I watched on TV, growing up. I loved Little House on the Prairie, and to this day, I know its wholesomeness and good values gave me such a sense of foundation. I looked to television to feel like a part of something, and TV molded me in a sense.