Original subtitles

The tip of the tongue, the lips, and the teeth.

The tip of the tongue, the lips, and the teeth.

Red leather, yellow leather.

Red leather, yellow leather.

What a to-do to die today at a minute or two to two?

A thing distinctly hard to say, but harder still to do.

A thing distinctly hard to say, but harder still to do.

For the beat a tattoo, at a quarter to 2:00,

with rat, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat to do.

And the dragons will come.

And they sound a drum at a minute or two to 2:00 today,

at a minute or two to 2:00.

Hey, Jeff, how are the levels here?

JEFF: Sounds good, Nancy.

Good.

I'm going to tell you a little story about a girl from Ohio.

Though she wasn't the biggest or the strongest,

what she could do was talk a lot.

I cut my hair like this.

Who do you think would win a cute prize, a baby unicorn

sneezing or a puppy riding a--

sneezing or a puppy riding a--

you must owe Mario a lot of money.

NANCY: So she joined her your high school speech team.

And she was good at it.

And the camel said, harrumph!

[APPLAUSE]

NANCY: So the girl got a job at a radio station,

where she saw that you could make a living with your voice.

(SINGING) WING, winging it in Dayton.

NANCY: She even got to create a character

to perform on the air.

Lifeguard Lilypad at your service.

This isn't a hot tub.

Get swimming.

[WHISTLES]

NANCY: At the station, the girl met

NANCY: At the station, the girl met

a nice lady who gave her contacts for people

in the animation industry.

All right!

NANCY: And one outstanding phone number for Daws Butler,

voice of Huckleberry Hound, Elroy Jetson, Yogi Bear--

You hear what I hear, Boo Boo?

NANCY: --and so many more.

When she called him, she got an answering machine.

PERCIVAL (ON ANSWERING MACHINE): Um, hello.

This is Percival Pickles, Mr. Butler's butler.

Mr. Butler's not home right now.

If you'd like to leave a message, wait for the beep.

If you'd like to leave a message, wait for the beep.

Beep.

[BEEP]

(ENGLISH ACCENT) Oh, hello, Mr. Butler.

I'm Nancy Cartwright.

And I'm very interested in voice acting.

Why don't you just give me a ring on the old telly.

Thank you very much.

Pip, pip, cheerio.

(NORMAL ACCENT) Oh, I can't believe I did that.

[PHONE RINGS]

NANCY: He called back immediately.

[GASPS]

NANCY: And just like that, a beautiful friendship

was formed.

Now Nancy had a mentor to teach her

how to use her unique voice.

So she moved to Hollywood and started her career.

So she moved to Hollywood and started her career.

She worked her way up, and eventually did voices

for hit cartoons.

What are we going to do, Richie?

It's just an expression.

"Get down" means to boogie.

You've simply just got to set your mind to it.

NANCY: Then one day, she got an audition for the voice

of a little girl named Lisa.

But Nancy noticed another monologue

for a school-hating, 10-year-old underachiever with spiky hair.

So the girl asked to read for him instead.

Eat my shorts.

NANCY: She was hired immediately.

And that show won countless awards

And that show won countless awards

and became the longest running scripted show

in the history of the world.

I'm Bart Simpson.

Who the hell are you?

NANCY: After 40 years of doing voiceovers, the girl thought,

why don't I share my story with everyone else?

Now I can give advice to all those people

who love doing silly voices and have big dreams.

Hi.

Welcome to my class.

Welcome to my class.

A voiceover booth can get a little claustrophobic.

So how about we do this?

[SNAPS]

Oh, yeah, that's better.

Pretty cool, right?

I had MasterClass animate me.

Why?

What better way to learn about voice

acting than from an animated character?

And check this out.

(HIGH VOICE) Hey there.

[LAUGHS]

Fun.

OK, guys, in this class, I'll teach you

everything about voice acting, how

everything about voice acting, how

to develop your characters, performance tips,

and how to start out in the industry.

I'll even share some life lessons

that are useful, no matter what your career path is.

And I'll demonstrate how I bring animation to life

by voicing several original characters

from a show we made just for you called "No Effort Girl."

You'll learn how to distinguish your characters

and give them depth so they feel like they could almost

take on a life of their own.

So let's get started.

So let's get started.

I'm Nancy Cartwright.

And this is my Mas--

Wait.

What are you doing?

I'm doing the MasterClass line.

But I'm the real Nancy.

I'll do it.

I'm Nancy Cartwright and this is my--

Um, no I'm going to be doing most of the talking,

and you are just in that recording booth the whole time.

So I should say the line.

But you're not real.

You're a cartoon.

Just a cartoon?

I'll have you know, I have all your thoughts,

all your memories.

I'm just like you but cuter.

I'm just like you but cuter.

This is crazy.

I voice you.

How are we even talking right now?

I mean, I could try to explain it,

but then we'd be here all day.

And we have a lot of material to cover.

Fine, how about this?

We say the lines at the same time.

OK, that works.

OK, great, on three.

1, 2, 3.

I'm Nancy Cartwright, and this is my MasterClass.

You are the worst.

[LAUGHS] Yes, you are.

Let's get started.

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: Voice acting is magical,

because it starts to me with the word animate.

And animate means to bring life to.

It means to inject life.

You take on and you do a character, you create it.

We are giving life to an inanimate object.

We are giving life to an inanimate object.

Voice acting has to do with using all this,

all the mechanics you got, like, in this area.

[LAUGHS] From your neck on up, including your ears.

It has to do with your larynx and your pharynx,

your vocal cords, the nasal cavity, the cheeks, the teeth,

the jaw line.

All this has to do with making sound.

It has to do with pinching your nose shut

to make sound effects.

There's a whole livelihood in this.

There's a whole livelihood in this.

You can-- lots of people have found success

in doing voiceover work for films,

for television, for audiobooks, narrating, doing character

work, which is super fun.

I think it's really important to make

clear the difference between working in front of the camera

as an on camera actor and working

behind the camera as a voiceover actor.

There are similarities in that you are developing a character.

There are similarities in that you are developing a character.

That's the most important thing is

that you've made a character out of whole cloth,

meaning it's substantial.

You can back it up.

There's no wavering.

You're not confused about who you're playing.

It's like it's 100% committed to that character.

That would be the same behind the camera

as it would be in front of the camera.

But the main difference is that with voiceover work,

all you have is your voice.

Another thing that individuates voice

acting from on camera acting is there's

acting from on camera acting is there's

lots of room for improvisation.

Studying whatever you can, whether it's singing or improv

classes, all that can do nothing but help you.

Your imagination is everything.

So when you go in and do an audition

or when you get the job, you just

continue to create on this character.

And this really comes in handy when

you're doing take number four and the director has just said,

you know what?

Let's just do another one.

Let's just do another one.

I think we got what we want, but let's just try another one.

This time just let it loose.

Just do it, just fly with it.

And that's when, to me, that ends up

being the take that they like, because there's

a lot of freedom in that kind of expression.

So there are a lot of tools that one

can use in order to make characters come to life.

You've got pacing, you've got timing, you've got pitch,

you've got attitude, you've got intention.

What's the purpose of your character, the relationship

that your character has with the other characters that

that your character has with the other characters that

are in the script?

So real Nancy is going to show you

what that looks like, since my mouth is just

a pink line around a black hole.

Go for it.

Thanks.

And I love your hair, by the way.

I can never get that volume.

Seriously.

Let me give you guys a little demonstration

of what I'm talking about here.

For example, I'm just going to do a random character.

This is just a little character that I can use as our example.

This is just a little character that I can use as our example.

So this is Chip.

This is Chip, because I think he's

got a little chip like in the middle of his tooth right here.

So one of the things that you can do.

I just slip out of Chip right there.

One of the things that you can do as a voice actor

is to change the pitch of your character.

And pitch is like high, low.

So I can take Chip and I can make Chip really super--

I can make him a little bit lower like this

or I can lift him way up high like this.

And it sort of sounds like he could be a little bit younger,

And it sort of sounds like he could be a little bit younger,

especially if I slow him down a little bit.

And that gets into a whole different subject, speed.

So if I make it super high and super,

like, make him a little bit slower,

he sounds younger and like I'm trying

to figure out what I'm saying.

But mom, don't do that.

No, it's mine.

I want to show you how to do that.

I want to show you how to do that.

So if I were to speed him up and say he were just like a, oh

my gosh, we got to get out of here.

I can't believe it.

Mom, we're going to be late for school.

How many times do I have to tell you, you've got to go faster,

mom.

But oh, I knew it was going to be OK.

Like that.

That changes it.

That's speeding him up.

I can also really take Chip and say, it's been a long day.

It's been a super long day.

I'm really, I'm so tired.

Mommy, I'm tired.

Can you just-- can you just--

Can you just-- can you just--

I love you.

You see what I mean?

It's like it can help you in terms

of the age of the character and the attitude of the character.

So speaking of attitude, that's a whole different tool

that you can use.

So if Chip is a happy go lucky guy and he's just so, yes,

today's my first day of school, and I can hardly

wait to get started.

I'm in the first grade, and I think today that we're--

I'm in the first grade, and I think today that we're--

I'm not-- actually, I'm not sure what

we're going to be learning about,

but we'll find that out when I get to school.

So he's a happy, willing to like experience life kind of a guy.

But if Chip was not such a happy dude and he had a bad morning,

Chip would sort of like, look what happens

when I do this voice like this.

My face even gets--

I can't help it.

I'm a-- I just can't help it.

I'm a-- I just can't help it.

Everything changes so much.

Look at even my forehead even crunches up here, because my--

I don't want to do it.

This is acting.

This is just acting.

Attitude.

Geez, there's all different kinds of attitudes.

And attitudes and emotions, to me, kind of go hand in hand.

Because Chip, when he's pissed off, he's like this,

and his attitude is not so very good, but he's also very angry.

and his attitude is not so very good, but he's also very angry.

Another tool that you can use is placement.

And this is a bit tricky, and this is just technique.

So this is regular Chip.

But if I was to make Chip closer to the back of my throat,

this is like Chip that's stuck.

And it changes the whole thing a little bit.

But he's still got this lisp that identifies.

That lisp identifies that specificness

That lisp identifies that specificness

about that character, is if he's got a split here, kind

of like Mara Wilson did in "Mrs. Doubtfire," who

inspired that voice.

Anyway, so this is like when it's stuck way back

in the back of my throat.

But if I were to take Chip and make him more nasally,

then he would sort of be going like this.

And that places it back up here, more in my nasal passages.

And that places it back up here, more in my nasal passages.

You see?

And it just creates a whole--

and if I were to take the attitude of Chip

and so I would to like do him like that

and put a little accent on it and make him more nasally,

that makes him a whole different sort of a character.

Another tool is volume.

So volume is a tricky thing, because I

have this relationship with my mic, Mr. Microphone,

and I don't want to get too close.

Although getting close can also help you.

Although getting close can also help you.

Because for Chip, if he's whispering--

so to demonstrate, it'd be like.

So Kelly, Kelly, come here.

I just have to say something to you.

Come here.

Kelly.

Kelly.

Did you know that I still have all my baby teeth?

See, you can use that relationship

with the microphone.

But on the other hand, if it's like, Chip is at school

and he's calling off to a guy in the playground.

and he's calling off to a guy in the playground.

And he's saying, Jack, Jack, stop it.

I told you to stop it.

That's mine.

I got to actually literally pull myself on my-- and I even check

with mister friendly engineer.

Jeff.

JEFF: Yes?

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: How are we doing here?

JEFF: It's a little hot.

Maybe back off a hair.

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: That's good.

That's good direction.

So I got what he said.

All right, we try that again.

Jack, Jack, stop it.

Jack, Jack, stop it.

That's mine.

That's mine.

That's not yours.

How's that?

Is this a little bit better, Jeff?

JEFF: Way better.

Thank you.

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: Good.

You've got this relationship that you have to deal with.

And we'll get into that a little bit more later too.

You know, there's another one that a lot of people

don't think about.

It's a handy little tool called intention.

That has to do with your idea of getting

across what you are trying to communicate

to the listener or the viewer.

to the listener or the viewer.

It's an incredible tool to use.

And without that, you got all these mechanics.

It's like I've got a headset on, I've got a microphone.

There's all this electronic stuff

up here within the microphone.

Look at all these cords that lead into the wall that

then goes to the engineer.

And then once it's record--

you've got to have a very strong intention

you've got to have a very strong intention

to get that message or that script,

that text delivered from you and your heart and your passion,

your soul, to the public.

So intention is very, very important.

Another thing that's super important is timing.

I'm just saying.

Especially in comedy.

The writer is going to give you a lot of help in that area,

The writer is going to give you a lot of help in that area,

but you as the artist have to take those written words

that the author has put there, you take them in, look at them,

they go into whatever this magic is as an artist,

and whatever comes out, that's your communication.

And so that idea of--

you'll get a sense of timing.

Nobody can teach you about timing.

Well, a director can say, you know what,

Well, a director can say, you know what,

can you give me a little pause?

Can you give me a little pause between this word

and that word?

Just give me a little break there.

He's helping you out.

He or she is helping you out quite a bit there.

But as an artist, you have the ability to do that.

And give different options when you are auditioning.

You're going to want to give two,

three, four different options when you submit an audition

piece.

piece.

So change it up.

They don't want you to be the same every time.

They want to hear a difference.

They want to hear that you're flexible,

that you can take direction.

And you have to be able to listen to what's needed,

duplicate it, and then repeat it as needed.

Everybody will be happy.

Another invaluable tool is range and finding out for yourself

what your range is.

Range has to do with as high as you can go

Range has to do with as high as you can go

and as low as you can go with your voice and all the aspects

in the middle of it.

It has to do with the placement of the voice, the quality

of it, whether it's scratchy or smooth or it's like velvet

or it's gravelly.

Guys have an advantage, it seems,

that they have an Adam's Apple, and their range,

men can go way, way down low, and then

they can tighten it up a little bit

they can tighten it up a little bit

and then with more imagination and character development come

up with a whole new character.

Women have that same advantage.

We don't have a falsetto, but we have soprano.

So if I were to take a voice and just

if I were to take Chip and drop him,

Chip, Chip, take Chip, Chip, Chip, and drop

Chip way, way, way, way, opening up my vocal passages.

And I'm going way so-- so I'm doing super way down here.

Sort of sounds like Nancy's got maybe laryngitis.

Sort of sounds like Nancy's got maybe laryngitis.

And if I scratch it up a little bit, this is like, OK.

Now and I bring my bring my voice up a little bit higher.

I can scratch it and make it sound like this

is a teenager on steroids.

I'm trying to get it clear.

And then as I go up higher and higher and I get clear

and I start to tighten it up even more

and more, as you can see, I'm getting younger and younger.

And I bring it up super high.

And this is a range that's incredible.

So I've gone down from way, way down, way, way,

So I've gone down from way, way down, way, way,

way down there, way, way down there, to way, way up here.

You can have one voice, and that one voice you've

got a plethora of characters just by changing pitch,

by changing volume, attitude, emotion, placement,

these tools.

As for Bart Simpson, when we first started out

As for Bart Simpson, when we first started out

on the "Tracey Ullman Show" he was to me

based on that description that I read at the audition,

he was a high school hating 10-year-old underachiever

and proud of it.

So to me, it was very much a one note.

But when that show went into the half hour, that was amazing,

because a half hour show gives you all the freedom to create

a well-rounded, so to speak, character,

a fully fleshed out character, if you will.

a fully fleshed out character, if you will.

The evolution, not only of Bart but of all the

characters that all of us did.

And it's through doing this consistently and regularly

for all these years that you do see at the beginning

that there were changes that sort of naturally happened.

I settled into a sound.

Bart at the very beginning was kind of like,

he was a little bit lower place down here.

But as the season went on, this is kind of

But as the season went on, this is kind of

like where Bart has been for the past 20 years, like right here.

This is like me talking to you, and then I

switch into Bart Simpson very effortlessly.

BART SIMPSON: Yeah, eat my shorts. (SINGING) Butt man,

na, na, na, na, na, na, na, butt man.

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: As you're starting out

creating characters, I would keep that in mind.

This is a clue for you guys.

Make it as simple for you as possible

and use your own voice.

And then from that, you can add on layer by layer

an attitude, a scratch, a split in the teeth,

an attitude, a scratch, a split in the teeth,

an energy, the pacing, all these tools that I've talked about.

It's very important that you develop your own identity

as to who you are and what kind of voices you do.

Not everybody is supposed to do every single voice out there.

The late, great Don Lafontaine established--

I'm going to call it a voice print, because it's

like a thumb print.

It's unique unto you.

So this guy-- if I were to say, in a world--

So this guy-- if I were to say, in a world--

you know, I can't--

I can only drop my voice so low.

But his voice-- (LOWER) in a world full of stress

and strife, da da da.

He did, like, 5,000 trailers.

He did so many voiceovers, this guy.

He went from studio to studio, because he created

such a recognizable, branded personality,

so that when producers wanted to do

an announce voice for their trailer, it's like,

get Don Lafontaine.

get Don Lafontaine.

Because that's the sound that he created.

In coming up with characters, you're

going to find a specific niche of voices

that you tend to go to.

Like for me, for example, I found fairly quickly

that my strength was in doing little character

voices of little children, whether they

were snorks or Pound Puppies, animals, it doesn't matter.

I just found for myself that there were certain areas

that I lean towards.

For me to try to be a mother, the sound of my mother

For me to try to be a mother, the sound of my mother

sounds very much like the sound of my kid.

So I found that for myself, by taking my voice

and just tweaking it a little bit,

I could make that teenage girl younger.

So I really concentrated on that,

and it served me very well.

I started getting cast playing young parts.

Oh, goody.

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: Some were aliens.

You don't understand.

You don't understand.

I'm from Twinkle Twinkle, where everyone can do magic.

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: And there were teenage girls.

I've got a secret.

Billy Big Dipper isn't really from Saturn.

Clarence Comet is flunking everything.

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: And occasionally, I

would do the voice of like a My Little Pony.

Who cares what the sun was doing when he

had to leave his one true love?

Yeah, how can you ask a question

like that at a time like this?

It took actually me getting cast on The Simpsons that I

realized that I had this area that I excelled in, which was

realized that I had this area that I excelled in, which was

doing these quirky male voices or tomboys,

because there was a certain quality that I can take on that

this-- this sound, apparently, there was a lot of agreement

that the natural sound of my voice sounded a little bit more

like a boy.

That became a launching point for me

to develop even more characters.

So you will find your strength, and that's a good idea.

So you will find your strength, and that's a good idea.

Play to your strengths.

This is practically a no-brainer,

what I'm going to share with you,

and that is to draw from your own life experiences.

You know, as artists, there are characters everywhere.

You know, it's your next-door neighbor.

It's your granddaughter.

It's your son.

It's your daughter.

It's your parents.

It's your Uncle Barney.

It's like, all these people that you know,

and actually even people that you don't know--

and actually even people that you don't know--

you stand in line or you sit in your car,

and you meet some gal at fast food.

And there's there's a quality about that girl that--

you know, she's sort of like a gum-chewing sort of a gal.

Hey, what did you--

you know, and she gets into her whole thing,

and she's a fast talker.

Whatever she's doing, I don't think I got your order right,

blah blah blah.

Take a notebook with you.

Write this down.

On your phone, use the instant record thing.

Record down, I was just In-n-Out Burger.

Remember the girl.

Remember the girl that that messed up my change.

Remember the girl that that messed up my change.

She was fast talking.

That can go on your list of characters

as you're developing a whole catalog of who

these characters are.

You can even name them.

OK, that's Wanda.

And the next day, when you're going in for an audition,

you can recall what that special moment was.

That will help you.

So listen, if you're trying to figure out

what your personal voice print is,

this is what I would suggest.

Take your pen.

Take a piece of paper.

You could draw a line down the middle,

and just start putting qualities down,

like grumpy, nervous, speaks real slow, a gruff voice,

angry, shy.

Just do a bunch of modifiers describing personalities.

And then on the other side, you could put down

a mother, a father, a teenage boy, an eight-year-old boy,

a mother, a father, a teenage boy, an eight-year-old boy,

a two-year-old girl, a baby, the garbage man, a mailman,

a secretary, the receptionist, a teacher.

You know, you could even do them in stacks of cards.

That would be a really good way to go.

Pile number one of modifiers.

Pile number two of character types.

Pile number three of actions.

Picking up one from each pile and putting them together,

and you will find that you will start being really good

at doing a certain kind of a character,

at doing a certain kind of a character,

whether it's a young one-- you're really good at doing

young voices, old voices--

you will find that by experience and by practicing.

Drill, drill, drill and you'll figure it out yourself.

I feel that if you can figure out what your brand is,

meaning your specific area that you excel in and you do that--

be the best teenager you can be, be the best announcer,

be the best teenager you can be, be the best announcer,

be the best mother--

be the best at whatever that is, and you'll become

the go-to person for casting.

If you're going to start a career in voiceovers,

there's a few things you need to know.

Number one, the most important thing

is you've got to be yourself.

You have your own voice, literally.

You have to commit 100%.

You don't want to do a voice that has holes in it,

and if you're certain about who you are and what you are doing,

that is going to be so much easier.

that is going to be so much easier.

Another thing, a good tip, is watch animation.

Be familiar with the ones that are doing really well,

and watch those shows with the idea in mind of casting.

Which part would you be?

Which part do you like?

Who's doing something that you feel you could do?

And you can even make notes for yourself,

and then you can refer to it later on.

And a good tip is to just duplicate

what somebody else is doing, and then

by changing your pitch, your tone, your attitude,

by changing your pitch, your tone, your attitude,

how fast you're speaking, you can make that your own.

Get out there and perform and use your family.

Use your friends.

Tell jokes.

Become characters.

Read books out loud.

Read them to children.

Tell stories.

You know, you can change your voice.

You can become these characters.

Do the kids like it?

And just see what kind of an effect you create.

And the main thing is if you love it, bam, go for it.

So let's talk about the value of mentors.

A mentor is someone who is going to help you

and are going to guide you and encourage you and answer

questions and even open up doors for you.

That's what I think a mentor is.

How you get one--

that is a very difficult question to answer.

I can tell you a couple of things.

Number one, be yourself, and number two,

Number one, be yourself, and number two,

don't stalk anybody.

I was so fortunate.

I had the opportunity very early on to meet a mentor.

I learned some pretty amazing lessons from Daws.

He would send me scripts, and I'd

mail these back on cassette.

He would listen and give me a critique

and then mail the critique back along

with either a letter or he'd talk into a cassette

himself and evaluate what I had done.

I don't know what it was, but he took me under his wing.

He used this expression.

I didn't get it at first, but he said to me, don't be cosmetic,

unless it's a Saturday night.

I thought, what is he talking about, don't be cosmetic?

Well, and then I thought, I guess

cosmetic has to do with putting something on.

You put cosmetics on your face.

It's makeup.

You're changing something.

You're changing something.

That is exactly what he was talking about.

Don't be phony.

Don't be fake, because a microphone is super sensitive.

And more importantly than that, you're

trying to communicate a message.

And if you're not sincere about what you're saying,

nobody is going to get it.

Daws never taught me how to do voices.

In fact, he didn't teach anybody.

That's not what his job was.

He comes from old radio.

He comes from old radio.

He was a writer.

He was an entertainer, and he taught me to take a script

and take the writer's words, the black on white, and make them

my own.

So don't be afraid to experiment.

This is the time to make mistakes,

you know, to sound horrible and then flip that around

to your advantage.

Daws said to me, he said, love the words, and taste the words.

And this is a lesson to take with you your whole career.

And this is a lesson to take with you your whole career.

When Daws and I were working fairly regularly together, he

said to me, I'd like to take you to a recording session.

I thought, oh my gosh.

I thought, oh my gosh.

Oh my gosh, this would be so fantastic to actually see him

in action.

So he picked me up, and we drove over to Hanna-Barbera.

It was The All-New Popeye Hour.

That was the show, and he was the voice of Wimpy.

Oh, good morning, everybody.

I trust you are all enjoying good health.

My, but we do look lovely today, don't we?

I was around all these--

like the pioneers of the industry,

and a lot of these people, I recognized their faces

and a lot of these people, I recognized their faces

from television shows.

But when Jack Mercer, who was the voice of Popeye,

opened his mouth, and he started doing the voice of Popeye,

I was like, whoa!

And oh!

And I had to like, be quiet, because I was literally

sitting in the room that they were recording in.

And I couldn't laugh out loud, and I had to respect that.

And they read it like old radio.

It was done like from the beginning to the end.

They had their whole script in front of them, and it was--

They had their whole script in front of them, and it was--

it was amazing.

And if there was one gal in there,

her name was Marilyn Schreffler.

She was the voice of Olive Oyl.

And she's doing, (OLIVE OYL VOICE) Oh, Popeye.

Kind of like that.

But I was being very respectful, just taking it all in.

So on the way home, Daws wanted to know from me,

so what do you think, Nancy?

What did you get from that?

I said, oh, Daws, I just, I think I can do this.

I really think-- I loved it.

I really think-- I loved it.

This was amazing.

I really want to do this.

He goes OK, OK.

Good.

Good, that's good.

But then he said to me, there's a few things

that you're going to need to learn,

and I'm going to help you with that.

Having a mentor definitely can open up some doors for you,

and at the same time, you will offer them a challenge,

an opportunity to be able to kind of like, pass the torch.

You know, it's a satisfying relationship from both sides.

You know, it's a satisfying relationship from both sides.

You know, it's symbiotic, and if you can get that,

that's something to cherish and appreciate when you have that.

And now I'm passing the torch on to you.

A demo is your calling card.

It is the most important tool that you can have

in order to get hired in this industry.

What do you need to put a good demo reel together?

What do you need to put a good demo reel together?

First of all, you need a quiet place.

You need a super quiet place, and you can go to a closet

and set up a booth, kind of, in your own closet.

The clothes-- just reach your hand in the center

and separate the clothes.

You've got your winter wardrobe on the left,

and you've got your spring and summer stuff on the right.

You've got to get rid of the slippers on the floor

so that you can put your little chair in there.

You've got to close it off, so you

can knock out all the sounds in the background.

Also, the noise inside has to be quiet.

You want it to be as clean as possible,

You want it to be as clean as possible,

so make sure you aren't wearing any noisy jewelry.

Because I'll tell you, if there's noise there, listen.

I'm going to give you a demonstration right now.

This is me scratching my head.

[SCRATCHING]

Can you hear that?

[SCRATCHING]

You don't want any kind of extraneous noise

at all on your reel.

You want it just to be pure you, and that's it.

Another thing is that you have to have copy, a script.

Where do you get that?

Where do you get that?

If you don't write it yourself or somebody doesn't write it

for you, here's a little tip.

Go through magazines.

Read newspapers.

What I did was I just pulled out ads from magazines,

and I just rewrote them, like the keywords

were all there that I needed.

I turned that into a character, and the next thing you know,

I've got an ad for Century 21 real estate.

That was not my niche.

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: It's all ours.

TERRY MCGOVERN: Yeah, our first real home.

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: Oh, I still can't

believe that Mike at our Century 21 office

believe that Mike at our Century 21 office

helped us find a house like this.

TERRY MCGOVERN: That we can really afford.

VOCALIST: (SINGING) Century 21.

The third thing would be, keep it simple.

Keep it short.

You don't want to make your demo tape any longer

than like, one to two minutes.

And only do your best characters.

I want to hear that you are 100% committed to doing

that character, so if you have any doubt in your mind

that this one doesn't sound grounded, like pure,

that this one doesn't sound grounded, like pure,

don't do it.

It will hurt you.

Make sure the characters are an identity of their own.

You don't want them to be all exactly the same attitude,

the same length.

Kind of mess it up, so that I as a listener am curious about,

what's the next voice you're going to do?

So some of them sort of sound like this.

And some of them are super, super tiny,

and they sound like this.

Or you got a gal that sounds like that.

And if I want to do that, and she's kinda fast-talking,

And if I want to do that, and she's kinda fast-talking,

and she's not really thinking about what she's

saying too much, can I do that as a lead for a character

in an animated show?

Absolutely, positively.

Here's another bright idea.

Put your best thing up at the front.

Don't save that to the end.

Put that golden nugget right at the top,

so I can hear who you are.

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: (SINGING) You've never heard a girl,

never heard a girl like Nancy Cartwright, Cartwright.

The voices are my own, but they're

yours on a loan for a very, very, very small fee.

I think the main takeaway about the demo reel

is, you have to be you.

is, you have to be you.

It's your arsenal.

It's your treasure box of characters that you love,

and you're confident about what you've done,

and you're proud of what you've done.

And you want the world to know it, or at least casting people.

I have found that we can have a lot of considerations,

and we can kind of interiorize on, I can't do as many voices

and we can kind of interiorize on, I can't do as many voices

as so-and-so.

I feel like I sound too young.

I have a very limited range.

I don't have any connections.

How do I get started?

I don't have a mentor.

I'm probably too old for this industry.

These are all considerations that anybody can have,

and I got to tell you something, just to let you know,

it's normal.

I don't know anybody that doesn't

have some kind of personal judgment about themselves.

have some kind of personal judgment about themselves.

But do yourself a favor, and don't do that.

Just shove that aside.

Don't have any considerations.

Invest yourself 100%, and I'm telling you,

you will do so much better.

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: So there's a show that I'm working on--

for you specifically-- called "No-Effort Girl."

We'll be using scripts from the show in our lessons.

And as a bonus, we'll be animating my recordings

to give you all a sneak peek into the animation process.

But before we do that, I'm gonna show you

how I develop original voices, starting with our star,

how I develop original voices, starting with our star,

No-Effort Girl.

Okay, guys, so there's this description of her

that has so--

it is just like, it doesn't take a whole lot of intelligence

to look at this.

There's gold mines.

There's little nuggets in here, little gems, little hints,

of who our girl is.

So it just says here, "No-Effort Girl is a precocious"

--hello precocious-- "thirteen-year-old girl who

didn't ask to be born with super strength, x-ray vision,

and the ability to fly--

and the ability to fly--

so lay off her!"

Okay, so that is pretty-- that first sentence there

tells me so much about who this girl is.

That alone-- I'm telling you, that alone gives me

tomes to work with.

But it goes on.

"In spite of having to wear a cumbersome purple retainer"

--seriously?--

"her favorite thing to do is gab with her best friend,

Yikes the Dragon.

Unfortunately, her superhero phones

Unfortunately, her superhero phones

are always ringing off the hook with annoying calls

to save the day.

And when she finally gets around to putting on her homemade

costume" --homemade, that's important--

"she usually fixes the impossible problem

with basically no effort, but groans and rolls her eyes

the entire time."

This chick has an attitude, man.

But she's smart.

And she's specific about what she does.

"Underneath, she loves all the attention

she gets from helping others."

she gets from helping others."

That's a really good clue.

She likes to help others.

But she rolls her eyes.

She's kind of like a little bit of a princess there.

"She loves all the attention, even

if it's an imposition on her plans

to scroll social media on her phone all day."

This is-- I'm telling you, this is very, very helpful to me,

what the writer has done here.

The other thing that will really, really help you out

is if they give you a picture of the character, just

the drawing.

the drawing.

So when I look at the picture of No-Effort Girl,

there's a couple clues here that help me out

that are being reinforced by the picture.

The cell phone is very important to her.

She lives with her cell phone.

To me, the artwork is very--

it's kind of the modern Jetsons in a way.

It looks-- she's kind of futuristic.

Look, she's got a little peplum--

the little boots on her, the booties, totally fashionista.

She's cute.

She's really cute.

But look at the attitude on the picture of her on the left.

But look at the attitude on the picture of her on the left.

She's got that gnah thing going with her mouth.

She can stand up on her own.

She doesn't need anybody to fight her fights for her.

No-Effort Girl does it, and she does it without any effort.

She's got blue hair, another thing, wow.

I'm not sure if Mom and Dad really like that,

but she is independent.

This is a gal that-- she's got my heart.

She really does.

She's an independent thinker.

She's a nonconformist.

She's a nonconformist.

You will either love her or probably be annoyed by her.

I love her.

So she's precocious.

She's 13.

She's got a retainer.

I've read this.

I've read this, and I kind of came up with this idea

that (LISPING) she's got--

see, Chip had a split right-- he had a lisp.

He had a thing like this.

This was his thing.

But with a retainer, it's a totally sort

of a different thing.

of a different thing.

And I'm not saying-- this is just my interpretation.

This is one idea, and this is what--

what I would go in for the audition.

And then if they wanted-- if they've

got another idea, the producer, the director,

the writer have another idea in mind,

I will listen to what they want and duplicate that.

But for me, my choice is (LISPING) this is our girl.

She's like this.

And she's got this thing.

And she says exactly, I didn't ask

to be born with super strength, x-ray vision, and the ability

to fly!

to fly!

Ugh.

I'll save the whole world, just like, give me a second.

I think I read something about, she rolls her eyes.

She groans, "but groans and rolls

her eyes the entire time."

It's like, yes, I can save the day.

I've got it.

Okay!

Ugh, let's get on with it.

All right, let's go!

All those cues there-- "precocious," "lay off of her,"

"she's got a retainer" --she's gonna do it,

"she's got a retainer" --she's gonna do it,

but she kind of complains a little bit.

But she gets the job done.

[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING]

I love Yikes the Dragon.

Let's see what it says here.

In the description it says, "If we're being honest,

that's probably not his name."

It's Yikes the Dragon, "but 'Yikes!'

is the first thing anyone says when

is the first thing anyone says when

they notice this surprisingly sweet-voiced teenage dragon

and the nickname stuck."

Okay, so that's good.

So he's a sweet-voiced teenage--

he's a teenager.

"As the station manager at the local radio station,

Yikes" --okay, so there's another clue right there.

You can highlight that.

He's the station manager.

"Yikes does all the work from engineering

to cleaning the bathrooms."

[LAUGHTER]

Kind of like what I used to do.

"He one day dreams of being on air,

"He one day dreams of being on air,

but the station's bitter host, Two Mouth,

is going to make sure that dream never comes true.

He oozes southern charm, is very optimistic,

and wears his heart on his sleeve."

Okay, there you go.

"His purple eyes glow with sincerity and his roar

is more syrupy than terrifying."

Okay, great.

This last line, this is awesome.

Think Leslie Jordan as an adolescent dragon.

I'm having to "rememberize."

I'm having to "rememberize."

That's what friend of mine said one time.

I said, it's not "rememberize."

It's memorize!

But oh, my lord, pages and pages of dialogue,

look, I got to memorize it all.

Whoo!

That's almost like all I need.

That is such a major, major key clue in this whole--

this whole description of Yikes.

So that, that just tells tomes he's earnest.

He has a good work ethic.

He has a good work ethic.

He's clean.

His heart is in the right place.

To me, it also could indicate that he

could get hurt because people that

are vulnerable and sometimes people that are very, very

helpful, they tend to be a little bit more fragile.

Their skin, even though he's tough,

he has the appearance of being tough like a dragon,

so "Yikes," he's actually a little bit of a softy.

So let's talk about what he looks like here.

He's got a microphone on his chest.

On his T-shirt, he's got a microphone.

On his T-shirt, he's got a microphone.

So there's something about sound that he really, really loves.

He's smiling.

He's not-- he doesn't seem to be an angry guy.

He looks like a happy little dude.

He's got little eyebrows.

They're up.

They're not on his head.

It's kind of Picasso-esque.

But it's got-- he's got these little eyebrows,

and he probably uses them.

But he uses them for charm.

So this is kind of what I came up with for Yikes.

(SOUTHERN ACCENT) And that Leslie Jordan thing,

and as I'm starting to do this, I'm getting--

and as I'm starting to do this, I'm getting--

I'm kind of beaming.

I am zeroing in on Leslie Jordan.

It's like, girl, girl, hear how I do that?

Girl, I am so nervous, I feel like my stomach

is coming out of my tail.

Look at that.

This situation is worse than my dragon breath!

Keeping these things in mind and these tools

about taking one word and spreading that one word out,

emphasis, taking some pauses when you lay down

emphasis, taking some pauses when you lay down

your audition or your character or just doing a reading at a--

when you're actually hired for the job,

and you're actually reading it.

It's just like, girl!

You see how I do that?

Just like, this is the character.

This would be-- I sort of feel like I have to get--

I got to giddy into it.

I got to sort of don't even look at the words.

I'm just talking to you, and I find myself

getting into [INAUDIBLE].

He's a sweet-voiced teenage boy.

He's like-- I get the idea he's a boy.

What was the clue there?

Oh, because it says "he."

Oh, because it says "he."

"He oozes southern charm."

Okay.

Sometimes it doesn't matter.

A girl-- a lot of my--

animal characters, they're kind of androgynous.

Whether they're male or female, it

has to do more with an attitude.

Unless the relationship is that he is a brother or a sister.

But anyway, he oozes southern charm.

He's very optimistic!

This is gonna-- we're gonna make it!

I know it's impossible.

Now, listen.

Listen, now, see what I'm doing here?

Listen, now, see what I'm doing here?

I'm slowing him down just a little bit

because when Yikes the Dragon talks to you,

as I'm talking to you right now, listen to me, here.

Because you got to do it this way, or we're

never gonna get that-- we're never

gonna meet that-- oh, my gosh!

It's almost 2 o'clock!

We got to get going!

Keep on going!

We got to go finish!

We've got a deadline to do!

Let's go!

You see that?

We're talking about--

[LAUGHTER]

It's fun!

It's totally fun.

[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING]

The last character that I would like to introduce to you

is named Two Mouth.

And here's the description.

"Two Mouth" is a little bit of a clue.

I'm just saying.

"Two Mouth is a monster radio host with six arms

and, you guessed it, two mouths."

That's a pretty good clue.

"By day, they host the number one talk show on radio

"By day, they host the number one talk show on radio

and by night, they wreak havoc as the world's most dangerous

super villain."

Okay, "There's Radio Mouth, who leads the radio

show with her endless shock jock swagger,

and there's Bad Mouth, who acts as the grumpy sidekick

on the show but is the mastermind

behind their evil exploits.

With their very public personas, they hide in plain sight.

After all, who would ever expect that a celebrated DJ who

After all, who would ever expect that a celebrated DJ who

gives away free concert tickets could be so evil?"

Okay, so here's the deal on this guy.

And it seems so obvious that, I think,

I wonder if this is a way of saying

it's really one character.

It's like, paying an actor to do one character,

but really it's two voices.

[LAUGHTER]

It's actually-- it's two totally different characters.

But as you can see from the artwork, it's one-- it's one.

It's one character.

It's one character.

And it's split.

It's sort of like a Siamese twin.

And one is the evil twin, and one is the good twin.

But there are some hints in here that they're very different.

Radio Mouth is-- she's got this endless shock jock swagger.

It's a female.

Okay, this is-- to me, the challenge

is, how do I make these two characters really,

really distinct?

So you've got one that's got endless shock jock swagger.

So you've got one that's got endless shock jock swagger.

And it's a female.

And the other one, Bad Mouth, acts as the grumpy sidekick.

So to me, I think, what I chose to do was create them--

I took a little artistic creativity here.

And this is what I would present with no apology

because, honestly, a lot of producers,

they just want you to give them--

they want you to solve their problem.

So this is a way to do it.

And with Radio Mouth, what I did was, I kind of combined--

And with Radio Mouth, what I did was, I kind of combined--

she's sort of like--

she's got this--

I like to put in her in kind of a, she's a female,

but she's connected to a male.

So it's sort of like that testosterone has sort of like

affected her voice a little bit.

But there's a little breathy quality to her.

And she's kind of down in this Rosalind Russell range

as a woman.

But she can use this voice.

But she can use this voice.

You don't surprise me one little bit, kind of a thing.

Whereas her counterpart, her--

the other evil twin, he is, (RASPY)

I kind of get this idea that if I sort of put him like,

this is a tough guy and make him--

she's sort of like silky smooth.

And there's sort of a sexy quality to her.

But at nighttime on the radio, it's like, for all my listeners

But at nighttime on the radio, it's like, for all my listeners

out there, I just want to tell you, you're listening to--

you're listening to Radio Mouth, mouth on the radio,

K, K whatever.

You're listening to me.

Thank you.

Mwah.

That's her.

Now, the other guy, you're listening--

Bad Mouth, just by definition, by "Bad Mouth,"

I kind of want to make him more overtly evil.

He's not so covert maybe as Radio Mouth is.

He's not so covert maybe as Radio Mouth is.

But he's (RASPY) right out there.

I kind of beamed in a Harvey, Harvey Fierstein

kind of a sound from New York.

He's sort of a tough guy sort of like this.

He's like, yeah, what-- what are you talking about?

Would you mind?

You're spitting all over me?

Do you mind?

Please, have some couth!

Please, have some couth!

Let's have a shot at this.

This is like, Radio Mouth, she'd say things like, warning,

warning, my microphone is totally off limits.

She means, if you touch my mic, I'll kill ya!

Welcome back to Two Mouth in the Morning.

Here with me as always, my beloved cohost, Bad Mouth.

God, I hate being here!

God, I hate being here!

Like this, two for one.

[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING]

Here's the deal is that your challenge as a voice actor

is to make these characters that you come up

with 100% out of whole cloth.

Each one of them, there's an attitude.

There's an energy.

There's a viewpoint.

There's a viewpoint.

There's a relationship.

There's a pitch.

There's a placement in your throat.

All of them have to be specific, just like as individual,

as we all are, like snowflakes are, like thumbprints are,

all these characters have to be clearly delineated and defined.

You've got the ability to make a character

gruff or sweet or silky-smooth-voiced.

You can find your own--

you should find your own wheelhouse.

you should find your own wheelhouse.

All of these things will help you to develop and become

an amazing voice-over actor.

Okay, so I'm gonna work on polishing these characters up.

So my animated self is gonna take over from here.

Thanks, real Nancy.

Fun fact-- the cup of coffee on my side table is just a prop.

As an animated character, I don't need

to eat, drink, or sleep at all.

I'm the Energizer Bunny, baby.

One of the most important things

I'd like to leave with you is how

to differentiate amongst your characters.

You know, it's key, really, to getting

hired, is how flexible you are, your versatility.

They're going to want to hire somebody

that can do multiple voices as opposed to just one voice.

And not saying that you can't succeed if you have a special--

a unique voice, but making a living doing this,

a unique voice, but making a living doing this,

and doing lots of shows, I want you all

to get cast in lots of shows.

You know, versatility is the name of the game.

So let's touch on that.

I got called in to do this little show called

My Little Pony, and man, I've got such fond memories of that.

That was so early in my career, and we were doing 65 episodes,

That was so early in my career, and we were doing 65 episodes,

and there was singing.

So singing sessions took place separate

from the record sessions.

So this was like, wow, I am making

a living doing My Little Pony.

When I went in for the audition, there were so many ponies.

It was just a stable of just--

Surf Rider, Baby Pony, Snuggles, Buttercup.

And they were all about the same age, and some were males,

and some were females.

and some were females.

And I came across this reference tape,

and the differences are so subtle,

but they're definitely different.

So when I was on that job, I got

the description of the character that was written out,

the description of the character that was written out,

and I saw that.

And I kind of tried out a voice, and they

were so similar in tone and pitch

that there was a little bit of a leeway

that I could lift this one up a little bit

higher, higher pitch, take this one down a little lower

and talk slower.

Maybe keep it down there, and then I gave it

a little Southern accent.

Then I brought it even lower than that

and slowed him way down.

It made him be more like, I'm bored,

I don't really like being a pony, that attitude, you know.

I don't really like being a pony, that attitude, you know.

And next thing you know, I've got

seven, eight, 11 characters.

But I guess my point is, they gave me a reference

tape that I got to take home, and that

was my training ground.

And as you do it, you will become more and more familiar

with those characters.

So they will-- it's like, you can then do them in your sleep.

So then when the time comes when you have to play a scene,

and you're playing two, three, four characters,

and you're playing two, three, four characters,

and they're your characters, you will--

well, the first time you do it, it's gonna be a challenge,

but you'll do it.

You'll definitely do it, because you will rehearse.

Like you will drill, drill, drill, until you get it right.

We did this episode--

I think it's called Bible Stories, now

that I think about it.

And I was doing, I think, three characters in it,

and I remember doing this reading.

And there's-- look.

There's no rehearsal for the reading of the script.

It's like, you go in there, you do your homework on your own.

You come in, and we do the reading.

Somebody is reading all the direction.

And there I am, and I just started doing it.

And this particular scene, it's like I'm

talking to myself, which is--

that's what I'm paid to do.

You're paid to talk to yourself.

I'll tell you, trying to keep the s separated-- like I said,

I highlighted.

You know, Bart was in yellow, Nelson Muntz was in orange,

You know, Bart was in yellow, Nelson Muntz was in orange,

Ralph Wiggum, I think, is in it.

Whoa!

Let my proclamation go out across the land.

Ha-ha!

CROWD: Ha-ha!

Oh.

I hope this doesn't get into the Bible.

You're King David.

I love you, because you kill people.

Get yourself another hero, kid.

It was 10 whole pages, this particular scene.

It was 10 whole pages, this particular scene.

It got cut way down, by the way, in editing.

It was changed.

But it was during the table read that was the most challenging,

and you want to do a great job, you know, for the reading,

because the writers are taking notes.

So this is kind of added.

And somebody that really wants to be prepared

will make sure that they know what they're reading

and who's who and what's what so that you walk out of there,

and I know, I'm Nancy Cartwright.

I'm not these other boys that I do.

I'm not these other boys that I do.

When you create characters, make

sure that your character is going

to be able to have a special, unique quality.

Let me give you an example.

One night, I was delivered my script,

and I read the script, and all of a sudden,

I was cast as this character named Nelson Muntz.

He was a very minor character, but I gave him this voice.

Ha-ha!

Ha-ha!

That ha-ha-- it was written, H-A-W, H-A-W, in parentheses.

And it just said to me it was a laugh,

but that could have been up to anybody's interpretation

as to what that sounded like, and just on the top of my head,

I don't even think I made a decision on it.

It was, ha-ha!

Which is-- (IN NELSON'S VOICE) this

is Nelson's voice like this, (NORMAL VOICE)

but the ha-ha is airy.

You'd think he'd go ha-ha.

You'd think he'd go ha-ha.

You know, but that is the voice that stuck, and that I did it.

And it got a huge laugh.

And he started recurring more and more in the show,

until I realized he was a semi-regular character.

He's in a lot of the scripts, but he's not in every script.

But sometimes the show features--

it's all about Nelson Muntz, and those are-- oh, I just

love Nelson.

I love him.

His character arc, to me, is the greatest of all the characters

His character arc, to me, is the greatest of all the characters

on the show, because he started out just as this bully,

but then he evolved into this kind

of a bully that was misunderstood,

which probably they are.

Most bullies are really misunderstood.

But you find out that he plays the guitar.

He sings.

He kind of wants to be a rock star.

You know, he's got a crush on Mrs. Simpson.

You know, he's got a crush on Marge.

But he's got this soft part that just melts my heart.

But he's got this soft part that just melts my heart.

The thing about huckleberries is, once you've had fresh,

you'll never go back to canned.

Nah!

Um, so anyway, I kicked the guy's ass.

Now, if the berries are too tart,

I just dust them with confectioners sugar.

Oh.

Oh.

NANCY CARTWRIGHT (VOICEOVER): For voice actors,

breaking down your script means going through your lines

to plan your performance.

Preparation is everything, and I thought I could walk you

through how I go about it.

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: So let's say that you

have a script emailed to you.

First thing I would do is print it out.

I prefer to have a hard copy, and I'll tell you why.

Because you're going to want to use your handy tools--

Because you're going to want to use your handy tools--

a pencil and a highlighter--

these are my nifty tools.

Don't leave home without them.

Because you'll want to mark your script.

So then I read the script.

Kind of makes sense, right?

I'm reading it generally for content.

What's the script about?

But while I'm doing that, I'm also noticing some things

and marking it.

Like, for example, I will come across words or references

Like, for example, I will come across words or references

that I don't understand.

So I stop immediately, actually, and look them up.

Because I want to know what these things are.

So let the dictionary be your friend

because seriously, if you don't understand

what you're talking about, nobody's going to-- nobody's

going to get it.

You have to know everything about it.

So look for words that you don't understand.

The other thing I look at is, is there any singing?

Are there any songs in here?

If there are songs, are they going

to send me a reference tape of the tune to that song,

or is it just sung to the tune of "Happy Birthday"

or is it just sung to the tune of "Happy Birthday"

or "Mary Had a Little Lamb" or something like that?

If that's the case, if there's references in there--

sometimes they have YouTube references,

so I can get the YouTube reference

and look at what they're needing and wanting.

So that's the first thing that I do.

Get the general idea about what the story is,

what the scene is, the relationship of your character,

how many characters you're playing in this,

make note of all that.

Then I go back to the beginning, and then I use Mr. Highlighter,

Then I go back to the beginning, and then I use Mr. Highlighter,

and I highlight all my lines.

I've saved every Simpsons script,

and I used to use a different color highlighter

for every different character.

And you know what?

Starting out, that's what I had to do.

I had to do that because sometimes these characters were

right next to each other.

And if I don't do that and they're all in yellow,

it could get a little confusing.

So sometimes it's-- you can either put a circle around it,

you can put a square around it, but identify your lines.

you can put a square around it, but identify your lines.

OK, so when I get a script and I've read it

and I understand what's going on,

I go take my magic helpful pen or pencil and I start to mark.

And I orchestrate my script, if you will.

It's like I make notes for myself.

I identify who the character is.

I put some emotional range there.

I use some symbols, like lines, and I circle things

and I do more exclamation points.

I make it so that as I'm reading it,

I make it so that as I'm reading it,

these symbols will indicate to me how

I need to then communicate these words that the writer has

written.

And then-- I learned this from my mentor, from Daws Butler--

you can even get some ideas the second time through,

of how to orchestrate your script.

And that's taking your pencil--

I would do it in pencil, because ink

is too permanent because you could change your mind--

but mark your script about where you see a pause might happen,

or where you might want to draw out the word.

So I just draw a line on top of the word.

So I just draw a line on top of the word.

That, to me, symbolizes to draw out the word.

One line between words is a short break,

two lines is a long pause.

What else do I do?

I think that wraps it up.

That's about all you really need to look

at when you're first starting out, those basic things there.

Sometimes you might get in a position

where actually, you don't know how to speak the language.

where actually, you don't know how to speak the language.

There was this Simpsons episode called "Crepes of Wrath"

where Bart gets sent off to France to be a foreign exchange

student.

And he's like, he's so trapped.

He can't get away from these guys.

He was kind of kidnapped by these two guys.

He's living in a barn with a donkey

and having to sleep in there, and it's

just-- it's a disaster.

And Bart runs and tries to escape.

And all the dialogue, it was it was written in there in French,

And all the dialogue, it was it was written in there in French,

and I don't speak French.

And so, they needed to bring in somebody

to help me get the correct dialect.

I mean, if I'm going to speak French,

I can sort of mock up a French thing here as Nancy

and I can sort of do a French accent like that.

But they wanted a dialectician to be

in there so I get it even a little bit better than that.

But the problem was, I didn't know

how to pronounce the words, and it's all written in French.

But I had taken a phonetics class

when I was at Ohio University, so I wrote phonetically

when I was at Ohio University, so I wrote phonetically

how to pronounce the words right above the French words.

And then I have to know emotionally

what I'm saying so I could get the acting emotion correct.

So I had to write English on top of French

so I know what I'm saying as I'm reading it and saying it

in French.

It's like [FRENCH SPEECH].

So it was very complicated, and it took a little bit of time

to do it.

But I finally got it down.

But I finally got it down.

To have Bart start off by saying, "I'm so stupid.

Anybody could have learned this dumb language by now,

and I've got to speak French."

And he goes on, and then as he's doing it,

then it eases into him actually speaking in French.

Here, I've listened to nothing but French for the past two

months.

[FRENCH SPEECH]

Oh my gosh.

That was my biggest career challenge, to date.

Incredible.

Incredible.

So let me give you guys a little demonstration

of what I'm talking about.

I'd show you here, but the script is all the way

over in reality, so I'd have to figure out

how to turn into a real person, go

all the way to the audio studio, get the script,

turn myself back into an animated character,

come back here, and it would be a whole thing.

So take it away, Nancy.

Thanks, animated me.

I'm glad I saved you that animated schlep.

So what happens is, when you get a scene like this

for, say, an audition, you're also

going to get a description of who this character is.

So like we covered earlier, you're

going to go through that.

You're going to find the clues that are in the writing.

You're going to find out the age,

the relationship that this character has

with the other characters.

You're going to get hints about the attitude,

about the emotion, things like that.

So now, here are the lines.

Now what's the writer give you here?

So as I'm reading this here, she starts out

by singing this- song (SINGING) I'm no-effort girl.

by singing this- song (SINGING) I'm no-effort girl.

I'm no-- (CHARACTER VOICE) see, I've

already made this sort of decision about this girl.

I'm no-effort girl.

I'm no-effort girl.

And it's easy and it's boring to save the whole world.

(NORMAL VOICE) And I don't have the tune yet.

They didn't send me the music for this just yet.

But the phone rings and she picks up.

(CHARACTER VOICE) No-effort girl headquarters or whatever.

(NORMAL VOICE) She listens.

She rolls her eyes.

Typical.

(CHARACTER VOICE) Well, have you tried

calling any other superheroes?

(NORMAL VOICE) Another phone rings.

She reaches out, flies into her hand.

(CHARACTER VOICE) Jeez.

(CHARACTER VOICE) Jeez.

Hello?

Your boat's sinking?

How fast?

Oh, that's not an emergency.

Call me when your shoes are wet, and cool it

with the histrionics.

(NORMAL VOICE) More phones ring.

She yells at all the phones.

(CHARACTER VOICE) Listen, stop.

Listen.

I'm coming to, like, save you all.

And just please, chill out.

(NORMAL VOICE) So then there's this montage.

A cute baby monster is tied to a train track

as a train barrels down on it.

as a train barrels down on it.

The moment before the train steam rolls the baby,

No-Effort Girl saves the baby in one

hand while texting with the other.

She hands the baby to its mom while continuing to text.

She's distracted by the phone.

(CHARACTER VOICE) I know kids love trains,

but that was a bit much.

(NORMAL VOICE) The wing of the plane

catches fire and the plane begins to plummet.

No-Effort Girl props up the playing while eating a sandwich

and liking pictures on social media.

and liking pictures on social media.

She is busy, man.

She holds up the phone to a scared passenger

with her mouth full of food.

OK, so that's curious.

She's got her mouth full of food here.

Sometimes on The Simpsons, we actually use real food.

That's a good thing.

It sounds authentic.

However, you could choke, so that's not a good thing.

So you can learn how to fake this.

You just kind of puff--

get the idea that you've got food in your mouth and--

(CHARACTER VOICE) Should I heart this--

(CHARACTER VOICE) Should I heart this--

should I heart this picture of Brandon,

or is that too thirsty?

(NORMAL VOICE) You know, you can just wing it.

Then it moves on to the Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze.

Where is that?

I think I've been there.

That's in Florence.

It's the-- it's the Academy of--

OK, I'm going to look that up.

The David is there.

That's-- that's all about Michelangelo.

So I get the idea, now, where she is.

OK.

It's still missing it's art.

It's still missing it's art.

The Galleria is missing it's art.

No-Effort paints her fingernails and cuffs the robbers who carry

paintings of Dominico Giraland--

I don't even know how to say it.

This name, I should know who this person is.

It's an artist, clearly, because it's paintings of him.

So we're going to look him up.

OK, so these paintings are being stolen

and a reporter approaches.

Red flag, boop, boop, boop.

This is written in Italian.

This is written in Italian.

I don't speak Italian, OK?

No challenge here.

But what I did for MasterClass is,

I insisted that they send me somebody doing this in Italian.

So say it like normal speaking, and then I

want you to say it also very slowly for me.

So what I did is I put that on my--

another tool-- put that on my phone.

OK, so there's Italian reporter that's

OK, so there's Italian reporter that's

saying in Italian, with the subtitles, "How do you

feel after having saved the world's greatest work of art?"

And No-Effort Girl responds, "In Italian, with English

subtitles."

Well, it was--

(CHARACTER VOICE) Well, it was easy for me,

and also a huge imposition.

[ITALIAN SPEECH]

That's like, "Well, it was easy for me and also

a huge imposition."

It's a little-- it's a little choppy,

so this is just a matter of rehearsal.

So then when I get it down and my confidence level

is high enough, I feel like I need to do it one more time.

[ITALIAN SPEECH]

OK, good.

So now it's just a matter of doing it over and over

So now it's just a matter of doing it over and over

to get the flow just right.

[ITALIAN SPEECH]

That's pretty good, in my opinion.

OK.

(CHARACTER VOICE) So we're going to add--

going to add a little attitude.

This is going to be our girl.

This is No-Effort Girl in Italian, with the subtitle,

"Well, it was easy for me, and also, a huge imposition."

[ITALIAN SPEECH]

(NORMAL VOICE) There you go.

And then later on in the evening,

No-Effort Girl checks her phone and sees 27 voicemails

from Yikes the Dragon.

(CHARACTER VOICE) That's weird.

He usually only leaves seven messages.

(NORMAL VOICE) So cute.

I love this scene.

OK, guys, to wrap up this chapter, first thing you

OK, guys, to wrap up this chapter, first thing you

need to do is read the script.

That's a little bit of a clue.

It's a big hint.

Read the script for full understanding conceptually

of what it is that you're communicating about.

Second pass through, you're going

to look for clues that are in there.

You'll find things that you need to look up,

like, if there's words or references about people

or locations, historical people.

So you'll find your own way to symbolize how to orchestrate

or mark your script.

So when you're reading it, it will help you

So when you're reading it, it will help you

in interpreting what the writer has put there in front of you.

If you have a coach, if you have a friend that you

can bounce ideas off of, that's really good.

Use YouTube.

YouTube is an amazing reference tool

to get foreign language sounds.

(OVER BULLHORN) Drill drill, drill, drill.

Get it down, get it perfect, and don't stop until you actually

have it so you feel completely confident and good about what

you do.

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: The same recording techniques

can be used whether you're in a closet at home working

on a demo tape or in a professional studio working

on a multimillion dollar TV show.

For The Simpsons, we actually started out

in a small little booth where they filmed The Tracey Ullman

Show.

They put, like, moving carpets up on the walls,

because there was so much glass that when we spoke,

because there was so much glass that when we spoke,

it vibrated.

It was not a good facility for recording.

So shortly after that, they gave us a studio,

and it was downstairs--

the Darryl Zanuck Theater, I think--

and it was a big soundstage.

And we each had our own areas, if you will.

Like Yeardley is to my right, Tress MacNeille

is to my immediate left.

Julie is beside her.

Dan's over there.

Hank is in the room.

Everybody was there, and that's kind of how it is now,

Everybody was there, and that's kind of how it is now,

that we have our own stations.

We have high chairs, and we have low chairs.

Some people prefer to stand.

I prefer to stand.

So once we get our station and the microphones set up,

you've got your script.

You take the brads out of the script.

You line up the pages.

You ask the script supervisor, which scene are

we going to start with today?

She'll say, we're going to start from the top, scene number one.

We're going to try to go all the way through.

And everybody's like, yay, this is good.

When we do it consecutively, that's

nice, because you get to track.

You get to track the emotional changes in the show.

You get to track the emotional changes in the show.

It's so much easier that way.

But all too often, somebody will have to leave,

or somebody is not there, and they kind of

bounce around a bit.

That's fine, too.

It works, because you just get yourself right in that moment

and deliver the goods.

Everybody's quiet.

Roll sound.

Sound's rolling.

Welcome to my 3D audio booth with my personal 3D engineer.

Welcome to my 3D audio booth with my personal 3D engineer.

He's in the control room in the back,

and I can see him through a window, even though you can't.

He's still rendering.

Hi, Jeff!

JEFF: Hey, Nancy.

When you go in for your first record,

and you're in a professional studio,

you might be a little nervous, but I have a few tips for you

to keep in mind.

For example, just be aware of where you position yourself.

The distance between you-- right now, I'm

about maybe six or so inches from the microphone.

That's a pretty safe distance.

That's a pretty safe distance.

To give you an idea of what that is, you take your baby finger

and stick it out and your thumb, and it's

that hang loose sort of a thing.

And you just put your baby finger up there,

and that's where the normal placement is.

If you pull yourself too far away, like I'm doing right now,

I have to call out a little bit more,

but it sounds like I'm calling out.

Or if you're going to be talking a little bit closer,

and I get a little bit closer to the mic,

I've got the-- the pop screen is right in the way,

but I've got to bring my voice down a little bit,

so I don't blow you out of the water.

so I don't blow you out of the water.

And likewise, if you're going to-- hey!

Hey over there!

You hear me?

You got to go off mic.

Very simple.

That's mic technique, right, Jeff?

JEFF: That is 100% mic technique.

Here's the deal with the audio engineer.

It is really, really simple.

This is the guy or gal whose job it

is to make you sound great technically.

Sometimes, the engineer wants you to give a mic check,

and they say, just say the alphabet.

I like to do it backwards.

Z Y X W V U T S R Q P O N M L K J I H G F E D C B A.

Z Y X W V U T S R Q P O N M L K J I H G F E D C B A.

And people are like, whoa!

That's amazing!

Change it up a little bit.

Sometimes, I'll say, hey, Jeff, can you

bring up the gain in my headset?

That just means the volume.

It's a little bit more volume.

I want to hear myself a little bit more.

If it's a long record session and I start out standing

and then I decide to sit in a high chair,

there's still going to be a little bit of a difference

in my relationship with that microphone sitting

in my relationship with that microphone sitting

in a high chair than I would be standing.

That's his job to come in here and help you out

with that, just to get comfortable,

to make sure, again, that the sound is going

to be clean and pure and make you sound as good as you

can sound.

Sometimes, you'll come into a scene where you have to yell,

or you have to scream, or you're calling out.

Screaming is one thing.

Calling out is another.

Calling out is a little bit more controlled,

but you might want to give the engineer a little warning.

Say, do you want me to do this for you, Jeff,

or is it something that you can do technically for me?

or is it something that you can do technically for me?

And sometimes, the engineer will say, no,

I got you covered, Nance.

But go ahead and give me a volume.

Let me hear you calling out.

And then I would--

you know-- hey, Jeff!

I'm going to call out right now!

See, I took myself off mic.

I didn't want to hurt any eardrums.

Jeff, are you still alive?

JEFF: Yeah, definitely.

All right.

We're good.

It's little mic techniques that you're going to learn about.

Now, personally, I'm an animated character,

so I will live forever in perfect health,

but all of you regular people out

there have to take care of your vocal cords,

there have to take care of your vocal cords,

and I think I know just the regular human lady to explain

that to you.

Take it away you, you dulcet siren.

Oh, stop it, you.

She's such a flirt.

I want to talk about how to prepare

your voice for doing a record.

Honestly, for me, it's a very personal decision.

I know that I don't drink a glass of milk before I go in.

Milk chocolate tends to coat my throat.

Milk chocolate tends to coat my throat.

Warm beverages are good, but sometimes I also just

like, on a daily routine for my own health purposes,

I like to have cranberry, like raw cranberry,

and water with a little stevia, because it just

keeps the liver healthy.

You'll find out through experience, if you're going

[CLEARS THROAT] and you're finding

that you have to clear your throat a lot,

I would just sort of like, you know, inspect

I would just sort of like, you know, inspect

your own diet, what it is that you're

doing that's making you have to clear your throat a bit.

If you do feel like you have to clear your throat a bit,

take a drink of water.

It's better than [CLEARS THROAT] doing that,

because doing that is actually kind

of tough on your vocal cords.

You know, sometimes I'll find that there's

a scene where there's a lot of yelling,

and if there is a lot of yelling in the beginning

or middle of the scene, I will tend

to want to save that til the end, because I want

to want to save that til the end, because I want

to have my pipes really healthy for the rest of the scene

or the rest of the day, even.

And sometimes I've had times when Nelson--

it's kind of tough.

He's what I call a throat scratcher,

and doing that voice a lot irritates my throat.

It's not ruined it.

I've never had nodes.

I'm not going to have it.

He's not on enough.

But by the end of the day, my throat is tired.

You know, the larynx and all the equipment

down there has been stressed, so I

down there has been stressed, so I

have to sort of chill it for the night and take it easy.

And it repairs very quickly, but it's something to be aware of,

and something there's nothing wrong for you to mention.

Hey, can we save this?

Save the screaming till the end?

They're like, absolutely.

No problem.

They want you to be good, too.

They want you to be able to deliver.

So do that.

ANIMATED NANCY: When you voice act,

you need to keep your character's

voice consistent through all sorts of situations.

Real Nancy is going to show you how to do that,

because if I did it, it'd be an animated character showing you

how to do another animated character,

and everyone's heads would explode.

So, Nancy?

Thanks, animated me, and thanks

for saving us that headache.

OK, guys.

So I thought I'd just take a moment here and show you

So I thought I'd just take a moment here and show you

how I set up maintaining a voice through a record

or through an audition, and there's

all kinds of things that come into play here,

because sometimes there's music.

Sometimes there are sound effects

of somebody jumping and landing or falling, kind of

like extraneous noises that will have to be picked

up later, things like that.

In this particular scene, this is with No-Effort Girl.

She's in her bedroom.

It's in the daytime, and the room is messy.

The messy room of a tween superhero.

No-Effort Girl, a punk rock adolescent

with a honking Hawley retainer stands

in the center of her room, singing her theme song.

Because everybody knows, a superhero

has to have a theme song.

OK, so with that, normally what happens is I'm going to listen.

OK, so with that, normally what happens is I'm going to listen.

The sound engineer is going to be playing a temporary track,

called a temp track, for me, so I can hear the music

with somebody else that has done a temporary voice for me,

so I can learn this little song.

So let's do that.

[MUSIC PLAYING- "NO EFFORT GIRL THEME SONG]

TEMP TRACK SINGER: (SINGING) I'm No-Effort Girl.

I'm No-Effort Girl, and it's easy and boring to save

the whole world.

Like, whatever.

Like, whatever.

OK.

OK, so good.

So what I find out here, first time

out, is that, like, whatever, is not part of the song.

It's a comment.

It's a little attitude that she's

got that they've included that into her theme song, which

is totally appropriate.

So (SINGING) I'm no-effort-- so I don't quite

have that tune again.

Can we play it one more time, Jeff?

JEFF: Sure, no problem.

Stand by.

[MUSIC PLAYING- "NO EFFORT GIRL THEME SONG]

TEMP TRACK SINGER AND NANCY CARTWRIGHT:

(SINGING) I'm No-Effort Girl.

I'm No-Effort Girl, and it's easy and boring to save

I'm No-Effort Girl, and it's easy and boring to save

the whole world.

TEMP TRACK SINGER: Like, whatever.

(SINGING) To save the whole world.

(SPEAKING) OK, good.

I think we're good.

[LISPING HEAVILY] And so now, I'm

just going to turn her into No-Effort Girl,

and we're gonna try this.

Let's try it.

[NORMAL VOICE] Can we just kind of rehearse on tape,

as they say?

JEFF: Sure.

Do you want the temp vocals still in there, or--

Yeah.

JEFF: --Do you want to hear just the instrumental.

Yeah.

Let's keep the temp vocal, and let's see how we do here.

Let's keep the temp vocal, and let's see how we do here.

JEFF: Stand by.

Coming at you.

[MUSIC PLAYING- "NO EFFORT GIRL THEME SONG]

TEMP TRACK SINGER AND NANCY CARTWRIGHT:

(SINGING) I'm No-Effort Girl.

I'm No-Effort Girl, and it's easy and boring to save

the whole world.

Like, whatever.

That is-- so at this point--

JEFF: So a little hot there at the end.

Oh, yeah?

OK.

Let's do another tape.

See, at this point in time, I am totally

dependent on the director.

dependent on the director.

I am such not my own judge on this.

It's kind of like they will have a composer,

or the arranger usually will conduct me,

and it's very specific.

And a lot of times, most of the time, these

are done separately, but sometimes they buddy them up,

and it's done at the same time during the record

of the script.

So either way, though, it's like working with somebody

else who's going to be directing you,

else who's going to be directing you,

and it's incredibly helpful.

And they're looking for timing, that your timing

has to be perfect on this.

Because it's going to be animated, and it all

has to do, believe it or not, with math.

Math and timing.

So the animators have to know how long a piece is in order

to animate it correctly, and it just is

a very collaborative art form.

So this is how we work together.

Now, let's remove the vocal in my ear,

and I'm just going to have some fun with this.

JEFF: OK, no vocal.

JEFF: OK, no vocal.

Standby.

Coming at you.

[MUSIC PLAYING- "NO EFFORT GIRL THEME SONG]

(SINGING) I'm No-Effort Girl.

I'm No-Effort Girl, and it's easy and boring to save

the whole world.

Like, whatever.

Super fun.

[NORMAL VOICE] So I have an idea,

and this is what I would do with a director.

I would say, listen.

I have an idea.

Can we do it one more time, just for fun?

Can we do it one more time, just for fun?

Because I feel like it's missing a little bit of her personality

on those first two lines.

[LISPING HEAVILY] Cause you really

get who she is with those Ss, and there's no Ss in I'm

No-Effort Girl.

[NORMAL VOICE] Can we just play with this?

Let's just play with this once.

[MUSIC PLAYING- "NO EFFORT GIRL THEME SONG]

(SINGING) [LISPING HEAVILY] So, I'm No-Effort Girl.

I'm No-Effort Girl, and it's easy and boring to save

the whole world.

Like, whatever.

[NORMAL VOICE] Now, we're going to take that one

[NORMAL VOICE] Now, we're going to take that one

and add a little bit more of the tune.

JEFF: Stand by.

[MUSIC PLAYING- "NO EFFORT GIRL THEME SONG]

(SINGING) [LISPING HEAVILY] So, I'm No-Effort Girl.

Yes, I'm No-Effort Girl.

And it's easy and boring to save the whole world.

Oh, like, whatever.

[NORMAL VOICE] And world was totally flat,

but I think it's funny.

What happens next is the phone rings,

and No-Effort Girl picks it up.

[LISPING HEAVILY] No-Effort Girl headquarters or whatever.

[NORMAL VOICE] So she rolls her eyes.

[LISPING HEAVILY] Well, have you tried--

[NORMAL VOICE] And she's listening.

Somebody's saying something to her.

[LISPING HEAVILY] Well, have you tried

calling any other superheroes?

[NORMAL VOICE] Another phone rings.

[LISPING HEAVILY] Oh.

[NORMAL VOICE] She reaches out, and it flies into her hand.

The phone flies into her hand.

[LISPING HEAVILY] Whoa!

Jeez!

Jeez!

Hello?

Your boat is sinking?

How fast?

That's not an emergency.

Call me when your shoes are wet, and cool it

with the histrionics.

[NORMAL VOICE] So what's happened here

is that she's having a conversation,

so I've got to give just a moment

to be able to hear whatever the other person is saying

to me on the phone, right?

So more phones ring.

They're ringing all over.

It's ringing, ringing.

She's yelling at all the phones.

She's yelling at all the phones.

[LISPING HEAVILY] Listen!

I'm coming to, like, save you all, so just please chill out!

[NORMAL VOICE] So there, her frustration, she is,

like, at the end of her line, to me.

She's like, [LISPING HEAVILY] whoa, you guys, cool it.

Everybody just chill.

[NORMAL VOICE] That's another way to do it, by the way.

[LISPING HEAVILY] Listen, I'm coming, like, to save you all,

so please just chill out.

so please just chill out.

[NORMAL VOICE] So it's an opinion,

whatever is needed and wanted.

Here's another way to do it.

[LISPING HEAVILY] Listen, I'm coming to, like, save you all.

So please just chill out.

So that was harder to say.

[NORMAL VOICE] The chill didn't come out quite so clear.

One of those choices that I made is like, something

that I have to be aware of.

It's a choice that I made for this character that almost

creates a problem for me, but honestly, I like it,

creates a problem for me, but honestly, I like it,

because it's a nice challenge.

[LISPING HEAVILY] Or she would say it's a nice challenge.

[NORMAL VOICE] Some of those words are hard to say!

By the way, an effort is some sort

of a sound that is showing that you're

putting some energy into a motion that would create

some kind of a sound from you.

Like falling and landing.

You'd fall-- aah.

You'd land, and then there's the after sound.

You'd land, and then there's the after sound.

You go, huh, ugh.

Ahhhh ugh.

Like that.

So now there's this montage.

A cute baby monster is tied to a train track

as the train barrels down on it.

The moment before the train steamrolls the baby,

No-Effort Girl saves the baby in one

hand while texting with the other.

She hands the baby to its mom while continuing to text.

So those kinds of sounds, by the way,

So those kinds of sounds, by the way,

would be picked up after all the dialogue.

The dialogue is done first, then we go back,

and we pick up these effort sounds.

So we can go back.

So I know that what's happened here

is the train's barreling down the track.

Moment before the baby's hit, No-Effort Girl

saves the baby in one hand while texting in the other.

So she would go eugh!

[PANTING] And I guess she's texting.

She's got the baby in this hand and the phone in this hand,

She's got the baby in this hand and the phone in this hand,

and I don't know how anybody does that.

But if she's like, No-Effort Girl, somehow, she

can do that with her fingers, and she's going mm-mm-mm.

So she might go mm-mm-mm-mm.

But probably, there's music under all of this,

and the music is going to drown this out.

But it doesn't matter.

You still have to do it, because you let them decide.

Let the producer, let the editor decide.

So No-Effort Girl is like flying through the air.

So No-Effort Girl is like flying through the air.

She's soaring through the air.

Whee!

All of a sudden, a wind comes along and blows her--

Whoa!

That's an effort sound, whoa!

Or something hits her in the gut-- ugh!

That's an effort.

Or she's lifting something really heavy--

uuugh.

Lifting and then dropping it-- uugh--

on her foot.

Uugh-- oof.

Ow!

You see I pulled off mic there.

How was that, Jeff?

Was that hot?

Was that hot?

JEFF: No, that was clean.

Clean.

Good.

So then the wing of the plane catches fire,

and the plane begins to plummet.

[WHISTLING] It's coming down.

No-Effort Girl props up the plane.

[GRUNTING] While eating a sandwich.

[GRUNTING and SMACKING] And liking

pictures on social media.

She holds up the phone to a scared passenger

with food in her mouth.

[LISPING HEAVILY] Should I heart this picture of Brandon,

[LISPING HEAVILY] Should I heart this picture of Brandon,

or is that too thirsty?

OK, so then, the Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze is

missing its art.

No-Effort paints her fingernails and cuffs

the robbers, who carry paintings of Domenicos.

A reporter approaches.

OK, so in this one, there's a little effort here,

where she's painting her nails.

She might just be going [HUMS SOFTLY] [GRUNTS] like

that.

That's an effort, too.

[GRUNTS] Or [GRUNTS LOUDLY] or [GRUNTS QUICKLY]..

[GRUNTS] Or [GRUNTS LOUDLY] or [GRUNTS QUICKLY]..

Lots of different ways to do all kinds of efforts.

[GRUNTS]

So the montage ends, and then we're inside No-Effort

Girl's bedroom again, and it's at nighttime,

so this is the end of the day.

No-Effort Girl checks her phone and sees 27 missed calls

from Yikes the Dragon, and she says,

[LISPING HEAVILY] oh, yes.

That's weird.

That's weird.

[NORMAL VOICE] I think I'd like to say--

[LISPING HEAVILY] Oh, that's so weird.

He usually only leaves seven messages.

[NORMAL VOICE] But if we could do this,

I think this would really be funny, if she said,

[LISPING HEAVILY] Oh, that's so weird.

He usually leaves only 67 messages.

[NORMAL VOICE] You know, sometimes in a script,

there's a little bit of time, and the director

might say, yeah, have fun with it.

Do whatever you want to, because I have an idea here that I'd

like to just try out.

So, yeah, go for it.

But like improvisationally, sometimes you

just throw caution to the wind and just have fun

just throw caution to the wind and just have fun

with the very last take that you give and make it

fun for yourself.

Who knows?

That may be the one that's chosen.

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: OK, folks I have a real treat for you.

Now that we've recorded our first scene,

we're going to add some storyboards to create what

is called an animatic, rough black and white sketches that

guide the animator to the final animation.

So let's check it out.

[MUSIC PLAYING- "NO EFFORT GIRL THEME SONG]

(SINGING) So, I'm No-Effort Girl.

Yes, I'm No-Effort Girl.

Yes, I'm No-Effort Girl.

And it's easy and boring to save the whole world.

Like, whatever.

[PHONE RINGING]

No-Effort Girl Headquarters, or whatever.

CALLER: [HIGH PITCHED GIBBERISH]

Well, have you tried calling any other superheroes?

[PHONE RINGING]

Oof.

Whoa.

Jeez, hello?

CALLER: [GIBBERISH]

Your boat is sinking?

CALLER: [GIBBERISH]

How fast?

CALLER: [GIBBERISH]

NO-EFFORT GIRL: That's not an emergency.

Call me when your shoes are wet, and cool it

with the histrionics.

[PHONES RINGING]

(SHOUTING) Listen!

(SHOUTING) Listen!

I'm coming to, like, save you all, so just please chill out!

[GRUNTING] I know kids love trains, but that was--

that was a bit much.

[GRUNTING] Should I heart this picture of Brandon,

or is that too thirsty?

He he he.

[GRUNTING]

[PHONE BEEPING]

Hold on a second.

That is so weird.

He usually only leaves 67 messages!

Let me tell you something about ad libs.

Let me tell you something about ad libs.

Ad libs are little golden nuggets

that you have like as an ace up your sleeve.

If you are open to it, and you're very good,

and you trust yourself in terms of improvisation,

don't hold back.

You know, there's a story that goes-- and it's the truth,

because it happened to me--

is that geez, when I was way back in high school,

I was in the marching band.

And we would march from the high school to the football stadium.

Dun-dun-dun-dun-dun.

Fairmont West.

Dun-dun-dun-dun.

Fairmont West.

And it was a drum cadence, and we would say these words.

And it was a drum cadence, and we would say these words.

Well, it changed my senior year.

It changed to dun-dun-dun-dun-dun,

eat my shorts.

And d the people along the route to the football stadium

had no idea what we were saying, because there were 200

of us saying, eat my shorts.

And they're like, kind of confused,

but it was our own private joke.

And we loved that, because we were in high school.

All these years later, like 13 years later,

I'm cast in this part.

And it was just an ad lib at a table read.

And it was just an ad lib at a table read.

All of a sudden, I just threw out, [BART SIMPSON VOICE]

eat my shorts!

And next thing I know, it's on, like, billions of t-shirts,

and it became like the number one

catchphrase for Bart Simpson.

Improv often just comes at the spur of the moment.

All of a sudden, you're hit with an idea.

And I do it usually on the fourth take.

Like when I'm recording, I'll give it as an idea.

And I just sort of trust in myself,

and either they're going to use it

and either they're going to use it

or they're not going to use it.

I don't put any attention on, this is the best one.

You should totally use it, because it's mine--

has nothing to do with that.

Ego, that has nothing to do with this.

It just has to do with the idea of trusting yourself,

and that you should be able to do that as an artist,

express yourself.

And you know what?

They appreciate it, because sometimes,

it is better, because it is organic.

So always trust yourself, because you're right.

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: In addition to keeping

their voices consistent, voice actors

also need to showcase a huge range of emotion,

sometimes even in the same scene.

For example, in one of "The Simpsons" episodes,

Bart gets an F. There is a huge emotional range that Bart has.

So when Bart finds out that he gets an F,

So when Bart finds out that he gets an F,

he gets so incredibly frustrated.

[FOOTSTEPS ON TV]

Please turn in your exam, Bart.

Class is over.

Do you think you could grade it now, please?

Well, all right.

Let me get Old Red.

[SQUEAKING]

Mm-hmm.

[SQUEAKING]

Mm-hmm.

Well, Bart, it's a 59.

That's another F.

Oh, no.

I can't believe it.

I know, I know.

I know, I know.

Another year together.

Oh, it's going to be hell.

[WHIMPERING]

[SOBBING]

What's the matter?

Well, I would think you'd be used to failing by now.

No, you don't understand.

I really tried this time.

I mean, I really tried.

There, there.

This is as good as I can do, and I still failed.

Well, a 59, it's a high F.

Who am I kidding?

I really am a failure.

I really am a failure.

[SOBBING] Oh, now I know how George Washington

felt when he surrendered Fort Necessity to the French

in 1754.

What?

Oh, you know 1754, the famous defeat to the French.

My god, Bart, you're right.

So?

You just demonstrated applied knowledge.

And due to the difficulty and relative obscurity

of the reference, you deserve an extra point on your exam.

Hey, it's only fair.

You mean, I passed?

Just barely.

[GASPS] I passed.

[GASPS] I passed.

I got a D-minus.

I passed.

[LAUGHS]

[SMOOCH]

I passed.

I passed.

I passed.

I got a D-minus.

I passed.

I got a D-minus.

I passed.

I got a D-minus.

I passed.

I passed.

I-- kissed the teacher.

[SPITS]

When I did that, honestly, I really

wasn't thinking about it.

I'm just hired as a performer, and I'm just

delivering the goods.

delivering the goods.

But I allowed myself to really feel,

and really I backed up the emotional stress

that Bart was having.

It was for real for me when I did it.

It's like I wasn't really acting.

I just made it some truth.

Here's the deal, is that when you are doing these scenes,

you're going to be creating a lot of different emotions.

You're doing all kinds of things from being

super exhilarated to being depressed to being

you don't know what to say anymore

to being angry to being completely bored with life.

to being angry to being completely bored with life.

All this stuff, you got to trust your instincts, guys.

Trust your instincts emotionally, and don't

be afraid to go there.

Because when you use the emotions

and use all the things that I gave you in your little tool

kit, don't hold back on gesturing,

on furrowing your brow, on pursing your lips,

something like-- because these kinds of things

help to define who these individual characters are.

So I have a scene here from "No-Effort Girl"

So I have a scene here from "No-Effort Girl"

where I am going to take you on an emotional journey.

Ready?

Let's get emotional.

I don't think anyone has ever said those words like that

before animated me.

You're an innovator.

I'm going to demonstrate to you a scene to show some emotional

change with two of the characters from "No-Effort

Girl."

One of them is Yikes the Dragon, and the other one

is our leading girl, No-Effort Girl.

is our leading girl, No-Effort Girl.

So you're going to see some emotional changes

in especially Yikes the Dragon.

What I did at the very top, when I got the script,

I wrote out of breath, optimistic, southern, slow,

up/down emotion, just meaning the range

in this particular scene is very--

it's super exciting and super angry, way high and low.

And for this character, for Yikes the Dragon, I say--

I pull words.

What that means is like, "Yikes, Two Mouth.

What that means is like, "Yikes, Two Mouth.

Two Mouth, we're best friends."

I pull that word out, so that's a quality

that this character has, that he has a tendency

to sometimes draw out words and to emphasize them.

And that's emphasizes there.

Then in the margins I have frustrated, apology.

There's an arrow there that says "afterthought,"

because No-Effort Girl.

I've got it in parentheses, like, "Yes,

I've got it in parentheses, like, "Yes,

whatever, do whatever you want."

It's an afterthought.

It's like a throwaway.

It's not a super significant line.

More significant is, "Obviously, you haven't reached

No-Effort Girl.

Do you want it."

It's a-- it's throwaway.

So those are some examples.

Drama queen, it's all about me, he's confused,

things like this, these notes that will help you.

All right, so it's exterior of the radio station,

and Yikes the Dragon parks in a compact car in a parking

and Yikes the Dragon parks in a compact car in a parking

spot labeled, Yikes!

The Dragon, Station Manager.

It's in the daytime, and now it's inside the radio station.

And Yikes stands in the middle of an empty radio station.

"Two Mouth!

Two Mouth, where are you?!

Oh no, you're not here.

We got a radio show and no radio host!"

So he starts pacing.

"Wait!

I'm best friends with a superhero.

I'm best friends with a superhero.

She can find them!"

He calls for No-Effort Girl on his phone.

It goes directly to voicemail.

"Obviously, you haven't reached No-Effort Girl,

so eh, do whatever you want."

Beep.

"Hey, Girl, you didn't pick up, which

to be honest is pretty frustrating, because I

need your help.

I feel like you're blowing me off.

So are you too good for my phone calls now?"

So are you too good for my phone calls now?"

He hangs up.

"Whoops.

I should probably call back."

So there's a series of shots.

Yikes leaves many messages.

"Eh, do whatever you want."

Beep.

"Oh, my.

My, oh my, is there in an erase button?

I am so embarrassed, so embarrassed that I'm

hanging up.

Bye!"

Beep.

"You know what?

This situation is great!

[LAUGHS] It's character building.

And adversity makes you stronger.

And adversity makes you stronger.

So it's probably the best part of my life.

Bye!"

Beep.

[SOBBING]

"I'm all alone, and it's all your fault!

And to top it off, I have athlete's foot,

which is insane, because I'm not an athlete."

Beep.

"You just roll out of bed and save the world.

You have no idea what it's like to go shoe shopping

and ask if they have a size 47 wide.

They never do, but they always say 'Check in the back.'"

They never do, but they always say 'Check in the back.'"

Just then, his phone rings.

It's No-Effort Girl.

"Hey!

Did you listen to my messages?

Of course not.

What am I like 90?

So what's up?"

That's the end of the scene.

So you guys, I want to talk a little bit about the writing.

You get this genius.

It's black on white, and this is a writer's idea.

It's black on white, and this is a writer's idea.

It's the whole concept of not only a whole character

and all these characters that make the show,

but he's trying to-- he or she-- is

trying to put a message there.

There is something that is being communicated.

So your job as the actor is to take those words off the page

and make them your own.

So in order to do that, I can see little hints in here

like embarrassed, denial, heavy crying, jealous.

That's fine that the writer puts that in there,

That's fine that the writer puts that in there,

but honestly, the writing itself tells me what that is.

It's obvious to me what that is.

Sometimes they'll even-- they'll say things

like "a little understated" or "to herself."

As an actor, that's a choice that you can make.

You don't have to be married to those words.

Leave that up to the director.

The director will guide you in the way

he or she wants it to come out.

And by giving three or four options,

they can make that decision.

they can make that decision.

So let's see, I'm going to show you how I can take one line

and make it a little bit different,

and then I leave that up to them.

This is their show.

OK, so here-- I'm going to just take this line.

You can-- it's a second line in the script.

The line is, "Wait!

I'm best friends with a superhero.

She can find them!"

And it's Yikes the Dragon.

So here's-- my first instinct is to say, "Wait!

I'm best friends with a superhero.

She can find them!"

She can find them!"

So here's another way.

"Wait, I'm best friends with a superhero.

She can find them!"

You see the difference there?

That second way was like her discovering.

While she's saying the line, she's realizing,

"I could do this!"

So it changes it just a little bit.

And here's a third way right off the top of my head.

"Wait, I'm best friends with a superhero.

"Wait, I'm best friends with a superhero.

She can find them."

So that's taking that second idea

and bringing it down just a little bit.

Not so much effort is put into it.

It's a little more subtle.

I could probably go on and do four, five, six, eight, nine,

10.

But that gives you an idea.

Now that we've gone through that emotional roller coaster,

let's see how my performance is enhanced by adding

some art movement and styling.

some art movement and styling.

And let's get some color in there while we're at it.

Roll picture.

[ENGINE PUTTERING]

Two Mouth!

Two mouth, where are you?

Oh no, they're not here.

We got a radio show and no radio host.

[RAPID FOOTSTEPS]

Wait!

I'm best friends with a superhero.

She can find them.

[BUTTONS BEEPING]

[RINGING]

NO EFFORT GIRL (VOICEMAIL MESSAGE):

Obviously, you haven't reached No-Effort Girl.

Obviously, you haven't reached No-Effort Girl.

Do whatever you want.

[BEEP]

Hey, Girl, you didn't pick up, which to be honest,

it's pretty frustrating, because I need your help.

I feel like you're blowing me off.

Are you too good for my phone calls now?

[SLAM]

Oops.

I should probably call back.

[RINGING]

NO EFFORT GIRL (VOICEMAIL MESSAGE): Do whatever you want.

[BEEP]

You know what?

This situation is great.

[CHUCKLES]

It's character building.

And adversity makes you stronger.

And adversity makes you stronger.

So it's probably the best day of my life.

Bye!

[CLICK]

[BEEP]

You just roll out of bed and save the world.

You have no idea what it's like to go shoe shopping

and ask if they have a size 47 wide.

They never do, but they always say, "I'll check in the back."

[BEEP]

[SOBBING]

I'm all alone, and it's your fault. But to top it off,

I have athlete's foot, which is insane, because I'm not an--

[BEEP]

Oh my, my oh my, is there in an erase button?

Oh my, my oh my, is there in an erase button?

I'm so embarrassed, so embarrassed that I'm

hanging up.

Bye!

[SLAM]

[RINGING]

[RAPID FOOTSTEPS]

Hey, did you listen to my messages?

NO-EFFORT GIRL (ON PHONE): Of course not.

What am I, like 90?

So what's up?

[GROANS]

ANIMATED NANCY CARTWRIGHT: All right, everyone.

This is the culmination of everything

we've learned so far.

We've created our voices.

We've learned how to keep them consistent.

We know how to utilize our mic.

So let's take all of that and voice all of the main

characters for "No-Effort Girl" at the same time.

characters for "No-Effort Girl" at the same time.

And then after the readthrough, we'll

show you how a director can be your collaborator.

And when we're done, we'll see it all

come together in No-Effort Girl's first ever fully

animated scene.

I know.

I know.

It's a lot.

But it's totally doable.

So let's send it to the blonde lady in a tiny booth, Nancy

Cartwright.

[APPLAUSE]

Very game show of you, animated me.

Thanks.

So say you've been cast, and now you've got four characters.

And they are all in one scene.

And it's you talking to you talking to you talking to you.

So let's just do this, and believe me.

They're highlighted and they're in different colors

so I can keep these characters straight.

Let's have a shot at this.

MAN: OK, I'm rolling.

This is take one.

Exterior Earth from space, we see a blur racing

Exterior Earth from space, we see a blur racing

around the Earth multiple times.

Now we cut interior to the radio station.

Yikes stands in the hallway.

No-Effort whips into frame.

Shucks.

I searched every inch of the world.

And I didn't find Two Mouth anywhere.

Girl, this situation is worse than my dragon breath.

We got no host, and we're on the air in 1 minute.

So why don't you just--

[GASPS]

[GASPS]

Why don't you just host the show?

I mean, sure.

It's my biggest dream to be the host instead of the station

manager.

But Two Mouth would kill me.

I think that you just gotta host it, Yikes.

You don't have another choice.

Oh, golly, sweet baby dragon eggs.

OK.

You set up the booth, and I'll turn everything on.

So now we're interior in the sound booth in the daytime.

And No-Effort enters and finds Two Mouth.

And No-Effort enters and finds Two Mouth.

Uninvited visitor in the house.

If you're not here to bring me coffee, get the hell out.

You were here the whole time?

Oh, something's big time super bogus.

Pan out to reveal a sheet draped over something.

What's this?

No-Effort Girl pulls the sheet and reveals the David.

No-Effort Girl pulls the sheet and reveals the David.

A naked dude!

Stop.

Hold on.

Wait.

This is from that museum.

Did you put a baby monster on a train track

and blow up the wing of a plane today?

I'm not going to say--

wait a minute.

That's-- whoops.

Wrong one.

I'm not going to say no.

See, if it's not highlighted in a different color,

you may get confused.

Anyway, realization sweeps over No-Effort Girl's face.

You mast-- you're the mastermind behind my annoying day?

You mast-- you're the mastermind behind my annoying day?

You bet.

By morning, I'm a DJ.

And by mid-afternoon, I'm a master criminal and general

no-goodnik.

No-- no one suspects the shock jock, so get ready to fight.

You messed with the wrong mouths.

Yikes enters the booth.

Yikes enters the booth.

Well, what in tarnation?

No-Effort and Two Mouth fight.

The On Air sign lights up.

Howdy, listeners.

I'm Yikes the--

I'm going to do that again.

Howdy, listeners.

I'm Yikes the dragon.

Today's show is a fight between No-Effort Girl

and the evil voices of this station Two Mouth.

No-Effort Girl flies behind an airplane.

This is a new scene.

She's holding up Two Mouth as the jet engines blow

their two mouths open.

their two mouths open.

My word, they really are full of hot air.

She holds a pair of gardening shears.

Two Mouth stands in front of her.

Heavens, me.

The ever-embarrassing close shave.

In the museum, on the David's pedestal is a toilet.

No-Effort dunks his head and flushes.

Police sirens blare.

Bless her heart, the finishing move--

a performance art swirly.

[LAUGHS] And we cut to the sound booth.

[LAUGHS] And we cut to the sound booth.

And there's Yikes the dragon again.

And here's the hero herself.

Girl, we have callers for days.

Rick, you're on the air with No-Effort Girl.

I loved today's show.

Is No-Effort Girl always good to be your co-host.

Another job?

As long as I don't have to put in any effort.

Maybe just a little effort?

She cracks a smile for her best friend.

OK.

So just a little.

So just a little.

Let's sign off with your theme song.

Are you ready?

OK.

Take it away, Girl.

This is all I'm going to say.

Do not attempt to do this at home.

[LAUGHS] I'm just kidding.

You should totally attempt to do this at home.

You should, like, look at this-- look at the little reference

that I have here.

You make notes in your script.

And the main thing that I suggest you do

is drill, drill, drill.

Tape yourself.

Tape yourself.

Like rehearse on tape is what they call that.

So you have your tape recorder going.

You rehearse yourself doing it.

You play it back.

You listen to it.

You make more notes.

Anything that you can do that's going to help you, I mean,

obviously, you don't want your script

to be completely loaded down with notes.

You don't have really time to read them.

But for me, when I write them down, and I drill them,

I get it.

So when I finally do it, you don't have to look at the notes

anymore.

It's all-- it's all here.

It's like in your heart.

It's right there.

It's really important that you listen.

It's not just about performance.

But it's about listening to what the director needs and wants

because sometimes your interpretation of the script

isn't the same as what the director or slash

writer has in mind.

So it's really important to not only

be able to deliver the goods.

You have to listen to what's needed and wanted

and then deliver, deliver that.

and then deliver, deliver that.

DIRECTOR: Well, Nancy, great job.

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: Thanks, man.

I need some feedback.

I want this to be perfect.

DIRECTOR: I only have a few notes.

On E-17, when he's saying, howdy, listeners--

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: Yeah.

DIRECTOR: That's the first time that he's on air.

Could you make him sound a little bit more nervous

and a little bit more excited?

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: Yeah.

Absolutely.

We're still rolling?

MAN: Rolling on take three.

OK, good.

Howdy, listeners.

Howdy, listeners.

I'm Yikes the dragon.

And today's show is a fight between No-Effort Girl

and the evil voices of this station Two Mouth.

DIRECTOR: That's it.

That's exactly what we need.

Can we try also one more pickup on line 16, what in tarnation?

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: And how do you want that?

DIRECTOR: Can you make it sound really surprised,

like what the heck?

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: Sure.

This is Yikes the dragon.

This is Yikes the dragon.

What in tarnation?

What in tarnation?

What in tarnation?

There's three for ya.

DIRECTOR: That's perfect.

In the line where Yikes is kind of emceeing the fight,

I think it's line 18, 19, and 20,

can you kind of make it sound a little bit more

like he's kind of narrating the fight?

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: Oh, yeah.

DIRECTOR: Can we do a few?

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: Yeah.

See, this is good.

See, this is good.

This is the feedback that an artist really needs.

It's so important to get that feedback from the director

because sometimes you might miss what the point is in the scene.

So you have this relationship with the director

that will help you with that.

Are we rolling?

MAN: I am rolling.

OK, good.

Here we go.

This is take-- take one, I guess.

My word.

They really are full of hot air.

Heavens me, the ever--

do that again.

do that again.

Heavens me, the ever-embarrassing close shave.

Bless her heart, the finishing move-- a performance art

swirly.

[LAUGHS] Is that more--

is that what you're looking for?

DIRECTOR: Yeah.

Yeah.

That was great.

Ba, ba, ba, boom.

A performance art swirly.

[LAUGHS] It's like choreography, you know, voice choreography.

DIRECTOR: It really is.

So Nancy, could we do some pickups for line 14

and 15 of Radio Mouth and Bad Mouth?

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: Yeah.

DIRECTOR: I just want to make sure they sound really

DIRECTOR: I just want to make sure they sound really

distinct between each other.

So I know that I gave it-- the first time I did it,

I was kind of--

it was really aggressive.

I have another idea here.

Do you have something else in mind?

DIRECTOR: No.

Let's hear your interpretation.

OK, good.

All right.

So here we go.

Here we go.

MAN: Pickups for lines 14 and 15.

You're the mastermind behind my--

MAN: I am rolling.

You bet and by morning--

no, no, he's-- hold on a second.

Yeah.

You bet.

By morning, I'm a DJ.

By morning, I'm a DJ.

And by afternoon, I'm a master criminal

and a general no-goodnik.

No one suspects the shock jock.

So get ready to fight.

You messed with the wrong mouths.

DIRECTOR: Those were both so good.

OK.

For consistency, we should get a similar read

for lines seven and eight.

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: Yeah.

DIRECTOR: Let's make Radio Mouth really smooth

and Bad Mouth really evil.

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: Sure.

NANCY CARTWRIGHT: Sure.

OK.

And she's calling out here Radio Mouth, or she just-- she's just

announcing it to the room.

DIRECTOR: She's announcing it to the room.

Good.

Uninvited visitor in the house.

If you're not here to bring me coffee, get the hell--

oh, wow.

That's hard.

That's a little hard to do, man.

Let me try-- hold on a second.

Little beverage.

OK.

OK.

I'll just do Bad Mouth again.

If you're not here to bring me coffee, get the hell out.

This is my bass.

It's like my bass kind of dry-- it doesn't quite--

get-- if you're not here to bring me coffee,

get the hell out.

There you go.

DIRECTOR: That was fantastic.

MAN: Perfection.

DIRECTOR: I think we can cut.

MAN: All right.

Cutting.

The key things for you to walk away with is that you come in.

The key things for you to walk away with is that you come in.

You have made some decisions before you arrive there.

And you keep yourself open so you can take direction

because they're going to want to go back and do some pickups,

make some changes.

And all you need to be able to do is change your decision.

Give them, you know, give options.

Give different takes, different versions,

and then leave it up to them.

You walk away.

You can feel good.

Go out and treat yourself to whatever your treat is.

Go out and treat yourself to whatever your treat is.

And celebrate the fact that you delivered the goods.

Now drumroll please.

As promised, here is the first ever fully animated scene from

your new favorite show, "No-Effort Girl."

Take a breath.

Sit back, and enjoy.

I searched every inch of the world.

And I didn't find Two Mouth anywhere.

Girl, this situation is worse than my dragon breath.

We got no host, and we're on the air in 1 minute.

Why don't you just host the show?

I mean, sure.

It's my biggest dream to be the host instead of the station

manager.

But Two Mouth would kill me.

But Two Mouth would kill me.

I think you gotta host, Yikes.

We don't have another choice.

Oh, golly.

Sweet baby dragon eggs.

OK.

OK.

You set up the booth.

I'll turn everything on.

Uninvited visitor in the house.

If you're not here to bring me coffee, get the hell out.

Wait a second.

You were here the whole time?

Something's big time super bogus.

Something's big time super bogus.

What's this?

A naked dude?

Wait.

This is from that museum.

Did you put a baby monster on a train track

and blow up the wing of a plane today?

You're the mastermind behind my annoying day!

You bet.

By morning, I'm a DJ.

And by mid-afternoon, I'm a master criminal

and a general no-goodnik.

and a general no-goodnik.

What in tarnation?

No one suspects the shock jock.

So get ready to fight.

You messed with the wrong mouths.

[GASPS]

Howdy listeners.

I'm Yikes the dragon.

And today's show is a fight between No-Effort Girl

and the evil voices of this station, Two Mouth.

My word.

They really are full of hot air.

Heavens me.

The ever-embarrassing close shave.

Bless her heart, the finishing move--

a performance arts swirly.

And here's the hero herself.

Girl, we have callers for days.

Rick, you're on the air with No-Effort Girl.

I loved today's show.

Is No-Effort Girl always going to be your co-host?

Another job?

As long as I don't have to put in any effort.

As long as I don't have to put in any effort.

Maybe just a little effort?

OK.

Just a little.

Let's sign off with your theme song.

Are you ready?

OK.

Take it away, Girl.

(SINGING) I'm No-Effort Girl.

I'm No-Effort Girl.

And it's easy and boring to save the whole world.

Like whatever.

I want to address something that I think

is really, really important.

In fact, you really can't make a career

without what it is I'm going to tell you next.

It's about relationships.

It's setting up networking.

It's your agent.

It's your manager.

It's getting yourself ready to get hired to do the job

and actually get paid for doing what you love.

So let me introduce you to a cast of characters

that you're going to want to meet with as you develop

your career.

The first person that I would love for you to introduce

yourself to would be a manager.

A manager can actually work with you.

The manager can hold your hand a little bit.

They're available to do lunch with you.

A manager can sit down and like, help you plan out,

what's your next step that you're going to take?

And you can write out a whole program

And you can write out a whole program

on what you can do that week to help your career.

And that, by the way, is an example of a great manager.

Also, the manager is the liaison between yourself and the agent.

So what exactly is an agent?

An agent is like a gatekeeper.

They have the key in the relationships

to the people on the other side of the door that

have the power to cast you.

Now, the main difference between an agent and a manager

is an agent represents hundreds of clients.

is an agent represents hundreds of clients.

And it's like, how are you going to get somebody

to believe in you and all of your passion

and all of your talent when you are swimming in a sea of all

this other talent?

So how do you find a manager or an agent?

That's the big question.

Network with your friends.

Find out if they have representation

they are happy with.

Get them to introduce you to them.

Maybe you're exactly what they're needing

and maybe they lost a client similar to you

and maybe they lost a client similar to you

and then you come along.

And it's like, bingo, kismet.

One specific thought I have on agents

is that when you're first starting out,

you might want to try to go with a boutique agency.

They're a little more family-oriented.

They don't have as many clients, so starting out,

that would be kind of an ideal person to represent you,

would be somebody that has a very small agency.

When I say small, like, you know,

they could have, you know, 100, a couple hundred clients.

they could have, you know, 100, a couple hundred clients.

Actually, I would highly recommend that.

The other very important person that you really

need to meet up with is a casting director.

The casting director is the liaison between you

and getting the job.

He or she is hired by the producer

to make sure that that cast is supreme.

The manager will use the lines that he or she has,

coordinate with the agent and set you up

with a general meeting with a casting director.

And believe me, they are absolutely

And believe me, they are absolutely

going to want to meet you.

Since their job is trying to hire new talent,

they are constantly wanting to be the one to find new talent,

and that would be you.

Let me give you an example.

I met with this casting director.

This was probably in '86.

I met with Bonnie Pietila, and it was just a general meeting.

You know, it wasn't an audition.

But I was telling her about my background.

She was, like, fascinated, but I kept

She was, like, fascinated, but I kept

wanting to tell her that I was in an acting class,

and I'm working on A Streetcar Named Desire,

trying to impress her with my theatrical abilities.

See, Bonnie was a TV and film casting director,

and I wanted to do more TV and film roles at the time.

So I kept talking about my acting class,

but she just kept bringing me back to voiceovers.

Well, a year later, next thing I know,

she is calling me up to come in to voice

for this little character on a vignette

for this little character on a vignette

that they were doing on the Tracey Ullman Show.

She remembered me, and that's why I got the phone call.

And that led to playing Bart Simpson.

So man, oh, man.

Sometimes these opportunities come along.

You don't know where something is going to take you.

But things have changed since I was cast on The Simpsons.

Today, you have all these online resources.

You have Instagram Lives, Twitter, and Facebook,

You have Instagram Lives, Twitter, and Facebook,

and the same rules apply in the virtual world

as in the physical world.

Have a real conversation.

You know, stay in touch, but don't be annoying.

Little by little, you will have a virtual Rolodex.

I still have one.

So you can create legitimate relationships

with these valuable people.

You know, when you're first starting out,

my suggestion is do every single audition that you can do.

my suggestion is do every single audition that you can do.

Don't turn anything down.

Not yet.

No, no, no, no.

Not yet.

Do everything.

You know what?

It's a numbers game.

The more that you do, the better the chances

are that you're going to get employed.

When you reach a different level,

you can be more selective about what it is that you do.

You don't have to take every single job.

But I'm jumping ahead of myself.

Let's just say you're going about your day,

and your phone dings, and your agent you just signed with

got an audition for you.

got an audition for you.

And you're like, oh my gosh, and your heart is pounding.

You can't believe it.

It's finally happening.

You've got your first audition.

All right, so now what?

What do you do?

OK, so you're going to get the script, and when I say script,

it's not going to be-- it's not like it's a movie script.

It's probably just going to be a scene.

You're going to be getting one, up to maybe six scenes,

or maybe just one line, and then you just read it.

Read your character out loud.

Who is this character?

What's his relationship with the other characters in the script?

What's his relationship with the other characters in the script?

And the description of the character will be right there.

It's going to describe, Sally, eight years old.

She tends to be a little bit of a busybody.

And then with that description, you're

going to come up with what she sounds like.

And then while you're rehearsing, not a bad idea

to get somebody-- it could be your child.

It could be your best friend.

It could be a boyfriend, a girlfriend--

have somebody read and feed you the lines

have somebody read and feed you the lines

so that you're comfortable with it.

Or just yourself.

Just drill it yourself.

Just read the lines over and over

so that you're comfortable with what you're reading.

Practice, practice, practice.

All right, so most likely, you will be doing your auditions

from home.

Do two to three takes for each part.

Give them options.

Make each take different, but mostly, just have fun with it.

(WHISPERING) R-E-J-E-C-T-I-O-N.

(NORMAL VOLUME) OK, there's a big word.

It's about nine letters, called rejection.

I'm going to tell you how to deal with it.

This is how I deal with it.

I actually just walk away from it.

Rejection has nothing to do with what it is that you are doing.

Put your attention on now and into the future.

In other words, this is your goal,

and this is what you're going to do to get that goal.

So when you go in and do an audition, that's it.

You're done.

It's over.

It's over.

And I wouldn't even bother calling my agent to check up

on, you know, what happened?

Have you heard anything?

No!

She's too busy to follow up on that.

If you get the job, she'll get the call.

You don't want to bother her and hold her up from possibly

getting you another audition.

Just forget about it.

Just move on.

There definitely are jobs that I've lost,

but when I reflect back on it, I go,

golly, I can't have everything.

I was up for the part of Babe.

I was up for the part of Babe.

I didn't get that job.

I was up for the lead in Happy Feet.

I didn't get that job.

Two different people, incredibly talented actresses,

that got these jobs.

You know what?

I look at that as fantastic.

They got the job.

There's so much work out there for everybody to do,

and you can't do it all, because--

I mean, that would be a fantastic problem.

Now, if you had so much work that it was

a problem of scheduling, wow.

That you should have that problem, go for it.

That you should have that problem, go for it.

That's the kind of problem that you want to have.

OK, so now you got the job.

Three cheers!

Here's the key thing.

We are in the business of talking,

but listening is equally important.

You have to be a really good listener,

because the producer is looking for something very specific,

and it may not be at all what you thought this character was.

and it may not be at all what you thought this character was.

But by listening to what they want

and getting a whole different viewpoint on it,

you can do something you never knew you were capable of doing.

Now, here's the other thing.

Sometimes they have no idea what they want,

and they're counting on you.

But the truth of the matter is, you

are going to be bringing your own special uniqueness

to this game, and that is the thing

that's going to sell you the very, very most,

is your confidence in who you are

is your confidence in who you are

and how you come across when you meet these people that

will help you.

So when you walk in the room, virtual or otherwise,

with all your confidence and say,

hi, my name is Nancy Cartwright, or whatever your name is.

I'm here.

What have you got?

Let's go.

They like that.

They like you showing up with all this confidence

and certainty, because you're the kind of person

that they want to work with.

They don't need to have more problems, you know?

They want somebody to solve their problem.

They want somebody to solve their problem.

This is like, super simple communication basics.

Look them in the eye.

Have a conversation.

How are you doing?

I can't tell you how glad I am to be here.

Thanks for having me.

You become very real.

You're not just another actor doing a job.

You got to put some attention on where you are

and who you're talking to.

You know, they're important, too.

And the main thing is really don't be late.

Actually, show up early, because if you're early,

you're on time.

you're on time.

If you're on time, you're late.

If you're late, you're fired.

You won't get hired.

Boom.

It's as simple as that.

That's being a professional.

Now I want to talk about the business relationships

that you have once you're hired for the job.

There's the client.

That's the person who's paying for all this.

That relationship with the client is so crucial,

and it's not just the client.

and it's not just the client.

It's the whole team that you're working with.

Everybody is there to deliver a job,

and you want to be careful not to step on toes.

You know, as the artist, you are definitely a part of the show,

but you got to wear your hat in terms of the business, too.

And that's respecting the other people and their jobs.

Another thing that you've got to consider

is your contract, because when you show up there,

I like to take care of business first.

I like my contract.

I want to sign my contract right away,

I want to sign my contract right away,

because I have left studios without signing a contract,

and that's not OK.

You've got an agreement with them,

so actually read it and make sure the contract reflects

that agreement.

Chances are, your agent or manager

won't be available at a moment's notice,

so you will have to handle this on your own and right away.

Handle the business first, and then get into the pleasure.

When you go into the studio, leave your personal life

When you go into the studio, leave your personal life

in the parking lot.

Just do not even come in the front

door of that studio with any of your personal problems.

None.

It's something that has served me very,

very well over the years.

They have deadlines that they have to meet.

It's all very expensive.

They are paying you to do a job and deliver

your mastery to them.

That's what you're hired for, so don't complicate it.

That's what you're hired for, so don't complicate it.

So in other words, instead of being a problem,

be the problem solver.

You will be so respected for that.

CHRISTINE CAVANAUGH: I'm Bart Simpson.

Who the hell are you?

I love sharing with people that I'm the voice of Bart Simpson,

because it creates this instantly,

bam, as soon as I say that, people's jaws drop

on the floor, and they're laughing.

They're like, wait, what?

Like, you're him.

And it's like they're happy.

I'm happy.

It's a fabulous perk of being a voiceover actor.

It's a fabulous perk of being a voiceover actor.

It doesn't cost a dime to do something like that.

And just everybody walks away like, oh, man, that's so cool.

There's so many lessons that I have learned

and that I have applied in my life.

So I thought this would be kind of fun to share some lessons

from this 10-year-old boy.

I had this teacher once who was an acting teacher.

And he said something that was brilliant.

He said attitude is everything.

He said attitude is everything.

And I thought that was fantastic.

And he's right, it's like you can

have all the talent in the world and just kind of

have a suck attitude about it.

With all that talent and with a bad attitude,

I don't think you're going to get the job.

You can have not as much talent, but you could

be such a passionate person.

And somebody who really is there as a problem

solver instead of a problem, that's number one.

Do what you love.

Do what you love.

It's about passion.

You know if you're not passionate about it,

why bother?

It is a motto that I live by that if it isn't fun,

I don't even want to do it.

You know, have a good attitude and share all of your talent.

Do both.

I used to think that the definition of a professional

was somebody who gets paid to do a job.

That isn't what I believe a professional is.

You are expected to deliver the highest quality of work

You are expected to deliver the highest quality of work

that you can do.

You know, a professional is somebody

who delivers the goods in a big, big way.

And in fact, delivers even more than what's expected.

I like the idea of leaving a job knowing that not only did

I do what they wanted me to do, but I gave them

even a little bit more.

Here's a perfect example.

Working with Meryl Streep, I will tell you this,

Working with Meryl Streep, I will tell you this,

she is this consummate professional.

I was so excited to work with her

to see what she was going to come up

playing this Jessica Lovejoy.

And I'm telling you, we normally do four takes.

She did 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 9, 10 takes.

She just kept giving option after option.

I mean, that to me was, bam.

Just nobody has delivered the goods like she did.

That was so impressive, to the point where it's like,

OK, Meryl, we're done.

We're going to lock the door and turn out the lights now.

We're going to lock the door and turn out the lights now.

It was amazing.

Another really valuable lesson that I found along the way

is surround yourself with people who respect you,

who appreciate you, who love what you're doing

and they support you.

I can't tell you how important that is.

Sometimes people will make a little comment

that can really sort of stick with you in a bad way.

And it's so important that as an artist

And it's so important that as an artist

you surround yourself with people

who believe in you, because people who truly believe in you

will give you confidence.

And that confidence is what allows

you to do your best work.

And I'm not talking about yes, men.

My friends are people who they communicate some truth to me

about sometimes things that are a little bit awkward.

If somebody is just saying yes to me

because they think I'm going to be happy about it

and it really was something that was not right,

and it really was something that was not right,

that's not a good thing.

The challenge is going to be who do you trust?

Which leads me to my next point, trust your instincts.

Because you know what, when it comes right down to it

you are right.

You are correct.

Say you walk away from an audition,

or say you walk away from a job interview,

or say you had a date with someone

and you're saying goodbye and you're on your way out.

and you're saying goodbye and you're on your way out.

But as you're reaching the handle for your door,

you're going, oh, man, I should have given them

my phone number.

I should have done one more take.

You know, you are right.

Go back.

Do it.

Do it.

And do it now.

Because as soon as you get in that car, I'm telling you,

and you're on your way home, you don't

want to be driving in your car or riding on a bus saying,

oh, man, I should have done it.

That is the worst feeling in the world.

So trust your instincts, you are correct.

So trust your instincts, you are correct.

One of the questions that people like

to ask me is, how do you do it all?

And I guess it all boils down to really what is it

that you want.

And you have to prioritize it.

You can't make everybody happy all the time.

There's a little bit of a give and take.

So if you're putting attention over here on the family,

your career could feel like it's going down a little bit.

your career could feel like it's going down a little bit.

Well, you got to go back over there

and put a little bit more attention on the career,

whether it's reading something or being with a group

and taking an acting class or a voice class.

And then you feel like, gosh, I just need a break.

I need a vacation.

Well, you deserve that.

You should do that too.

Or you know, it makes me feel good to volunteer

in the community.

But I think I can do that on Saturday mornings.

But then you got to work that out with the family.

It's all about kind of like spinning the plates,

It's all about kind of like spinning the plates,

like on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

Plate number one is falling.

That's my family.

I got to go down and spin that plate.

Oh no, my career.

I think I just lost an opportunity for a job.

I've got to go back down there and make a phone call and say,

look, I really blew it.

I'm so sorry.

Bam, bam, bam-- spin that play a little bit more.

If you can get all those plates going at the same time,

I'd say you're doing fantastic.

Probably the biggest career obstacle

Probably the biggest career obstacle

that I've had to overcome was with a show

called "The Rugrats."

So I was a big fan of that show.

I knew it was going on.

It was the cutest animation.

It was so adorable.

Somehow, I missed out on the audition for that.

But years later, I it was like about eight--

eight-- seven, eight years later,

Chris Kavanaugh, who was the voice of Chuckie was retiring.

And they needed to replace her.

So they called me up.

So they called me up.

And I had this opportunity to go in and do this.

But I was scared to death, because Chris

had done such an amazing job creating this little guy.

And Chuckie, the little guy, he's

supposed to be two-years-old.

He's so scared.

He's afraid of clowns.

He's afraid of Angelica.

He's got an adenoidal problem.

He's got bad eyes.

He's got these big square glasses with like Coke bottle

glasses.

glasses.

There's all kinds of things.

And she created this amazing, amazing little guy.

What was that?

There's something down there.

No, that can't be.

Things don't live under beds.

CHRISTINE CAVANAUGH: It was kind of like one of those things

where it was quite daunting and a little bit

of a strange situation like to come in and replace somebody.

That's like how am I ever going to sound like him?

That's like how am I ever going to sound like him?

So what I did was I hired the director, Charlie.

And so I said, Charlie, I want you to help me with this.

He said, OK.

So the casting director, Barbara Wright,

she gave me a reference tape so I could hear Chuckie.

And so I called her up.

I said, can you do me a favor?

Send me the script.

I need it in writing too.

So she sent me the script of that particular episode.

So I got that.

And then I went to Charlie's house.

And then I went to Charlie's house.

And he had a studio right there.

So we worked, I mean, all day.

We worked maybe four hours I guess on it.

And I just kept doing it.

And he's tweaking me.

And we just worked it and worked it.

And then I was hired to do the job.

They wanted to hear me do it.

And on that particular day, there

must have been a dozen people in the engineer booth.

no pressure at all.

And I'm doing this voicing.

And it's like-- (STARTS TALKING LIKE CHUCKIE)

because, like, when Chuckie talks,

he's got this whole thing going on here.

he's got this whole thing going on here.

And you listen to that.

He's placed in the back of my throat.

And--

[GROWLING]

I don't like clowns.

[GROWLING]

And just like listening to that over and over again so

I could sort of get that same essence

that she had established so beautifully.

Anyway, they're in there and they're listening to it.

And I did the job.

And I was a little anxious.

And, OK-- no, they're like, no, it's great.

I started to walk out.

And one of the best compliments I ever

And one of the best compliments I ever

got was somebody was walking down the hall and said,

was that you?

I said, yeah.

And this person said to me, oh my God, I

thought Chris came back.

That felt amazing.

I'm scared Tommy.

What if I'm allergic to giant bugs.

Why would you be allergic to giant buggies?

Because I'm allergic to everything.

CHRISTINE CAVANAUGH: Sometimes you're presented with something

that could appear to be unsurmountable.

that could appear to be unsurmountable.

You know, it's like I'll never--

I don't know how I'm ever going to get through this.

How am I going to--

how am I going to survive that?

It's the worst thing that could possibly happen.

I'll never make it kind of a thing.

But you'll never know till you try.

You know, I went in there and I hired Charlie.

I insisted on having the text, not just the tape.

I wanted to do this the best that I could do it.

I gave it all my all.

Then I started to add my own elements to Chuckie that

Then I started to add my own elements to Chuckie that

are mine, that weren't hers.

You know, feel-- (STARTS TALKING LIKE CHUCKIE)

so when I do Chuckie and I say she says Phil and Lil.

I say "feel" and "leal."

I make a diphthong, like it's two syllables almost,

those words.

And it's funny.

And it's just another little element

that I got to do to add to it to make him now he's mine.

He's definitely mine.

That feels good.

You know, I've been doing this for like 40 years.

And honestly, I see me doing it another 40 years.

And honestly, I see me doing it another 40 years.

And if you can take any of these lessons

that I've given you on any aspect of it,

then that's awesome, because it's a long journey

we got going here, folks.

If it can make it fun for you along the way,

then by all means, go for it.

Everyone has a voice.

But it's up to you to decide how you want

to use your voice in your life.

You can use your voice to put forth a unique point of view,

to try to bring about change in your community,

or you can use it to bring a little joy to those around you.

I'm going to share a few stories of how I've learned to harness

the power of my voice.

And I challenge you to think about how you, too,

And I challenge you to think about how you, too,

can go get vocal.

I was auditioning to do the commencement speech

at my high school graduation.

And they were picking five students to do it.

I thought, OK, so what I want to do my speech about?

I talked to my teacher about it, my-- my favorite teacher

of all time.

And he gave me this poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,

"lives of great men remind us we can make our lives sublime

"lives of great men remind us we can make our lives sublime

and in departing leave behind us footprints

on the sands of time."

I thought, wow.

I love that.

It put, like, a dream there for me.

It was like a vision that I had for myself for my future.

So I wrote this whole speech.

So in front of the class, in front of the senior class,

we had auditions.

And there were about maybe 12 of us all together.

And we one at a time went up there and we gave our speeches.

And we one at a time went up there and we gave our speeches.

So then later on in the day, they announced the winner.

And I did not make the finalists.

I didn't get selected.

And I was devastated.

So now I'm not going to be able to do it.

I didn't even tell my mom and dad I had written the speech.

I wanted to surprise them at the actual commencement.

I told my mom on the day of the graduation

that I had written the speech.

I said, but, Mom, I didn't get selected.

I messed up.

She goes, no, you are going to do it.

You're going to do it.

Let's do it right now.

So in our den, I stood up there.

So in our den, I stood up there.

There's my Aunt Millie and my cousin.

There's Peggy and Suzy, and some of my siblings were there.

And I did my speech, and I did it perfect.

And I got a nice round of applause.

And you know what?

It was the best feeling that I got.

I kept my integrity.

And my mom said to me, you know what?

That's the best speech.

Yours is the best speech of all.

And she gave me a big hug and said

that I would have plenty of opportunities

to make my mark on the world.

to make my mark on the world.

[APPLAUSE]

I actually believe that it's the artist that makes

the difference in the world.

[CHEERING]

It's the artist who is putting the future there

through films, photography, theater, dance, sculpture,

music, and animation.

It's the artist who gives hope in a troubled world.

It's the artist who gives hope in a troubled world.

Not everyone has the luxury to be paid as an artist.

But it's very important that you find an outlet for yourself

as an artist.

And I encourage all of you seniors, underclassman,

10-year-old boys, your brothers and sisters, moms and dads

to follow your passion.

Life is an art, so make it beautiful and make it your own.

[APPLAUSE]

You just never know how big the stage will be

You just never know how big the stage will be

or when the curtains will part.

But if you treat every opportunity with intention,

you'll be ready when it's time to step up to the mic.

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

When I started out in the early '80s doing voiceovers,

I never considered that I was doing

something that was unusual or not particularly done

a lot by women.

But when I go back in the day and I

But when I go back in the day and I

look at the history of animation,

in particular voiceovers for animation,

there weren't a lot of women that were doing it.

It was a small group of women, Lucille Bliss, June Foray,

Annie Singleton.

But the characters were mostly written for men,

and there weren't that many actresses

that were lending their voices.

It was a small cadre of women that did that.

And by the way, they didn't get credit for it.

And by the way, they didn't get credit for it.

Mel Blanc who was the only one that was actually

getting credit for it.

So it was an industry that was mostly run by men.

And the writers were men.

And there were exceptions to the rule,

but it wasn't broadly promoted.

So as the years went by, more and more writers were women,

and they became more vocal.

And as time changed and more women spoke up

about how they contributed, there was more agreement

about how they contributed, there was more agreement

that women can do this.

So at the time that I got into the business,

I started, then, playing with the other women that

were doing it successfully.

These women who came before me left

footprints in the sand for me to follow.

And gee whiz, it's-- it's--

it's been the joy of my life.

So whatever the situation, don't ever

be afraid to speak up and speak your mind about what

be afraid to speak up and speak your mind about what

you feel is right.

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

You know, creating voices for characters, whether they're

yours or it's a picture that you bring life to, it just--

it's for fun.

You just do it for fun.

And people, you know, they enjoy that.

I get a lot of packages delivered to my house,

you know, whether it's through the mail or some delivery

you know, whether it's through the mail or some delivery

service or whatever.

And to be honest with you, they have found out

that it's me, that it's Nancy Cartwright, voice of Bart

Simpson, blah, blah, blah.

And I kind of like to have fun with that.

You know, if I'm home and I know that somebody's delivering

something, I will go out and speak in a character voice

and just make them smile.

Hi, Nancy.

Looks like there's one for you today

(IN CHARACTER VOICE) Oh, thanks.

I've been waiting for my pickleball paddle for a month.

I've been waiting for my pickleball paddle for a month.

[CHUCKLING] You'll have to teach me how to play.

And I love doing that.

It makes people happy, you know?

And we could use more of that.

So if you're wondering, how can I

use this voice acting in my life, how

can I use it to, like, have fun with it,

I've got some ideas for you.

One thing that you can do is to, like, create these characters,

and you can call up people, like, on their birthday

or their anniversary or congratulations, you know,

glad to hear you have a baby boy or a baby girl or, you know,

glad to hear you have a baby boy or a baby girl or, you know,

some recognition of something and do

it-- do it as a character that you've created.

(IN BRITISH ACCENT) Hello, popsicle.

This is your number four giving you

a call to wish you an extremely happy 92nd birthday.

Happy, happy birthday, popsicle!

(REGULAR VOICE) Another thing you can do is you

can voice emojis.

My cell phone has these cute little characters.

You just come up with different voices for the giraffe

You just come up with different voices for the giraffe

or for the elephant or for the little panda bear.

Or there's even one of me, and I just talk to my granddaughter.

And, oh, man, she loves that!

(IN CHARACTER VOICE) This is your Nana speaking.

I know I don't look like Nana.

I don't even sound like Nana, now, do I?

But this is Nana speaking to you.

And I've got a long, long neck.

(REGULAR VOICE) She loves it and it just brings a little--

[LAUGHING] a little joy.

I'm not sure who's happier, if she's happier or me,

because I know I'm making her smile.

because I know I'm making her smile.

You can share some anecdote, and you can share a voice just

off the top of your head and make somebody laugh

and surprise somebody.

And they can-- you can pop them out

of whatever funk they might be in.

So you don't have to be a star.

You don't have to be a celebrity to make

a difference on this planet.

And that's-- honest to God, that is why I am here.

[LAUGHING] So I burp and fart in order to change the world.

[LAUGHING] So I burp and fart in order to change the world.

[BURPS] [LAUGHING] But it's true.

You have to start somewhere.

[LAUGHING]

I've been so fortunate to have had people in my life

to teach me the tools of the trade.

So now I want to give you three final tools to put

into your tool belt. And that would be number one,

into your tool belt. And that would be number one,

don't be afraid to make mistakes because honestly,

you cannot make mistakes when you're just learning how to do

this.

Just goof up as much as you want because you know what?

It's all yours, and you can edit as much as you like.

Practice, practice, practice, but

don't be afraid of goofing up.

Second thing is make strong choices

on who your characters are.

You know, make sure there's a differentiation

between your characters.

Don't have them blending into each other.

Make them very individual.

Make them very individual.

And finally, don't ever think that you're not

going to get the job because you haven't done it

before, you don't have any connections,

you don't know how to do it.

Don't let those thoughts enter your mind.

Go for it.

And if you get your first job because of Master Class,

you got to let me know.

I'm there for you, man.

[LAUGHING] I hope that you take with you

all these tools and all these techniques and ideas

all these tools and all these techniques and ideas

and tips and tricks that I have given you.

I got a lot of this from my mentor, from Daws Butler.

And now I'm going to pass my tool belt,

take my tool belt off.

I'm going to pass it over to you guys

so that you can carry on and have the luck and fun that I've

had my whole career.

Here's to you guys.

Can we play it one more time, Jeff?

JEFF: Sure.

No problem.

Stand by.

Come on, everyone.

Hop in.

Hop in.

See you later or whatever.

Ugh.

Signing off.

Oh, and don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Oh!

[ENGINE STARTING]

Good luck, everyone!

Y'all stay out of trouble and check your messages.

Onto the next record.

Let's go!

(SINGING) I'm no-effort girl.

Ugh.

(SINGING) I'm no-effort girl.

And she, she, and boring to save the whole world.

And she, she, and boring to save the whole world.