Interview with Voyage Minnesota
Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Mraz.
Hi Jessica, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Thank you for the opportunity to be featured here and to speak about voice over and how it has changed my life. I’m a multilingual voice actor and radio imaging artist. I speak English, Spanish and Italian fluently. I got started in voiceover in 2016 after answering an unusual phone call from a translation company. At the time I was working as a Spanish interpreter at Children’s Hospital. One morning the phone rang and a man on the other end asked me if I spoke Italian and if I wanted to do a recording for a big cosmetic company. A few days later I found myself at the AVEDA Headquarters in Blaine, MN. in their recording studio. I narrated two complex training program videos in Italian for the AVEDA concept spas in Italy. It took a couple of sessions and a lot of patience. I’ll never forget how thrilling it was to be in the recording booth that day! It felt like walking on air. It still does.
I had dreamt of getting into voiceover for years but didn’t know where to start. I started taking classes at a nearby training center and learned quickly. I practiced by reading commercial copy for radio and TV everyday. Within 5 months, I was signed with Moore Creative Talent Agency and was on their roster for 2 years. That year I narrated over 25 short bilingual audiobooks for children. Shortly after leaving Moore I got signed with my current agent at NUTS Talent in Minneapolis. I am now exclusive with them regionally. I have narrated over 100 bilingual children’s books for big companies like Capstone and Cantada Learning and many commercials and corporate narration jobs. My favorite project in audiobooks is a book called ” When Ruth Bader Ginsburg Chewed 100 sticks of Gum”. It’s a beautifully written children’s book that tells about the childhood of the first female judge to be elected to the Supreme Court.
Recently I had my bilingual radio imaging demo produced. It got the attention of a major radio station in northern California and consequently the president of Atlas Talent. I am now signed and exclusive with Atlas for all major markets across the U.S. except for the midwest. I am so honored and grateful to be represented both locally and nationally by such dedicated agents that have taken the time to get to know me so they can pitch me for projects that are within my wheelhouse, that play to my strengths and talents as an artist.
I am also a voice acting coach. I have coached and mentored many voiceover artists and have helped them get agency representation and become working talent. I teach on Wednesday evenings and I also offer individual coaching sessions.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road but it has been exciting!
Building a name for myself with not very many industry contacts and only a few years of experience has not been easy. I had never studied marketing which is a big part of being an entrepreneur. Quitting my day job and taking the leap as a full-time actor in 2019 was terrifying but necessary. About a week after I left my job as a full-time Spanish interpreter, I thought ” What have I done? ” But, my fear of leading a boring life is stronger than my fear of failure. I know I made the right decision.
I have spent money on training programs that weren’t effective and paid for coaching from someone that I later found out had never done voiceover work. No lie. My first demo was produced by a trusted colleague that was not a professional demo producer. The demo was such poor quality that my agent at the time rejected it. None of these challenges stopped me from moving forward. They were lessons and I’m so grateful that I learned them early on in my career.
Balancing my work life and my family life is key to my success as a voice actor and a mother. My workday schedule is unpredictable. I have a 13 year old son and I want to spend as much time as possible with him which often means recording late at night or very early in the morning so that we can have a “normal” family life and eat meals together.
I realized that sharing my goals with a lot of people is not in my best interest. Not everyone understands my vision and they may say things that seem discouraging without meaning to. It’s better to keep my ideas fresh and then share the results with others. I only talk about my auditions with other voice actors. They won’t ask me.. ” hey did you ever hear back about that gig?” They know not to ask. In this industry, we have a saying about auditions: submit it and forget it. When you have 5-6 auditions per day, it becomes automatic.
In the beginning I used to get attached to an audition. I fell in love with the copy and really wanted to book it! Getting rejected for gigs/auditions is part of this industry. I have learned to accept that getting rejected is more about not getting selected because I didn’t fit the vision of the project.
Taking risks and investing money in my career has not always been easy. Learning to take risks is very empowering and has changed my life. I have learned that making big decisions quickly and sticking to them has made me more confident, especially when the decisions I make lead to success. Have I made the wrong decision? Yes! I can promise you that I will bever purchase another online training program again. Working one on one with a coach is the most effective learning method for me. I believe that as actors we must always be learning and growing
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I am primarily a voice actor and radio imaging artist, however I do on camera commercials as well. I have starred in a few local feature films but have stepped away from film. I danced professionally for years with various bellydance troupes in Miami and in Minneapolis. I performed in festivals, private parties and in local theatres like The Ritz and venues like The Landmark Center. I no longer perform but I still love to dance . Voiceover is my passion. I’m proud of my vocal range, unusual voice and the fact that I am trilingual. Being accent free in Spanish, English and Italian makes me valuable in my field and has opened a lot of doors for me. I primarily voice commercials, corporate narration and radio imaging. I feel very fortunate to be able to do what I love everyday and get paid for it!
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
There have been many times that I have felt doubtful about my ability to make it in this business because it is so unpredictable. Through consistent practice, being willing to take big risks and the fear of regret and leading an ordinary life, I have managed to have a successful and thrilling career as a voice actor and on-camera talent. I am very grateful for my unusual upbringing, my loving and artistic parents and for my super supportive family and friends. Most of all, I am so grateful and blessed to have a wonderful son who is loving, kind, smart and talented. His name is Nico and he is the funniest and most lovable person I know.