From Film Sets to a Brisbane Booth: Alexandra McTavish on Voicing for the World

Some answers arrive as a few lines. Alexandra McTavish sent us an essay. When we asked our voice actors six questions about life on The Voice Realm, she answered every one with so much warmth, humour and hard won wisdom that one shared article didn’t do her justice. So here she is, on her own.

Alexandra McTavish records from her home studio in Brisbane, Australia, in Australian, British, American and Transatlantic accents. She joined The Voice Realm in August 2017. Hear Alexandra’s demos.

From the film set to the booth

Alexandra was an actor for more than twenty years, with voice over on the side. Then her life changed, and so did her career.

“A series of life changes prompted me to reinvent myself professionally and take the leap into full-time voiceover work.”

Alexandra McTavish

She joined The Voice Realm in 2017, and nearly a decade on she says it’s hard to remember her voice over life before it. These days she much prefers the booth to the screen.

“As I get older, there’s another wonderful bonus: my voice doesn’t necessarily age along with me!”

Alexandra McTavish

The whole world before lunch

Voice over, she says, “used to be a much more parochial industry.” Each country voiced for its own market. That has changed completely.

© The Voice Realm

“From my home studio in Brisbane, I can voice projects for clients in Dubai, Manchester, Israel, New York and Melbourne, sometimes all in a single day.”

Alexandra McTavish

Four accents, one inbox

Working across four accents could mean wading through a lot of castings that aren’t right. Alexandra says the opposite happens here. The castings she gets genuinely suit her voice, and the list is small enough that she can consider every single one.

“The selection is manageable enough that I can consider and apply for every opportunity that comes my way.”

Alexandra McTavish

Picking a favourite job? Impossible

We asked for her favourite booking. “Oh, no,” came the reply, “that’s like choosing your favourite child!” “Video games might not always pay particularly well, but they stretch my acting muscles and let me play,” she says. “eLearning might not set the pulse racing, but it provides a welcome degree of consistency.” Corporate work is probably the most natural fit for her voice. Every kind of job has its place.

What she really lives for is a moment, not a title: the read that just clicks.

“It’s the moment when everything comes together, the performance feels completely right, and I know I’ve nailed it.”

Alexandra McTavish

Not the biggest job, and not the most glamorous one either. Just the job done just right.

Real jobs, clear rules, and a safe distance

Alexandra is listed on other sites too, and some of them advertise bigger briefs. But she says the competition there can be enormous, and it isn’t always clear which jobs are real. Here, she says, the jobs are real, the deadlines are clear, the fees are out in the open, and there’s no endless back and forth over quotes. Projects close when they say they will, and payment is prompt.

VOICEMASTERACADEMYLearn the craft in order.Module one is freeStart module oneTwenty modules, start to finish.

There’s something else that matters to her, as a woman working in the industry. Unwanted and sometimes deeply inappropriate messages are a reality of the job.

“The Voice Realm maintains a professional distance between client and artist, which I really value.”

Alexandra McTavish

Every conversation stays on the site, so the focus stays on the work. That’s exactly why we built it that way.

Her advice to new voice actors

We asked what she’d tell a voice actor thinking about joining, and she didn’t hold back. “Long gone are the days of relying solely on an agent to find you work,” she says. Clients increasingly find voices themselves, and if you’re not where they’re looking, you could miss great work and lasting international relationships.

And she wants to bust a myth: you don’t have to be all things to all people.

“I happen to have a toolbox of accents, but that’s not what makes a great voice artist…”

Alexandra McTavish

What does, in her view, is authenticity: the real person behind the read.

Her parting words are worth keeping.

“So put yourself out there, back what makes your voice distinctive and give clients around the world the chance to discover you. You never know where that next opportunity might take you.”

Alexandra McTavish

In short

• Alexandra moved from twenty years of acting to full time voice over, and joined The Voice Realm in 2017.
• From Brisbane she voices for clients on several continents, sometimes in one day.
• Castings matched to her four accents mean she can consider every one.
• She values real jobs, clear fees, prompt payment and a safe, professional distance from clients.
• Her advice: back what makes your voice distinctive, and put yourself out there.

Thank you, Alexandra, for answering so generously. Hear Alexandra McTavish’s demos.

Want your voice heard around the world? Join real human voice actors like Alexandra and get castings matched to your voice. Become a Voice Realm voice actor.