By now, everyone should be familiar with the name Carrie Savage. Carrie burst on the scene in the widely-acclaimed dub of I! My! Me! Strawberry Eggs and has been building a dynasty of dubbing excellence ever since, expanding her roles and adding memorable character after memorable character to her resume. Among her most recent roles is Hakufu from Ikki-Tosen, which is now available. We interviewed Ms. Savage back in May, and now have the pleasure of doing so again. Many thanks to Ms. Savage for her time and consideration, and to Mr. D for helping these two great tastes taste great together. Or something.
Many of our readers know Carrie as for the characters she has voiced, and loved many of these characters-- one of the more recent being Rakka from Haibane Renmei-- for the care, devotion, and selflessness they've shown towards their friends and neighbors. It may surprise fans to learn that Carrie Savage herself spends much of her spare time showing this same devotion and selflessness to people all over the world, giving her time and effort to charity in the ongoing quest to help citizens of developing nations whose lives have been altered by illness and widespread physical devastation. Today, she shares her time and expertise with us in this interview, in which we discuss her life, her acting roles, and her charity efforts.
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The Savage Origins
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| Dub Review: Why did you decide to become an actress?
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Carrie Savage: I didn't plan to become an actor. I just did it while I was growing up because I loved it. I had wanted to be a doctor from the time I was 8 years old and was super-dedicated to that plan. I wanted to be a doctor for starving, malnourished people in the third world who had no access to medical care. Acting was my passion, but I thought it could only be a hobby.
So for two years after high school I gave up acting; I felt I couldn't do that and be a doctor too. During that time, my heart just died. I realized I had given up a huge part of who I was. I loved acting more than anything else in the world except for helping people. I decided there must be a reason that I loved it so much, so I started acting again in community and college theater and soon was traveling all over the country doing professional theater (including a lot of children's theater). After that I moved to L.A. and after two or three years of pursuing on-camera acting, I started doing voiceover work for radio commercials and various other projects. Now I realize that I can do both: the acting I love with all my heart, and I can still help people- just not as a doctor. I'm so glad for that.
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I Get Around Like A Snakelight
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| DR: Would you mind telling us about some of your other acting projects outside of voice acting-- i.e. theater, television, commercials and such?
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CS: This is a hard one! I'll try just naming the shows that people might be familiar with.
After I decided that I loved acting so much I had to "go for it", I started doing college, community, and dinner theatre in Virginia Beach. Following that I toured the East Coast with a children's Theatre called Theatre IV (Theatre Four), and then toured the Pacific Northwest in some educational plays with Taproot Theatre Company and did comedy improv with Disney World in Florida. A few of the titles that people might know are "Jesus Christ Superstar", "The Fantastics", "Antigone", and "A Christmas Carol". One of my favorite roles though, was as Maureen, a young girl sick with AIDS, in an original play called "No Safe Place". I also worked as a performing waitress on The Spirit of Norfolk before I started doing professional theatre... that was a fun job!
It's kind of impossible to name everything, but you get the gist. I did some plays in Southern Florida, Los Angeles and a little in Australia also. Unfortunately, so far, my film credits are in such Independent and Film Festival types of Films, that I can't imagine anyone has ever seen them; in fact, I'd be shocked and amazed-- in a good way-- if I thought anyone ever had!
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Dan...what? What happened to the first two?
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| DR: Many voice actors watch only the productions in which they're cast; and some are huge fans of the medium, who enjoy watching all sorts of anime series. Which one would you say describes you?
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| CS: I'd say I started as the former; since I didn't even know about anime until I was cast in Dangaizer 3 and I, My, Me! Strawberry Eggs, but I started watching more anime in order to learn about the field I was working in. I'm now finding that there are many adorable and beautiful anime series and movies out there that I enjoy watching just for the fun of it. I also like to watch some of the series that my voice-actor friends are in, or have directed.
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There's a Front Page?
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| DR: With the advent of message boards and news websites such as Dub Review, many fans can give their feedback on your work to you directly. Has this had an effect on your approach to any of your most recent roles?
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| CS: It hasn't had an effect on my approach to any roles, but it sure is fun to be able to talk to people that way!
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Oh, God, Not This One Again
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| DR: The age-old question, "How do I become a voice actor?", is one that's still on the top of the minds of many of our readers. If you wouldn't mind, we'd like your thoughts on the more physical aspects of voice acting: training your voice to be as versatile as some of your roles require, and how you manage to keep your voice in great shape.
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CS: These tips for voice acting in general:
Character Development: In general, it's a good idea to practice all of the characters in your current repertoire (or characters you are in the
process of building) every day-- if you are an aspiring voice actor. One way of doing that is to read a couple paragraphs of a book or magazine, as each of your characters. If you record yourself doing this (have an individual cassette tape for each character), you'll be able to keep track of how your character's voices are changing and make necessary adjustments to keep the voice the same or decide whether you like the change. It's important to be able to clearly maintain the same voice and personality for each character in all types of situations, for an indefinite amount of time. You've also got to be able to do each character at the drop of a hat and be willing to make on the spot adjustments if need be. For example: in an audition or class, the director might say; "I really like this character, but could you do her as a boy?" Or, could you do her about two years younger, with a lisp?" Another important aspect of developing your characters is to write a character history for each character and include things such as the character’s relationship with parents, age, personality, hobbies, type of creature and looks and even the hopes and dreams of your characters.
There are also specific voice placement techniques for different types of characters, which is one very good reason to take an animation voice over class. Classes or vocal training will also help you learn to do things properly so that you ruin your voice. (If doing a particular character hurts or is uncomfortable, either change the way you are doing it or stop!)
When you're training, warm up-- just like you would if you were a singer. Then, practice all of the character voices you have in your repertoire. (Especially if you're preparing for an audition or work.) When you're warming up, don't forget the tongue twisters in order to help practice diction. Also try to stretch your voice by doing very different characters (this will help you get comfortable in ranges of your voice that you don't normally use), and by singing songs that you wouldn't normally sing. It usually takes between 30 minutes and an hour to warm up, especially if you include tongue twisters, and character voices. You might want to add some fighting sounds in your warm up too, especially if you’re doing anime!!
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If You Like Pina Coladas
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| DR: What are some things that you enjoy doing other than acting? Do you play music, write, collect nuclear devices, etc.?
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CS: He, He, He! Collect Nuclear Devices! No, I really love going places to help people who have no other way of being helped. I know that's work, and I know it sounds corny, but it's so rewarding and I get to help make a permanent, life-changing difference in someone else’s life.
I honestly can't think of any more fun way to spend my time (other than acting, that is). Africa has been the place I've most wanted to go to since I was eight, although I'll go wherever and whenever I can raise the money. I also absolutely love dancing, horseback riding, singing, and I desperately want to skydive and hand-glide one day. I'd also love to go rock climbing, scuba diving and para sailing!
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All Around The World
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| DR: About your charity work: What's next for you?
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| CS: I’m currently working with a group of volunteers called Strategic Partners Among Nations. We are trying to raise the very necessary money for a trip to Uganda for this September. Aside from taking needed supplies, we'll be helping people with physical illnesses, and praying for / counseling women and children who have been raped or abused during the recent war or who have been hurt in other ways. We’ll be encouraging and motivating teenagers who desire further education and schooling in order to achieve goals in their lives-- which is so difficult for children to do in Africa. We’ll also be training people to continue our work there after we leave. It's a tough cause and we're always looking for more help.
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All Around The Anime Cons
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| DR: You've been making the rounds at a few anime conventions lately, including Anime Expo '03 in California and this year's Anime Detour in Minneapolis. Many fans are wondering where you'll be next. Are you planning to attend any more conventions in the foreseeable future?
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| CS: Yes, I'll be at Anime USA-- Oct 29 to 31 (Tyson's Corner, VA), Nekocon-- Nov. 5-7 (Chesapeake, VA), and Otakucon in Miami, FL (Dec. 17-19). I'll also be at Anime Detour and Sogen Con in 2005.
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