The Casting Truth: Authenticity, Longevity, and the Actor's Role

Anne Ganguzza
7 hours ago
4 min read

with Tina Morasco

BOSSes, Anne Ganguzza is joined by the extraordinary Tina Marasco, Head of Casting at Sound and Fury, a respected coach, and the voice of HGTV's Love it or List it. With over three decades of experience spanning agency, acting, and casting, Tina offers indispensable casting director secrets for bridging the gap between a voice actor’s truth and a client's real-world needs.

Watch the Story Unfold ⬇️

For an even deeper dive into the conversation, you can view the full episode below. Don't forget to subscribe to the VO Boss YouTube channel for more exclusive content and expert advice!

Chapter Summaries

The Agent's Evolution: From Mailroom to Casting Director

(02:10) Tina recounts her circuitous career path, starting in the William Morris mailroom in the 90s. She details her experience at ICM, where she built the voiceover department from scratch by finding talent in comedy clubs and on Broadway. After a period as a full-time actor, she landed at Sound and Fury to cover a three-month maternity leave—a "full-time commitment" that has now lasted eight years.

The Paradigm Shift: From Announcer to Protagonist

(09:42) Tina reveals the consistent demand heard on casting calls: clients want voices that sound like they've "never done voiceover before." This means abandoning the cultivated conversational sound for genuine, peer-to-peer sharing. The paradigm has shifted: commercials are now viewed as "short films," and the voice actor's role is to be a protagonist living truthfully within the story's circumstances.

Casting Director's Secret: Your Audition is a Quick Filter

(21:50) Tina shares the casting director's secrets on how auditions are processed. She confirms she listens to every audition, but the first pass is a quick filtering process (Is the sound quality good? Do you match the specs? Do I believe you?). She notes that the volume of auditions is high due to the wide net cast across all genders and ethnicities, making the opening beat of your read critical.

The Blueprint: Four Steps to Connecting to Copy

(12:58) Tina outlines her simple four-step process for a successful audition: 1) Find your authentic self that aligns with the specs. 2) Read the script for content (understand the full story). 3) Paraphrase the script line-for-line to take ownership of the story. 4) Create the moment before to make the first line a genuine response.

Intention Over Pitch: The Second Take Strategy

(33:36) The hosts discuss how to approach second takes. Tina advises against a drastic change in sound (unlike animation) but instead recommends changing your intention. She provides a specific example from a hospital script: Take one is spoken with gratitude to a patient's parent; Take two is spoken with authority to a staff member. Both takes maintain the core warmth but are driven by distinctly different moments before.

The Lie Detector Test: Finding the Truth

(32:36) Tina asserts that her "ear is like a truth detector." She emphasizes that the goal is not to deliver a "voice-driven" performance but a "thought-driven" one, where the voice naturally follows what the actor is thinking. She reminds voice actors that sincerity is the name of the game: "What I'm always listening for is truth."

Top 10 Takeaways for Voice Actors:

Be an Actor, Not a Reader: Your primary job is to live truthfully within the circumstances of the script's story.
Paraphrase to Connect: Put the copy into your own words line-for-line to understand its true meaning and take ownership of the story.
The Truth is Subtle: Avoid extremes. "Excited" means grounded enthusiasm, not a high-pitched hard sell.
Start Connected: Your first line must be a reaction to a moment before you create. Do not start from ground zero.
Your Brand is You: Authentically relate to the copy; don't try to manipulate your sound to match an outdated prototype.
Avoid Predicting the Spot: Live and die by the audition specs. Do not try to outsmart the client by giving them what you think the final spot will sound like.
Know Your Place: Understand that the voiceover role is often co-star status (the bed of the film), meaning subtle, nuanced reads are often required.
Match the Gravitas: Pay attention to words like "depth," "gravitas," and "grounded," as they are literally asking you to sink into your core and avoid being up in the "stratosphere."
Two Takes = Two Intentions: Differentiate multiple reads by giving them distinctly different emotional intentions or moments before, not just by changing the pitch.
File Naming Matters: Following the submission instructions puts you immediately ahead of 99% of the talent pool.

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