Michelle Kelly
Actor
The Secret of St Kilda (2021-), The Silt Verses (2021-)
Role
“Niyathi (The Secret of St Kilda), Mrs Kensey (The Silt Verses)”
Bio
“I am an experienced performer within a variety of media, with an emphasis on theatre and light opera. I also have an interest in film work, especially indie and short films, and in voiceover work.
I have produced original work and directed and devised new writing on a local scale, as well as performing at international festivals. Based in Yorkshire.”
“…your voice is your instrument, treat it with kindness.”
How did you become aware of the show?
“I originally saw the casting call on Twitter - through a free casting website called castingcallclub. I read through the character descriptions, and the audition lines, and picked the character I thought I suited my voice best. Then I submitted my audition - and from there I was cast!”
What was your aim in getting involved?
“I got into voice acting during lockdown. I had been working in theatre acting for years and suddenly that was all gone.
I bought a USB mic for doing live zoom theatre - and then I figured hey, maybe I could try my hand at voice-acting. It was a steep learning curve, but there was no better way to learn than putting myself out there and auditioning.”
What was the biggest challenge?
“The tech! All my auditions sounded dreadful at first as I didn’t understand how to treat my space and get the best out of my limited equipment.
There’s loads of great tutorials online from experienced voice actors, do your research and you can save yourself a lot of headaches.”
Have you continued to work in the field?
“I’m still working as a voice actor and I love it!
As well as scripted audio drama I’ve done voice work for an installation at Battersea Arts Centre, the Zombies, Run! App - and my first video game is due to release this year.”
What would be your dream project?
“I don’t have one dream project. I just love performing and telling exciting stories. As long as I get to keep doing that, I’m living the dream!”
How did you land the role? Any tips for a strong audio reel (or virtual audition)?
“Be selective in what you audition for. Really pick out roles that you think suit you and think hard about who the character is and what situation they are in. Some casting calls give you very little info to go on, but that can be good – come up with the context in your head!
Don’t ad lib unless they ask you to, respect the script as written and, if you are going to submit more than one take, make sure they are different enough. I don’t mean trying to do a different voice or accent, but a different performance. Imagine a different context, or a different emotion behind the line.
You don’t have to be a master of accents or voices to be a voice actor – most of my characters sound very similar to me! But you do have give convincing performances that capture the audience’s attention..”
How does acting for audio compare to other media, for you? Any skills or techniques you’d recommend learning for it?
“It’s definitely a very different skillset. Conveying everything, all the nuance of your body language and your facial expressions, through just your voice, takes a lot of practice. So my best advice is to practice!
I also can’t recommend enough that you take the time to do ten minutes of vocal warm-ups before a recording session. If you are a voice actor your voice is your instrument, treat it with kindness and don’t hurt yourself.”
If your character was an occasional or guest part, how did you characterise them quickly and memorably? Or: if they’re a member of the regular cast, how do you keep them fresh to play?
“When I play a main character I find it easy to keep them fresh, because there’s always more to learn about them - just as there’s always more for you to learn about yourself.
I like to visualise how my character goes about their daily lives outside or the events we hear in the story, I think about things like what they car they drive or what childhood memories they have, anything to get to know them better. It will inform my performance even if none of it is ever in the script!
For small guest roles, which I’ve done a lot of, I take a more practical approach. What purpose does this person serve in the larger story? What does this performance need to achieve? Once I’ve figured that out I can tailor my performance to make sure what I am doing is serving that.”