Randall Ryan

I believe that some people are born creatives.

A former manager of mine once told me that I didn’t choose music, music chose me. That wasn’t some statement about my playing ability, but rather my outlook and need to pursue it. Actors fall into that same category. Over and over again I see people for whom acting in general, and voice acting in particular, is not a choice so much as it’s a calling.

Understanding that need, as well as the pitfalls that go along with a creative life, has led me here. Yes, I’m a director and a teacher, but also someone that sees the need to go beyond merely ramping up skills. As a musician I watched so many really talented people spend countless hours honing their skills in the belief that, if they were just a little better, that it was the key to success. Their brilliance would be discovered, the world would open, and their dreams would come true. What they didn’t do was to nurture their inner voice, to remember why they were playing an instrument, singing, and songwriting in the first place, and ultimately it was not feeding this aspect that left them languishing, or not as successful as they should have been, or even to quit.

So, there’s a lesson here. As important as techniques can be, if the person is not cared for…if their soul is not fed, then they are in danger of being in that same cycle. So yes, I want to help actors get better on the mic, with character development, realism, versatility, and vocal care. But it’s also about nurturing their souls. Creating a real and supportive community. Getting them out of the booth and into the sunlight, so to speak. Reminding them of their worth as people, as storytellers, as reflections back to society, and to hold onto the love of the art form.

Oh, me personally? Well, I am jazzed by new experiences: travel, being allowed into people’s lives, the observance of the human experience, seemingly ridiculous trivia that nevertheless proves useful years later. Dogs are my spirit animals. The sea is my love, and the Caribbean is my current home. And yes, I still identify as a musician, but my tribe is actors.

Let’s nurture some souls and create an army of storytellers, shall we?