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The Hobsons Prize

The Finalists

All three runners-up are seeking representation. For further details please contact david@hobsons-international.com

 
 

Deidre Mullins (Bristol Old Vic Theatre School)
"Firstly, before I began training for voice-over I had absolutely no idea of the level of skill and experience required to work in the industry.  Despite this humbling initial discovery, the training we received as part of the run up to the competition, was some of the most positive and useful vocal training I've ever had. It has made me infinitely more aware of the specific qualities of my own voice and helped me understand and begin to master the skills needed to achieve real vocal control.

Doing the competition itself was a great insight into the world of recording and I feel the experience will greatly help my chances of securing an agent and getting through my first few jobs”.




Aisling Bea (LAMDA)
"Voice work is part of the whole package of both acting and drama training and by the time I started my showcases, it had become such a given in the work that it faded into background and was only noticed when gone particularly awry.

This competition has made me so aware about the power of a voice. You can't hide behind your gestures or expressions or movement. Your delivery, your pauses, your breath support has magnified importance and you have to learn how to take that on board and still sound natural and not forced.

With so much emphasis on visual stimulus nowadays, acting with your voice alone has become a lost unappreciated skill, but one so worth developing and for me this was such an exciting, though nerve-wracking challenge!"
 
 
Ben Deary (LAMDA)
“Participating in the Hobson's prize has been an extremely enlightening and thoroughly enjoyable experience. The prospect of embarking on a career in professional acting in today's industry is an extremely daunting one, but my involvement in this process has opened my eyes to the fact that there are several 'specialist skills', voiceover work being among them, that can be extremely useful in helping to find a sustainable source of employment.
 
One of the most valuable aspects of taking part is to be found in the time spent in front of the microphone (both within the sound workshop at LAMDA and at Nick Angell's fantastic studios in Soho), and indeed, this has encouraged me to critically and creatively scrutinise the way I use my voice – both for voiceover work and for acing in general. The competition has also given me an impetus to practise sight-reading, which is essential for this type of work but also useful for auditioning and script reading.
 
However, undoubtedly the greatest benefit of being involved has been the advice of the experienced sound engineers, advertising directors and voice artists who were present on the day of the final; I left the studios having thoroughly enjoyed myself and having learnt a lot. The direction given during the session was considered, practical and enlightening, and the feedback offered at the end has helped me to understand how I can develop my understanding and ability in this field. To win the prize would of course be a great honour, but it seems to me that any entrant can reap inestimable benefits simply by putting their best foot forward and involving themselves in the process”.