After a fantastic season with amazing guests, we close the door on Season 5 and look ahead to planning Season 6!

In this episode, we talk abit about the season in general and then mostly talk about things currently going on in the industry, from the changes at Voquent, NAVA and their success with their new bill being passed about synthetic voices having to be labelled, vision boards and goals, Gravy and their new casting platform and other bits aswell; handy if you need something to listen and smile to on your next walk!

Hope you enjoyed this season as much as we did recording it, we'll take a little break and look forward to sharing details of season 6 soon!

A huge thanks again to all our fantastic gusts that joined us and shared their time and insights with us!

Michael & Jen

In this episode, we were joined by the super talented Christie Cate

Do you ever feel like you’re not fully in control? Like you’re waiting on the decisions of others to make your dreams a reality?

Well, meet Christie Cate, a woman who’s taking her career into her own hands

Christie is an award winning voice actor, writer and the creator of, what we’re sure will be hit show(!) Mermaid Mafia!

After an inspired idea for a new animation hit her, Christie didn’t want to wait to see if it might be picked up, so decided to go ahead and make it herself! Now with the pilot on the brink of being released Christie has an inspiring story to share.

We often talk about using your passion to create and I think Christie is a great example of taking that idea in your mind and making it a reality and we highly encourage you to keep an eye out for updates over the youtube page https://www.youtube.com/@MermaidMafiaTV

We talked alot about the resilience to keep creating when things can be tough, the process she is going through in making the pilot and her successful voice acting career where she voices characters such Qui Qui from Genshin Impact and protagonist Hilda in Asterigos on Playstation, amongst many other credits

We also talked alot about the challenges and opportunities of independent production, the role of social media in building an audience, and the importance of authenticity and joy in creative work.

This and much more, a real delight to have on the podcast and very inspiring hearing about her creative journey, hope you enjoy it as much as we did

Christie, thank you for the fascinating chat!

Be sure to check out Mermaid Mafia on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@MermaidMafiaTV

Thanks, M & J

Christie can be found at https://www.christiecate.com/

Michael can be found at https://www.manchestervo.co.uk

Jen can be found at https://www.jenlawtonhunt.com

Welcome to Episode 7!

On this episode we were joined by casting extraordinaire Julia Bianco Schoeffling!

Julia's list of Casting and Casting Director credits among AAA games cannot be understated, including the 2026 Wolverine game, Spiderman 2, Fortnite, Medal Of Honor, Metroid Prime 4, Multiple Crash Bandicoot Games and The legend of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom to (literally) just name a few of them!

Julia is also the author of well renowned industry book The Art And Business Of Acting For Video Games, which ties nicely into what this episode is all about...

With her knowledge and expertise, we had a really fun and enjoyable conversation about what she looks for in auditions and we learned about her 5 star audition filtering system so you know how to stand out

We discussed mentality and burn out and most importantly remembering that being asked to audition is a win in itself and to just enjoy the process

This and loads more about being creative behind the mic, taking more educated risks and being mindful of the basics so many mistakes people still trip up on that can slow your progress down

Hope you enjoy it and get alot from it!

You can get Julias book here https://www.amazon.com/Art-Business-Acting-Video-Games/dp/B0B3N2GND7/

Thanks again Julia for your time and insights!

M&J

Julia can be found at https://www.juliabs.com

Michael can be found https://www.manchestervo.co.uk

Jen can be found at https://www.jenlawtonhunt.com