You’d probably never guess that I’m an introvert. I hide it well…or at least I try to.
One of these days, I’ll invent the perfect digital cave, and no one will ever see me again in person. 🙂
Actually, introverts excel in social media [see: http://www.mackcollier.com/why-introverts-love-social-media/ — and — Six Ways Introverts Can Be More Powerful].
Luckily, my “day job” keeps me square in the sites of the public, and over time, I’ve come to appreciate the rich relationships the exposure to just…people… brings to my life.
The lion’s share of my voiceover relationships began in digital space, and over time have matured as face-to-face encounters. I can honestly say, each and every chance to meet a voice actor personally has exceeded my expectations.
In that vein, this last weekend was a bountiful one, indeed!
Dave with Dawson
It began over lunch on Friday with Dawson McKay. Dawson is a Texan, transplanted to Alaska, now trying to sell a house in Albuquerque, so he can return to Alaska. He’s among those who saw the writing on the wall as commercial radio began to lose it’s lustre and decent pay. For the better part of the last decade, he’s steadily made progress with his VO career, and somewhere along the line, found me on Facebook. In no time, I realized Dawson was a kindred spirit, and a man after my own freelance heart.
Kelley, Randye, Dave
The next morning, I had brunch with TWO fellow voice-actors who I would both count as close friends. In fact, I joked with one of them — Randye Kaye — that I see her more often than my Las Vegas friends, even thought she lives in Connecticut. I saw Randye less than a month ago at APAC in New York City, and she — along with our other brunch comrade — Kelley Buttrick — share a monthly online Google Hangout as part of a VO MasterMind Group with me and 7 others. Randye has the added distinction of also sharing a monthly call with me and the others on the World-Voices.Org Executive Board. Randye was in Las Vegas to attend the wedding of a nephew. That nephew is the son of a friend I attended church with for more than a decade in Las Vegas…the intertwining of our lives is almost astounding, really. Kelley came to Las Vegas as the patron saint of a friend who was determined to attend the wildly crazy mega-disco party in Las Vegas known as the Electric Daisy Carnival. Kelley was equally determined not to let this person go alone.
Erick Abraham & CourVO
That leaves Sunday, and my first chance to meet Erick Abraham. Erick, too, somehow found me on FaceBook, and we’ve had many an exchange with messaging over the months. Erick is entertaining a relocation, and it might be to Las Vegas, so he had lots of questions about my town. I was so impressed with this young father of two. He’s an accomplished, working Voice Actor with a lot of promise.
In each of these meet-ups over the last three days, I had to pull myself away to make other appointments, but given free rein, I would still be there talking to any and all of them.
There are a couple of glaring morals to this story:
1) Social Media is a great device for connecting to peers (and prospective clients!)
2) Voice Actors are a gregarious, supportive and encouraging bunch
But for THIS introvert, anyway… the camaraderie of new and established friends is nothing short of the confirmation that life meets one of its greatest fulfillments in the sharing with others.
Thank you, Dawson, Kelley, Randye, and Erick. You all made my life immeasurably richer this weekend. Let’s do it again…soon!
CourVO
