Joié's Blog

Melodie Maynor, 50, is a Las Vegas-based voice over actress who pivoted from her career in the United States Air Force. Recognizing her longtime passion for acting, Maynor decided to take a leap of faith and follow that calling at 43 years old. During a high school theater conference, she attended a breakout class about voice acting. Considering herself a theater nerd, this excited Maynor.

However, after high school, she took the traditional route and joined the United States Air Force. “As an adult, you’re conditioned to get a real job and do real work,” she said. “Theater was always in me. I just was scared to embrace it for a really long time.” Once her contract was up, alongside her day job Maynor took voice acting by storm focusing on tech, e-learning, and retail narration. As a talented and prepared voice over actress, she received her first paid opportunity in one audition take from www.voice123.com. She considers herself the “good kind of quirky” and makes it her mission to ensure listeners are excited about a brand’s product or service. Her extensive background in IT contracts makes her a pro at understanding what technical audiences respond to. 

Maynor had to adapt to the structural freedom voice acting allows. “The process has been less structured because the military and corporate world makes an outline,” she said. She considers the flexibility to be a benefit of the industry, especially for people with children. Her favorite part about voice acting is getting to experiment and play in a safe space. Unlike traditional acting, oftentimes voice acting provides an intimate environment that allows actors to freely express themselves. “You can feel comfortable because you’re at home doing your thing,” she said.

Maynor’s delivery and snarkiness make her stand out in the industry. She takes pride in hitting milestones in her career with her fellow voice acting colleagues. A celebratory moment for Maynor was being listed on Pandora radio’s roster. “That moment was memorable and it was very fun,” she said.

Maynor encourages those who aspire to be voice actors to find a good coach, learn the business side, and never think it’s too late to start. “Do I wish I would’ve started when I was twenty-something, yes.. but I’m doing it now,” said Maynor. “When I was starting, there were people even older than me who were also just starting,” she continued.

Maynor believes some people don’t realize the extensive training that’s required in the voice acting industry. She recommends beginners train for about one year to one year and six months before auditioning. A con for Maynor is having to learn the business side of the industry. 

Maynor recommends being authentic and positioning yourself as a service to brands when pitching as a voice actor. One of the brands she was excited to collaborate with is Hilton Hotel. She also hopes to collaborate with Discovery and Hallmark in the future. 

Visit https://voiceovermelodie.com/ for more information to learn more about Melodie Maynor’s voice over acting services.