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Michelle Falanga

Voice Talent

Actor

Writer

Michelle@michellefalanga.com

617-461-3424

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BRAVERY, Sometimes needs a little PUSH

February 15, 2022 by Michelle Falanga

I consider myself a Brave person… and many who know me would say the same.  I have had my share of challenges in this lifetime, (more than my share), and at the end of the day, I always choose to get back up, dust myself off and move forward.  When I was laid off from my full-time job back in the Fall of 2013, I came to a fork in the road. I had always had a full-time job and did Acting and Voice Over on the side.  My choices consisted of two paths:

DOOR #1:

Get a new full-time job with security, benefits, a weekly paycheck and a 401K.

OR

DOOR #2:

Jump boldly into the abyss of uncertainty & fear of the unknown.

Now Michelle ABSOLUTELY was going for DOOR #1, you see, I AM A SAFETY girl.  I have lived through some pretty crazy traumas (including my house burning to the ground, some major health issues, 8 retina surgeries and other traumatic events that have made THIS GIRL crave a SAFE life).  I am kind of embarrassed to admit that, it doesn’t sound very cool, fun or sexy to crave safety, but if I am honest, that is how I really feel.  Add to the mix that in the Fall of 2013, right after being laid off, I had 2 new surgeries on my eyes (which is a story for another time).  The result of these surgeries has caused a strobe effect in my vision field that never stops… even as I write this today almost 9 years later… it’s there, EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.  So, when I came to this fork in the road, DOOR # 2 felt SCARY AS HELL.  This is where my husband Tony comes in.  At this very crucial crossroads, which was a very difficult and challenging time for me, I was blessed to have someone in my corner to cheer me on, to push me to try the unthinkable and be BRAVE, to choose DOOR #2 and take that chance, even if I fail, with no judgement.  The truth is, HE BELIEVED IN ME more than I believed in myself.  I feel quite confident that I would never have taken this chance on my own.  Around the same time, my mother gave me a beautiful bracelet that said, “Leap and The Net Will Appear”, another sign from the universe that I should take this chance…. So, I DID!!!!! I went ALL IN, and it has been a crazy ride.  The truth is the first year was terrifying and the second year, was only slightly less terrifying.  The third year I had a very bad fall and could not use my arm for many months and lost some momentum, and the year after that I came back strong.  You should know, just like any new business, it took me a full five years to make what I was making at my full-time job… 5 years of working very hard every single day, nurturing relationships, building client trust, marketing, auditioning, grinding.  The 6th, 7th and 8th year have surpassed all my expectations and I love what I do beyond measure…but I would never have gotten there if I had given up year 2…. THIS CAREER IS NOT FOR THE WEAK AT HEART… it really is FOR THE BRAVE.

Who would have ever known the crazy ride this job as a Voice Actor would take me on… the amazing projects I would voice, the interesting clients and colleagues and friends I would meet and work with.  The countless beautiful cinematic videos, commercials, corporate videos, and live music shows I would lend my voice to… it feels like so much more than a job, it feels like a calling, and I may have missed that calling had I not had that support, that nudge, in the direction of uncertainty.  This makes me ask myself, what other callings or opportunities does this “safety” girl miss… but most of all, it makes me grateful for those who push us outside of our comfort zone, who nudge us in the direction of our dreams.

Because sometimes BRAVERY needs a little PUSH.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Bravery, Career, Female Voice Actor, Voice Actor, Voice Over

HAPPY NEW YEAR…YOUR HOUSE IS GONE

January 9, 2022 by Michelle Falanga

January 1st… a shiny New Year filled with promise, hope and excitement…endless posts from colleagues and friends about how excited they are to make 2022 the BEST year ever…YAY!!! RAH!!!!  WOOHOO!!! So why do I feel so tired and scared?

2021 was a groundbreaking year for me career wise.  I hit goals that I didn’t even know I had.  I built a “HOUSE” literally one brick at a time, client by client, job by job, with hard work and perseverance, late nights, early mornings, crazy sessions and so many interesting clients and jobs from all over the world.  When I reached December 31st, I had built a shiny amazing house made up of sweat and tears …a house I was proud of…and then POOF, January 1st comes and my house has been sold and I have a flat piece of land to build a new house on, a blank spreadsheet to fill.

Now, if you have read any of my blog posts, you know I ADORE analogies, and if you know me personally, you also know that in 1999 I lost everything to a fire in the middle of the night.  It was a total loss and we had to start all over with absolutely nothing except a toothbrush from the Red Cross – so this HOUSE analogy is not lost on me and I know personally that starting over can be hard.

What is wrong with me???  I should feel like everyone else, embracing the challenge, promising to slay 2022 and accomplish all my giant shiny goals…so why do I feel overwhelmed?  I LOVE what I do…I eat sleep and dream Voice Over.  The first week of January started off slow and I felt the weight of this daunting task of building my new house…this house must be bigger and better than last years’ house.  How can I build something even better? What does that even look like?   I could feel the anxiety rise in my chest.  What if I can’t build a bigger and better house, what if I fall short?  The self-doubt and fear set in and shut me down.

You see, I believe in FEELING my feelings and acknowledging them, even if they don’t make sense, or if they seem counter intuitive.  After calming myself down, praying and having an honest talk with my husband…I decided to stare down this new empty lot of land and try to make peace with it.  I decided NOT to get in my car and drive away and throw in the towel.  The truth is that while it IS a challenge, I am not REALLY building a house from scratch…. I have years of experience.  I have built a house before, many of them, each unique and special in their own way.  I already know what materials to use and the best way to lay tile and put-up sheetrock.  I know many of the contractors by name.  There will be new contractors who will bring new dimensions to my house…maybe a room in Audio Description or Animation…maybe a sunroom that will include a great Agent, maybe a quaint fireplace that could hold another Emmy (Hey, It COULD happen).  Maybe I will meet a new friend or two to have coffee and conversation in my cozy breakfast nook.  I have NO IDEA what the house I build in 2022 will look like, and while that is a little scary…it is also EXCITING.

As I stood there looking at this empty lot, the sun began to rise over the land and warm my face.  I felt so much gratitude that I GET to build another house, no matter what it will become….and after taking a few moments to soak in the view, I decided it was time to roll up my sleeves and GET TO WORK.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

CELEBRATING CAREER MILESTONES WHEN SELF EMPLOYED…. NOT gonna lie, it’s a little UNEVENTFUL

January 8, 2022 by Michelle Falanga

When I worked at regular job for a regular company, there were certain things you could count on…Flowers on Secretary’s Day when I was an Administrative Assistant…A lunch out with cards when it was Bosses Day as a Manager…Holiday Parties and Co-Worker camaraderie……and, of course, your yearly meeting to discuss your goals and aspirations and if you met them.  This meeting always felt so forced because it was usually at a job that I did not love….and therefore the dreaded question of: “Where do you see yourself in five Years” was always met with hesitation (and a monolog in my head that screamed “NOT HERE”).

Being self-employed is altogether different… there are NO Holiday Parties (though I created one for myself and there is a pretty funny YouTube video of it in existence).  No one is sending me flowers or gift cards or bringing me out to a meal to celebrate…. IT’S JUST ME!!!!   No one is checking in on me on a yearly basis to see if I have met my goals and ask where I want to be in 5 years.   Last year I hit a career goal that I never thought I would ever hit…2 of them actually.  What did I do?  Well, it is not the sort of thing you post about (for many reasons), so I told 3 people….my Husband, my brother and my Accountability Partner.  I bought myself a sweater from Italy with little stars on it that made me smile… and got my husband an espresso machine he had wanted for a long time to THANK HIM.  The truth is, my job as a self-employed Voice Actor would NOT be possible without him having a real job with insurance, not to mention that he is my main support in general AND in this crazy rollercoaster of a career.

This year, I just surpassed a new career goal, and it seems eerily quiet around here… no-one to tell (except the aforementioned people in my inner circle).  It feels very strange and uneventful.  Don’t get me wrong… I am so grateful to finally be working in a job where, if you asked me where I want to be in five years… I would gladly shout from the rooftops… EXACTLY WHERE I AM RIGHT NOW!!!! Doing what I love and feel called to do… and I hope that never ends.  The lack of pomp and circumstance is weird, but I am ok with it…and despite no Flowers or Gifts or Meals or “atta girls’” Reaching milestone goals (even if no one knows) is a GIFT all in itself.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Emmy Winner, Female Voice Actor, Milestones, Voice Over, Voice Talent

IMPERFECTION-THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WORD IN THE WORLD

August 9, 2019 by Michelle Falanga

IMPERFECTION-THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WORD IN THE WORLDMy favorite noise coming from an acoustic guitar is that squeak that happens when the fingers hit the strings in a weird way. This noise is kind of a mistake and some people try to angle their fingers in such a way to make this noise less obvious. To me, this noise is what pulls me in, what perks my ears to want to listen. It feels intimate and personal and it is the imperfection (i.e. the brokenness) of it that allows me in and makes me feel like the song is just for me. The same holds true for when you fall in love. Have you ever noticed that when you fall in love with someone, it is never because they have a perfectly symmetrical face…it is the goofy laugh they have, or the space between their front teeth…it is something unique (and usually) imperfectly perfect about them. I find this to be true in my life as well as in my Voice Over Career. I cannot tell you how many jobs I have gotten because the producer “fell in love” with the imperfection in my audition, an unexpected laugh that wasn’t in the script, my voice breaking in a weird way that invited them in and made them feel like I was speaking just to them, or something intangible but imperfect that stood out to them. Imperfection makes you relatable, real, authentic, believable, dare I say “human”. There are plenty of Voice Talents out there who sound perfect and polished, but I am not that voice, and I am good with that. Perfection is over-rated and I think maybe, just maybe, you should embrace yours because it is beautiful. Instead of trying to sound perfect, try to relate to the copy and connect with the words and meaning in the script. Try to forget about “sounding” good, just bring the REAL you to the audition, because the “real you” in all of your glorious, unique, and messy imperfection, is EXACTLY what the world needs more of.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a…

April 5, 2018 by Michelle Falanga

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a…..lawn mower? leaf blower… snow plow… car radio (insert any noise here). Sound and the home studio – how noises I never noticed before – make me crazy.

I have a professional home studio…. “Professional” in the sense that my sound is great. I have recorded countless spots for radio, TV and the Web in my studio. These spots have been National, Regional, even recordings that have been played in a giant football stadium. I know many fellow Voice Artists have created home voice studios of their own. These studios range from full on sound-proof whisper rooms to holding a giant quilt over their head while recording, and everything in between. I am somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. I have a quality microphone, a good interface, and a dedicated closet that I have lined with bedding and popcorn mattresses. When there is no outside noise at all, my studio is perfection. The challenge is that I live on a busy street, directly behind a Landscape company, right next to neighbors on both sides who have dogs and cars and like to hang out gabbing with friends while their car radio blasts loud rock and roll music at the high end of the speakers range – the kind of loud that you can actually feel because it is THAT loud. The funny thing about this is, I have always been a “city girl” at heart. These types of background noises truly never bothered me before; I actually enjoyed them to some degree. The carefree city girl in me has been replaced. Now, as I make my way in this world of voice over and building a career, I rely on silence to pay the bills. These constant noises are my arch enemy, my kryptonite. Sometimes they feel like they are mocking me…like they are anxiously awaiting that moment when I need to record to suddenly decide to make an appearance. Murphy’s Law is very active in my world. I can’t tell you how many expletives I have had to remove from recordings from being frustrated (and I am NOT someone who swears). I will be in the moment of a beautiful read when a giant truck starts beeping loudly in my ear – ruining my momentum, stopping my recording and frustrating the hell out of my spirit. These constant interruptions delay my work, stress me out, and make recording an intermittent activity. So what is a Professional Female Voice Talent to do? How do you make a living when the loud world around you is trying to trip you up and test you? Well, until I have my “perfect” situation where I live on a dead end street in a quiet neighborhood and have invested in and installed a sound proof Whisper Room in my home – you just DO.
I must push through, I must work around these noises, stay up very VERY late, or get up before anyone else is sane enough to roll out of bed, and find those moments of peace. Those brief windows of time where the magic can happen without interruption. Those precious seconds where I can be “in the moment” and actually do what I am truly meant to do. Connect with someone else’s words, give them meaning and life, and speak them into a microphone, in my perfect, imperfect room.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

CASUAL FRIDAY (EVERY) DAY – THE DANGERS OF WORKING IN YOUR PAJAMAS

February 3, 2017 by Michelle Falanga

I used to get dressed up – EVERY day.   I wore dresses and suits and interesting separates. I didn’t just get dressed, it was an art form: something I would plan the night before, lay out on the bed and thoroughly enjoy.  You see, I LOVE fashion. As a child, I drew stick figures wearing unique high-fashion frocks that I created in my mind and transferred to paper.  I was destined to be a famous fashion designer, with unique designs stomping down the runway in Paris and Milan.  My style: classic with a sense of humor – a little surprise you didn’t expect. A pop of color, a retro edging on a modern design…Coco Chanel meets Hello Kitty.   I even went to college for Fashion. It was my major, my life plan…or so I thought.

When I graduated college, I realized that a degree in Fashion did not really get me too many places. I worked in retail, did some window design, realized that I needed a REAL job and did what many 20 year olds do – I became an Executive Secretary.  I worked for many years in Insurance and Legal departments. It was a job. Then, one day my human resources director called me down. She had organized a retirement party for one of our big wigs and had hired a comedy troupe to come and do a skit. The problem is that they were down an actor due to illness and had asked her if she could recommend someone FUNNY in the office to help them out with the sketch. Apparently I stood out in the Insurance industry and apparently I was FUNNY (according to her).  She volunteered me (without my permission) and I reluctantly helped them out with their sketch in front of all of my co-workers and bosses.  To this day, I have no idea how I had the courage to do this, I just know I did it. I was immediately offered a role as an understudy in their public murder mystery show by the Director that day. I guess I AM funny…who knew? AND THE REST IS HISTORY.

Fashion played a part in this area of my life, as well: props, dresses, gloves, wigs, and whatever you need to make a character into…a character!  I thoroughly enjoyed this process and I was good at it.  I love taking on different looks: a maid, a gangster’s wife, an elderly crazy grandma, a Diva Movie Actress, a shy-nerdy-awkward girl. I realized that I am a blank slate and I can look like and be anything I want to.  You get to step into what it would feel like to be someone else and I LOVE that.

I worked every weekend at this job for 17 years (while still holding my boring day job). On nights and weekends, I could escape my Insurance Certificates and Excel spreadsheets and throw on a wig and some make up and give hundreds of people a laugh or two and an escape from their boring jobs.  We performed on boats and trains, in restaurants and halls and even in people’s homes. A few years into Acting, I took a stab at Voice Over – thinking I would do Animation with all my characters and creature voices.  What shocked me is that I get hired (almost exclusively) for my REAL voice, no character, no accent – just me…. Believable, Natural, Real, Relatable, Caring, UN-POLISHED, ME…..and in 2013, I got laid off from that full-time job and took the leap.

Now, I am a full-time Female Voice Talent and Actress.  When I am not in a studio or on a set, I can be found most days in my home studio, recording jobs and auditioning like crazy.  Fashion has become a funny thing around here. Most days, I am in yoga pants and a hoodie. Sometimes, I am in my favorite Cookie Monster Pajamas.  It’s hard to know by my appearance that I am a working Professional….even though I work harder and longer than I ever have in a suit.  There is no major thought put into my outfit for the day – it is usually what I slept in the night before.  My world is about comfort and my commute is from my bed to my studio, one room over.  There is no need for the perfect red lipstick, or a shiny pair of boots to go with my cute retro dress. My world is mostly about how I sound – NOT what I look like (at least in the VO world).  I think this is awesome on some levels, and kind of sad on others. I am most certain (even though he would never admit it) that my husband may miss the days when I would come home from work all dolled up.  So, I get excited when I do get to go into a studio for a job nowadays. I can meticulously lay out my favorite dress, my tights and boots and have a break from the norm; and the absolute JOY & BLISS of fashion and dressing up.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

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