BONUS Episode: My Holland EuroVO Retreat Experience
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In this special bonus episode I talk about my experience on J. Michael Collins' EuroVO Retreat to Holland this past May. Hear all the details about why I went and the top 5 reasons you too should go on a retreat!
Our presenters were: J Michael Collins, Billy Collura (CESD Agent), Arielle Negrin (Atlas Agent), Kelly Moscinski (VoiceCaster casting), Michael Csurics (Brightskull - video games), Sumeet Iyengar (Cope Management), Carin Gilfry, Erikka J.
MITTM Episode with Carin: https://www.stephaniepamroberts.com/podcast-episodes/carin-gilfry
MITTM Episode with Erikka: https://www.stephaniepamroberts.com/podcast-episodes/erikka-j
Making It To The Mic Website: www.makingittothemic.com
Instagram: @stephaniepamrobertsvo
Email: stephanie@stephaniepamroberts.com
Full Transcript:
0:10
Hello and welcome to this bonus episode of making it to the mic. I'm your host, Stephanie Pam Roberts, and today I'm coming to you with a special episode to talk about my experience on J Michael Collins's EuroVO Retreat.
0:26
So first, a little backstory. I've been a voice actor for almost 12 years, and I've only ever been to one in person conference prior to this trip. I think conferences overall have become a bigger deal and more popular than they used to be, and when I was starting out, they weren't even really on my radar. So the only conference I've been to was the vocation conference in 2019 in New York City, and I absolutely loved it.
0:49
But then, of course, the pandemic happened, and I have a young kiddo, and my husband works a crazy schedule, so doing another conference that wasn't in my backyard seemed totally out of reach. At the end of last year, I was setting goals for myself for 2025 and I saw a post on J Michaels Instagram about upcoming Euro vo retreats, Holland and Florence. I mentioned it to my husband, who suggested I just reach out and see what the cost was and if there were still spaces available. I'd been to Florence already and a chateau, and Holland sounded pretty dreamy, so that's what I asked about. J Michael said there were only a few spots left for Holland, and after some discussion of logistics and checking finances, I took a leap of faith and I booked it. It felt huge for so many reasons. I hadn't traveled abroad since 2016 I hadn't even been away from my daughter for more than three days since she was born and she just turned eight. But I'm so glad I did this, because it was one of the most amazing experiences I've had in this career.
1:50
So if you've ever thought about doing one or you're just curious what they're all about, here are my top five reasons you should go on a Euro VO Retreat.
1:59
Number five, the content this week was an absolute gold mine of learning. So over the course of four days, from 9am to 6pm every day, I took 11 classes with some of the top players in the industry, agents, casting directors, managers, video game producers and directors and fellow voice actors working at the top of their game. Class Topics ranged from more business focused, things like marketing, branding, pay to plays, navigating the ups and downs of the industry, to hands on workshops for politicals, commercials, promos, TV in show narration and video games. And in these classes, we got to read lots of copy. But the best part, the classes were so small, so I felt like I got so much attention and so many chances to play after what feels like literally 1000s of hours of zoom classes over the last few years, just to sit in a room with people and read live and get live feedback was amazing.
2:57
Which leads me to number four, the connections. I think this is the secret sauce of these trips and what sets them apart from other conferences. So not only do you get to take classes with these industry pros, but then you get to sit with them at lunch, share a coffee between sessions, have a fancy dinner together every night and hang out after hours for snacks and a glass of wine, which means you really get to know them as people, real people. So often I feel like agents and casting directors can feel like they are unreachable or above us or something. But being in this environment all together really leveled the playing field. I connected with people about our mutual love of Broadway shows, being a parent, gardening and so much more. It was so refreshing, and it made me feel so much more relaxed and comfortable in the classes, knowing I could just be myself. I also happened to be with an amazing and supportive group of fellow participants, which made this experience even more special and enjoyable. As a theater person at heart, it was incredible to hear actual human reactions to reads, laughs, claps, cheers, and it felt amazing to give those reactions to my fellow voice actors. We would encourage each other when someone was feeling a little nervous or about to take on a challenging script, and it was just such a wonderful camaraderie. We spend so much time isolated in our booth. So it was nice to meet new people and connect with fellow voice actors in real life and hug friends that I'd only ever met on Facebook.
4:28
Number three, the experience it's hard to put into words the level of care and attention to detail that J Michael's wife Anna puts into these trips. It felt equal parts like I was some celebrity being catered to, and also like a kid whose parent was just doing everything they could to make sure they felt warm and safe and taken care of. The accommodations were top notch, and I know that Anna personally visits each retreat location to make sure they meet her high standards. And of course, the food, oh, the food, it was.Delicious and plentiful. There was no shortage of snacks and treats and coffees for in between sessions and a full breakfast and lunch buffet and every dinner was a delicious three course meal. It really made the experience feel so special and elevated.
5:18
Number two, the value are the Euro vo retreats expensive? Yes, but are they worth it? Also? Yes. So each of the retreats costs a different amount depending on the location and if you get a private or shared room. But I'll give the basic breakdown of what's included, just to give you an idea, transportation to and from the airport, premium accommodations and all the food, and I mean all the food, including meals and snacks, are included. I took over 60 hours of classes, which would probably be at least $3,500and as a bonus, you get two JMC produced demos which are also probably an average of 1800 to $2,000 each. So all of that right there makes the trip worth it. And again, the connections that you make with your fellow voice actors and the small group aspect of the classes, and the connection that you make with the presenters off hours was also a huge amount of value, in my opinion.
6:16
And number one, the growth during this week, I challenged and pushed myself in ways that I hadn't in a very long time, probably since my BFA days in college. My major takeaway from all the performance classes was to trust myself and not be afraid or get in my head or get stuck trying to do what they want. I think I wrote, do you in almost every workshops, notes, plus, I didn't realize how much I needed this trip to recharge my passion for voiceover, my connection to others in the business and honestly myself as a human I'm so glad I took the leap and did this for myself. When I got home, my husband asked, Would you do it again? And without hesitation, I said, Yes!
7:05
So that's it. If you're thinking about doing a EuroVO Retreat, and you have the funds to do so comfortably, I say, go for it. I'll also link some info in the show notes if you want to learn more about the retreats in general, and I'll share info about the presenters we have, just to give you an idea of what caliber of people go and two episodes of this podcast that feature two of the presenters,
7:27
And on a different note, as I'm putting together my next season of Making it to the Mic, I would love to hear what topics you want to hear about. Previous seasons have included interviews with voice actors, folks behind the mic, and my most recent season featured voice actors that make $100,000 nor more every year. All of those episodes are fascinating. So if you haven't listened, you can go back and catch up. If you have an idea, please reach out to me on Instagram or by email, and I'm also happy to answer any other questions you may have about the retreat and my experience. Thanks so much for listening, and bye for now.