Getting Animated with Stephanie Ciccarelli

I am pleased to feature guest blogger, Stephanie Ciccarelli, today. Stephanie is a communicator extraordinaire who is so connected to
many folks in the voiceover industry and shares her wisdom through
her blogging and travels. I am lucky enough to call her a good friend!

I like this animated photo taken by Rick Lance at the recent VOICE2010 conference in Los Angeles. PS This is not the same Rick Lanz who used to lace them up for the Vancouver Canucks. Stephanie is on the right while Linda Ristig is on the left.

Sources are not able to confirm the conversation that took place, but knowing Stephanie, my guess is it involved another passion of hers: sipping tea...

Knowing Linda, they may have talked about staying happy, healthy, and loved!

Stephanie gets animated as well in this article, which ties in nicely with the voiceover and sports themes I love.
 

Behind the Mic: The Voice Talent of ProStars

By Stephanie Ciccarelli

Everyone remembers growing up with certain cartoons that made an impact on their generation, and for those interested in sports, there was an animated series called ProStars on Saturday mornings that combined celebrity, athleticism and heroic efforts to fight crime in each exciting episode.

ProStars was broadcast in 1991-1992 and featured live action appearances in addition to the animated likenesses of sport superstars Michael Jordan (NBA), Wayne Gretzky (NHL) and Bo Jackson (NFL and MLB respectively). The cartoon likenesses of Mike, Wayne and Bo had their voices supplied by Dorian Harewood (Michael Jordan), Townsend Coleman (Wayne Gretzky) and Dave Fennoy (Bo Jackson).

Originally developed for ESPN, ProStars included live action wraparound appearances at the beginning and end of the program giving viewers an opportunity to watch these stars in action and also to observe these heroes answering questions from fans.

The all-star trio trotted around the globe fighting crime, helping Mama to defeat villains using their unique athletic skill sets. A tagalong, Denise, followed them on their missions and instead of being of much assistance, often ended up being rescued by the team!

I have fond memories of watching this cartoon and we can thank sources like YouTube for bringing some of those moments back to us online. Having met both Townsend Coleman and Dave Fennoy, it is doubly satisfying to revisit this cartoon with the insight that the voices were not those of the celebrities but of hard working voice actors of whom I am blessed to count among my acquaintance.

The ProStars voice cast includes:

• Dorian Harewood (Michael Jordan)
• Townsend Coleman (Wayne Gretzky)
• Dave Fennoy (Bo Jackson)
• Susan Silo (Mama)
• Diana Barrows (Denise)
• Tara Strong (Laura) (as Tara Charendoff)
• Jack Angel (voice)
• Rob Paulsen (voice)
• Robert Morse (additional voices)
• William Callaway (additional voices)

About the Author
Stephanie Ciccarelli is the Chief Marketing Officer at Voices.com. Stephanie is one of the most connected people in voice overs, a sought after expert and trusted industry source. In 2003, she co-founded Voices.com, the voice over marketplace, and has been actively engaged in the voice acting community ever since. Mrs. Ciccarelli graduated with a Bachelor of Musical Arts '06 from the Don Wright Faculty of Music at the University of Western Ontario and is also the author of many eBooks, including the Definitive Guide to Voice Over Success, editor of the VOX Daily Voice Actors Blog and also shares her insights and unique perspectives via podcast.