ASHLY BURCH

You need to make sure you're doing vocal warmups and drinking tea - and if you have a really emotional scene, you have to make sure to take care of yourself afterwards.

I had no idea what 'Life is Strange' was going to be when I auditioned. I had no idea what 'Horizon' was going to be when I auditioned.

When we create female characters, I think often there is a tendency to kind of make female characters emotionally bulletproof.

For narrative games, and also for the sake of the medium, we have to treat performance that way, as actors. You have to have a sense of ownership over it and believe that you're bringing something meaningful to it - because that's what all of the developers are doing, and that's what the story demands.

There's what we call the 'critical path,' which is the main story line and all the missions that you have to do to complete the narrative arc of the game. Then there are side quests. They're not essential to completing the game.

Super Mario RPG was one of my very favorite games when I was a kid.

I've never shown up to a session in my pajamas - but I definitely do auditions in my pajamas all the time, if I do them from home.

I've had the tremendous fortune to work on games like 'Life is Strange' and 'Horizon Zero Dawn', where there was a lot of collaboration between me and the developers.

Definitely later on in the 'Life is Strange' season one recording, we were all pretty tuned into who these characters were. There wasn't a whole lot of finagling that needed to be done, I don't think.

I think we assume a lot about both genders. But in particular I think we assume that only boys play games and that boys are only interested in playing games that reflect their narratives and their interests.

There's the idea that gaming is a closed door and that men are holding access to who gets in or out, and you have to prove - if you're female - that you're a real gamer. I think the younger generation, they don't care.

There are very few games, especially on the scale of 'Horizon,' that have a sole protagonist that is female.

I got to try things that I might've been uncomfortable doing if I had been in a larger setting with a studio and producers looking at me.

I've always wanted to be a voice actor. Well I think at first I wanted to be a singer. Then in middle school I auditioned for a musical and I only really cared because I wanted to sing in it. I had to act as well as part of the audition and that was the first time I ever really acted, and I was like 'Oh hey, this is fun, I like doing this.'

With voice acting it just matters what your voice can do. There are some things that I won't get over other people because my register isn't as deep as other people. So if someone wants a deep, dark, brooding villain voice then they are probably not going to pick me.

I've been very lucky to have had the opportunity to play a diverse cast of characters in the short time I've been a voice actor.

I think getting something together to showcase your voice is important. You can also watch cartoons and play games and just kinda listen, and try to see how the design of the character matches to the voice.

For women and men, but especially women, with on camera acting you have to look a certain way. You have to present yourself as the most attractive version of yourself that you can be, and then you're judged based on how attractive you are or if you are the right look for the character.

I think a few of my most visible roles are crazy or peppy girls, but I've played a lot of characters who are soldiers, or fighters, or meditative characters, and a lot of this stuff hasn't come out.

The main thing is always try to find different voices for yourself. If you're in your car just driving somewhere you can try to start thinking about a voice you might want to do, like try a British accent.

I really love doing indie projects, I think the characters that are available in indie games especially, like a lot of the indie games I've done, have been really rich interesting characters for someone of my vocal range.

I guess voice acting is just fun, interesting to say...but it is.

I know reels can be expensive but even if you construct one on your own if you don't have enough money to get a more professional one while you're getting started, as far as college animators go or young indie developers I don't think they are going to care if you have the highest quality reel yet.

There are a few pretty fundamental differences. In voice acting, if you are doing game recording, for the most part you are going to be by yourself in a studio. With game voice acting you are constructing everything for yourself pretty much. You're thinking about what the other characters could be doing, trying to imagine the scene, you're constructing the entire environment for yourself.

I feel like I'm always being challenged by my voice acting roles, for multiple different reasons. I still get nervous every time I book a gig.