Training and cost options
Take as little or as much training as you want depending on your needs & budget: no need to commit 1-2 thousand dollars upfront like other training programs.
We bring top coaches and industry experts to you for intensive 1-on-1 training and Q&A sessions, saving you hundreds—even thousands—of dollars over the cost of hiring these experts yourself. In addition, your discount certificates give huge savings off the regular cost of training. All training includes professional 1-on-1 coaching on-mic and MP3s of all your sessions to study and track your progress.
Win $1,000 in discounts!
HOW IT WORKS: We select winners every week, plus you can earn up to $100 for each person you refer that takes a class! If you win, we will send you $500 in discounts, and another $500 in discounts to anyone you refer to encourage them to take a class. You can refer as many people as you like.
You must register by submitting the form above before you can refer anyone (we need to keep accurate records). More details.
Other questions? Call me, Sarah Larson, at 612-836-8869.
New to voice acting?
Don't yet have a demo or working experience? Our Secrets of Voiceover class is for you.
You get the same professional 1-on-1 coaching on-mic and MP3s of all your sessions as you do in Pro Dev. But, you also receive a workbook on industry fundamentals and additional training on everything you need to get into the voiceover industry including copy interpretation, voice skills, studio etiquette, home studio, making your first demo, and much, much more. We also have special 1-day events for veterans and new folks from time to time.
Regular price of this class is $549, but call 612-836-8869 or to ask about seasonal discounts. (If you win the $500 in discount certificates, you can take $200 off and pay only $249 for this class.)
| Sarah is extremely knowledgable on all aspects of the industry, very insightful and provides wonderful feedback. The class was small enough to keep it very personal but large enough I learned a lot from seeing others get instruction. –Heidi Busch, Secrets of Voiceover graduate |
More info about the Secrets of Voiceover class series.
Are You a Working Voiceover Talent?
Do you already have a demo and several jobs under your belt? Audition for our Professional Development series under the direction of several of our ten top-flight coaches, all working VO talents themselves, most with decades in the business.
This is the most intensive training, with multiple coaches giving you individual attention over four 2-hour sessions in a small group of 4-5 students. We are always finding great coaches and top talent who teach privately and bringing them to you through this series.
Regular price of this class is $399, but call 612-836-8869 or
to ask about seasonal discounts. (If you win the $500 in discount certificates, you can take $150 off and pay only $249 for this class.)
| "Lots of time on mic, supportive environment, small class size, incredible coaches...and after taking several classes I have an agent and am working!" –Student Michael White |
More info about the Professional Development class series.
Both Professional Development and Secrets of Voiceover class sizes are kept small so you get LOTS of time on mic and personal attention to your needs and skills. Besides learning how to perform, you'll learn how to work from home, and how to break into this country’s fourth-largest voiceover market: the Twin Cities.
Class schedule & locations
LOCATIONS: Classes are taught in one of two locations: At Washington and 3rd Avenue in the downtown Minneapolis warehouse district (map), and in the Hopkins Center for the Arts, across from the Hopkins Cinema (map).
SCHEDULE: Between two and four classes are scheduled each month depending on our waiting list and instructor availability. Classes are weekday evenings and weekend days and mornings. Call 612-605-8843 or click here to so I can find a class time and location that will work for you.
About Secrets of Voiceover Classes
The Twin Cities is one of the top voiceover markets in the world. In the U.S., only New York, L.A. and Chicago are bigger, and the Twin Cities has the most high-paying non-union work of any of them —you're already where you need to be to succeed!
| I've never done voiceover so I had no idea what the class would be like. It's fun! Sarah is a great teacher. It's a safe environment to practice and you get to witness others perform which provides many learning opportunities. –Doug Harris, Secrets of Voiceover graduate |
Some of what you will learn in this class:
- How to read advertising copy and industrial scripts on mic. We have scripts to find exactly what will maximize your strengths and growth, and you will learn to find scripts that match your abilities.
- How to create a demo, and how to market yourself.
- Vocal tricks to get advertisers to hire you.
- How to minimize vocal tics and mouth noises.
- How to get the most out of ad copy without sounding sales-y or announcerish.
- To be the talent that gets hired.
- Studio etiquette, protocol, and decorum.
- You'll receive tons of useful information in your weekly handouts.
- What you'll need to create a professional demo.
ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT
SECRETS OF VOICEOVER CLASSES:
- Classes are 2 hours, so you get a lot of mic time and individual attention, and the benefit of cross-stimulation from your fellow students.
- All students will receive their class recordings at no additional charge for you to study and track your progress.
- Classes are either in downtown Minneapolis or at Hopkins Center for the Arts.
- Class size is limited to 5 and the number of classes = the number of students+ one. If five students, 6 classes, if 4 students, 5 classes, etc...no fewer than 3 students/4 classes.
- This class is recommended for everyone who isn't already working in the VO business. Even those who have taken classes elsewhere are not always getting the kinds of nuts-and-bolts training they need to compete in the Voiceover business.
Voiceover students being coached on a group spot in class
About Professional Development
These courses are limited to 4-5 people and move very quickly. You work with multiple instructors to maximize your voice strengths and build new skills.
| "I learned more than I expected to! Very helpful critiques. I grew as a voiceover talent, and as a person—I have more confidence now. I learned a lot by paying attention to others' feedback too. You really do learn more in a group." –Student Katie Horvat |
- John Farrell Demo · Web
One of the greatest VO talents and coaches you’ll ever meet. - Beth Chaplin Demo · Web
Author of The Acting Biz, A Career Guide to the Twin CitiesWeb - Scott Jorgenson Demo · Web
Fantastic VO coach, extraordinarily successful talent. - Charles Hubbell Demo · Web
- Amazing talent, amazing teacher (who just finished a movie with James Cromwell and has a TV series coming.)
- Susan Spongberg Demo · Web
Longtime VO agent in the Twin Cities and a great talent and instructor. - Nancy Crocker Demo · Web
Nancy has appeared in five independent films, several dozen plays, countless radio and TV commercials, and innumerable corporate films. - Jim Cada Demo · Web
Known for his classes and performances at the Guthrie, Old Log, and many other venues - Len Goodman Demo
A personal favorite, a very successful talent and fun instructor. - Ross Young Demo · Web
Ross, a student favorite, is a well-known Twin Cities director, actor and voiceover artist with extensive stage, on-camera, improvisation and voiceover experience. - Gigi Jensen Demo · Web
Gigi has worked steadily in commercials and industrial films, as a voiceover and on-camera talent as well as writing scripts of every kind, and has lunched with Paul Newman, Glenn Close, Joanne Woodward, and A.E. Hotchner - Lynn Musgrave Web
We're very excited to welcome Lynn as one of our coaches! Lynn is an experienced Twin Cities director, actor and voiceover talent.
You can take this class repeatedly because our instructors will always
challenge you at your level to expand your skills, and it's a lot of fun! Call me, Sarah Larson, at 612-836-8869 or click here to
so I can answer any questions you may have. You may include a
link to your demo or online voice samples.
Get Free Training: Get Funding
Some companies and government job training programs offer a budget or funding for job training. We have had students funded both through government and corporate funding programs. Usually all that is needed is to download and print the Voice Results brochure, provide it to your representative and follow their directions on procedures for getting funding for your training.
To get work, the first step after professional training is to get a demo of your voice that you can send to producers, casting directors, and clients. You can be hired right from your demo, or it can be used to choose who gets to audition.
The simple formula is this: The better your demo, the easier it is to get hired. But no one wants to work with a beginner, so how do you get work? Easy: samples you include on your demos should sound as if they are actual spots that could have been on the air. And they must be very, very good.
When you record a demo, you will need, in order of importance:
- Great spots/scripts appropriate to you and the right background music and sound effects to put behind your voice.
- An experienced coach to direct you.
- Professional recording-quality equipment and studio.
- A professional engineer to put it all together.
For those of you ready and desiring a demo, we've negotiated a package deal in advance with a well-known and very popular Twin Cities voiceover engineer to produce a demo for you (and save you money)—if you want one. We'll provide everything you need, including a web page if desired.
In New York or L.A. a professional demo will cost you between $1,000 to $3,000, with $1,500 being typical. Expect to get an excellent demo session representing several hours of professional work for under $500.
How do you REALLY succeed?
Make a demo so good it will change the world :) But seriously, it has to be very, very good. Better than you are? Yes, better than your average. It should represent the very best you can do. Get very well trained before you even consider doing a demo. And practice, and get critiqued by someone who is currently working in your geographical area.
I've got students who've gone on to do national spots, so you can do it too! But remember, it can take a while to break in. Will you get work even before finishing class? Will you be asked to sign with an agency within weeks of finishing class? Both have happened to my students this year! But realistically, you probably won't get booked on day 1. And even when you do get booked, it will be awhile before people start booking you again and again. So be patient until the phone starts ringing.
Also: Be great to work with. When I made $10,000 doing a half dozen spots for Great Clips it was great. But having Old Home dairy pay me several hundred dollars a month for five years as they reused my spots over and over again was even better. You want that repeat business. And if you get in an agency, you want them to reup your contract year after year. So always be really, really great to work with.
About Sarah:
Sarah Jones-Larson is a 27-year voiceover professional. Her voiceover students have been successful getting local, regional, and national VO work.
Her voice has been heard on hundreds of radio and television commercials locally and nationwide and in hundreds of training, medical, and technical DVD's, IVR, and on the web.
A voiceover instructor at The Academy of Film and Television for four years, as a faculty member at the University of Minnesota, Sarah was rated above the 99th percentile as an instructor by the University of Minnesota Office of Measurement Services. Some of Sarah's clients include:
Listen to Demos: Commercial · Industrial · Combined
More about discounts and referrals:
We'll send you a referral code with your $500 in discount certificates. Give this code to anyone you refer, and we'll also send them $500 in discounts to encourage them to sign up for a course. We also ask new students who referred them, so you can also get paid for word-of-mouth if we have your name and email on file and they reference you by name or email.
When someone you have referred pays for and completes a full class you earn $100 for Secrets of VO, $50 for Pro Development, and a sliding scale for events.
You are paid cash for ALL referrals once you are a student (or you can choose to electronic payment or course credit). If you are not a student, you earn cash for your first payment, and course credit for additional referrals. (Once you become a student all future payments are your choice of cash, electronic payment or course credit.) Discount certificates can be applied across up to three course series.
Other questions? Call me, Sarah Larson, at 612-836-8869.
