Mike Lenz Voice - A Journey Into Voice Acting – Details, episodes & analysis

On this episode, I have an amazing conversation with Izzy Tugman, a dynamic voice actor celebrated for her impressive versatility across audiobooks, animation, video games, commercial, and corporate narration.

Beyond her professional achievements, Izzy opens up about some of the personal struggles she’s faced along her journey and how they’ve shaped her perspective on life and work.

We explore her newfound faith and how it has brought renewed purpose and direction to her life. Izzy also shares how practices like yoga and meditation have become essential tools for cultivating peace, inner calm, and resilience—both personally and professionally.

From her insights into building a sustainable VO career to her honest reflections on growth and self-discovery, this conversation is filled with inspiration, practical advice, and heartfelt moments. Whether you’re an aspiring voice actor, a seasoned professional, or simply seeking motivation to navigate your creative path, you’ll find valuable lessons in this episode.

Don’t miss this powerful and uplifting conversation!

Follow Izzy Tugman: https://izzyvoice.com/

Check out more episodes over at: https://mikelenzvopodcast.com/

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Welcome back to the Mike Lenz VO Podcast! Today, we’re thrilled to have Samantha Boyer with us, an inspiring artist and content creator who brings a touch of storytelling magic and nostalgia to her work. Samantha’s journey began with childhood influences like Mr. Rogers and Bob Ross, sparking her passion for creating inviting, imaginative worlds.

Over the years, she has transformed this passion into a full-time creative career and built Haven Hollow—a fictional, cozy escape designed to re-energize the soul and rest the heart, offering others a place to find peace and inspiration.

In this episode, Samantha invites us into her creative process and shares how she balances the soulful, artistic side of her work with the realities of running a creative business. From finding inspiration to managing the demands of content creation, Samantha’s story is both motivating and heartwarming.

So grab a cup of tea, settle in, and join us for a cozy, inspiring conversation with Samantha Boyer as we step into Haven Hollow together.

 

Voice 123 15% Discount Code link:

 https://bit.ly/3BsPSaw

Danielle Harris is a voice actor from Atlanta, Ga. Originally born and raised in Indiana, she has had an interest and intrigue with voiceover since her early teenage years. It wasn't until she was in her early twenties that she sought out to attempt to get voice acting training around 2012, then again in 2018, both times unfortunately being sidetracked by life and her work in government. Danielle worked as a 911 dispatcher, radio operator for 8 years then was promoted to  Supervisor and Training coordinator over Emergency Communications for the last 5 years before she ultimately made up her mind to end her 13 year career to pursue her passion in voiceover full time. She has since worked with brand names such as Canva, Microsoft, Walmart, Sonos, Michelob Ultra, Dollar General and more.   In between vo life and work, she spends all her time with her 2 year old daughter Arrow, husband Adam and their dog Knuckles and cat Loki.   

Nydia Monarrez was born and raised in Monterrey, N.L. Mexico. She has a degree in Communications and Public Relations. She studied Acting for 2 years using Eric Morris Method, the most organic and complete method in the Industry. Nydia is Bilingual (English/Spanish) and also has a background in, Training, Financial Services and Corporate Business.

Nydia is currently a Full time, Professional Spanish Voice Over Talent, Actress, Host and Life Style Model. She is also a Yoga lover, Audio Books Fan and Happy Foodie! She lives in Chicago, Ill. USA. with her husband and 2 kids.

For more information on this and other episodes, head over to mikelenzvoice.com.

Cristina Milizia is a professional, full time voice over talent in Los Angeles, California.  Her voice is youthful, sweet & upbeat! Conversational, millennial, approachable, fun, and hip are also accurate adjectives.

Cristina's wealth of experience allows her to perform voice over fluidly in commercial, narration, IVR & telephony, e-learning, on hold messaging, Spanish, video games, mobile game apps, toys, & audiobooks. She works full time as a talent & as a voice over coach, and can turn around any new project within 24-48 hours. Her professional home studio set up will give you the top notch sound quality you need, while saving your money on outside studio costs. Additional services for professional sound design, editing, music production & translation services available upon request.

Hi, I'm Mike Lenz.  

I'm a professional voice actor, the author of Paid To Talk - A Journey Into Voice Acting, and the host of a popular podcast, Mike Lenz Voice - A Journey Into Voice Acting.  I’m so excited you're here because that means you have an interest in the voice over industry. 

Maybe you’re just beginning and don’t have a clue where to start. 

That’s OK, because that's exactly where I was 9 years ago.  In fact 10 years ago my life looked a lot different than it does today.

10 years ago I was running my small brick and mortar business and serving as Mayor of my hometown.  I'd been involved in politics for about 10 years and really thought that politics was my future.  I’ve always been a creative person and I enjoyed the communicating part of serving as Mayor - speaking to groups, and doing radio and television interviews. 

But honestly, the pressure was draining every creative bone in my body. 

Fortunately for me, I lost my re-election bid, and although I was disappointed at the time, that event forever changed the course of my life and led me down the path to the world of professional voice acting where I am today - and I’m loving every minute of it!

After leaving politics, I had a lot of free time to explore other passions.  One of those passions - screenwriting - led me to a filmmakers group, and at one of our meetings, a marketing representative from a voice training company came and passed out flyers.  I decided to check out the company and as soon as I took my first lesson I was hooked.  

Getting trained was a lot of fun and it was an exciting day when my demo CD’s arrived in the mail.  But that excitement was quickly tempered by the fact that I was now faced with the prospect of trying to go out into the world and get a voice-over job…and I didn’t have a clue where to start.  

Well, I can tell you that having spent a good chunk of change on my training and wanting desperately to get my first paying voice-over gig, I spent countless hours scouring the internet and doing research on the industry, cold-calling radio stations and production studios, and handing my business cards and demo CD's to everyone.  Slowly but surely, the work started to come my way and I’m thrilled to now be able to record audio books, voice e-learning projects and explainer videos, work with clients, and interview amazing and inspiring people on my podcast, all from the comfort of my home recording studio. 

I’ve been able to create a life that I love, and I want you to know that my weekly podcast, along with my website, blog, e-book, and on-line course are all designed to help you to achieve your dream. 

So please take advantage of these resources, and learn from the amazing and inspiring people I’ve had the privilege to talk with and learn from.  They’ve helped me so much in my journey and I know they’ll help you as well.

For more information on this and other episodes head over to mikelenzvoice.com.

It’s a balmy morning in Burbank, California, the sort-of/almost entertainment mecca of the world. The curtains are blowing softly in the breeze, and there is a low-hanging layer of smog sitting over the Los Angeles horizon. An army of absurdly large crows argues about breakfast and futures trading. Nearby, on the pack patio of a house in the hills, a three-year old girl is ostensibly doing Zumba, critiquing her mother’s merengue.

Joe Zieja is, as usual, in a small room talking to himself. No, he’s not crazy; he’s a voice actor, part of the hidden pocket of showbiz. He spends hours a day reading scripts in his home studio, or traveling to local studios to do the same. Switching from commercial to promo to video game to public service announcement about the dangers of q-tips, Joe enters and exits the personalities of dozens of people hourly, but somehow maintains a two-fingered, tenuous grip on reality.

When he’s not standing in a small room talking to himself, he’s sitting in a slightly larger room or coffee shop telling lies. Or truths. It depends on what you think about the art of writing and storytelling. His first science fiction novel Mechanical Failure has just released, and he’s working on the third book in the trilogy as his editor dutifully combs through book two.

He does all this sitting in a room with no less than twelve musical instruments, all of which he uses in his various commercial and video game compositions. There is also a lightsaber.

Where did all of this raw, creative impulsiveness come from? According to Joe, it mostly stems from his allergy to office life, though it’s hard to tell from his enigmatic comment on the matter.

“I would rather choke on fragments of hot mufflers than spend any more time working for bureaucratic organizations behind a desk,” Joe says as he totally destroys that one level in Mega Man II, which is a super hard game.

You see, Joe wasn’t always an annoying Hollywood art-o-crat. Joe came from humble beginnings in New Jersey, the elder of two boys raised by a loving fireman/businesswoman duo. It all happened in a sleepy suburban town surrounded by dairy farms and bluegrass festivals. The scarcity of activity wasn’t all bad, however; the bowling alley in the center of the town being the only thing to do made for a lifetime high score of 255, which is pretty impressive.

But Joe wasn’t destined to stay in suburbia forever. At the age of 13, he declared to his parents that he would be attending the United States Air Force Academy. Nobody in the family had any idea why, including Joe, but he still did it anyway. In 2003, he left New Jersey to begin what he thought would be a long career in the air force. The first hauntings of what would become a career in using his voice manifested as he, almost randomly, became the official cadet emcee. Other than that tiny whisper, he mostly acted like he had a rod surgically installed in a place where one would not typically have a rod. Thankfully, in a large part due to the wonderful woman he married, it didn’t last.

Only after a few years’ exposure to the machinations of the US government did Joe really begin to understand that, although it had its moments, the military life wasn’t quite for him. Despite that, he stuck around until 2012, after which - in a stroke of brilliance designed to free himself from government bureaucracy - he became a contractor for three government organizations. Working together. At the same time.

“To get a sense of what that’s like,” Joe said, “try telling a group of toddlers that they have to decide amongst themselves who gets a small container of ice cream. Then give them all espresso. And cocaine.”

That life, however, is behind him. Although Joe always thought it would be his books that took him out of government service, it ended up being voice acting. Becoming a voiceover artist was never something he thought about until someone paid him for it, after which he earnestly began seeking other people who would pay him for it. Now he seeks people who will pay him for it on a daily basis, and so far it’s worked out quite well for him.

We asked him what he missed most about his Jersey boy roots, and Joe’s answer was quick and to the point.

“Pizza,” he said. “And bagels. And people who get the f*** out of the left lane when they’re going slower than the person to their right.”

Now a Los Angeles immigrant, Joe focuses on his creative exploits with reckless abandon. He’s of the opinion that the world is full of limitless opportunities and limitless excuses not to do them. An avid practitioner of parkour - which is really the art of constantly being on the verge of injury - Joe’s personal preference for exercise mostly involves jumping on/over/around things and doing flips. He also flies planes and scuba dives, because why the hell not?

Despite being quite comfortable in his current pace of work in both voice acting and writing, Joe’s not satisfied with the status quo. He’s already played Nintendo icon Fox McCloud in STAR FOX ZERO: THE BATTLE BEGINS, but there’s more on his bucket list. He’d like to play the voice of Link, from THE LEGEND OF ZELDA, Mario, and a main character from a Shin Megami Tensei game, all of whom have absolutely no dialog. He’d also like to write bigger books with more words that have more syllables.

Only the future will tell what’s in store for Joe Zieja. For now, we must bid farewell to this strange creature, and hope he stays mostly contained in his 3’x5’ box.

“Seriously,” Joe said by way of goodbye, “you’re driving a Prius. Get out of the left lane.”

 

A seasoned pro African-American voice-over specialist with over a decade of experience, providing the 3-dimensional sound that promotes companies, services, and entrepreneurs around the globe.

Mara has a naturally intuitive vocal ability that brings words to life with color and direct relatability. Her voice resonates with a warm, smooth, sensual or corporate tone for sophisticated projects, and a bright, vibrant, and upbeat delivery for standard narration.

Affiliations include SAG-AFTRA union with accreditation from the World-Voices Organization and the Society of Accredited Voice-Over Artists (SaVoa).

Mara's work has been featured by popular global brands including AT&T™, Microsoft, Nintendo®, McDonald's®, Oreck, Public Storage, USPS.com®, Sygic mobile GPS, International Game Technology (IGT) and Walt Disney Company's® T180 Studios.

Mara currently divides her time voicing projects from recording studios in the Gulf, East & West coasts, in the Greater New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco Bay areas.

For more information about this and other episodes, head over to mikelenzvoice.com.

Steve French is a NYC based voice actor who's voice has been heard on national television commercials, and most recently as the announcer for Match Game hosted by Alec Baldwin on ABC.

For more info on this and other episodes head over to mikelenzvoice.com.

If you have been anywhere near a television screen at the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, Florida since 2005 then you have been captivated by a vivacious and adorable woman telling you about the fabulous rides and attractions you're going to experience during your stay. The hyper-energetic, totally mesmerizing personality, known to her fans as “the human exclamation point” is Stacey J. Aswad. She is the Resort TV host of Walt Disney World's TOP 7 MUST SEES and MUST DO DISNEY TV shows that loop 24/7 and are watched and memorized by millions of people!

How It All Started

Stacey’s humble beginnings are in Binghamton, New York where she started competitive artistic roller skating at the age of five and went on to become a five-time national champion in the sport. Stacey began studying ballet to help with her roller skating training, which turned into her joining a professional ballet company while still in high school. She went on to earn a BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School in New York City and after graduation, she danced and choreographed professionally in New York and around the country. Seeking new and different challenges, and to see the range of artistic opportunities in other parts of the country, Stacey left New York and headed to the Midwest.

Stacey continued her professional performing career in ballet, modern and jazz throughout the Midwest and also joined the faculty at The Youth Performing Arts School in Louisville, Kentucky, teaching dance to middle and high school students. During this time, she developed an interest in acting and had a natural talent for it. After booking many regional commercials, industrials and voiceovers, she relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina. There she scored some national commercials and voiceovers and the series regular role of Andi Ramsey, on the television series, 7TH STREET THEATER, now airing on multiple cable networks worldwide. 

 

Walt Disney World Meets LaLa Land

In May 2005, after an intense audition process, Stacey booked the hosting gig for Walt Disney World’s, TOP 7 MUST SEES, television show and that exposure was the turning point in her career. When Hollywood composer agent, Richard Kraft and his friends saw Stacey’s show while on vacation at Walt Disney World, he tracked her down through her talent agent to ask her  to be the host of his documentary, FINDING KRAFTLAND. She flew out to Los Angeles in September 2005 and spent a whirlwind five days shooting and becoming friends with the fabulous filmmakers.

This fortuitous trip to Los Angeles confirmed to Stacey what she already knew in her heart she needed to do.  She needed to make Los Angeles her new home.

Juilliard Dancer Joins the Theatre Scene

Upon returning to North Carolina, Stacey had the opportunity to do something for the first time in her life.  She had spent countless hours on stage in pointe shoes and tutus but she had never done any theatre. To critical and audience acclaim, she played nine different hilarious roles in the regional premiere of the new comedy, CARRIE ANN’S KISS and immediately went on to shine as the lead in the popular Alan Ball play, FIVE WOMEN WEARING THE SAME DRESS. During all this stage work, Stacey shot the lead role in the feature length love story, ME & YOU, US FOREVER. After completing the film, she returned to Los Angeles for the extravagant premiere of FINDING KRAFTLAND at Paramount Studios.

Road Trip

Desiring new challenges and forever accompanied by the love and support of her family and circle of friends, Stacey rented an RV and set out with her super fun roller skating dance partner for points West.  The rig was filled to the brim with the necessities, like all of her kitchen gadgets and cookware, because she is an amazing chef and baker and her impressive shoe collection, of course.  The four-some was complete with Stacey's two beloved resuced cats, Rosebud and Lily who had a blast finding places in the RV to nap and play. With a lot of great conversation and rockin' tunes, they made it to LA, safe and sound, in just under fifty hours!

TV Host - Voice Actor - Spokesperson - Actress

Since moving to Los Angeles, in 2007, Stacey has been on a whirlwind ride as a host, voice actor, spokesperson and actress securing representation with powerhouse talent agencies, Commerical Talent and AVO Talent.  She has done on-camera commercials and voice over work for clients like McDonald’s, AT&T, Toyota, Clairol, Time Warner Cable, Alamo, Regions Bank, Safeco Insurance, Acura, Carl's Jr., Bud Light and more. Voice acting for the Adventures in Odyssey show and television roles for ABC and CW shows. She also starred in a TannLyne Productions world premiere play, TRACKS, after having only a few days to learn the entire play before opening night. Thank goodness Stacey is great at memorizing lines!

Stacey also spent many fun-filled weekends traveling to films festivals around the country with the FINDING KRAFTLAND film makers. This award-winning documentary has screened in more than 70 festivals worldwide to rave reviews and even better, created life-long friendships between Stacey, Adam and the Kraft Boys.

Roller Girl Meets the Basketball Court

Stacey got to wear her roller skates once again but in a more "sporty" venue, the Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles.  She spent two seasons as the live-game host for the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks basketball team. She had a blast warming up the crowd, and during the timeouts and half-time breaks she played on-court games, gave away awesome prizes and nterviewed players. Stacey and Sparky,  the team mascot, helped make the games even more fun and exciting by going into the stands and interacting with the fans. Go Sparks!

 

More Mickey Mouse Please

In early 2009, Stacey got the call asking her to stay on to host the new Resort TV campaign for Walt Disney World called, MUST DO DISNEY… she accepted without hesitation! She flew to Orlando to shoot the new show at Walt Disney World and as expected had the best time running around the Parks. When necessary, she updates the show from a Los Angeles recording studio or in Orlando depending on what new things they need her to talk about or experience. It's a tough job, but Stacey is so happy and so grateful to still be the Disney Girl!

VO Buzz Weekly Voice Over Web Show Premieres

On January 8, 2012, Stacey added Producer to her hosting talents when she and renowned voice over demo producer and director, Chuck Duran premiered the voice over show VO BUZZ WEEKLY. In a very short time it has become a global web sensation that's inspiring, educating and entertaining viewers in over 89 countries around the world. Aspiring voice actors, established VO pros and curious fans alike can finally put a "face to the voice" of the mega-talented voice actors from cartoons, animated films, movie trailers, video games, TV promos and commercials, to getting the inside scoop from the best voice over agents, directors and others, in a way that has never been done before. Every week, hosts Chuck and Stacey give great tips and information and get up close and personal with their special guest as they share fun and poignant personal stories, insights on how they became so successful, reveal tips, techniques, products and equipment they use to maintain their voice, create characters and continue to stay at the top of their craft. There's always time for a little BUZZ! 

 

Autographed Pictures Save Animals 

As an animal lover and advocate, Stacey is passionate about seeing   the end to animal homelessness and cruelty in her lifetime. Stacey encourages and hopes that people will choose to only adopt and rescue their furry family members and do their part to give them forever homes. Stacey donates the proceeds from her autographed pictures, available on the CHARITY page to many different animal charities who are doing amazing work to save animals around the world.

Rosebud and Lily

In May 2005, Stacey's beloved cat, Mommy, passed away in her arms at almost twenty years of age. Saddened by her loss, Stacey knew that the right time would come to rescue another beautiful animal.  Four months later, Stacey's family found a tiny kitten, on a farm in upstate New York.  She was barely two weeks old, all alone and weighing less than one pound.  Instantly they knew she needed to meet Stacey! It was love at first sight and after weeks of bottle-feeding and constant love and attention, Rosebud grew and grew and purr-ed and played. 

 

Now that Rosebud was strong and healthy living in North Carolina, Stacey knew she had to rescue a companion for her.  So, one fateful day she happened to walk by a Petsmart when the Humane Society was there.  Stacey saw a twelve week-old kitten, who she named Lily, and knew she would be coming home with her that day. Lily had been abused and almost died from a respiratory infection but thanks to a devoted Humane Society volunteer, she fully recovered and was ready to be adopted. Lily loves to cuddle, play with Rosebud and anything that moves and have her silky, long hair brushed. 

These two loving, loyal, gorgeous Hollywood felines enjoy meowing and purring when Stacey is recording voice overs in her Home Studio and love helping her learn lines for auditions and jobs by laying on the script pages.  They're such a big help!

Family Game Night Gets A New Girl

After a lengthy audition process, Stacey prevailed to become the new In-Show Announcer for Season 3 of Family Game Night airing on The Hub. She joined Host Todd Newton, the 2012 Daytime Emmy Winner for Outstanding Game Show Host, for an entirely new show format. The two-time Parent’s Choice Award winning family game show premiered on Sunday, September 23, 2012 to favorable reviews. Family Game Night is all about families being together, having fun and winning awesome prizes and cash. 

The entire 15-episode season was shot on a sound stage in just six days with a few hours of copy revisions in a recording studio afterwards. The previous Announcer for the show was Burton Richardson of The Arsenio Hall Show and Family Feud. Stacey was asked if she was intimidated to try and fill such experienced shoes. She said, “I have great respect for Mr. Richardson and his experienced shoes. I have my own size 5 shoes and they fit me perfectly.”

Stacey had the extra bonus of being the studio audience warm up artist for all fifteen tapings, now that was some serious fun, people! Having never done this before, Stacey called upon her experience as a versatile live host, dancer, teacher and finely tuned improv and people skills to make sure everyone had a great time. Judging by the people’s reactions and line for autographs afterwards, it is safe to say the crowd was onboard with all of her antics. Just give Stacey a microphone and a challenge and she will deliver in a big way! 

For more information about this and other episodes, head over to mikelenzvoice.com