Hollywood saw a history year in 2023, particularly for creative artists. The writers and actors guilds went strike together for the first time since 1960. Greta Gerwig became the first female solo director to direct a film that grossed over one billion dollars with “Barbie.” And at the Garland Hotel in North Hollywood on December 6, more history was made as the National Association of Voice Actors (NAVA) held their first annual benefit gala to support the NAVA Foundation.
Established in 2022, NAVA is a non-profit association created to advocate and promote the advancement of the voice acting industry through action, education, inclusion, and benefits. The nascent organization’s accomplishments in their first year, shared by President Tim Friedlander and Vice President Carin Gilfry (both working voice actors themselves) at the event were staggering. Not only is it the first voice over association to offer access to nationwide group health care for voice actors, NAVA has met with federal and state legislators and lawmakers, and has presented to the Federal Trade Commission and European Union to advocate for protections of voice actors from AI. In their first year, NAVA created an AI/synthetic voice contract rider for actors to use when negotiating employment, and hosted forty five classes, events, and info sessions for their membership.
NAVA’s advocacy and communal support is astounding, especially for an organization so new. Though the non-profit brought in close to $80,000 in membership fees in their first year, they were still left with a six-figure deficit against their operating expenses.
“Advocacy is expensive,” remarked NAVA’s Secretary and Operations Director Matthew Parham. Parham, along with Friedlander and Gilfry, stepped out of a conference to speak with Temple of Geek and reflect on the gala, further demonstrating their tireless commitment to the cause. “There’s a lot of work behind the scenes and a daily toll that goes into fighting the good fight.”
It’s a toll that Gilfry brought into sharp focus at the gala when thanking her family for their patience and support as she worked to get NAVA off the ground.
“I have two little kids, and it is really hard to have to say ‘I’m gonna leave and let go of my responsibilities as a parent, and you guys just take care of it’. And every single time I’ve said, ‘I have to go to a conference, I have to go to D.C., I have to do this class, I have to do this info session about AI’, every single time they have said, ‘go, we got this’.”
The cost of promoting and protecting voice acting is undoubtedly formidable, but the communal support for NAVA’s mission is just as fierce. NAVA Board Members Zeke Alton and Cissy Jones addressed attendees regarding key trade issues after a tumultous year. Alton, also a member of the SAG Negotiating Committee, provided an industry update in the wake of the actors and writers strikes being resolved. Jones, a BAFTA-award winning voice actor, underscored the importance of vigilance and collective action when addressing attendees about AI and voiceover:
“The technology is improving at a breakneck pace, and without meaningful legislation in place, it really has the potential to run rampant. Sometimes it feels like dollar signs are superseding the human cost of technological advancement. But, I would also like to state for the record that not all AI is bad AI. There are terrific uses for this tool, especially in the spaces of accessibility and dare I say, passive income. If we continue to educate ourselves on how to use this incredible tool with a human first mindset, it really will benefit us all beautifully. But like a small toddler who doesn’t understand the dangers of the world and finds itself in just yet, it needs good babysitters. So I encourage all of you not to be afraid of AI – to see for all of his shortcomings, yes, but also for all of its incredible potential. I encourage you to continue to collaborate together amongst yourselves, and with NAVA, for the best possible ways to help guide this technology as we move into the future. Communication amongst all of us is key.”
Despite the unprecedented challenges voice artists currently face, members of the community like Jones, Friedlander, Gilfry, Alton, and Parham are bravely and resolutely meeting the moment. The energy at the gala was nothing short of joyful and tenacious – tickets to the in-person festivities sold out in thirty-six hours, and a large variety of prizes collectively valued at over $40,000 were donated to support the organization through auctions and a raffle.
Beyond the myriad of initiatives NAVA seeks to champion, Jazzy Frizzle from the non-profit Voices of Color and JP Karliak from Queer Vox, an academy and community for LGBTQ+ voiceover actors, both took the stage to speak to the importance of authenticity and inclusion in voiceover, using time donated by sponsors of the event.
NAVA honored specific members of the community at the gala as well. NAVA Board Member Jay Preston presented a moving video tribute to one deceased pillar of the voiceover community, Brad Venable. Venable’s passing was a driving force in creating the association and informed NAVA’s focus on providing access to health care for voice actors. NAVA also presented an award in his honor, the “Be Brad Voiceover Community Award” to industry veteran Tom Antonellis.
Seth Green of Austin Powers, “Family Guy”, and “Robot Chicken” fame, received the NAVA “Icon Award”, fittingly presented by his Austin Powers co-star and fellow voiceover icon Mindy Sterling. Among many others, Green thanked casting director and voice actor Andrea Romano for teaching him “that good voice acting is just good acting through your voice.”
Romano’s shared lesson is a particularly salient one, since voice acting has a tendency to be less venerated than its on-camera counterpart. Voice actors do more than bring our favorite animated characters to life, they (usually thanklessly) smooth over production hiccups in live action films, give personality and memorability to brands, and make media accessible through narrating videos, books, and tutorials.
With so many different facets and disciplines making up this vibrant community, it was heartening to witness so many individuals coming together to rally behind an organization committed to fighting for all of them. “Everyone stepped up,” marveled Friedlander, “[It was] beyond our best expectations of how the event was going to go.”
The inaugural NAVA benefit gala raised almost $60,000 for the NAVA Foundation, which would support a variety of causes. In addition to the general fund for the organization, the monies raised will finance NAVA’s Legal Defense Fund, which helps voice actors with contract reviews, offers legal consultations for people who feel voices have been stolen, and aids in paying the legal fees for creation of documents such as their AI/Synthetic Voice Contract Rider. Also within the greater NAVA Foundation is the Brad Venable Fund, specifically designated for supporting scholarships and education for members.
“The money raised will allow us to keep fighting in general for all the voice actors out there, and raise the image of what they do,” Friedlander expounded, “These threats are not singular to voice artists, it reaches a broader artistic community – writers, actors… [the money] allows us be a part of that bigger fight.”
Gilfry, who seemed to be a ubiquitous and constantly moving blur of iridescent sequins during the event, not only speaks for herself, but her colleagues, and likely those who attended the gala when describing it as “a huge success and magical night.”
Though NAVA is a mere one year old, it already seems a foregone conclusion that the organization will continue to make history through its championing of creativity and collective action.
Lacey Bond provided additional reporting to this piece.
Event photos courtesy of Greg Bell and Rodin Eckenroth.
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