During my junior year at UGA I had the opportunity to meet Jessica Dicicco; a voice actress known for various roles including the portrayal of the Flame Princess (pictured above) on Cartoon Network's Adventure Time!. She made her way to Athens as a favor to one of my professors who had known her years prior during his teaching days at Syracuse. I was and still am extremely interested in the production of animated programs so I felt that hearing someone such as herself, being knee deep in the industry, speak would be a great opportunity. As expected, her anecdotes about her journey into voice acting were quite intriguing to me so I decided to talk to her after everything was over. I then learned that she would be exploring the Athens bar scene afterward for some drinks. Without hesitation, I jumped on the opportunity to join.
The night of bar hopping was a great experience, and yes I was of age in case you guys were wondering. Without knowing it at the time, this was one of my earliest memories of networking with a professional. We talked, I continued to learn, and then she left to prepare for her flight back to LA. I thought this was probably the last time I would ever see her; I was wrong. Fast-forward to August of my senior year at UGA. I'm minding my own business when I receive a random text message from my professor. The message said that Jessica would be coming to the annual Dragoncon in Atlanta and was in need of a handler. A handler is basically an assistant. They handle money, fan interactions, schedules ect. I quickly said yes even though it meant I would miss the first home game of the season vs Clemson. This would also prove to be the only home game I missed in my four years at Georgia. My professor recommended me and Jessica was in to the idea since she remembered me from the afformentioned night in Athens.
The morning of Dragoncon arrived and I was almost late to the hotel due to Atlanta parking. Luckily, I made it just as they were heading to their first panel. To my surprise, Jessica was accompanied by Jeremy Shada, The voice of Finn on Adventure Time!, and Niki Yang, another prominent voice actor on the show who is also an animator and storyboard artist. Being at the panel was amazing because I had backstage access with the stars. Seeing the thousands of Adventure Time! fans in the crowd was also a crazy experience. In between panels and interviews, the actors man booths where they sell merchandise. This is where the bulk of my work resided. I promoted merch, kept the line moving, and controlled fan interaction. It was a very fast paced environment but I learned quite a bit about the industry. Highlights included walking on stage during a panel and eating a fancy dinner with the cast of Arrow.
Now friends, Jessica told me to contact her if I ever made it out to LA. In the year preceding my journey out west, I periodically emailed her just to keep in contact. She was extremely helpful in my transition including the internship search. She has also been an amazing resource for me while I have been here since I always have a TON of questions. Yesterday (7/20/15) I actually met Jessica for lunch. She is helping me with my ongoing battle to find housing here in LA and has once again been an invaluable resource. I tell this story to illustrate the importance of having a network of people to help you out. This friendship was the result of a series of a very random series of events, but I would be much more loss out here if I did not keep up with this contact. And adding another friend to your life is never a bad thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment