If you’re looking for an authoritative, mature, and confident professional female voice over talent, Elizabeth Saydah is your next hire! She wants to share her love of storytelling with you and deliver a performance that makes your project great. She’ll make it easy for you and give you the reassurance that only her professionalism can provide. And don’t let her warm or authoritative voice fool you – if you need a sassy soccer mom or a college dude recovering from spring break, she can deliver.
Elizabeth’s (or Liz’s) roster of clients have included Disney, Google, Hyundai, and Netflix. With over a decade of experience, Liz has voiced a wide variety of genres like VOG (Voice of God), commercials, and In Show narration. These are only some of the genres where her talent shines in addition to democratic political campaigns. When she’s not working you may catch her doing some fun improv or chatting about Bruce Springsteen’s brilliance.
Meet Elizabeth Saydah who is your next trustworthy strong professional female voice actor for your project!
- Tell us a little about your broadcast-quality home studio.
I’ve been working out of the same double-walled 4 x 4 booth for the last eight years from my home, which very recently changed from Los Angeles California to the Hudson Valley in New York. Big home change, but the booth has ensured consistency throughout. I think that’s really what I love most about it. I also don’t have to stress about external noise because it’s a literal tank and about as soundproof as you can get. I will say I’m working on building an “in-room” studio in my home now that we have more space, but it’s been a cozy, reliable work home for me from day one.
I use the Neumann TLM 103 mic and Apollo Twin interface at home, and Sennheiser 416 and Arrow when I travel. I love the quality and sound of both mics in their respective environments, and the UAD interfaces are just so convenient and all-encompassing in what they can do.
- What’s one thing that most people don’t know about you?
I’ve trained and performed in improv comedy for almost 20 years, and it continues to this day. Nothing else I’ve ever done has been as joyful, challenging, and beneficial to me as a voice actor, actor and human! Laughter is the most critical contribution to my mental health.
- How did you get into voiceover work?
When I was a waitress in Chicago at the worst restaurant ever, a very kind woman said, “you have a great voice, you should check out this coach I use.” So I did and… probably learned some things? After that I did my first ADR job (for zero dollars) that I think I found on Craigslist. Once I moved to LA, I did a play with a girl who said, “You should check out so-and-so who did my VO demo.” So – I did, and almost immediately got an agent and jumped on all the casting sites (that were just starting to ramp up in popularity). And the rest is history!
- Do you remember the first voiceover job you ever did?
As far as a professional job that I actually was paid for, it was either a case study for an MTV/Subway cross promotion OR – more interesting – a toy called “Potty Mouth” that you affixed to your toilet and would yell at anyone who didn’t close the lid. Brilliant.
- What can you offer to a new client who’s thinking of working with you for the first time?
Well, 100%, first and foremost, whether it’s local or global, I’m all in. My most loyal clients have usually begun on very small projects and are responsible for most of my income to be honest.
Practically speaking, my work is both fast and high quality. I always have extremely fast turnarounds and flexible availability for directed sessions. It’s very beneficial for political clients who need things in 15 minutes.
I’m also just easy to work with. I always bring a sense of humor, accessibility and professionalism to everything. Clients have enough on their plates, so whatever I can do to make their lives that much easier, I do. Customer service is everything; they need to trust that they’re going to get what they need back when they need it.
- What has been your favorite voiceover project – political or otherwise – to date?
My favorite project has been playing the lead role in the game Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals. Creatively it was a blast, and I had (have) a great rapport with the developer, Night School Studio. The project spanned almost two years and I got a New York Game Award nomination out of it which felt pretty good. But as far as work I put out into the world, it was also a point of pride for me because it deals with the emotional rollercoaster of being in your 30s and “who am I in the world”. So it was both meaningful and perfectly suited for me for where I am in my life.
- What is your biggest voiceover pet peeve?
Probably the *general* assumption that VO is like this get-rich-quick career move, and the countless people to date who have asked me “how to get into VO.” I know it often comes from a good place, but there seems to be a general lack of appreciation for the amount of time it takes to get something going and then KEEP it going. Believe it or not, it’s a full-time job!
- If you could tell political voiceover clients one thing that would help you do your job better, or help them get what they want faster – what would that one thing be?
Ask 20 people what “conversational” means, and you get 20 different answers. I always love a reference spot. If there’s an existing piece of work that is similar in tone to what the client is looking for, that’s immensely helpful. I’ve had clients give me a list of adjectives as direction, but when they came back and redirected with a specific reference audio, it was like, ohh they really meant x y and z instead. Sometimes traditional direction doesn’t match up with our “VO speak.” So don’t feel shy about providing reference material as inspo!
- What advice do you have for talents who want to do political voiceover?
Make sure you have a broadcast quality studio, lightning fast turnarounds, and a point of view. I feel like especially in this political climate, it’s very helpful to know what you care about and believe in, and I think clients – especially those who source talent from a place like Blue Wave – pay attention to that.
Be aware of the different styles of political voice over and the tones they employ. Is it aggressive for an attack ad? Is it empathetic for a candidate’s cause? Being able to quickly identify what the spot calls for helps you do your job more efficiently and effectively (and might snag you a loyal client).
- What hobbies do you have outside of your voiceover work?
Yoga, hiking, tennis, improv comedy, reading, supporting/seeing live theater, gardening, traveling, antiquing, obsessing over my cat.