Link to full profile: bluewavevoiceover.com/voices/cherie-b-tay
Email: cheriebtayvo@gmail.com
Cherie B. Tay – Queer, AAPI & Gender Non-Conforming Voiceovers
When you’re looking for an Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) and LGBTQ+ voiceover talent who can deliver your voiceovers with a warm and velvet smooth energy, look no further than queer, gender non-conforming voice actor Cherie B. Tay! Cherie (she/they) brings a powerfully puissant energy to every read and is proud to lend their youthful, compassionate sound to progressive causes.
Tell us a little about your broadcast-quality home studio. Where is it? What kind of equipment do you have? What do you like about it?
I built a custom recording studio/booth in my living room in Brooklyn.
I have a Synco D2 shotgun mic on a boom arm, a Scarlett 2i2 interface, and a Macbook Pro that I have to put an ice pack under for live sessions.
I love that I can record music and VO in 1 booth. I also have professional monitors above my keyboard so I have options about listening to playback.
I have an entire blog post about it!
https://www.cheriebtayvo.com/blog/cheriebooth2020
What’s one thing that most people don’t know about you?
I used to be VERY quiet and shy. It took me a long time to find my voice and trust it. I also get intensely focused on things and want to be great at it immediately. Current obsession is Beat Saber on the Oculus.
How did you get into voiceover work?
I’ve wanted to do VO since 2010. I started chatting with people in Philadelphia about the industry and picked their brains about it. But theatre took over. I went on the road with a show, then kept working. Finally in 2019, I was working on a long running Broadway show, and André De Shields and Amber Gray kept telling me that I needed to get into VO work, and I listened. I had a LOT of help/advice starting from other VO cast members at my show.
Do you remember what your first voiceover job was?
I’ve done unpaid live announce and corporate VO work just from working as a stage manager on those events. My first paid job was playing a robot scientist on an audio drama podcast!
Do you remember the first political voiceover job that you did?
I’ve done a lot of theatre funding related political VOs since Broadway has shutdown.
What has been your favorite voiceover project to date?
I played a non-binary platypus in an animation!
I want to give back to what my younger self did not have/see represented. It’s so important to me to pave the way for the younger generation and show them that it will be okay to love and be themselves.
Why do you think voiceover will be an important part of political advertising in upcoming elections?
I think VO will always be important to political advertising. We have to represent those who do not have voices and make the world a better place. Helping candidates who I believe in is very important to me.
What issues would you like to see at the center of the Democratic platform for upcoming elections?
Healthcare, Equal rights & protection for women and LGBTQ+ people, Global Warming, Economic and Social Justice.
What is your biggest voiceover pet peeve?
People thinking that it’s “easy” and that they “just have to have a good voice”. It takes a lot of work and investment in equipment, classes, coaching, learning, and time.
If you could tell political 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?
Give the full script once it’s done, get all the pickups from everyone who has input, then give the full pickup list back if needed (instead of one change at a time).
What advice do you have for aspiring voiceover talents that want to work in the political arena?
Keep learning! Keep going!
What hobbies do you have outside of your voiceover work?
Photography, Music (ukulele), Technology, Videography, Theatre, Cooking.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I have a full press page with a press kit! https://www.cheriebtayvo.com/press