How To Wow Trick-or-Treaters Using the Human Voice

Candy isn't the only reason for Hallowe'en... primarily, it's about playing pretend! Kids get dressed up as their favourite characters and parade about. People hold themed costume parties to celebrate the day. Lastly, an opportunity for the vocally inclined is available to strut your stuff and let your zaniest characters loose on a night where nothing (in good taste as it relates to the trick-or-treating demographic) is too far over the top.

1. Be Your Neighbourhood's Entertainment

Record a short Hallowe'en themed voice over demo and set it on a 5-minute loop. If you're really ambitious and have a heart for production, why not produce a 1-hour session that includes dramatic music beds interspersed with humorous cartoony voices?

Character ideas:

๏ Dracula / The Count
๏ Ghosts (perhaps an impression of Casper the Friendly Ghost for younger participants)
๏ Werewolves
๏ Witches
๏ Chunky Jack-o-lanterns
๏ Fairies or sprites

Have fun thinking about and recreating the voices of inanimate objects, mythical creatures, and seasonal favourites.

If you're not busy, this is a fun and practical project for you that can be used each Hallowe'en going forward... doing this might also result in you becoming the talk of the town for your recordings and become a hot spot / destination for trick-or-treaters near and far.

$ IDEA: You could sell your loop or Hallowe'en track online as a download or on CD potentially resulting in a financial gain for you as well!

2. Get The Kids Involved

Ask kids who come to your door to do the voice of their character. Imagine! You asking a trick-or-treater to do their character's voice may present a great opportunity for them to explore their voice acting skills and also give you the chance to demonstrate your own character voices.

Questions you could ask the kids to get them comfortable enough to do their character voice:

1. What are you dressed up as tonight?
2. What do you think your character sounds like?
3. Can you say "Trick-or-treat" or "Thank you!" sounding like (insert character name here)?

If necessary, you could do a line read and have them mimic you. Their parents could assist in this and may wish to be involved, especially if they've been hoping to exercise their acting skills!

$ IDEA: You never know if a parent accompanying their child going door to door may be a potential customer. If they see you do the voice (and most importantly like and have a need for the voice), it's possible that you could get a booking! Keep some business cards handy just in case someone asks.

3. Make Guest Appearances at Parties

What about the set that enjoys going to Hallowe'en parties instead of handing out candy? You might be one of these people, in fact, you could even be hosting the party.

What if you were to entertain your guests in character for the evening? Not only would it be fun but you could build a whole theme party around your character. If you are co-hosting, perhaps your co-host could also go along with the plan to complement your performance and speak in character for the night, too. This may take some rehearsing and crafting of lines that you might deliver.

$ IDEA: Have you considered being an entertainer at other people's Hallowe'en parties? You could make guest appearances as Dracula for instance, or act similarly to The Count from Sesame Street, dressed and voiced to fit the part.

Have You Found These Ideas Useful?

Let me know if you are going to do any of the ideas above. If you have already been doing these types of activities over the years, I'd love to hear more about your experiences!

Happy Hallowe'en,

Stephanie

©iStockphoto.com/Sean Locke