Hello from Courtney Bess and Arrow the Airedale!
(I figured I'd lead with a photo of Arrow the Airedale to get everyone's attention)
I'm a Las Vegas-based VO artist, actress with a 24/7 home studio with all the bells and whistles (Source Connect, Neumann mic, etc) with an upcoming ongoing gig that I'm excited about starting at the end of the month at MSG's Sphere LV!
I'm also the owner/ trainer/ handler/ momager/ slave to Arrow the Airedale (check him out on FB/IG). With credits from NYC, to Las Vegas and points in between, Arrow is a veteran of tv, film, stage, and is looking forward to reprising his role as Sandy in his 6th production of Annie at the end of next month!
Nice to be here at Stage32, and looking forward to making some great connections :)
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Courtney Bess Hi Courtney, how are you doing and how is life in Nevada?
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Welcome to the community, Courtney Bess. I think it was a great idea to lead with Arrow the Airedale. He got my attention. And Annie's red hair. Congratulations on the ongoing gig!
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Geoff Hall Ah! Thanks for asking, Geoff! We moved to Las Vegas from NYC a little over 2 years ago, and we LOVE our new home :) I enjoyed reading your profile, what a fascinating life journey you've been on-- and your OWL project sounds like the perfect storyline for this day of age! I look forward to keeping up with your future successes!
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Maurice Vaughan never try to compete with a red head or a dog, they'll steal the limelight every single time ;) Thanks for noticing, and reaching out! And thanks regarding the ongoing gig-- it's gonna be fun for sure!
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Hi Courtney nice to meet you!
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You're welcome, Courtney Bess. Will the show (the ongoing gig) be online?
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Navya La Shay hi Navya! What an amazing photo of you— exactly the type of affable gal everyone would want to know :) thanks for reaching out!
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I love the photo, Courtney Bess. What an interesting path you are following - and what a sweet-looking dog.
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Maurice Vaughan unfortunately no— because it’s a LIVE gig, lol! I’m under a 2yr NDA and can’t tell you much, other than it is part of the Sphere experience— so if you like the band U2, and you’re interested in cutting-edge film-making (“Postcards from Earth”)… the MSG Sphere LV might be worth a visit ;)
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Robin Gregory ahhh thank you, Robin! We seem to have a lot in common, my dear! I grew up in FL (Winter Park/ Maitland— greater Orlando area), and as far as Taika Waititi— I first became familiar with him when I encountered Jemaine Clement, in Flight of the Conchord’s very first US performance at the Largo before anyone knew who they were! I even wrote Jemaine’s agent to ask Jemaine out on a date to the Magic Castle, haha! (Jemaine declined, explaining that he was in a relationship, to his now-wife! Good man!!) but those silly boys from NZ sure are talented :) I’ll have to check out your books sometime!
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I understand, Courtney Bess. I like U2. My favorite U2 song is "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For."
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Maurice Vaughan thats a goldie oldie ;) I’m partial to “Angel of Harlem” I think because I love the lyric “New York, like a Christmas tree— tonight this city belongs to me!” :)
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Courtney Bess thank you so much, and thanks for reading my Bio.
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I look forward to going to Sphere. In fact, I was looking at tickets a couple days ago trying to figure out how many in the family get to go with me. :) Welcome. Courtney!
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I'll have to check out those songs, Courtney Bess. Thanks.
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It's great top meet you here in the community, Courtney Bess!
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Maurice Vaughan I got a funny U2 story. I gonna DM you.
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Cool, Linwood Bell. Ok.
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Linwood Bell Hello neighbor! Nice to make your (online) acquaintance! The matrix sound system at the Sphere is supposed to be AMAZING-- I think you're gonna kvell ;)
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Sam Sokolow Ah thank you, Sam! I'm going to have to check out your Genius series-- sounds fantastic!
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Courtney Bess I live in the south end of town in Southern Highlands. I'm often at the park there and sometimes with my best friend, Toby. He just turned 15 and is a golden doodle.
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Great intro, Courtney! Happy to meet you. Love your earlier comment about competing with redheads and dogs. Reminds of W.C. Field's quote, "Never work with children or animals."
What type of VO projects have you worked on?
And, as long as we're tossing out favorite U2 songs, mine is Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses.
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Hello:
Fun content and what a gig that your talents rooted to be within. Saw videos on the web for that entertainment uniqueness - amazing that you will be a part of that.
Congratulations for your successes.
Grateful for your path.
God Bless,
John German
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Linwood Bell we're in Spring Valley, and if your doodle wasn't 15, mine would be ALL OVER a play date! (But 15 is a senior, and my rambunctious 14mo old wire hair fox would be too much. My airedale would probably roll around with Toby and play biteyface, haha.)
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Ty Strange Hi Ty! You got my Fields' reference entirely :) You also seem to have a medical/ healthcare crossover background, as do I... so, as far as VO work: I'm "that empathetic nurse" voice in hospital commercials, but also have voiced surgical techniques for OR galleries utilizing new technology, and I've been the voice of those annoying Medicare ads, and beyond... I've also voiced for NPR's "All Things Considered", Garmin, and many others.. but also little guys too that you've never heard of. Send me the copy, and I'll pretty much voice anything, haha! (so if you ever know anyone who needs: phone systems, video narration, marketing promos, etc)
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Shucks...I was just over your way. Went to Flamingo and the 215 for my 6 year old grandson's B'party at FlipNOut Xtreme. I didn't jump though. I went for the cake. :)
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John Michael German Ahh thanks so much, John! You are certainly a prolific writer yourself-- wow! Keep it up, and all the best to you as well!
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Wow Courtney - I love what you do!!! And I LOVE Arrow! I had an Airedale first in the 70s and then worked my way down to smaller terriers because I love them so much!! I also have a feature I have worked on for years titled "Doggy Daycare" where an adopted mutt goes to a mostly purebred daycare and proves you can't judge a book by its cover. The daycare owner is partial to pedigrees and does not like mutts - until the mutt becomes a hero. Good luck on your journey!
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Deborah Jennings Ahh Deborah-- thank you! Reading about your decades long dedication to the WASP story, I can see you also know how to find something you're passionate about and "run with it" as well :) I LOVE that you're an airedale/ terrier gal like myself! I grew up with wire hair fox terriers, and PINED for an airedale my entire life (as I was in 3 productions of Annie when I was young, and an airedale was our Sandy in 2 of the productions, and I fell in love with that dog), but my mom thought they were too big. Arrow is my first and my EVERYTHING. I trained him to be a therapy dog, as I was practicing occupational therapy (homecare) in NYC, but he was not interested in walking from patient to patient with me. Long story short, he was MADE for the theater-- I had no idea until we fell into NY's 92st St Y (where luminaries often speak-- you've seen it on tv, guaranteed!) when they hired Arrow with zero experience for his first Annie debut and he stole the show-- he was just over a year old! He literally fulfilled a prophesy I had since I was 8 years old-- I finally got my own real-life Sandy! Your doggie daycare feature needs to have either a sequel or a tv show spinoff, so my terriers can now be a part of it! (pictured below, Arrow and Scrappy)
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Gift Rogers Hello Gift! Thanks so much for reaching out and thinking of us :) I'll add you and reach out on IG for sure!
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Quite the variety of VO work, Courtney Bess. How'd you get into doing VO?
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Sounds like a lot of fun; cute canine, too. I've written a rom-com set in Vegas, "Stand Tall!"
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Ty Strange I actually jumped on the VO bandwagon around 2003 when my brother gave me an mBox for Christmas. Back then, the talent pool was super small, and I quickly booked a lot of healthcare related work, which was fitting as I had returned to school for healthcare, so all that anatomy and physiology jargon I had to learn was paying off :) I worked in healthcare for 13+ years (following 7 years of school), but then lost 95% of my caseload once the pandemic hit (I had been treating adults and seniors in their homes in NYC)... I needed something... SAFE... that I could do, and so I jumped back into the VO pools... but a LOT has changed since 20 years ago.
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Vincent J Paterno I LOVE your "Stand Tall" premise... boy can I relate. There were many times when I was "too tall for tv"... but at one time I had secured a pretty sweet spot standing in on various sets for actresses (and actors too) who were 5'8+... it was a good time :) I look forward to hearing about your future endeavors, Vincent!