Born in the small town of Oakdale, California, Melinda is a trained singer, musician, and private music teacher with a bachelor’s degree in music education. When she’s not performing or teaching, she loves to crochet, garden, meditate, or relax with a good book and the perfect cup of coffee. After spending over a decade as a stay-at-home mom to three energetic and hilarious daughters, she rekindled her passion for acting when she booked her first audiobook. Melinda has trained extensively in acting, animation, dubbing, improv, and commercial voiceover. She studies with Diana Castle at The Imagined Life Studio for acting, trains with Voice Masters for voiceover coaching, completed the APA Mentorship and is currently in the Penguin Random House Mentorship. Her work includes The Martinez Kids Adventures series by award-winning indie author Minda Gomez and children’s audio dramas for Storybutton, where she gets to bring characters to life—including a space pirate captain with a robot eye and a six-year-old bad boy with temporary flame tattoos.
Обучение
ANIMATION COACHING
Arianna Ratner, Lisa Biggs, Paulette Lifton, Portia Scott
COMMERCIAL COACHING
Arianna Ratner, Kelly McGee, Paulette Lifton
DUBBING COACHING
Fannie Brett-Rabault and Max Rabault
CLASSES/WORKSHOPS
The Imagined Life Studio: Intro Workshop
The Imagined Life Studio ongoing acting study
Voice Masters: Animation Level 1, 2, and 3
Voice Masters: Improv
APA New Narrator Workshop and Mentorship
Penguin Random House Mentorship
Опыт в данной области
One of Melinda’s favorite career highlights so far has been voicing the iconic Loudspeaker in a stage production of 1984 with the Gallo Center Repertory Company. It was a voiceover role that played throughout the show.
She’s also has worked with Storybutton, a company creating fun, screen-free content for kids. She plays a fearless space pirate captain in the audio drama called Treasure Galaxy, and is currently having a blast voicing a mischievous six-year-old “bad boy” with temporary flame tattoos in an upcoming project.
In the audiobook world, Melinda has narrated five published titles so far and is currently part of the Penguin Random House Mentorship Program, where she’s continuing to refine her craft and explore new characters and genres.
Специальные предложения
• Loves psychology, wellness, holistic health, and functional medicine (huge health nerd, can talk about health all day long)
• Background in music: opera, jazz, classical, and musical theatre
• Former photographer and coffee barista
• Enjoys gardening, meditation, and yoga (also huge plant nerd, can talk plants all day long and practically has a farm in her backyard)
• A mom of three, experienced in navigating parenthood (if there is such a thing ;))