Making It Work: Perfecting Your Auditions While Traveling

Recording professional-quality auditions while traveling seems daunting, but Disney star Genevieve Goings proves it's entirely possible with minimal equipment. As the beloved train conductor from Choo Choo Soul, Genevieve draws from over 20 years of Disney experience to guide young performers and their families through the art of mobile auditions.

The spotlight shines on practical solutions that transform hotel rooms, cars, and other temporary spaces into workable recording environments. Pillows become sound dampeners, phone microphones reveal surprising quality, and simple distance techniques (like the "hang loose" hand position) dramatically improve audio clarity. Genevieve shares the inspiring story of her client who booked a major HBO Max role using nothing but her phone for the audition—proving that performance ultimately outweighs technical perfection.

Beyond equipment tips, this episode offers crucial psychological perspective for families navigating the entertainment industry. The reminder that "agents work for you, not the other way around" helps rebalance power dynamics that often intimidate newcomers, while Genevieve's own journey from a failed video game audition to Disney stardom illustrates how unexpected connections can transform careers. Whether you're a seasoned performer or just starting out, these mobile audition techniques ensure you'll never miss an opportunity, regardless of location. 

Download Genevieve's free VO script pack at genevievegoings.com/VOscript and start practicing these techniques today—because your next big break might arrive while you're away from home!

Check out Genevieve's recommended microphone

Check out Genevieve's Favorite items on Amazon for your personal recording setup!

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Successful Young Creatives
• 1:06 Auditioning on the Go Essentials
• 2:26 Finding Good Recording Environments
• 5:21 Audio Editing Tools and Techniques
• 8:42 Recording Tips and Microphone Distance
• 11:42 Audacity Tips and Sample Editing
• 14:10 Words of Encouragement for Families

Transcript

Genevieve Goings: 0:28

As the singing train conductor from Choo Choo Soul All aboard the Choo Choo train and the various songs and themes that I've written, produced and performed across the Walt Disney Company and more. I actually got my start through voiceover work on the video game Toe Jam and Earl 3, mission to Earth. After countless productions, albums, music videos, toys and a Grammy, my voice is now being used to coach the next generation of stars. This is Successful Young Creatives. This podcast is a safe and fun space for families to learn and understand the entertainment business and how to thrive in it. We're going to cover a lot across this podcast, but today we're zeroing in on how to get those auditions done when you're not at home. Right now.

Genevieve Goings: 1:06

Today I want to talk to you about auditioning on the go, basically just making it work when you're out of town and you just have to make it work, okay. So a lot of times we're traveling and the agents will send you an audition and, yes, it's due tomorrow. Don't you just love that? Okay, but you don't want to like give up on it, pass on it, it fits you. So you're like okay, let's make it work. I just want to talk about tips and tricks, and I've had to do this before. I've had to do editing on the go and luckily I do have a laptop and hopefully you guys have a laptop. We're going to talk about what to do if you've just got a phone, special ways to make things sound better and just some general tips for all auditions. Okay, so I understand if there's initial anxiety, right when you're just like, oh my gosh, this is not ideal. It needs to be perfect. You know, and a lot of like my parents of kids that are doing this, they're just. You know you want it to be perfect. You don't want to not be your best, right, but you also don't want to miss out on an opportunity. Think of it as you're going to reframe. This is an opportunity to be resourceful and adaptable, all right. So it's not about having the perfect setup. It's about conveying your talent at the end of the day.

Genevieve Goings: 2:23

You may have heard before my client and friend, Gabrielle Nevaeh. She is amazing. You might remember her from that Girl Lay Lay, but now she is about to be on Broadway in the Stranger Things " show. I'm so excited. I actually was honored to get to help her with part of her audition for that, where she had to sing a little bit when she auditioned for her Gremlins role. She did the new Gremlins. That's on HBO Max. She just used her phone and just gave a great performance. She just kind of like wasn't prepared with the whole setup but she knew she was great for it and she just went for it and she ended up booking the job and doing two seasons of that show.

Genevieve Goings: 3:04

It's not about having the perfect setup. It's just about like okay, our job as auditioning voice actors or actors in general is just to become this character and set this scene and make it feel real. Okay, that's your job. We want it to sound perfect. But if we're not there, let's say we're out of town. Let's just say you're in a hotel room. Okay, think about utilizing the bed. Okay, obviously it's ideal to stand up and record. But if you are sitting on a bed and you can use some pillows around you for sound dampening or find a corner, you can use some pillows around you. Sound likes to bounce off things. So if you can sort of catch that sound in something soft, it's always going to sound better. Cell phones are amazing Like the microphone inside of a cell phone is really good now. So we're so lucky.

Genevieve Goings: 4:02

What you want to stay away from is echoes. Ok, maybe there's lobby areas or maybe they have even a conference room somewhere. It's possible Even in the car. The car is pretty much sound dampened. But do not have the car running, please, cause that is like not a sound that anyone can EQ out very well. But if you're just in the car and close up the door, you could try that too.

Genevieve Goings: 4:28

If you're doing this on camera, you just need to find a well-lit area near a window. Don't have the light behind you and just have it lovingly touching your face, darling, and just keeping in mind, if you are on camera, just keeping that background simple and neutral, okay. So hopefully there's not. It's not just like hi, I'm at the Holiday Inn, you can see the whole thing behind me, you know. So hopefully you can just see a wall behind you. That would be ideal.

Genevieve Goings: 4:54

There are, of course, little LED lights, little ring lights, little things that you can bring with you. So you just kind of have your, your to-go option, okay. And if you really want to have a good mic, I do really love the Rode USB, the NT1. It's a USB and I'll link everything, all of my recommended gear, in the show notes of this episode. There are some really good mics to go, but again, honestly, your cell phone is really good, I promise. So then just test your connection, just make sure you're you're in the zone. Don't let your new location take you out of it. You know, it's all about just. It's really all about your performance, ok. So I kind of feel like today's episode is me just like holding your hand being like it's OK. Episode is me just like holding your hand being like it's okay, we're not in the ideal setup, but you can do this. Okay, you definitely want to be still doing multiple takes. Don't try to rush through this because you're not in your setup, Okay. So that's another thing. Just stay with your same practices that you would do in a studio.

Genevieve Goings: 6:01

Now let's talk about how we're going to edit this together. Now I really love just the voice memo app on an iPhone or like any voice recording apps you have. You also can use Twisted Wave. They have an online version. Twisted Wave is a really great online recording software where you can also edit. I have a new favorite app for the iPhone. It's called Hokusai 2, h-o-k-u-s-a-i 2. It's an audio editor. You can record straight into it if you want, or you can upload your takes and everything that you did in voice memo. But the way it allows you to edit it is so wonderful. You just highlight what you want to delete and it deletes everything. The same way, audacity works, which I'll get into. Hopefully, if you have a laptop, you can just keep recording.

Genevieve Goings: 6:51

To not think about your editing along the way is ideal. What I mean by that is if you're like okay, and then and we're doing this and I'm doing my line and I love it, okay, let me stop recording. Okay, let me start recording again. I'm ready for the next line. Okay, here's line number three. You know, just, I would say just do not do that. Make sure your settings are good, press record and do not press that button again until you're done. Go back and edit later. So I recommend that, no matter what setup you have, okay.

Genevieve Goings: 7:26

So, depending on the recordings you get, there's always ways to kind of make it sound better. I do that for a lot of my clients, where they just send me their all their takes. I pick the best ones and edit them and shine up the audio myself. But you guys will start to learn how to do that. There are different editing tools such as compressors and noise reduction and things like that. Compressors and noise reduction and things like that If you are on a DAW digital audio workstation, such as Pro Tools, logic and kind of moving, I believe you can work this on Audacity as well. But there's a great plugin I recommend called NS1. It's a wonderful noise reduction.

Genevieve Goings: 8:08

But again, you guys, if you're not at home and you're in a hotel room like, please just give yourself some grace. We're doing the best we can. It's about your performance. Okay, so I want you to do something for me. Make the hang loose sign. That is, your thumb out, your three fingers rolled down like a fist and then your pinky out that from. If you put your mouth to your thumb and the tip of your pinky to the microphone on your phone or whatever microphone you're using, I want you to be that far away from the microphone always OK, especially kids love to talk so close to the microphone. Please don't do that, and then you're going to have a lot of when you make p's and b's and things like that. So just stay a good distance away and you will be good, all right.

Genevieve Goings: 9:04

Of course, up next, we need to make sure you're hydrated, well rested. You don't want wanna have like in your mouth. Some green apples are always a great way to kind of get rid of all the gunk in your mouth making noise and just remind yourself of your talent and your experience. Visualize this successful audition. Don't let this technical limitations discourage you. Actually, I want you to look at yourself and be like look at us. Okay, we're traveling and we're still turning in our auditions.

Genevieve Goings: 9:33

Okay, Now I don't want you to get used to just always doing it on a phone and never investing in good equipment. I want you to have a great setup at home. You have to have that. You'll eventually need it. So I want it in your brain that, yes, we need that when the time comes, but you can totally do this with your phone. Okay, I love it. Okay, so this is just a little quick tip for you to just stay motivated, but also to think ahead. Okay, so there might be a day when you're traveling but you do get an audition. That's great. So I would recommend having some sort of tripod for your phone, even if it's just a little one that can go on a desktop. Even that will be good just to be able to stabilize your phone if you're going to be doing videos, and, of course, some sort of external microphone, if you can, would be great to have in your travel kit.

Genevieve Goings: 10:31

All right, eventually you are going to need an audio editing software, and I highly recommend GarageBand. If you're on a Mac, you probably already have GarageBand installed, and that's a great one for recording your vocals but also layering sound, so layering along with music, okay. The same instance for a PC or Mac is Audacity, and let me explain why I love Audacity. By the way, you can download that for free at audacityteamorg. I have videos about how to use both programs on my YouTube channel. But let me explain why I love Audacity and why it's just so great for editing.

Genevieve Goings: 11:10

Let's say you're doing voice over lines, okay, and you're just kind of like going on and just keep it. You keep trying different lines, like, oh, don't tell me you want to meet them too. Don't tell me you want to meet them too. Oh, don't tell me you want to meet them too. Okay. Let's say you did all three of those and you're like eh, I like the third one and not the first one. Well, you can select, just like selecting a section of video. You can drag your mouse over the part of the audio that you want to delete. You hit delete and boom, it's gone. But what's so cool about this type of editing is that, instead of leaving like a silent gap where you deleted, audacity automatically slides the audio that was after the bad part right up against the audio that was before it. So it's like saying, okay, that part's gone and let's keep the flow going, and that's really going to help you when you're editing, to put together your audition in the way that it's supposed to sound like.

Genevieve Goings: 12:03

Here's like a really rough version of me reading a script. Okay, oh, my gosh, gross Mom hugged it. Oh, gross Mom just hugged it. Oh, don't tell me you want to meet them too. Oh, don't tell me you want to meet them too. Oh, don't tell me you want to meet them too.

Genevieve Goings: 12:26

I can't even believe we're related. I can't even believe we're related. I can't even believe we're related. I can't even believe we're related. Okay, I just did three takes of the same line. I'm going to just show you what it would sound like if I chose a couple of those and did that deletion process. I was just talking about Genevieve Goings. Oh, gross Mom just hugged it. Don't tell me. You want to meet them too. I can't even believe we're related. All right, I was just making that up off the top of my head. But see how I left little spaces of blank sound in between each line. But just enough, not so long, but not so tight that the lines sound like this oh, I'm so glad you're here. I really need your help. I don't know what to do. Oh, thank you Really. You'd do that for me. See, that's way too tight together. I have other episodes about how to edit and how to deliver auditions, so please stay tuned. Make sure you are subscribed to the podcast and also you can message me on social media at Genevieve Goings. Let me know some of the things you're interested about hearing and chatting about. I'm also here to learn with you, you guys.

Genevieve Goings: 13:36

I am a coach. My own career has been I've been very blessed to stay very busy, do a lot of voiceover work. I starred on my own Disney TV show for a role for a video game, did not get the part I auditioned for, ended up meeting the producer and he had this great idea for a kid's CD. We recorded it, we pitched it, disney bought it and turned it into a show, and now I have been on Disney and working with them for over 20 years. It's crazy. So now I write and produce songs for Disney and I coach the next generation of stars on their auditions and performances and just helping you guys be creative and have long careers in this business so very exciting.

Genevieve Goings: 14:38

I would love to hear questions or comments like I would love to hear what have you guys done while you're on the road where? What auditions have you done, like, and what did you do to just make it sound good? I would love to hear this, but I just want you to know you've got this, and I'm talking to kids, but I'm also talking to their parents that are just trying so hard to just make this happen for their kids. Ok, you guys are doing an amazing job and sometimes we just have to do our best and that's just what we can do.

Genevieve Goings: 15:11

We also sometimes get it starts to feel like you work for the agent, where you're like apologizing to them and you're like getting stressed out. Yes, they can fire, you, choose not to work with you, but they work for you, okay, and your kids are kids, okay. So sometimes an audition might be late, sometimes we might have to pass. I don't want you to do that all the time, but sometimes you're going to have to, okay, so just give yourself some grace. We're doing the best we can and you guys are rock stars rock star family for just even going for this dream. I'm so proud of you guys and I'm always here to help. You can go to my website, genevievegoingscom forward slash VO script and then you can download this free and easy little script pack so that your kids can just try it out.

Genevieve Goings: 16:02

You got to know where to start, and I'm trying to take away some of the stigma of this industry the thing with Hollywood and entertainment people just act like they're so cool and they know everything already and you're kind of like wait, how do you do that? You know. So I'm here to just take the veil off of that and talk about some of it. All right, you guys, thank you so much for joining me for this episode of Successful Young Creatives. Until we meet again, just keep it going. Now's your time. If you were wondering, this is your sign. Now is your time, and you don't have to be the best, you don't have to be the most beautiful, you don't have to be the most talented, you just have to be the only you. See you soon. Yes, I know I'm gonna be successful.