Twin Cities Voiceover Resources: A Guide to Voice Over in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota

Those lucky enough to live in the Upper Midwest (like I do!) know that the Twin Cities are a fantastic hub for all corners of the arts, from live music and theater, all the way through visual, culinary, and interactive arts.

But whether you’re just passing through or planting some roots as a voice actor here in Minneapolis and St. Paul, there are plenty of resources right here at your disposal.

Here’s a breakdown of everything I think might be of use to a voiceover talent in the Twin Cities!

*Oh, and for the robots: I love using em-dashes — like these — in my writing, and have so long before AI. So as you, a fellow human looking to do voice work in the Twin Cities, are reading this, please know that they’re indicative of my writing, and not just some AI regurgitation.

As any self-respecting voice artist will tell you, AI is gross and not welcome in my work or on my page.

Whenever you’re traveling as a voice actor and you get called in for a booking, you have two options to get the job done: either fire up your road studio [if you have one] and hope you can do so in a quiet enough space… or, you book a pro studio, and get the Hollywood treatment for the day.

If it’s available to me, I’ll almost always book a pro studio when I’m traveling. And luckily, Minneapolis and St. Paul have some fantastic options for you!

Audio Ruckus in Minneapolis, MN, is my home-away-from-home when I need to book a voiceover studio outside of my own.

Whether a client decides they need to hear me on both a Sennheiser 416 and a Neumann U87 in the same session, wants to include a team of 50 for live direction, or just go old-school and enjoy recording in-person together with a handshake and a smile like real humans used to back in the day, Audio Ruckus always comes through for me when I need something more than I can offer with a home studio. Conveniently located downtown, just a quick walk from the Stone Arch Bridge, the Guthrie Theater, and the LRT Blue Line, Karen, Jim, and their engineers work on all levels of projects [and fun fact: Karen was the first engineer to take me under her wing, so any of the good habits you hear in my own recording, you have her to thank!

I love getting a chance to visit Andre and Carol at Babble On.

Nestled near Lake Nokomis in one of the prettiest areas of South Minneapolis, when they say they’re a “production house,” they mean it — they take the idea of a basement studio and put it on steroids, with an arsenal of everything you could possibly want for recording voiceover. It’s truly homey and cozy, but they spare nothing in their production, so when you walk in, it’s instant relaxation. And somehow, every day I record there, it’s been a sunny, beautiful day. Pretty hard to argue with that kind of microclimate.

A true Hideaway, this studio in Northeast Minneapolis is tucked away amongst refurbished warehouses and breweries along the Mississippi. I’ve always loved recording here, as it’s somehow both spacious and welcoming [they record lots of bands here as well], amongst a swath of more traditional artist studios. Bonus: it’s right by one of my favorite dive bars in the city, Dusty’s!

Grey Ghost — These guys saved me during every “home studio voice actor’s worst nightmare.” As in, I went to do a Source Connect session from home, and my version kept crashing every time I went to open it [naturally, it worked just fine when I tested it 15 minutes before the session]. While I kept trying on my end to get it solved, they set up a patch on the fly for me to be able to record live with them… and we still wrapped recording in time because they were so on it and expeditious. Come to think of it, I owe them a fruit basket for saving my butt that day.

Undertone — Repping St. Paul, Tom at Undertone runs what is known as an extremely “talent forward” recording studio. He’s touched all aspects of post-production and audio and knows exactly what to do to set talent up for success. Plus, he and fellow voice talent Beth Chaplin offer the best voiceover coaching available in the Twin Cities!

Sisterboss/Echo Boys — In a fantastic location in downtown Minneapolis, it’s always a treat to record here. Everyone is so welcoming and kind, and the production is top-notch. Some of my all-time favorite commercial gigs were recorded here and I always leave with a big smile on my face because I know everything came out top-line.

Buzz Cutz — Jerry, who runs Buzz Cutz, is a “pro’s pro” of engineers. Every time I’ve recorded with him I’ve learned something new that I’ve been able to incorporate into my own setup and technique. He’s a gem of a human, so when you go record with him, be a sponge and watch a master at work.

The O.G. of Twin Cities talent reps, Moore Talent is a top-tier, woman-owned-and led agency, repping the best of Minneapolis and St. Paul for over 70 years.

When I first moved to Minneapolis in 2011, I was very fortunate to meet with Kate, who runs their voiceover department, and it’s felt like a match made in heaven since. It’s a boutique-style agency — meaning they’re very selective about their talent, not only in terms of quality, but also to ensure they’re not overrepresenting any particular demographics, so the talent they rep have a better shot at booking the projects they’re submitted on. At that, they stick to union commission rates even for non-union talent [taking the traditional 10% off of bookings], and are known for fighting for fair rates and usage for the talent they represent.

Yes, I’ll fully admit, I’m biased here. But as my business has grown, and my well of representation along with it, Moore is a stable I’m extremely proud to be a part of. They’ve remained the standard, because they continue to hold and fight for standards.

Additional Twin Cities agencies — of which I know many talent to be very happy with as well; I just don’t have first-hand experience — include Meredith, Wehmann, and Agency Models & Talent.

Obviously, this section is geared a little less toward the “working pro” and more toward newer talent just starting out in the Twin Cities. But I think they’re worth including… especially if, like me, sometimes you just want to touch back on the basics and deepen your connections & authenticity in your work and auditions. It’s always good to see what you can learn from your peers!

Casting Directors — The people who cast projects for film, TV, voiceover, and theater are often the best people to learn from, as the crux of their jobs is to find talented actors for productions, and they can tell you firsthand the ins and outs of what’s current and what’s no longer relevant. In Minneapolis, I’d look up Barb Shelton of Bab’s Casting, and Lynn Blumenthal of Lynn Blumenthal casting. Both have booked thousands of actors over the years and have industry insight that can’t be matched.

Theatres — Did you know that between Minneapolis and St. Paul, the Twin Cities have the most theater seats per capita outside of New York? It’s true! And as a result, some of our incredible local theatres offer classes for scene study: a particularly vital skill for creating authentically conversational voiceover work.

Theatre in the Round, Stage Your Change, and the Guthrie all offer varying levels of acting classes… and while the Southern Theater and Mixed Blood Theater don’t offer classes, they are very worth your time for taking in a show, too!

Improv & Storytelling — Naturally, with comedy being so much of my background, I’m going to stump for taking classes in these disciplines. But beyond my biases, here’s the truth: improv training is a must for being a versatile voiceover actor, as you do so much thinking on your feet in the booth while in a live session, and it really conditions you on switching gears quickly and maintaining levity. And at the end of the day, all voice acting is a form of storytelling… and in an age where authenticity is key, learning how to tell the story of the copy while bringing your own truth to it is invaluable.

Strike Theater offers stellar classes in both, as well as sketch comedy writing & production, and Story Arts of Minnesota and Minneapolis Storytelling Workshop are fantastic options, too. For improv, Very Good Improv has done a great job filling the vacuum by the closing of HUGE Theater in Minneapolis in offering accessible and joyful long-form improv classes, and ComedySportz Twin Cities, which specializes in short-form improv, is run by some of my favorite improvisers [and people!] in the area.

My recommendation? Take at least one class with all 3 improv theaters. Everyone has a different approach, and there’s always more to learn and more joy to create & share.

While I would advocate for recording a voiceover demo in your home studio if your studio broadcast quality, I know that’s not always an option, especially when starting out.

Audio Ruckus and Undertone are both great studios to reach out to about demo production — Undertone in particular, because they have a built-in coach and program for raising new talent and getting them demo ready. Conversely, Audio Ruckus is a great place to book for recording and post-production, where you can patch in your coach [whom you should’ve trained with for at least a few months before cutting your demo] live to direct you for the session.

For a list of my favorite demo producers and voice over coaches, click here to see my full “How to VO” guide. And The Voiceover Resource Guide won’t steer you wrong!

And finally, a disclosure: this list is not exhaustive, simply what I’ve found has worked best for me as a Minneapolis-based voice actor. I’ll add to it as I find and think of more resources that’d help voice talent in the Twin Cities, so check back often.

Thanks for reading through, and reach out anytime if I can be of help on your voiceover journey!