Órla is an improviser/writer/actor/voice talent who ran away to Seattle for years, eventually missed the craic here too much, and swam back last year.  When Órla is not busy writing, voicing or giving workshops, she is found preaching the gospel of Improv Theatre in the West of Ireland and beyond.
She has a busy summer coming up - including  devising and performing with Bui Bolg in Wexford, doing some more VO work with clients in Sweden, and working on an exciting new Improv project in Galway.  Her ‘alter ego’ ‘Mrs Nellie Murphy‘ will be even busier..  Highlights will include a return visit to the Ranelagh Festival, Electric Picnic, and an upcoming hush hush musical collaboration with a favourite Dublin musician and DJ.
Órla would love to do some animation VO this year and to that end, is flexing that muscle with some radio improv to be podcast.
‘Know thyself’ is a good tip that Órla would give to new VOs. “just because you have a strong comedy background, don’t neglect the straight reads in your demos.   They are a gem that needs as much nourishing as the quirky reads that you may hype first.  Comedic actors often have top class straight reads as well as a bag o’ characters!”

Forgive me, but I’m not blown away by the new Honda ad.  I don’t know why.  It’s good, but not great. It’s really well done - but for some reason I’m left feeling cold.  It’s wow. But I’m not wowed, if that makes sense.  It falls a bit flat at the end me’thinks.   However, I will say this: way better than any of the trash I’ve been making lately. Please dear god, let this boring recession end.  It’s ruining all our fun and creativity, never mind cocktails budget.

Don’t miss this event on 1st of April 2009 that Piehole is hosting with Irish equity.  It’s only available for Equity members, and is all about the voiceover industry in Ireland - trends, do’s and don’ts, advice from voiceovers, etc.  Equity does a lot of effort to try and get good deals for their members, so they asked us to host an educational talk for actors.  It’ll be in Liberty Hall, and €10 at the door.

This guy took six months to build the creme egg destruction machine. It’s been viewed on youtube 700 000 times and counting. Very well done and smart and clever and all, but seriously - he needs a girlfriend. Check it out here.

that old Bridgestone commercial from a few years back?  Someone mentioned it last night at dinner, so I just had to look it up again and share it.  It’s a hoot.

Here’s a new music video directed by Spike Jones. Maybe I’m a bit picky - but…. meh. So what. Feel free to contradict me. (To anyone reading this post who does not work in the ad industry…. when it comes to commercials directors, Spike Jones is like God. So every time he directs a new music video or commercial, all the ad nerds of the world are fluttering about like we’ve nothing better to do.)

Irish ad agencies are on a roll, like seriously on a roll.  There’s another winner on this week’s best ads for Publicis QMP.  The previous week were 2 Irish winners, and also two the week before.  Nice one.

Esther can be heard regularly broadcasting with AA Roadwatch for the Last Word with Matt Cooper on Today FM.Traffic-tastic! To listen to her demo, click here.

Hilary has just finished a production of Seven Jewish Children - A Play for Gaza which she directed, produced and acted in and which was on Phantom FM as radio play extracts, as a staged version in Piedescalso Arts Cafe and as an “overheard conversation” mingled in with the book browsers at Temple Bar Book Market. Also, she’s about to act in 100 Minutes which is on from 19th to 28th March in the Samuel Beckett Theatre in Trinity. She’s also the voiceover on the answering machine for EFlow (the payment system for M50). Click here to listen to Hilary’s demo.

There are two Irish ads up on this week’s Best ads - congrats to the guys at Chemistry and McCann Erickson. I really like that new Heineken ad - especially the music track, it’s genius. For some reason, this is filling me with a lot of joy. I was getting despondent with all the boring/recession-y rubbish being made - at least there are still decent ads being made in this town.