We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cissy Jones. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cissy below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Cissy with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
My dad was a small business owner growing up. He was a jeweler in Boise, ID. I watched him constantly iterate, changing his business as the market – and then the world – changed with the internet. He loved what he did, and even so he always made time to have fun with the family, whether skiing or rafting or hiking or camping. He is a lover of everything in life, including his job.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’ve been a voice actor for 15 years. It’s been such a joy! I’ve gotten to work on some of the biggest game franchises, some of the most amazing indies, fan beloved animated series and everything in between. I love that every day is different, and the roles I get are based on my talent — not my looks. I’ve also recently become CEO of a startup company, Ethovox, which is an Ai company that works *with* actors to make sure that they have consent, control and compensation of how their Ai voice is used.
Lastly, I’m on the board of the National Association of Voice Actors, a nonprofit advocacy group for voice actors offering access to health care, Ai protections and educational opportunities for actors at any stage in their careers.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
There is no “they”. Trying to guess what “they” want is a losing game. Your job is not to do the session well. By the time you get to a session, you’re going to be paid. Your job is to AUDITION well. That is largely unpaid and solitary, so figure out how to get comfortable with it
Learning that there is enough room for everyone. There’s no need to try to “steal” jobs from people. the Voiceover community is a pretty small, tightnit group. Don’t be an asshole 😉
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
Ai is threatening to destroy our entire industry. It’s easy to bury our heads in the sand and pretend everything is fine, but that is hiding from the truth. Instead of hiding, I am working with NAVA to spread the word and work with lawmakers to get meaningful legislation passed, both in the US and abroad. This is a global issue. I am also heading a startup company to give actors more control and compensation should they choose to utilize Ai.
Contact Info:
- Website: cissyjones.com
- Instagram: cissyspeaks
- Linkedin: cissy-jones-b985a5/
- Twitter: cissyspeaks
