Invisalign Update

 BIG SMILES
 Yes, I'm wearing my aligners, that's how invisible they are.

Almost time to switch over to my next set of trays! I move onto my second set this weekend. I can't believe I've had these babies for two weeks already. Everything is going as planned and I've already seen change which is awesome because I wasn't expecting to notice anything for atleast a couple of months. I'm so used to my aligners that now everytime I take them out it feels super unnatural. You would think it would be the other way around but for me, I totally prefer the feeling of having them in. Anyways, just a quick note today folks. All is well on this end. I'll update you over the weekend when I get my new set of trays.

peace!

I'm participating in the Invisalign Studio Program and I have received complimentary Invisalign treatment. All the opinions that I have expressed are my own. Go to http://www.invisalign.com/studio for more information!

My first Invisalign trays! Yippee!

I excitedly went to my ortho Thursday afternoon to get my first Invisalign trays. I went for my impressions in the middle of March so I've been waiting a little less than two months for my trays and I'm not very patient but it was totally worth the wait. I will answer all your questions (from an actors point of view) regarding my Invisalign. ;)

First appointment

I was in and out of my orthodontist within 20 minutes, all I did was sit in the chair and pop my trays in. My ortho gave me two aligner cases; one for home and one for my purse. They gave me my current trays and then my second trays to put in after two weeks. My ortho said they would put these little "buttons" on a few of my teeth next month. The buttons are invisible and give the aligners something to grip on to and make it easier for the teeth to move. If I wear my aligners as much as I should, it's going to take about 60 weeks for my teeth to be fully corrected.

Post-aligners

I picked up a travel size toothbrush, toothpaste and floss to throw in my purse for when I'm out. I'm not allowed to drink anything with the aligners in, besides water. Obviously I remove them if I'm going to have a cup of tea or coffee otherwise anything hot could warp or stain them. I think I kept mine in for 22 hours the first day because the more you keep your aligners in, the quicker the process.

Pain

They are a little tight when you first pop them in and it takes a while to get used to removing them but once you get the hang of it, they snap in and out smoothly. There is no real pain, only a bit of soreness but that's only because my teeth are moving. I guess it's like regular wire brace, everytime you get them tightened there is pressure. The tenderness goes away 2-3 days after you insert your new aligners.

Visibility

Completely and utterly invisible. No joke! Not one person has noticed that I have them in, it's awesome. I went into my agency on Friday and had full on conversations with my agents and no one noticed (in fact no one believed me) that I had my aligners in.

Speech

The instruction pamphlet I got after my ortho appointment stated that my speech might be slightly affected for the first couple days but that didn't apply to me. The trays did not affect my speech whatsoever. No lisp, no slur, nothing. (AWESOME!)

Auditioning and Filming

I kept my aligners in for an audition I had this morning and it was great! I was a little concerned about doing voice over in case my speech was slightly affected but since I'm now  fully accustomed to the aligners it won't be a problem. Since it doesn't affect my speech and is completely invisible I can keep them in for auditions and filming which is the whole point of getting Invisalign. I highly recommend it to everyone but it's exceptionally fantastic for actors, singers or anyone involved in the entertainment industry.

I am over the moon with my new aligners! I'm very excited for this process to begin and when results show. I'll keep you all posted with every new tray and the progress my teeth are making. I will most likely be posting some before pictures sometime next week so stay tuned.

I'm participating in the Invisalign Studio Program and I have received complimentary Invisalign treatment. All the opinions that I have expressed are my own. Go to http://www.invisalign.com/studio for more information!

My Voice

I got a really neat request from demonichat to talk about my voice over work. Most people know me as Rin's voice but there has been a ton of other work I've done that you may not know is me. I'll go through my journey with InuYasha, talk about my favourite voice over job and how they have shaped my career.

I was 11 years old when I booked InuYasha. If I remember correctly it was the second voice over job I'd ever done. I couldn't have had it any better because the director, the producers, the entire production and office was incredible and they still are. I'm so fortunate that this was the first group I ever worked with because they made the job fun and relaxing.

A problem that comes up when hiring a kid to do voice work is that their voices change! Luckily for me, as InuYasha progressed they brought the reality of a 7 year old girl maturing into her pre-teens, therefore they worked with it and wrote in the fact that my voice was changing from an 11 year old girl (even though at that time Rin's age was 7) into a teenager. InuYasha was the voice over role that changed my life. It shaped my voice over career completely, I'm so grateful I landed this role so young. The series has finished, started up again and released features. It's the kind of show that just when you think it's going to end it starts back up again for another season. Very very proud to be a part of this show! InuYasha: The Final Act should be released within the next 6 months, unfortunately I don't have any exact dates so that's just a speculation.

InuYasha kick started my drive for voice over. I have gone on to do DragonBall Z, Next Avengers, Gundam 00, Shakugan No Shana, Gundam Seed Destiny, Elemental Gelade, Hamtaro, Quintuplets, Popotan, Paradise Harvest, Star Ocean, Nana and one VERY awesome project I'm not able to talk about yet... just to name a few.

There wouldn't be enough time in the day for you to read about every one of my voice over experiences so I'll go on to talk about one of my favourites (if not my favourite) voice over job I've ever done... Elemental Gelade.

HOLY MAN, Elemental Gelade was a ridiculously fun project. You have to watch this series - it's an absolutely MUST.

A lot of the work I do I just kind of go in there, do the scene, move along; not very often do you land a project that you completely fall in love with. I didn't read the entire series before hand so every day I would walk into the studio with the excitement of what was going to happen next. It was basically a surprise. It's kind of like when you wake up in the morning knowing your favourite tv show is on that night and you're squirming to find out what happens next! I completely fell in love with the storyline, the characters and the entire plot. I watched my character, Reverie Metherlence (Ren) grow from a quiet, humble, timid and somewhat frightened and confused girl who would only speak a couple of breathy words in the first few episodes, to a radiant, beautiful, strong woman who had found love. I had never met any of the actors who were voicing the other characters and yet as a group we were able to create a magnificent connection between each character. There would be a powerful, emotional scene between Ren and Cou that you'd think the actors would have to be in the room together to work off each other. That wasn't the case at all - it was amazing that we all accomplished such a fantastic bond and made the storyline flow without ever physically working together.

This sounds insane (but hey, all actors are a little insane in one way or another) but I would actually get butterflies (as you would imagine Ren would) whenever Ren and Cou would react, I would have tears of happiness in my eyes when something good would happen, I would be sad when things weren't going well in the storyline. I felt like I had truly become Ren! I miss this series so much, I am so thrilled to have been a part of it. It was a very powerful experience and it totally made me realize that voice over isn't just about putting on a head set and making up some voice into the microphone. It's about finding a character, taking on that character's emotions and literally becoming a part of the show itself. I always assumed that on screen performances were the ones you would really "get into character for" but I was completely wrong; voice over is a huge time commitment, it's emotionally and physically draining just as live action work is but it's just as satisfying. I have been so blessed in this area of work, the opportunities I have been given have been phenomenal.

In short: I am absolutely head over heels in love with voice over!