Yvette U. Tan

I’m proud to be the voice of one of the main characters in Arnold Arre‘s upcoming short animated film. It was exciting to be the voice of someone completely different from who I am. I was also touched that Arnold thought that my voice would fit his character.

Mihk Vergara, Arnold Arre, Cynthia Arre, and I in the recording booth. I don’t know what I’m doing with my arm.

I’ve always been slightly insecure about my voice because it’s an alto. I grew up in a family where high pitched = feminine = valued, and anything else was worth less than pond scum. In school and in church, it was always the sopranos who were the stars. Nothing musical seemed to have been composed for soprano 2s and altos. To add to that, my mom used to tell me to talk in a higher pitch and once, I overheard my grandmother tell her sister in a sad, resigned voice that I sounded like a boy.

It wasn’t until later that I was exposed to wonderful artists like k.d. lang and Joni Mitchell and Diana Krall, whose lovely altos were powerful and sexy and stood out on their own, not relegated to the background of the choir. And it also wasn’t until later that people began to tell me that they actually liked my voice, that it was soothing and could work well in media. One of the best times was when my professor in Broadcasting class asked if I wanted a career in radio.

So working with wonderful people aside, you realize why this is such a big thing for me. I’m excited to be part of Arnold’s project. He’s a wonderful storyteller, one of the best graphic novelists in the country, and an all around nice guy. He and his wife, graphic designer Cynthia Bauzon Arre (who is also the producer) are the most delightful couple, not to mention super talented. The other main character is director, writer, and character actor Mihk Vergara, also another nice dude. Other characters to watch out for are voiced by Esquire Philippines Editor-in-Chief Erwin Romulo; entrepreneur and TV personality RJ Ledesma, photographer Miguel Nacianceno, director Chris Costello, and the ultra-creative Denise Mallabo.

The recording session was fun, and we finished faster than expected. I’m very excited to see the final result. Arnold uploaded a dialogue test, so you can see what he’s up to. Just so you know, I’m the girl. I can’t seem to post the video so click here to hear the dialogue test.