Tell a story
with your voice

Learn the technical components of voiceover acting and gain hands-on experience
The Voiceover Camera Acting Institute is a two-week, UC credit-bearing intensive program for students interested in the performing arts. This program provides opportunities to work with our distinguished faculty in classes such as voiceover, Shakespeare, on camera acting and voice classes. Students will learn the technical components of acting for the microphone and the camera, while gaining hands-on experience in working on content for a voiceover demo reel and self-tape audition. The combination of these courses will allow them to use their voice and training to tell a story in the voiceover environment and on camera. Beyond the classroom, students will attend guest workshops, and learn the art of collaboration.
The program is designed for artists and students who seek additional discipline and training required for participation in a university acting program or a career in the entertainment industry. Participation in this institute is open to high school (16 years and older), college and professional artists.
Admission to the program is by digital audition and instructor consent. Please note that all levels are encouraged to apply.
Voiceover Camera Acting Summer Institute Program Overview
Application deadline: June 13, 2025 | Enrollment deadline: June 27, 2025
Applications are reviewed and admission to the program is granted on a rolling basis starting February 15th. Applying at your earliest convenience, prior to June 1st, is highly recommended.
To participate in the Voiceover Camera Acting Summer Institute, applicants must apply and receive acceptance into the program. Applicants who successfully submit all requirements will be reviewed and notified via email of an admission decision within 3 weeks.
As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete the following:
- A video audition of 1 – 1 ½ minute contemporary monologue (see Video Audition Guidelines in FAQ below)
- A resume (if you do not have a resume, submit a brief description of your theatrical and/or artistic experience)
- Value statement: ALL applicants will be prompted to provide a short value statement reflecting their pursuit of participation in a UCLA Summer Sessions Institute (250 word maximum).
Precollege Only:
- An unofficial transcript from grade 9 to present reflecting a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher
- If your school transcript utilizes a different grading system, please submit your transcript as is. If available, please attach a translation/equivalency guide.
- INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: If you are an international student, a transcript refers to your complete secondary academic record. To learn more about converting your grades into a US-based GPA, please click here.
- If your school has a translation/equivalency guide, please also include it with your transcript. If you do not have a translation/equivalency guide, please still submit your most up-to-date transcript as is for staff to review.
The resume can be uploaded as a Word or PDF file during the application process. For the video audition component, you will need to upload your video and make it private on YouTube, Vimeo, or a similar site and then paste the private link during the application process.
Voiceover Camera Acting Summer Institute is a commuter program, there is NO on-campus housing available for the Voiceover Camera Acting Summer Institute through the institute program or UCLA Summer Sessions. Additionally, please note that only students aged 17 and older as of June 23rd, 2025 are eligible to sign a housing contract, and not all program dates correspond to when contracts are available. Students interested in exploring this option should review information at UCLA Summer Housing.
Participants of the Voiceover Camera Acting Summer Institute must commute to the UCLA campus each day of the program. Specific location information (e.g. classroom) will be provided to enrolled students closer to the start of the program.
Parking
Summer Sessions parking permits will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Students have the option to purchase a summer term permit or a daily permit.
Please review the Transportation and Parking Services web page and read the “Summer Quarter Parking (All Students)” section for more information on all permit types, including cost.
Coursework
Theater 72; 2 units
Grading
Students will receive a letter grade upon completion. See University Credit, Grades and Transcripts for more information about academic credit.
In order to successfully complete the program, students must not have more than 1 excused or unexcused absence.
UCLA Summer Sessions Summer Scholars Support
Qualified students attending grades 9th – 11th in Spring 2025 in the state of California may be eligible for Summer Scholars Support, a need- and merit-based scholarship offered by the UCLA Summer Sessions Office. Students must be 15 years old by the first day of Summer Sessions 2025 on June 23rd in order to participate in a Precollege Summer Institute and/or apply for Summer Scholars Support. A limited number of full and partial scholarships are available to support enrollment in SCIP/eSCIP, one Summer Course, or a Precollege Summer Institute.
Summer 2025 deadline to apply: March 15.
Program Dates: June 29 – July 11, 2025
Program Type: In-person
Program Eligibility: High School, College, or Graduate Students & Age 16+
Application Deadline: June 13, 2025
Enrollment Deadline: June 27, 2025
This program is not F-1 eligible.
The schedule and syllabus are subject to change. Enrolled students will be given updated materials closer to the program start date.
Fees and Payment Info
The program fee includes the unit fees for the UCLA coursework offered as part of the program and thus varies by UC student status. In addition to the program fee, students are assessed other campus and administrative fees during the summer. This is a summary of fees that commonly apply to the selected student type.
Actual tuition and fees are subject to change by the University of California. Visit the fees, payment, and financial aid section for important disclaimer, as well as more details on fees, payment instructions, and information on delinquency, refunds, and financial aid.
Meet Your Instructors
Kathryn Schott
LecturerKathryn Schott is a graduate of UCLA TFT Master’s program. Since graduating in June 2020, she has directed two award winning short films: Mr. Baker and Don’t Jump, starred in several short films, commercial campaigns and most recently wrapped up her first lead in the indie feature film City of Love. She has also successfully launched a career as a voice over artist and audiobook narrator and is looking forward to directing and producing her next short film in the Summer of 2022. When not working on her own creative pursuits, Kathryn has enjoyed passing on this love through teaching in the arts, including as a lecturer for UCLA’s MFA program, and conducting film acting workshops.
Maquiling teaches film production courses at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and serves as the Chair of the Admissions Committee for the Production Division. He is the Lead Faculty for USC’s Youth Filmmaking Workshop, where he teaches filmmaking to at-risk high school students, and is the Lead Faculty for the USC Afghanistan Narrative Workshop in Dubai. He is also a faculty member of UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television and was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to teach film production at the University of the Philippines.
David is the Co-Founder of Maquina Films, which is dedicated to producing feature films that address relevant social issues. He is the Co-Founder of the New Filmmakers screening series at the Anthology Film Archives in NY, was the Festival Co-Director of the 25th Annual New York Asian International Film Festival. Maquiling also served as the Head of the Feature Jury for the 22nd Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

Rod Menzies
LecturerActor and director Rod Menzies, is an internationally recognized voice, speech, text, and dialect coach. He is a former co-artistic director of Ensemble Studio Theatre Los Angeles (EST/LA), where he serves on the Board of Directors and contributes as an actor and director in the development of new American plays. He is also a member of the Open Fist Theatre Company, where he acts and directs. In 2018, Menzies appeared in Zuri Alexander’s award-winning short film, Quiet Denial, which has screened at a number of film festivals including L.A. Shorts, where it was recognized with an Audience Award.
As a director, Menzies has helmed more than 60 theatrical productions, including three world premieres for EST/LA, and an award-winning world premiere of Tom Jacobson’s Walking to Buchenwald, for Open Fist. In Los Angeles, he has performed leading roles at Open Fist, A Noise Within, Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, Pico Playhouse, Getty Villa, Chalk Repertory Theatre, and EST/LA. A veteran of the Shakespearean Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, Menzies has played many leading Shakespearean roles, including Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, Sir Andrew Aguecheek in Twelfth Night, Hortensio in Taming of the Shrew, Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the title role in King Henry V.
As a faculty member in nationally recognized conservatory programs, Menzies has taught acting, Shakespeare, and directing, as well as many courses in voice, speech, text, and dialects. He is a founding faculty member of Canada’s National Voice Intensive where he taught voice and Shakespeare text for 15 years. He is also the founding producing director of New York Theatre Intensives, where he taught a summer intensive in new play development in collaboration with the member artists of EST/NY.
Among the actors he has coached are Patricia Arquette, Neve Campbell, David Duchovny, Mariska Hargitay, Adrian Homes, James Purefoy, Marcus Scribner, Alicia Silverstone, TJ Thyne, and Sophie Turner.
In addition to UCLA TFT, Menzies teaches at the AMDA Conservatory of the Performing Arts. He received his master of fine arts degree in theatre from York University in Toronto and a diploma in acting from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol, England.

Alicia Sedwick
Adjunct ProfessorBefore moving to Los Angeles, Alicia Sedwick was a NYC-based actor, performing in Off-Broadway (Lady Macbeth) and regional theatres including The Old Globe, American Conservatory Theatre (company member), The Colorado Shakespeare Festival, and The Ensemble Theatre Company. She has made numerous national commercials and voiceovers, as well as television credits include Law and Order and LA Dragnet.
Sedwick co-produced Spark Off Rose, a live monthly storytelling event in Los Angeles for fifteen years. She received her M.F.A. in Acting from The American Conservatory Theatre and teaches College Acting, Movement, Speech, VO, and Conceptual Storytelling.
She has been a creative writer for story-based App content, and coaches and edits speeches for national non-profits, TED Talks, and corporate speakers. She is also on the Literary Committee of LA’s Blank Theatre, which supports new play development works from established and emerging writers in weekly staged readings for their long-established Living Room Series.

Eric Patrick Harper
LecturerEric Patrick Harper is a Wisconsin-born actor and filmmaker.
He received his MFA in Drama from The Juilliard School and previously studied improv at The Upright Citizens Brigade. He appears as Rick Kovak on Amazon Studio’s Bosch spin-off series BOSCH: Legacy. Eric is guest starring in a new role on the second season of American Rust opposite Maura Tierney and Jeff Daniels. He recently starred as Will in Samuel D. Hunter‘s Obie Award Winning A Bright New Boise. His upcoming film Playing House that he co-wrote with Sarah Noble Peck is being produced by Night Drive Films and is directed by Beth Triffon.
Eric appeared in Nora Highland, written and directed by Ryan Spahn and starring Marin Ireland and Michael Urie. The film had it’s world premiere at Newfest in New York City where it was a Gold Derby Award recipient. In addition to being an actor, Eric also works as a coach and teaching artist with various acting schools and theater camps throughout the US.

Joe Smith
LecturerJoe Smith has been a professional working actor for over 30 years. His VO work includes voicing Mr. Snuggly the talking cat on NBC’s Midnight, Texas, all of the various MX androids on Fox’s Almost Human, a whole bunch of commercials, a few video games, and an audio version of the bible in which his part detailed all the various animals you can and cannot eat.
On-camera, he was the original guy in the lab coat with the clip board in 9 years’ worth of Cheez-It commercials, and currently also runs a comic book shop in Palm Desert with his wife.

Voiceover Camera Acting Summer Institute FAQ
You will need to upload one file into a private link on YouTube, Vimeo, or a similar platform and include the password to your private link. The link will be your audition, which consists of your slate and monologue. There is no need to explain what is happening in the play. Feel free to say hello!
Slate: Please provide:
- Your name
- The name of the play your piece is from
- The character’s name
- The playwright
Monologue Length: 1- 1 ½ minutes is preferred
How to film the monologue: Frame it so that you are facing the camera for a medium to close up shot. Use your best judgment for what will work best for your monologue. If you will be moving during your monologue, a medium shot may be better. You may choose to speak into the camera or slightly off-camera. Please remember to review your takes, see what works, and adjust as needed before submitting your audition. Trust the process and try not to be overly critical of yourself.
Audition Guidelines
- Audition against a blank wall or door.
- Complete your monologue in one take.
- If you would like to shoot your slate in a separate take and then edit the take of your monologue into one file, that is acceptable.
- You may film it from your phone or tablet. We are not worried about high production value. The most important thing is that we can see and hear you.
- Do not do a scene with someone reading lines off-camera.
- Do not send prior performances or tapings from plays. Record a new video according to the audition specs for the purposes of this application.
- Do not put pressure on yourself to deliver the “perfect” audition. Do your personal best, be authentic, and don’t forget to have fun!
If you have questions about the audition requirements, please contact TheaterSummerInstitutes@tft.ucla.edu
Students should bring a laptop.
Still have questions? Check out the general Summer Institutes FAQ.