By Jax (for her Media Writing class, not published)
She just performed in one of Broadway's biggest celebrations for Stephen Sondheim's 75th birthday and now faces a full schedule of half-day cartoon recording sessions. The rest of her day is filled with rehearsals preparing to understudy roughly half of the cast of the touring company of the Broadway show Wicked. And no, she's not Bernadette Peters or Anne Hathaway.
She's Melissa Fahn, an actress who juggles a career as a veteran voice actress providing voices for scores of cartoons and a stage actress who has performed in many plays and musicals. All the while she is still a devoted wife and friend, even taking time to help some of her fans run a website about her all without losing her optimism and sweet nature.
"I am completely grateful that I can say that I work professionally as an actor, a singer, a voice-over artist and a performer," said Fahn, "I don't have to wait tables or work at a job to pay the bills while I'm trying to do this I can say that I'm actually doing this."
A petite girl, slim just over five feet tall, with long dark hair and big brown eyes, Fahn could fit into the mold of any dancer or actress; however, she is far from that. Setting her apart are not only her talent and charisma, but her work ethic, values and unquenchable optimism.
Fahn is what is called a "working" actor, one who doesn't strive for fame or fans, but rather works to maintain her career, pay the bills, and uphold a reputation of excellent work. She admits that it's "amazing" that she has developed a tight-knit group of fans that follow her career and make an effort to see and support her in productions.
"I am so grateful just to have people who want to come see my work and who recognize me and who are there to support me along with my family," Fahn said. "It's nice in any form of performing to be acknowledged and to know that you're affecting some people."
Maintaining a reputation of excellence takes more than just showing up for auditions and taking a few brush up dance or voice lessons. For Fahn it is a lifestyle in and of itself, taking time out to take care of her body, voice and spirit, knowing that they are her "instrument" and her job depends on their health. Her lifestyle was put to the test in 2003 and 2004 when her life dream of performing on Broadway came true as a member of the original Broadway cast of Wicked.
"Whether you're in the ensemble or a dancer or a star performer, it really is demanding because you have to keep yourself healthy, keep your voice in shape, and there's no ifs, ands or buts, you have to do eight shows a week," said Fahn. "It really forces you to concentrate on you as a performer and as an instrument, whether its your body or your voice, and it really forces you to take care of every aspect of your well-being so that you can make it through eight shows."
According to Fahn, keeping herself healthy works hand in hand with the fact that she's happy. She attributes the fact that she's happy with the fact that she and her husband Joel, a jazz musician, both have jobs that they truly love.
"It keeps us young and keeps us healthy and keeps us on our toes constantly taking care of ourselves, where someone who isn't doing something that they might not want to do, they may not take care of themselves as much and they may not be happy," said Fahn.
Taking care of her voice is essential for Fahn in both her stage acting and her voice-over acting. In voice acting, Fahn stretches her vocal range from her natural high, girlish voice to the low growl of Gaz on Invader Zim or the tomboyish Rika on Digimon back to the girly squeak of Betty Boop and more.
Singing also takes a toll on her voice. She's considered a "coloratura soprano," which Fahn describes as "being able to sing up into the rafters" though her full range is three octaves, from an F below low C to an F above high C, an unusual range for a soprano.
Fahn credits her love for singing to her father who worked in television and is also a jazz musician. "When I was younger my dad always said, 'Don't just limit yourself to dancing, make sure you know how to sing as well,' which I always did when I was little and growing up, but then I became more serious and started working with a coach in my early teens."
Her family has also had a much larger impact on her career, having seen many artists struggle against their families who don't see their art as a "real" job. Fahn realized that she was fortunate to be raised in a creative family; her father worked in both music and television production and her mother took her to theatre and lessons when Fahn was three. This good fortune meant she had constant exposure to and a well rounded education in dancing, singing and acting.
She got her break while working as a secretary in a post production house when she accepted a package from Elaine Craig, a voice-over casting director. Craig, who was searching for the new voice of Betty Boop, was struck by Fahn s unique voice. She asked Fahn if she'd ever done voice-over work. The answer was no, though she had auditioned for Disney's The Little Mermaid.
Craig suggested that Fahn make a tape of her voice and send it to her. Two days later, Craig asked Fahn to come over and audition for the new Betty Boop special. After auditions for both speaking and singing followed by a series of call backs, Fahn landed the role.
"That was my first voice over job and I've never looked back. That propelled me into everything, it even opened doors acting wise and theatre-wise, and it was wonderful, Fahn said. I've always been grateful to Elaine Craig for taking that leap of faith with me. It all came together with that."
For Fahn, voice acting is more than a job, it's an outlet for her own personality. She points out that her two favorite characters to voice, Gaz and Rika, are her favorites because they helped her through hard personal times.
"They're both strong, tough little girls, something that I never was. Both of those characters came along at a time in my life when I personally needed to be strong," said Fahn, "I was really able to channel some of the strength that I needed to find through these two little girls."
What completes Fahn's exceptional demeanor as an actress is her bubbly optimism and love of her fans. Whether she's greeting fans cheerfully, going out of her way to answer questions on online message boards or even staying an extra half an hour to sign autographs for every fan, she always goes above and beyond to be not just an idol to them but a friend. Beyond even that, Fahn is often a mentor to her fans who hope to become actors, either voice or on stage.
"Don't give up and remember who you are underneath and don't try to be something that you are not. If you're 5'2 and you're not 5'7, just focus on that. hone in on your positives and your attributes," said Fahn, in a word of advice to fans. "Hone in and concentrate on those things that make you you and make you an individual and then you will surely shine."
