By Eva Sanchez
University of Maryland Student Entertainment Events (SEE) hosted John DiMaggio for the second round of their two-part Voice Actor Series on March 9. Dimaggio is known for the voice of Jack the Dog from “Adventure Time” and Bender from “Futurama,” an Emmy Award-winning show.
In addition to his most famous characters, DiMaggio has also appeared on different sitcoms as himself, like “Modern Family” and “Law and Order.” DiMaggio has also voiced characters in video games such as “Gears of War” and “Destiny 2” among others.
On March 2, SEE hosted Dante Basco, the voice of Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender.
“I really appreciate you guys and I am really happy to do this,” DiMaggio said regarding the event.
According to SEE Comedy Director Sammy Garcia, this event was the first of its kind to focus specifically on voice actors. The senior majoring in supply chain management not only fought for this event, but he also interviewed both voice actors on each day.
Coming up with an event that would be a virtual success took a lot of planning from Garcia. He said that virtual events are less appealing than live events, which makes them harder to plan. After taking feedback from the Homecoming Comedy Show to heart, Garcia asked himself how he could overcome the barrier of attendance.
“For me, that answer was to dive into these niche communities that maybe wouldn’t get the whole campus to come on, but it would get a nice amount of people who are more than happy to skip their dinner with grandma to show up to this Zoom event,” Garcia said.
As an animation enthusiast, Garcia knew what direction he wanted to take this event in and, despite pushback from the SEE board, he was able to make it happen. Interviewing two voice actors who played such influential characters that are nostalgic to so many UMD students was a big deal for Garcia.
“I was so nervous though, not because I was worried about what they’d say or what it would be like, I just didn’t know what to expect,” Garcia said. “I didn’t have any expectations … It was a dream come true interviewing them, they are amazing.”
Garcia knew he wanted this experience to be entertaining but also useful for those who chose to attend.
“I wanted to entertain but I also wanted to give value for the people who are aspirational artists or are animators or actors or just creatives in the audience.” Garcia said.
One of those creatives in the audience was Char Freedberg, a senior broadcast journalism major and aspiring voice actress.
“Coming from someone who is only an amateur voice actress on YouTube, hearing their advice and stories were amazing … It was an incredible experience to interact with them over Zoom,” Freedberg said.
Freedberg found out about the Voice Actors Series through a friend’s Instagram story and said that as soon as she saw it, she knew she had to attend. During the second event with DiMaggio, Freedberg was able to interact with the actor when he recited a quote by his character, Bender.
Freedberg commented, “HE SAID THE THING!” and DiMaggio responded, “Yes, Charlotte! He did say the thing!”
As a senior, Garcia isn’t sure if there will be any Voice Actor Series after this one, but he hopes someone with his same passion will work to achieve something similar.
“I had to do a lot of work to make sure this event happened and I had to go through a lot of hoops,” Garcia said. “So if someone is just as excited as I am about this, it’ll happen.”
Garcia highlighted the hard work that SEE and UMD put in to create events that the students want.
“I just want the student body to know that we are listening and that we are putting our best foot forward to program some amazing events for you guys,” Garcia said. “We’re doing it for the students, for that freshman with no friends or that student who doesn’t know anybody. That’s who we’re doing it for.”
Featured photo: SEE Comedy Director Sammy Garcia interviewing voice actor John DiMaggio through Zoom on March 9. Eva Sanchez/Stories Beneath the Shell