Professional Voice Actors Come to Lynchburg for Sonic-Con

“We are here, we are here,” Sonic-Con creator Chris Nelson announced. “It is great to be here in the midst of all of you. Sonic-Con lives!”

There was a sense of pride in the room as Sonic-Con began. The event prevailed through two long years of planning only to get postponed from its original March date because of COVID-19. After years of preparation, Sonic-Con was finally happening.

The first Sonic-Con audio and theatre convention took place this past weekend and opened in a flurry of excitement, boasting over 160 in attendance.

The event took place all weekend long in Green Hall. The main display tables were set up in the collaborative space and various classrooms were used for different events throughout the weekend. The whole event kicked off Friday with songs from the Sonic-Con band.

The band, composed of various Liberty musicians, played a smooth jazz number before starting the event with an instrumental cover of Billie Jean which segued into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Theme Song. The opening music made way for Nelson, who began his welcome to the attendees.

“We hope that this is going to be an event which brings fans and aspiring professionals together, where you can begin to understand that there are some awesome believers in this industry doing incredible stuff,” Nelson said.

Nelson continued, thanking everyone for observing proper guidelines due to the pandemic. He also thanked everyone for waiting so patiently for the event to happen.

A live performance of a newer radio drama written and performed by Liberty students titled “The Scholar House” followed Nelson. Attendees enjoyed the first two episodes of the radio drama, which included live sound effects to accompany the readers. A live question and answer with some of the writers and performers followed.

Friday night also included a keynote and question and answer with actor and performer Joshua Nicholson, who is known mostly for his voice-over work.

Saturday featured classes throughout the day, ranging from writing to vocal performance. Saturday night included a keynote from famous voice actress and speaker Katie Leigh, who plays Connie Kendall from “Adventures in Odyssey.”

Sunday featured a worship service and a message by Phil Lollar known for his work in the “Adventures in Odyssey” series. Sunday also featured the New Work’s Festival, which featured dramatic readings of stories written by Randy Streu, Moriah Sprinkel, and Joshua Prentice.

Throughout the weekend, walk-in auditions were held for different productions. Fans and those looking to enter the industry were given the opportunity to sit down and actually try out their talents. They were also able to receive coaching from professionals with years of experience in the audio and theatre industry.

Also featured over the weekend were tables for organizations and studios from Rivercross to Sentinel Studios. There was also an art gallery featuring several artists including Ryan Brothers, James Howard, and Sam Van Fossen.

Daniel Ellis is a Feature Reporter. Follow him on Twitter @dnaieltyler.