About Us

The fabric of life is gently woven together by the powerful artform of storytelling – and Melissa Moats LOVES all. Things. Voice over!!! Achieving her dream career took persistence, passion, and patience, and Melissa is equally committed to guiding her students to their own success! As a full-time voice actor and founder of The Voice Actors Studio, Melissa has been voice acting professionally for over two and a half decades. You’ve heard her on everything from The Ellen Show to video games and national commercial campaigns for major household brands like Ashley Furniture, Proactiv, Pandora Radio, & Best Western Hotels – to name a few! Her first step toward becoming a pro talent began by attending a voice acting course offered through UNLV many years ago, and now Melissa teaches that very course! She takes great pride in giving the Las Vegas Voice Over Community, and now her global audience, a home and safe place to learn and grow creatively. A rare find, being both a mentor to many and still a busy full-time voice actor, Melissa is equally fueled by her love of her students and her love of voice acting! Every step Melissa has taken to make her own creative aspirations come true, she generously and openly shares – helping others do the same.

Amanda McCune, also known as “Aardvark Girl,” spent 14 years managing production companies before starting her own business aimed at helping others, primarily those in creative fields, handle the organizational and financial functions of their companies. Although she is not a voice actor herself, Amanda has been involved in casting for a variety of projects over the years, and understands what clients and producers look for from talent. She has always enjoyed working with the Las Vegas voice over community, and was excited to find an opportunity to join Melissa and the TVAS team as the Studio Coordinator. Amanda is also happy to be coaching some business workshops to help prepare students for how to deal with rates, bookkeeping, organization, etc. as they grow their own businesses as voice actors!

John McClain is lead sound designer and the owner of Dog & Pony Show. His experience ranges from award-winning campaigns for companies like Chevrolet and Dodge to a Grammy nomination in 2000 and a Grammy win in 2001 for his work with the late, great George Carlin. His work with HBO on the series 24/7 brought his company a national Emmy in 2008, and his work both as a voice talent and as a composer and sound designer brought him to the small screen in 2010 with the Comedy Central short series Shmitty, McFunkle and Stump. When not working his audio mojo, John likes to ski the avalanche-prone back country of Utah, cook paella for his friends, and spend time with his beautiful wife, Dawn and amazing son, Declan.

Brent Mukai is a stand up/improv comedian, actor, and voice actor from Pearl City, Hawaii. As an improv comedian, he is a part of Las Vegas’ longest-running improv comedy show, Jest Serendipity, which has had residency shows at Planet Hollywood and The Palms Casino. He performs improv and stand up all over town, and currently produces the monthly two-man nerd improv show, The Cosplay Improv Mashup Show at the Millennium Fandom Bar.

As a teacher, he is an instructor at two schools in the city-wide improv league the High School Jesters, and also puts on corporate team building workshops. In his spare time, Brent likes to freestyle rap, play Pictionary, and write about himself in the third person.

Jack is our “Voice of Character.” He’s an award-winning narrator of audiobooks and voice actor for eLearning, video games, and commercials since 2009. Jack is a consummate storyteller and character voice actor, with a five-decade background in public relations and stage acting. Jack has a Bachelor’s degree in Dramatic Arts from U.C. Davis. He has trained in voice over with Alice Whitfield, Melissa Moats, Pat Fraley, and Marc Cashman. He’s also an enthusiastic member of the World-Voices Organization (WoVO), Professional Audiobook Narrators Association (PANA), & the Audio Publishers Association. Jack narrates audiobooks at ACX and for major publishers Blackstone, Deyan Audio, Tantor Media, Audible Studios, and Findaway Voices. In 2018, Jack won AudioFile Magazine’s “Earphones Award” and was nominated for a Society of Voice Arts & Sciences (SOVAS) award for best mystery narration. In 2021, he won the SOVAS award for Best History Narration! You’ll find him on Facebook, SoundCloud, LinkedIn, and Twitter, but mostly he’ll be making magic in his studio in Henderson.

Dustin has been behind a microphone since the age of 15 with a 20-year career in radio as a DJ, production director, program director, and operations manager. Now, as a full-time voice actor for over a decade, Dustin works in the industry every day for clients like Ferrari, UPS, The Harley-Davidson Museum, Cholula Hot Sauce, and many others. Most of his work is commercial, narration, and eLearning. As one of the founders and president emeritus of World-Voices Organization (WoVO), Dustin is most interested in helping others in our industry and sharing what he’s learned over the last three decades.

Beyond his passion and enthusiasm for voice acting, Anthony has a deep love for exploring the human condition. Whether it’s through psychology, philosophy, neuroscience, or simply dissecting the art of storytelling, Anthony embraces it all in his work. Born and raised in Las Vegas, he holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Acting Performance from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He has lent his voice to such brands as Honda, Mountain Dew, Nature Made, Jackbox Games, Pro Source, and Marco’s Pizza. While honing his craft in LA for over a decade, Anthony gained invaluable experience on the other side of the VO glass working alongside prominent video game voice directors as a session assistant for Rocket Sound Studios. He’s also voiced multiple video game roles in franchises like Final Fantasy, Game of War, Paladins Online, and MU Origins 2. When not joyfully locked in his imagination tank (a.k.a. VO booth), you’ll often find Anthony on a hike, at the movies, diving into a good book, playing video games, pickle-balling, or writing at a coffee shop.

Denise is a proud student of TVAS turned full-time VO pro. Her life experiences, education, and career path have covered a vast spectrum and have all contributed in a unique way to her success in voice over. Denise truly believes that through the power of positivity, hard work, and perseverance, anything is possible! She loves sharing the practical knowledge she’s gained through training and her personal VO journey to help new students to the craft, flourish! She feels great joy watching students grow in talent and in confidence.

For fun, you’ll find Denise on a Southern California beach with a good book, practicing Mindfulness Meditation (both on and off of the mat), or stepping out of her comfort zone with her husband and kids to swim with sharks in Hawaii, or zipline in Alaska… amazed and appreciative of every single one of life’s treasured moments!

Alan’s journey began as a sound engineer for live entertainment at Walt Disney World. His evolution continued with audio-visual presentation support and productions while in Orlando. As computers evolved (yes, Alan remembers when they were introduced), his technical expertise shifted to computer solutions and integration. When Alan retired in 2017, his focus moved to voice over and supporting the TVAS community. Alan’s unique background in Corporate IT Services and Audio Engineering experience makes him a perfect fit to support TVAS students in tech and audio.

Joyce Castellanos, often referred to as “VO Mama,” began her career in the voice over industry as an audio director/producer at NBC, Disney Channel, Warner Bros. Marketing, and The WB Television Network that spanned over 25 years. She also trained as a voice actor to enhance her skills as a director, giving her the ability to communicate clearly with talent. Since leaving the networks, Joyce worked as a talent agent, mentoring voice actors on their careers, and taught “Introduction To Voiceover” at Ventura Community College and West LA College, while expanding the genres for coaching voice actors at all levels for over 20 years. Having recently moved to Las Vegas, she is excited to be working with TVAS and the wonderful voice over community here as well as those studying remotely. Joyce’s broad experience and passion for this industry keeps her on the cutting edge.

Jason Rooney is a nationally recognized voice actor who started his career in the early 2000s in Las Vegas and is now living and working in St Louis. He is married with 4 kids and a chihuahua. You’ve most likely heard him on commercials or promos from some of his notable clients like The Wendy Williams Show, ABC, HGTV, Travel Channel, A&E, Saturday Night Live, TruTV, Proactiv, Pepsi, Nintendo, LEGO, Honda, Disney, McDonald’s, Home Depot, and Chrysler to name a few!

Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Chuck traveled to LA to study theater and film at Cal State University of Los Angeles. After finding minimal success in commercial and short film work, he was encouraged to join the business of voice acting where he found much more fitting casting opportunities and excellent representation. During his time with AKA Talent, Chuck was being cast for national commercials while exploring his other passion in sports radio. As a participant on LA’s Sports Leader 710 ESPN LA, he was honored to join Steve Mason and John Ireland as a guest on the station’s drive time show. After hosting shows for 710 ESPN, Chuck actively looked for a more permanent home in sports entertainment and found an opportunity with ESPN 1100 Las Vegas. Producing and hosting was a wonderful experience, but the voice acting business fulfilled a constant artistic need that Chuck was grateful to return to. Since then Chuck has voiced national commercials for notable brands such as Vizio, Starbucks, T-Mobile, Jos. A. Bank, and RE/MAX Real Estate. Chuck loves spending time with his son Evan, is still active as a boxer and trainer, and is honored to be a part of the TVAS family. 

Nikki has been performing in one way or another since she was 5, starting out with tap dance in her hometown of San Diego. She quickly learned that she belonged on stage and at 18 moved to New York City to attend the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and pursue Musical Theatre. Since then, Nikki has acquired a long list of stage and film credits from coast to coast and later moved to Las Vegas to teach ballroom dance and see what else Sin City had to offer. Enter TVAS! Nikki is a true product of diligent training at The Voice Actors Studio and has proudly voiced for brands such as Discount Tire, Molson Coors, Sparkling Ice, Hyatt, and Raising Canes. The voice over community quickly became her favorite, and she enthusiastically started helping others find their voice. Watching other Voicers learn to trust themselves and really dive into their craft is truly a bright spot in her life. When she’s not behind a microphone, Nikki can be found snuggled up with her chihuahua & pit bull watching scary movies, in a mosh pit, or visiting the beach.

In 2017, Michelle Reiss serendipitously stumbled upon TVAS after a cross-country move from her home state of Virginia. Suddenly her distant dream of becoming a voice actor “someday” got a lot closer to reality, and she’s been hanging out at TVAS ever since! Michelle is a long-time member of the SEP Team, so you may have seen her at the engineer’s desk during a workshop or cracking jokes in the Zoom chat. A lot of what Michelle does is behind the scenes, from making memes for the TVAS socials to proofreading so intensely she earned the nickname “Eagle Eye” for her propensity for spotting typos. When she’s not color-coding spreadsheets at 2am, Michelle enjoys playing video games, listening to loud music, and yes, being a voice actor!

After spending fifteen years in the live entertainment industry making everyone’s dreams come true but his own, Trent left behind his life of babysitting rock stars to pursue his artistic passions (though he hates the word “passion” with a… well… passion). Now a proud part of the TVAS family as well as a VO student, Trent freelances primarily as a digital illustrator, but also offers a variety of creative services which include graphic design, photography, film production, editorial writing, music production, and, as recently as this very moment, making long-winded, shamelessly self-indulgent lists regarding his aptitudes. Although he has completely forgotten how to do long division, it has had a remarkably minimal negative impact on his life and Trent has managed to become a very happy person.

As a 20-year Las Vegas local, spending half of that time serving tables on the Las Vegas Strip, Taylor Moats has absorbed the essence of hospitality while pursuing his passion as a photographer and videographer. Capture, Create, Deliver. That’s this Las Vegas local’s mantra, and deliver he does.

Several years after launching his business, Moats Media, Taylor has transitioned to full-time media production, and has recently teamed up with TVAS to continue creating some killer content showcasing the journeys of the talent who consider The Voice Actors Studio their home away from home. 😉

Taylor now spends his energy growing his YouTube channel, creating promo content for clients & their businesses, and capturing those special moments in life that you never want to forget. When Taylor isn’t behind the camera, you can find him contorted in a yoga pose cleansing his body, mind, and spirit.