DEC 2- NANCY CARTWRIGHT

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As an Emmy & Annie Award-winning actress, NANCY CARTWRIGHT is best known as the voice of spikey-headed underachiever Bart Simpson, but also gives voice to Ralph Wiggum, Nelson Muntz, Todd Flanders, Maggie Simpson, DataBase and Kearney in the town of Springfield on Fox’s 26-year-iconic hit, The Simpsons. Needless to say, it is the longest running scripted TV series in history—starting its 27th year in production. In her 34-year career at the microphone, Nancy has lent her voice to hundreds of other award-winning animated series, including Rugrats (Chuckie); Kim Possible (Rufus the Naked Mole Rat); Richie Rich (Gloria); Animaniacs (Mindy); The Replacements (Todd) as well as Pinky and the Brain; The Critic; God, The Devil and Bob; Mike, Lu & Og; and Chuck Jones’ final work, Timberwolf.  Today, as a producer and writer, she is currently in pre-production on a feature film In Search of Fellini. Another company project in development is a comedic animated series about entrepreneurial seniors who have taken over the Miami retirement home called Unassisted Living.

 

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56 thoughts on “DEC 2- NANCY CARTWRIGHT

  1. Shang Song says:

    I never looked at the “Simpson family” because it was the American life, not China. But Nancy has a professional attitude that makes me learn a lot of things. Career of a professional voice player. In China, the animation voice is generally three kinds of people to do: first, the radio professional personnel, the day to do animation voice, at night in radio and other work. Second, TV series or movie dubbing, especially dubbedfilm. Third, is the folk enthusiasts
    In 2008 after the Chinese animation of the match began to improve, but still not optimistic, especially in Mandarin voice, I hope to have a greater improvement.

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  2. Yu Yu says:

    It’s an amazing lecture tonight. I always admire voice actors. They are part of the main point to let the animation characters alive. It’s more impressive that she can be different characters in the same series, it just like an actor acting several roles on the stage at the same time! I’m not a big fan of Simpson, but this lecture is the one which I will never forget. Besides her stunning performance, she also taught us some important points she believes in life. One of them is “Do what you love, or you will live miserable in the rest of your life.”. Lots of people keep saying that, but it’s indeed hard to follow. Of course we want to do what we love for living, yet most of times thing won’t go what we expect. That’s why she also suggest us to “trust your instinct.”. Sometimes we think too much before doing anything. Sometimes we just need a little bit more believe in ourselves.

    The last point is “You are responsible of the situation you are in now.” It’s always easier to blame others, however, we should never forget that what we are in right now depends on what we chose. With those points in mind, Nancy Cartwright no doubt lives an incredible life, loving the things she does, and see things in optimistic ways.

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    • Nancy Cartwright says:

      Yu Yu,
      Thank you for your comments. Especially swell that you got a couple of the main points I stressed in my lecture. That said, I don’t quite recall saying, “Do what you love, OR YOU WILL LIVE MISERABLE (sic) IN THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.” I am pretty powerful, but I am not so bold as to tell you what will happen to you. 😉
      That said, it is fair to say that good or bad, YOU are the one making decisions about what to do in your life–with personal relationships, career, what to eat, wear, etc. And for that reason, IF/WHEN you do well, you can also give yourself a big pat on the back…because YOU did that. And at the same time, if you aren’t doing well…CHANGE YOUR MIND, FIX IT! It all comes back to you.
      You are powerful and I wish you all the best!

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      • Thank you, HyeonJeong. I am so glad that you got so much out of my seminar. I really loved you and the rest of your peers. You were such an “interested” audience. I felt like I was in my own home and you were my guests.
        All the best to you, my dear. You are on your way!

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  3. HyeonJeong Cho says:

    What a lovely seminar it was! She was very energetic person, I could feel that her bright energy filled whole seminar room.

    I liked her advice for career – maybe for the life,
    Do what you love
    Surrounded people who believe in your dream
    Trust your instinct
    You’re responsible for your condition

    Fortunately, I know what I love to do and I’m doing it now, I always somehow surrounded by good people. However, I often have some problems when I have to decide something. I doubted that I, and my instinct chose right thing or not, easily affected by others and when result turned out bad, I blamed them inside. What a silly person I was. It was really good to remind me what are the right things to do for myself.

    Thank you for so enthusiastic seminar, it was so much fun, and Nancy Cartwright, your voice(s) is(are) amazing. Thank you again for great end of this class.

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  4. Evan Tedlock says:

    The final meeting of the semester couldn’t have ended on a more positive note. Nancy Cartwright delivered an uplifting inspirational lecture that put the capstone on this series of presentations. She was funny, entertaining and insightful. Nancy reminded me that there is no point in pushing ahead in this field if you aren’t having a good time while you’re doing it. I know that my initial reason for getting into animation in the first place was because I couldn’t imagine myself enjoying anything else.

    It was surreal to be able to meet the voice behind such a historic animation character. Bart Simpson is a household name and part of one of the longest running scripted shows in the history of television. I can’t wait until next semester to see what amazing guests Lisa has in store.

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  5. Mayra Flores says:

    Nancy Cartwright is awesome! What a great way to end the semester. She gave us some solid advice and it was comforting to know that I’m on the right path because I checked off all the boxes in her six steps to success. I think her presentation was definitely something we needed to hear especially during this very difficult time in the semester with the seemingly endless work and fast approaching deadlines. I know I definitely did.

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  6. Jinyue Wan says:

    Nancy Cartwright just gave me an unforgotten night! I really like her personality, and she is absolutely one of the most charming lady I ever met! I also admire her attitude to life, she looks very happy and really enjoy her work.

    Voice is really important for a character, sometimes voice can really build a vividly character, and sometimes it can ruin a character, especially for a cartoon character. Nancy Cartwright really let the character become alive. I think maybe her personality is one of the important reason. On the other side, she is a very professional voice actor, the way she talk and act can really let people focus on what happened in the story. I really appreciate that she can be our guest tonight.

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    • Hi Jinyue,
      So glad you liked my lecture. I had a blast doing it. I have been a speaker for many years and especially love speaking to students at universities–yourself included! 🙂 I took full advantage when I was at Ohio University for a couple years of all the facilities they had there–nothing like what USC has, that is for darn sure! LOL
      That said, you have a fantastic opportunity to excel in making your dreams come true. Use the other students. Use the students in the theater department for your voices…but most of all, have a blast!

      Nancy

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  7. xiruiliu says:

    Nancy Cartwright is amazing person. she loves to sharing her stories in order to let us know more about her. I am really appreciate her life attitude. she is so positive and smart woman in my heart.

    Actually, I am not a big fan of The Simpsons, but, I still can feeling that Simpsons families stand in front of me when she is talking. It is so crazy life style, someone can suddenly change to another person just using different voice. Even she is using a happy voice to tell us her life path and bad situation she was face, I still can know how hard work of her to get this job at the end.

    Also, she is using her own story to teach us how to get a job even no one cares about you. Keeping introduce yourself and hard work is the really key to open the career door. I learned a lot things from her and I am so happy to know her at this lecture.

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    • Xiruiliu,
      Well all right! I appreciate your honesty about not being a fan of the show. More important that you actually arrived at the lecture, right? Well done on that. Sounds like you got some good out of it and that is the whole purpose. I wish you well in all you do.

      Nancy

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  8. Jinzhi Du says:

    I am not familiar with the culture of American TV animation. Comparing other people, I don’t have any information about Nancy Cartwright before her speech. Of course I know Simpson before. But I have actually never watch any episode of Simpson. Without these kinds of information, I can say I still like the voice actress, Nancy.

    I really enjoy her way to speech. It is very attractive and funny. Not only her own characteristic, she also shows us her very very very professional skill. It shocked me a lot. I can imagine that if I just listen her voice without any frame, I will never fell weird ever. How important an voice actor is in TV animation industry.

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    • Hi Jinzhi! Thanks for your comments. So glad you came. It amazes me that many of your classmates were not familiar with the culture of American TV animation and yet came to my lecture. I am also very happy that you found some value in what I shared. I wish you all the best.

      Nancy

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  9. Kun Xia says:

    Nancy Cartwright is amazing and talented, and I really like her stories. Nancy has great vocal prowess and uncanny ability to capture the voice of kids. She can effortlessly switch from one character to the next. It is amazing that it has been 28 years since her audition, and the Simpsons now has become the longest-running prime-time scripted series in American TV history. I think that making a career out of something you truly love is important, when people love what they do, they are compelled to push against themselves. People want to be where they are challenging themselves, and competing with themselves in achieving their vision. It remind me a quote. “Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

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    • Dear Kun Xia,
      I love that quote and I couldn’t agree more. Sounds like you got a lot out of my lecture and that was the whole idea! I wish you all the best in all you do. Just in your writing alone, I like your attitude!!

      Nancy

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  10. Zhaoyu Zhou says:

    Really appreciate the class for bringing such an amazing speaker here. I rarely watch American tv animation but I know The Simpsons is well-known and highly watched by American families. Nancy Cartwright is an amazing person and she loves to tell her stories which are really attractive and influential. Voice actors are core part in both feature and tv animation and I thing Nancy has done a great job. I also believe that one of the factors that have made The Simpsons so welcome is her job as a voice actor

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    • Hi Zhaoyu! Very sweet to say what you said. I was tickled to be there and see yours and your peers’ very interested faces. I have never had so many questions asked after a lecture before! I think I could have stayed another 2 hours, no kidding…you were all so interested.
      Wishing you all the best,
      Nancy

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  11. Tuo Kan says:

    Nancy Cartwright’s lecture’s unbelievable amazing! I have a really happy night class that day. When someone’s calling her, and she suddenly brought the Bart Simpson on. Oh that is awesome! I always feel so blessed when someone has an amazing voice and speak very live(not only in television). It’s like my experience last semester. Undeniable I am a big Mariah Carey fan. And finally I can have a chance to go to her Vegas show, I can finally hear her in live. And I was crying so hard.

    The Simpsons was my favorite animation when I was in High School. And these voices of the Simpson family members are so unique and cool! I remember I really like doing Marge’s voice with my friends(maybe that is the only one that I can do) And I also save my dad and mum’s contact names as Homer and Marge till now.

    And I asked her about how to protect her voice, she actually said she never do anything crazy about her unique voice. She enjoys her life, love party, chocolate. I finally realized the Bart Simpson’s voice actress is as fun as her character. That is super cool! I can totally feel her spirit with this lecture. That is a fantastic night.

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  12. Joe Stucky says:

    Nancy Cartwright’s lecture was super fun, informative, and inspirational! I have loved the Simpsons since the first primetime shows in 89. Yes I saw it then! I remember thinking this is phenomenal even though I was unfamiliar with American life at the time. I could associate with Bart though. Never new then that I would get to meet Nancy Cartwright in person! So awesome:)! Such a great talent and also an amazing motivational speaker. My girls are big fans as well.

    I really look forward to seeing her film soon. The teaser was great.

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  13. Min Shi says:

    I have watched The Simpsons episode when I was in China, I have to admit that sometimes, it is really hard for me to get some point due to the culture difference. However, with the voice, with the performance, to some extent, I can get some point. That is the moment I guess how voice can expand animation. And from that moment I came to realize the importance of voice in animation.

    Obviously, Nancy Cartwright’s voice has a kind of magic that can make me focusing on her talking even if without animation haha. I think that is the magic of voice actor and actress, their are performance are not been limited by frames.

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  14. Okike Franklin says:

    The best was saved for last!! I’m still star struck to be honest!! I grew up on the Simpsons, so for me meeting the voice behind “eat my short” in person is still surreal. Nancy Cartwright’s presentation and cameo was by far the highlight of this semester (in general) for me.
    Her presentation wasn’t solely based on her as an ” iconic, talented, professional voice actor and writer” but Nancy also talked to us as a dear friend or as a mother would.

    In addition to all of the valuable points Nancy made, the one that resonated with me was “ALWAYS FOLLOW YOUR GUT”. I was going to participate in the Trivial Pursuit , not because I knew the Simpsons in-and-out but because my gut said “dude, just go,fail but take a selfie” ….. but I subdued my gut. Then the second gut call to was during the “Thumb drive” give away, Eric asked a similar question that I was building up to ask, but my “awesome” guts kicked in afterwards and not only did we go home with a Thumb drive(which I’ll never use because it has been sealed off), we went home with an autograph too (Ay caramba!!! Hi5 Gut!! ).. #thinking hmmm I should have taken that selfie.

    This has been a great seminar overall, we have had the pleasure and opportunity to meet various artists with different backgrounds and to that I tip my hat to you sir, Eric Hanson..

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    • Eric Hanson says:

      Thanks Franklin, I appreciate that!

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    • Okike,
      You have an amazing professor who really cares about his students. This curriculum is outstanding and to have an instructor like Eric who makes sure that you are getting all the opportunities you can that will help guide you towards your goals is rare indeed.
      I had a teacher once who brought in seasoned professionals to share their stories with us. Cary Grant (The Philadelphia Story, North By Northwest) and Jack Lemon (Days of Wine and Roses, Some Like it Hot) stand out in my mind. I loved hearing what they had to share about their acting experiences during the Golden Age of Hollywood. I grabbed and held onto what sounded right to me and threw out what didn’t. That is an ability that you can acquire too. (It’s along the line of “Trust Your Instincts–Your Are Correct”.)
      I was/am honored to be a part of your curriculum.
      All the best,
      Nancy

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  15. Erik Dumas says:

    This was an awesome seminar, and I am super stoked that we got to end this class on such a high note. Nancy was incredibly insightful, inspirational, and most importantly, loads of fun to listen to. The trivia game in particular was a blast.
    If I had to only remember one important point that she talked about, it would have to be the point that you should follow your instincts. A lot of the time we are our own worst enemies and our own harshest critics, and I think a big part of being successful in life is learning to trust your instincts more often. How many times have we all taken a multiple choice test, circled an answer, second guessed ourselves so we circle a different answer, and then it turns out our first choice was the correct one?

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    • Righty-o you are, Erik–about second guessing yourself!

      I appreciate your kind words–you and your classmates were a great audience. I think I could have been there several more hours–LOL!!

      All the best,
      Nancy

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  16. Jing Huang says:

    I have to admit that Simpsons are really amazing! However when I can to design a character I do not know how to design such nice characters that everybody loves. Nancy’s work is great, no one can refuse that; but maybe she can tell us more about the characters designing which I always think is one of the main part of animation.
    Of course, Nancy’s presentation is great as well as all her works, the move and the music, very precise to the thesis. I wish someday I can have my own characters like hers, which must be pretty great.

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    • Jing,
      Thanks for the insight and I agree. I will keep that in mind if/when I come back. I would like that. Now that I am creating several animated projects I am finding out more and more myself about what works and what doesn’t. There are certain guidelines for aesthetics that I have learned over the years and I can share that too.

      All the best to you,
      Nancy

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  17. mengna Lei says:

    This is the best speech in this semester. She is so funny and confident. Her experience is really inspired me to think about the future of my career. no matter if she is animation or not. her attitude is really positive which moves me a lot.
    to be an artist, the experience is the source of the work, to feel and to experience the different, new or abnormal thins happen in life is one of the most crucial process to gather the inspiration and topic. it will become the treasure.
    to be an artist, I hate to sit in front of the computer and keep drawing for whole day. especially for the work you feel not satisfied with.
    after her speech, I really feel I should have confidence of my choice of work, topic, and friends. be awareness and smart of what around me.

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    • Hi Megnna! What an insightful comment. I am so glad that you got so much out of my appearance/speech. And that you are inspired to change–that is the whole intention behind what I do. In fact, it is my overall goal/purpose as an artist. I find that when I stick to what my own personal goals are, I do really, really well.

      Wishing you all the best,
      Nancy

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  18. Yijie Li says:

    There is always barriers between the American TV animation and the people growing up out of United States, but I think the TV series “The Simpsons” has proven its great value because it influences generation which was growing with it. I think one of the great parts of the contribution of the success of “The Simpsons” is its voicing acting where Nancy Cartwright is proudly part of it.

    It is amazing that Nancy Cartwright share her stories with us as she had been in the audition field for 28 years. From her presentation, we can easily feel the enthusiasm of bring a character alive. I can’t imagine that the amount of effort that she had put in it, but this is why the whole world admire their works.

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    • Hi Yijie! Thanks for that admiration, and I totally understand what you mean about the cultural aspect of the Simpsons and its’ far-reaching success.

      One thing I want to clarify is that I honestly can’t say there was a whole lot of “effort” in achieving my goals. Actually, it is the opposite. I don’t believe the world works on “effort”. In fact, whenever i found myself using “force” or “effort”, I didn’t get what I was striving for. But when I was confident and was able “to have or not to have” it, that was when I achieved my goal/happiness. Interesting, right? I just did what I loved and that was fun!

      All the best,
      Nancy

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  19. Sequoyah Madison says:

    A versatile, unbelievably talented voice actress and a truly genuine down to earth person are only the beginning when describing Nancy Cartwright. Her conviction in pursuing her goals is unparalleled and something you can feel as she talks about her experience. Her dreams of creating a movie based on her time in Italy validated my beliefs that I also have a story to tell and destroyed pieces of insecurity. Nancy Cartwrights spontaneity (answering the phone using Bart’s voice) ,confidence (realizing and then altering the situation to turn mics toward one another when recording with Meryl), and truly trying to make the world a better place (attempting to raise the mood of miserable associates) seem to be key components to living a happy life. You can really tell she enjoys her job and makes the most out of it! Words to live by, Nancy Cartwright “You are responsible for your condition in any situation.” Our perception and mind set can change in an instant, so the only block is the desire to want to make a change. I didn’t grow up watching the Simpsons, as my family limited family time to live action movies, animated feature films and lots of board games, but after meeting Nancy I can imagine the show is incredible! I can’t speak any higher of Nancy Cartwright, she is a truly amazing and inspirational person. Thank you Nancy for taking the time to share yourself and your knowledge with us!

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    • Hello Sequoyah! Wow!!! What an acknowledgement! Thank you! I am so glad that you garnered so much information from my speech. I love creating effects with people, especially young people who are on the brink of making decisions that will effect the rest of their lives. I look forward to seeing what you are creating, my dear.

      All the best,
      Nancy

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  20. Aya Kashima says:

    It was really fun and unforgettable night! Big thank you for Nancy Cartwright for coming to USC and gave us the lecture. I enjoyed she shared her life experience in voice acting career and gave us the advice for finding career in animation industry. I was surprised how friendly she is, and she is professional to entertain people. Simpsons is really amazing animation, I watched since I was a little, so it was a great experience for me to see her.

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    • Hi Aya! Big thanks to you for that kind comment. Glad I got to share “my story” with you and your peers. You were an amazing audience–so very interested and that was the fuel that kept me going–our relationship! So big thanks to YOU!!

      All the best,
      Nancy

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  21. David Nessl says:

    It was quite a treat to have Nancy Cartwright come and speak to us. She even went in and out of talking in Bart Simpson’s voice. I look forward to watching ‘Fellini’ as well and its inspiring to know that even Nancy has to work independently to produce her personal projects. The world of media production and entertainment is rapidly changing and these types of guests who go into detail about how they work is a big help for my own career. It goes to show that Nancy’s experience working in the industry for so long gave her the skills needed to make this last seminar of the semester the best. Awesome opossum!

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    • Hey David! Thanks for that! And you are so right about the world of media production and entertainment changing so rapidly–I can hardly keep up. Believe me, my FaceBook, Twitter, Flitter, Flutter, Butter, Croissant, Cappuccino…wait a minute, I fell off the track! My social media involvement/understanding is a work in progress!! LOL

      Here’s to you and wishing you all the best,
      Nancy

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  22. Junyi Xiao says:

    It was an amazing lecture tonight. And it is the first time I listen to a speech from a voice actor. I have to say Nancy was incredibly insightful and I also admired that she shared her own story to us.

    Nancy Cartwright’s voice has a kind of magic and full of potentials. She really showed us how important a good voice actor is in an animation.

    By the way, I really look forward to seeing her film soon. The teaser looks so great.

    Like

    • Hi Junyi! Thanks for that comment and so glad that you got so much out of it. This is the business of getting along with people and the better you can work as a member of a team, the more fun you will have!

      All the best,
      Nancy

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  23. yudu says:

    The lecture, not like others that we had throughout this semester is about voice acting. I have only work with voice actor once. It was when I was undergrad. It is interesting to find out that, a lot of animation short films are not including voice acting. Also we have very little training about how to use voice acting at school. So sometimes it is a little bit hard for me to think about voice over in my animation. Nancy gave a very good lecture, and allows me to think about voice acting more. She is a very nice person as well as very professional. Her experience on finding an voice acting job although is not directed related to me, it give me ideas about as a director where to great voice actor as she is.
    Also, she is very encouraging. Although we have different dream, when she talked about her experience and talked about keep on pursuing your dream, I felt very related. Thanks again! It was a very nice lecture, and I have enjoyed it so much!

    Like

    • Hi Yudu! That is so terrific that you can pull from my experience to help you, even though you are not a voice actor. I really wanted my story to be universally understood so that no matter what you do, you can be inspired by my simple lessons I learned in a whole career. That was most definitely the idea!

      All the best,
      Nancy

      Like

  24. Ruchia Masuko says:

    I was so pleased to see Nancy Cartwright in a person.
    I was so excited while I was listening to her.
    I love watching Simpsons and Rugrats, and I can’t believe I have a chance to see her.
    When I was in jr,high school, I was in Hawaii, and I started watch animated TV show maniacally. At the time, I was also loved searching voice actors of animation series.
    I found The voice of the animated TV show in US sounds very attracted than TV shows in Japan.

    Nancy Cartwright is a wonderful, powerful and cool woman.
    Her presentation gave me influence a lot, especially the part,
    I should follow my instinct and choose right friends.

    In Japan, some say that many of woman ends up being a housewife, and don’t build their careers after they got married. I really want to see more woman become successful, and being able to show up and tell stories like Nancy Cartwright.

    Like

    • Hi Ruchia! I don’t know who learned more from speaking in this class, you or me! It always amazes me how much I get out of it! I have never been to Japan but intend on going within the next couple years. I hope to visit some animation studios and even work with them. I know there is marvelous talent there to be discovered and work with.

      Here’s to you and wishing you all the best,
      Nancy

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  25. Chung-Hsuan, Fan Chiang says:

    It was a great night with Nancy’s presence. Everybody was pretty amazed by her sound performance and also her life experience. I’ve always been curious about how sound performer deals with different characters, and there is no doubt that Nancy is not only talented but also professional, who knows how a great sound actress should be and also did amazing job on every characters in different situations. Her speech is very cheerful, about how we should keep up with what we are doing and good at. She knows exactly how to make the most of her talent and seize every chance possible, with her perseverance and optimistic personality, we can see how she achieve her goal as a successful sound artist today.

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  26. Megan Simon says:

    Wow, Nancy Cartwright’s lecture blew me out of the water. It’s incredible to see she responded to everyone’s post here on the blog as well! Her lecture made me laugh a lot, incredible talent to make all those voices! It was hilarious when she answered Eric Hansen’s phone! XD I can’t imagine what the person on the other end would have thought. I wish she would answer the phone for me hahaha

    I personally enjoyed her advice on how to approach a successful life. She really broke down how to pursue your dreams and live a productive life even if it seems unlikely, or strange to some people. I think her enthusiam was the most inspiring. It’s amazing to think how she managed her success by passionately pursuing something not a lot of people at the time took seriously. Her stories on her life were amazing, from mailing tapes to a grand adventure in Italy, to her experiences with meeting Meryl Streep. I think often of my friends when hearing these stories, and especially one friend of mine who is a really big harry potter fan. She is a graphic designer who got interested in design because of the harry potter movies. She went to park’s opening in Orlando on opening day, and generally always seemed “too into it.” But through her many experiences as a Harry Potter “Geek” as my friend put it, my friend found her career, and met the designers who did prop design for the movies. Now my friend is pursuing prop design and is seeking to build a career out of it. She always tells me that it’s good to have passion about something to drive you forward, and I think I am starting to understand what she means..

    Maybe it sounds strange but meeting Nancy Cartwright helped me to see how lucky I am. I hope to be the kind of person who supports people’s dreams, and also pursues my own with hard work and enthusiasm. To be exceptionally passionate about something. And I hope I can make art that speaks to people, though maybe not as literally such as Nancy Cartwright work. XD I think the points she made about being responsible for yourself, and surrounding yourself with people who push you forward were most helpful. I realized I need to start thinking about how I live my life in pursuit of my dreams and dedicate myself to it 100%. I hope to find a mentor too, though I think I already have some amazing mentors in my professors. 🙂 I am a very lucky person indeed. ^.^

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    • Hi Megan,
      i must tell you, I have the biggest, fattest head you can imagine–your comments (as well as your peers) have made extremely difficult to get through my doorway !!!!! LOL

      All kidding aside, I am so very happy that you got so much out of my lecture. I really do love to speak to people your age and it sounds like you are going to take some of my successful actions and put them to use in your own life.

      It is good to hear about your friend doing so well in pursuing her dreams, and now you know that you can do the same! There is no right or wrong in what you do, just better choices.

      Carpe diem, my dear and all the best to you,
      Nancy

      Like

  27. Katie Smith says:

    What a fantastic way to end our first semester here at USC. Eric definitely saved the best for last, not just because it was Nancy Freakin’ Cartwright, but because her energy and zest for life was infectious, and she gave superb advice. The ‘life lessons’ she made really stuck with me – especially surround yourself with people who believe in you and support you. I’m lucky to have really great friends and family who are so supportive, but there have been people along the way who haven’t been as supportive or feed in to that little negative voice in your head. There will always be those negative people, and the trick is recognizing them and making sure they aren’t around. I also really like how Nancy emphasized to just go for it, how you’re responsible for what you do/the situation that you’re in, and to do what you love. Life is scary man, so just take a breath and do it! (I imagined that being said in Bart’s voice.)

    I’m also really really looking forward to seeing ‘Fellini’. Having studied abroad in Italy, I have a huge appreciation for their culture and way of life, and the teaser for this film took me back to when I was there. I love going on ‘solo adventures’ & took advantage of that in Italy, and Nancy’s adventure in a way reminded me of this. One time I got stuck in Venice because I had missed the last train, and had such a great evening – it was the first time I had taken myself out to dinner to a nice restaurant with no book or no ‘armor’ at hand. I left my time abroad feeling like a stronger woman & knowing more about myself, and I’m really looking forward to watching Nancy’s film to see her personal Italian adventure story.

    I left the presentation feeling refreshed and excited, which is no easy feat during finals time. I was so impressed with her and all she has done. Nancy, thank you for being fearless & teaching us and others to be as well!! Most of all, thank you for taking the time to come in and talk to our class. It was so great to meet you! I hope you have a wonderful Holiday & a very happy New Year ahead.

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    • Hi Katie!
      Thanks for your acknowledgement. Really happy that you found some of my advice helpful. If you can pick and choose amongst all the speakers you have and find some “gems” that will help you in your own personal journey, then I believe we have all done our jobs.
      Here is to you and your continued journey in finding your own Fellini.

      I wish you all the best,
      Nancy

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