Rebecca Forstadt
VOICE OVER AND ANIME ACTOR
SAG / AFTRA
It’s hard to believe that Rebecca Forstadt has been a voice over actor for over 30 years, because her voice still sounds like a kid. This is very convenient when telephone solicitors call. All she has to do is say, “Sorry, my Mommy is busy right now.”
Rebecca has voiced radio, TV Commercials, background voices for film, but is particularly infamous for her portrayal of hundreds of anime characters. She fell into the anime genre because she happened to be quite good at dubbing. This is a skill that not all actors can do very well. Once she started she never stopped.
Rebecca is best known for playing the part of Lynn Minmei in the cartoon series Robotech. She has played every type of character imaginable from a zombie to a cockroach. However, her specialty is little girl’s voices. Her voice timber is extremely natural as opposed to sounding like a squeak toy. She is often asked to replace children’s voices in film who either have an accent or weren’t available to do ADR. The advantage of using Rebecca in these roles is that she doesn’t require a studio teacher and is potty trained.
Rebecca has fans all over the world and is occasionally invited to appear at anime conventions. Although, she is not on the convention circuit, because seriously, she has a life, she enjoys those mini vacations and would gladly take trips to Paris, Australia, Rome or London. Surprisingly she very much enjoyed visiting Columbus Ohio. Who knew?
If you are a fan, you are welcome to join Rebecca’s Facebook group. Rebecca is a Facebook junkie. She is also more than happy to give actors tips on how to break into the voice over field.
Step 1: It really helps to be an actor
Step 2: If you live in Podunk, it might be harder than if you lived in Los Angeles.
Step 3: Keep your day job. It is much more fun if you have money to eat with.
Follow Rebecca on Twitter @rebeccaforstadt
I spent a fun and wonderful evening last night celebrating the 25th anniversary of Robotech at the Tam O'Shanter Restaurant in LA. A hilarious time was had by all. Make sure to check it out by CLICKING HERE
The event was organized by Robotech fan Tom Bateman. Richard Epcar, Ellyn Stern, Eddie Frierson, Dan Woren, Michael Sorich, Joey D'Aurio and myself got to hold court. LOL
Tonight I'm heading out to Steve Kramer's house for his annual Oscar party. This has been a great weekend catching up with old friends.
CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW MY BLOG: I need the recognition LOL It's a self esteem thing!
I'm sitting here listening to a podcast with Richard Epcar and Tom Bateman. It's pretty funny to listen to. Tom called me today to invite me to dinner with several of the other actors from Robotech. We are going to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the show. Hard to believe. It should be fun.
It's interesting listening to Richard talk about the condition of the anime business in LA. I was beginning to wonder if it was just me, or that I was a female, because we all know men usually get the most work. I guess it's the same for everyone. People are trying to get people to work for nothing. Luckily Richard has been keeping busy doing games. Those are always great.
Hopefully things will get back to normal soon.
I'll report on how the dinner went. Can't wait!
Rebecca
Thank goodness for my Facebook Fans, who frequently remind me that there are still lots of my fans out there. I've been very busy doing all sorts of entrepreneurial things, in order to survive in LA. You can check out my OTHER LIVES at www.rebeccaolkowski.com That is a name I inherited from my late husband.
It's odd, but out of site, out of mind, I think LA has forgotten that I exist. Either that, or they prefer hiring sweet young things that have a better butt view than me. I'm not exactly a spring chicken anymore.
I just want to remind everyone I still have a voice. I am working to try to keep up with the times. Now you have to be a sound engineer to be a voice over actor. I'm pretty techie (as you can see by this blog – I put it up myself), I even use Twitter, @kidvoiceactor, but getting great sound quality at home is a challenge.
I long for the days when you went into your agents office or a casting director's studio and laid down auditions with a director coaching you. I also abhor the fact that you have to pay to audition on online sites. There you are mixed with thousands of people who have no experience at all in voice overs. Hey, it's a good place to practice, but if you have been in the business for 30 years, it's not so great.
Anyway, just ranting a little. I AM AVAILABLE however. I admit I am torn in about 8 thousand directions, but that's because I have a guy who is in the film industry who isn't working either. Either that or he just likes being kept. I'm beginning to think that's the reason.
So, if you are a fan, made sure to tell everyone, you want to hear REBECCA FORSTADT some more. I'll even lose a few pounds so my butt looks better.
Hi everybody!
Happy to report that our new games have gone live on the Mr. Men site! They've been a long time coming but I'm hoping they were worth the wait. Its been a lot of fun designing new games — I think the Little Miss Giggles game is now my favorite on the entire sight. Check out Little Miss Magic and Little Miss Giggle's games, printouts, and video clips.
Let us know what you think!
-Sarah
Neal F Hussain Heya! Sorry, i haven't seen any of the animes you star in, but i remember playing a game called, 'The Granstream Saga' and I must say you did a great job at doing Arcia's voice. The game was made a long time ago (over 10 years!) so you may not remember it. Take care now:)
Ryan Murphy hey miss forstadt this is ryan, one of aryes friends from japan, well i recently left there and am now back in podunk mississippi, i love how u do voices, i too aspired to do them but sadly never was able to, u can ask ur boy i make him laugh on occasion on my voice changes, i can do some really weird stuff, well see u… later, enjoy watching all of ur anime voice overs 
take care
Daniel Coffey Hey!
Thanks for being nice and have time to answer my questions of what would it be like of voicing Miss Giggles for TMMS Season 2! 
Mark Lester Im a big fan of Ms Rebecca Forstadt/Reba West…I really love her voice in Robotech as Minmay(the best!!),Nunally Lamperouge in Code Geass and Greta in Kyo Kara Maoh!!
Alois Fisher Joined, is a honour be part of this group dedicated to the wonderful voice of Rebecca Forstadt Olkowski / Reba West.
Eder Gómez Pardo coooooooooooooooooooool
Cesar Castillo thank you very much i grew up with your songs and still enjoy them
Rodrigo Melendez hi rebbeca, im glad to join tihs group, and I say the same: You're great, and you must know I trying to make a tribute band with every songs and soundtrack from rootech, if you can help me with something, REALLY I THNX YOU VERY MUCH, see you soon,
Christopher Ayers Jackson Hi, just listening to my Robotech Perfect Collection and did a search for you. Found out you had a Facebook page! Awesome! Just a fan saying hello
Aldo E. Vargas Cárdenas Espero que esto lo puedas traducir algún día…
Pero soñe muchas veces con la música de robotech, y,
con la preciosa voz de Liin Nimmai, ahora me sorprende gratamente
encontrar un tape en el grupo de robotech con un solo en piano
de su autoria, y, que Ud. eminencia lo posteara ademas…
Becky J. Scott Just dropping by to say hi; hope you had an awesome New Year!
Becky
Yuri Angel I either love you or hate you? I don't hate you at all! You're great! You were perfect for the role of Minmei!
Cindy Rubattino I´m so happy to meet you, Reba. Your voice is so deep and beautiful, and makes me extremly sensitive. My favorite song is "It´s You". I´ll be your fan forever… I can feel through your voice that you are a special and good person. God bless you.
Congratulations, from Panamá.
Jack Cox I do love your Tachikoma voice, I think your Batou's Personal Tachikoma, most of the stuff coming out of the Tachikoma's mouth are a riot. I think they were doing a new dub of the film at Animaze, I can't remember if the Tachikoma was in it or not.
Andres Esteban Videla Torres i am still a very big fan from robotech , even though i live in Argentina… I loved your voice as minmei… I loved your work,and i hope that you are doing great…
Nora Rich I was a very big fan of Robotech and sometimes wondered what the actors were doing today^_^. I'm glad to see some of you still acting.
Dear Rebecca:
My best wishes for you and your family and friend for this night, for this Xmas!
The best for all!
Sincerely yours, Javier
Thanks for you time in Skype! I really enjoy chat with you!
A dream come true! Sicnerely my best wishes for you, your family and friends!
This is a pic of me in a convention at the Japanese Gardens of Buenos Aires.
Javier / Alois
Dear Ms. Forstadt,
I'm so sorry to bother you. I'm a big fan I am of yours, starting back with Robotech in the 1980s. I know you've had many more successes other than Robotech – your body of work is actually very overwhelming! You've really touched many generations of fans with your work! I saw you breifly at an anime convention a few years ago, but you were going into the restroom, so I didn't want to bother you. You graciously said hi to me, though, which I never forgot.
I'm sure you're very busy, but I would really love to have your autograph. Do you have any type of PO Box or agency I can send a photo and self-addressed stamped envelope to? It would really mean a lot to me, and if you charge any type of autograph fee, just let me know, because I would be willing to include that, too.
Even if you aren't able to get to my request, thank you for taking the time to read this. I may not be able to ever meet you in person, so I appreciate being able to tell you how much your work means to me. Thank you for all of your hard work over the years, and I wish you continued success!
-Jason Scanlon
Hello!
I wanted to say that your new website is looking nice!
I'm a big fan of anime dubs, and the last show I heard you in was Code Geass.
It's too bad that there seem too be so much less anime dubs coming from LA these days, I love the work done by Bang Zoom and the other studios. I hope they can get more projects and I can hear you and the other LA actors in more dubs in the (hopefully near) future!
Oh, and here's a picture I made quite awhile ago, it has pictures of many characters you've voiced:
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b179/Balmung_HHQ/rebawest.jpg
Dear Rebecca.
I am soooooo glad that you received my e-mail and gave me those very valuable advice.I am really excited talking to you —–( my God)
Thank you soo much fo taking the time reading my mail and answering my questions. They are really useful advice.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I live in Ottawa, Canada now but I am chinese, English is my second language actually but I don't think my English is too bad and I sometimes get the highest mark in my English class, lol ,=D
I always want to be a voice actor or I can say a kid voice actor who dub for those kid characters in cartoons or any films, dramas.etc. OH, how exciting would that be! … hehe
I am taking dancing and singing class in my spare time now because I thought it would probably be helpful for applying for a voice actor.(on the other hand, these are my hobbies,hehe)
Besides, I'm planning to take some drama classes in the future as well.
These are the things I am doing right now as a preparation.Do have any other advice for me? How can i apply for this job now if it is possible ?
By the way, do you need any special voice training for the job? If you do, could you please give me some tips so that I can follow them?
Thank you sooooo much for answering me !!!!!!!! Your words mean a lot to me.!!!!!!!!!!! (honestly!)
LOVE YOU SO MUCH!
Best wishes
Emily
Hello Dear Rebecca
My name is Emily and I am a 15-year-old girl. I really like your voice acting and I think you are fantastic! (LOVE YOU SO MUCH)
I really admire you very much and you are my God.
I am a girl really love voice acting and the only thing I want to do in the future is to be a voice actor! I hope to be just like you someday since i so live voice acting! I think this is a really interesting and special job.
Therefore, I have some questions about how to get into this career and how to do well to be a successful voice actor. I hope you could take your valuable time and trouble to just give me some short answers.Thank you so much.
So if i want to become a voice actor now, but special training I should take?
How and where can i apply for this job and how old I must be to be able to get into this job? (I wish to voice actor for the cartoon characters and especially for those chldren characters because some people had said that I've got a sweet and nice voice.=D)
May I ask that how did you get into the voice actor and when did you get your first chance to dub?
These are my questions and I really hope to receive your valuable answers.They will mean a lot to me!
Again, thank you for your kindness and taking the time to read my e-mail.
LOVE YOU !
Best wishes
Emily
Thanks for being my friend in Facebook and kindly answering my questions about TMMS and Miss Giggles.
Anyways
1. Which Mr Men and Little Miss Characters were your favourites? Honestly, I don't really know. I have mainly come in to voice my own part. They all seem very funny.
2. What do you like about The Mr Men Show either it is funny or a good programme for children and why? it seems to be. It has a kind of twisted but funny sense of humor that I know American audiences will like
3. Which do you like about Mr Men? Either Books or TV before you went into voicing Miss Giggles (or you heard of it as you told me) I have to say that I wasn't really aware of The Mr. Men Show before I started doing the voices. My kids are 19 and 22. It's been a while since I sat there watching kids programming.
Also, I'd been friends with some of American Voice actors before you, such as Alicyn Packard (She done great voice of Miss Sunshine) and Richard Epcar.
I've known Richard for about 30 years. It's hard to believe because I'm only 29. LOL
and I also heard that the first two Mr Men Show DVDs were coming to America from September, I was hoping to get them for Christmas as either my dad will get them or I'll might get them from Amazon as soon as they appeared after they're released in USA. (If you're wondering, I got the DVD Player that plays Region 1 DVDs aswell as a DVD Player that could play the DVDs I got in the UK)
I have heard its coming out in the fall.
Rebecca
Please Reply Back
Daniel Coffey
Hello, My name is Daniel Coffey, from England and 18 years old, also I been liking Mr Men and Little Miss for a while.
and I also enjoyed The Mr Men Show since it aired on Channel 5 with British Voices (except Mr Rude and Mr Scatterbrain whom voiced by a American actor which in the US Version), and I also seen the couple of US Clips on YouTube, so I enjoyed both versions.
Anyways, Mind I ask some questions?
1. What's got you into Mr Men?
2. When you start to voicing one of little misses, Little Miss Giggles?
3. How do you feel voicing Miss Giggles?
4. What will you sounds like whilst you voicing her?
5. Who were your friends during the Season 2 Project?
and I think thats all, Hope you dont mind answering some of them.
Please Reply Back.
Daniel Coffey
Just a quick note …Got the poster, thank you!! Nice poster! I was not sure
what to expect, but that was…large….
Poster alone would probably be 25 or 30 dollars….you signing it was icing on the cake!
I'm jealous of your handwriting. Mine is chicken scratch comparatively speaking!
Dan
Hello, I wanted to let you know that I sent you $20 by Paypal, prior to the deadline. I hope this was able to assist you.
Robotech & the Macross saga brought to me an enormous amount of joy, wonder & inspiration; upon originially airing after school & lasting through today.
Thank you so much for your intricate portrayal and wonderful performance of Minmay.
I am greatly enjoying your role as a Tachikoma in the 2 seasons of GIST: SAC. I hope more seasons will come. When I viewed season-1 I was sure I recognized Minmay's voice (Reba West) as the star Tachikoma who was the apple of Batou's eye. But I did not find the actress 'Reba West' credited.
Thankfully for internet I was able to piece it altogether + even find your online presence.
You have made major contributions to some of my all-time favorite & loved anime productions.
warm regards,
-Josh Simpson
To my fans:
Hope you enjoy my new website. I appreciate all the fans who have connected with me via the Rebecca Forstadt Facebook Group Page. It's the best way for me to connect with you. If you have any questions you would like me to answer, either connect through the group or leave a comment on this blog. Then I can write a blog post to answer them.
I'm thinking of adding to my store items and was wondering what types of items interest you the most? DVD's, books, posters, etc.
Leave a comment and let me know. If I can acquire them and personally autograph them, that would be fun.
I'd love to hear from you and find out what you are up to!
Till I hear from you!
Yours,
Rebecca
After about a year or so on Blogger, I have decided to move my blog to it's current location. Stay tuned for more blog posts and links to some of my latest and greatest work.
More coming soon!
Rebecca
