Anna Cannings - the braille reading voice artist, London, UK
Click to hear Anna's introduction and natural speaking voice:"People are fascinated by braille. But they are even more fascinated when you can read it as quickly, accurately and fluently as a sighted person reads print. That's exactly what I am able to do, and it has caused much intrigue and great amazement in the many studios I have worked in over the past twenty years. It has also, I'm delighted to say, enabled me to lend my voice to many exciting radio shows and audio productions, so it's definitely been a skill worth perfecting!"
As an established and experienced voice artist, Anna's voice credits include work for:
- Orion Audio (for a project requiring London and New York accents)
- Tate Modern (for the 2019-2020 Olafur Eliasson exhibition)
- Talking Newspaper Association
- Marks and Spencer
- BT
- University of Birmingham
- Lovells (International business law firm)
- Chichester College
- RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People)
- Action for Blind People
- Westgate Leisure Centre, Chichester
Her southern roots mean that she is most at home speaking with RP, London or Sussex accents, but she can also do general Northern, southern Welsh and American standard accents, and is keen to learn more.
"Mimicking people's voices landed me in a lot of trouble when I was growing up," Anna recalls. "But my flair for copying the distinguishing features of speech has proved to be immensely useful in my working life, so I'd say the trouble was worth it!"
The audio intro on this page is just a brief clip of her natural speaking voice, so do please visit Anna's Spotlight page to hear more examples of her work.
Anna began working professionally as a voice artist in 1998. She set up and ran her own audio production business, gaining many of her voice credits through this company. She also has experience of working as a radio presenter, interviewer and public speaker.
Anna says: "Audio is a fantastic opportunity for me to shine as a performer, because there are none of the limitations that I face in the more visually oriented areas of my work. I have always been passionate about radio and am really keen to increase the amount of work that I do in this area of the business; radio presenting and radio dramas are of particular interest to me. When I am involved in an audio project it's just about my voice and I love that ... the opportunity to focus on the power of sound as the sole means of communication."
Anna is an incredibly fluent braille reader who can easily keep up with print reading speeds in recording studios. She also has a phenomenal memory for learning lines, so even if braille reading is not an option (because of needing to walk around during the performance, for example) you will notice no difference in her work - she will always deliver confident and consistent performances.
If you are interested in auditioning or booking Anna for your production, or have any questions about her work as a voice artist, please contact Anna here.