Eliza Schneider
Eliza Schneider | |
---|---|
![]() Schneider at the 2018 WonderCon | |
Born | Eliza Jane Schneider |
Other names | Blue Girl |
Occupation(s) | Actress, singer-songwriter, dialectologist, playwright, voice artist, dialect coach |
Years active | 1992–present |
Partner | Roger Ray |
Children | Raiden |
Website | www |
Eliza Jane Schneider is an American actress, voice actress, singer-songwriter, playwright, dialect coach and dialectologist. She has appeared on television and as a voice over actress on video games and animations. She also performs various musical and stage shows.
Early life and television work
Schneider spent her formative years on a Chippewa reservation in Bemidji, Minnesota with her two older brothers in a mostly Jewish family.[1] Her father was a math and drama teacher at the School of Arts High School in Rochester, New York,[2] where she graduated as salutatorian. Her mother was an attorney for the reservation. She started playing violin, learning the Suzuki method,[1] after seeing El Shenkar. When she was sixteen, she was in her first musical group,[3] IT'S MY PARTY![4] From ages 7–20, she went to Jewish summer camp, becoming a counselor, and started performing on stage. By the time she was in the fourth grade she began writing and performing her own plays, because the teacher told her that she would only be allowed to stage a play if she "wrote, produced, directed." Four years later she was chosen for a part in Annie; Schneider's parents would not let her tour with the troupe after being cast.[1] She participated in a theater program at Northwestern University's National High School Institute and graduated from UCLA as a world arts and cultures major.
While in college she continued going to auditions and got the role of Sheila Brentwood in the television series The Amazing Live Sea Monkeys. For the show she was allowed to cast the actors who played her parents. After the show got canceled, she replaced Alanna Ubach for the second and third seasons of Beakman's World.[5]
Dialect research and stage shows
For her college senior thesis, Schneider made a cross-country road tour in a former ambulance studying regional dialects.[6] During her research into accents, she "visited all the English-speaking countries in the world, conducting more than 7,000 interviews over all."[1] From the interviews she created a one-woman show called Freedom of Speech in which she tells the stories of 34 people in their voices.[7] The various quotes are combined into a story.[8] When interviewed about the shows by Western Washington University newspaper The Western Front, she explained that "People in America today are scared to speak up and tell their perspective on what our nation is or where it is going... I wanted to repeat the peoples' words verbatim so the audience could develop their own perspective."[2] Using a semi-autobiographical approach, Schneider links the quotes and stories together, saying "it’s really a love story about a petulant girl who starts out hating America for perpetuating hate. She begins collecting sounds and winds up falling in love with her country." The show won the 2003 New York International Fringe Festival award for "Best Solo Show".
Her ensuing solo show, Words of the Prophets, is composed partially of quotes from "homeless people all over the world."[1]
In 2007, Schneider wrote a play called "Sounds of Silence: A Documentary Puppet Musical Farce" about the 2004 United States election voting controversies in Ohio.[9]
Music and voiceover work
When explaining about her dialect and musical interest she said; "You know how they talk about a photographic memory? That’s not actually how my mind works. It’s aural. I remember what I hear...when I try to do a piece onstage, I hear the next words [they actually said]. I hear the rest of the monologue. It takes every bit of strength and intellect that I have to control that."[9] In a 2013 interview she explained that "to me, music, voice, voices of the people, play writing, dialect, language, violin – it all springs from the same well of fascination with sound."[1]
After Mary Kay Bergman, the voice of many South Park characters, died, a friend of Schneider's asked her to contact her agent to arrange an audition.[5] Schneider and Mona Marshall were hired as the lead female voice actors. This was a position she held until 2003, when she left over the show's producers' refusal to extend her a union contract.[2] She was replaced by April Stewart. During this time Schneider was part of Honey Pig, an all-female country and western trio.[9]
Accident and family life
In 2006, Schneider was involved in a car accident, resulting in a head injury and a broken hand.[3]
Schneider and her partner, Roger Ray, have a son named Raiden Daniel. Schneider is working as a violin instructor for her son and other children.[1]
In 2012, she joined the cast of Spider Baby the Musical for a San Diego performance, playing the role of Emily Howe.[10]
Video game voiceover projects
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow (video game) (2006) – Elizabeth Swann
- Kingdom Hearts II (2006) – Elizabeth Swann, additional voices
- Finding Nemo (2003) – additional voices
- Shadow Complex (2009) – Clair
- Assassin's Creed II (2009) – Rebecca Crane
- Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (2009) – Valkyrie No. 2
- Alice in Wonderland (2010 video game) – The White Queen
- Blade Kitten (2010) – Justice Kreel, Terra-Gin, additional voices
- Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (2010) – Rebecca Crane
- Assassin's Creed: Revelations (2011) – Rebecca Crane
- Assassin's Creed III (2012) – Rebecca Crane
- Lego The Lord of the Rings (2012) – Additional voices
- Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (2013) – Ms. Decibel
- Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (2013) – Rebecca Crane
- The Lego Movie Videogame (2014)
- Skylanders: Trap Team (2014) – Mags, Bat Spin
- Final Fantasy Type-0 HD (2015) – Arecia Al-Rashia
- Skylanders: SuperChargers (2015) – Mags, Bat Spin[11]
- Lego Dimensions (2015) – Additional voices[12]
- Assassin's Creed Syndicate (2015) – Rebecca Crane
- Lego Marvel's Avengers (2016) – Pepper Potts
- Prey (2017) – Mikhaila Ilyushin
- Agent of Mayhem (2017) – Agent Rama
- Kingdom Hearts III (2019) – Elizabeth Swann
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla (2020) – Rebecca Crane
Television
- The Amazing Live Sea Monkeys (1992) (as Sheila Brentwood)
- Black Tie Affair (1993)
- Beakman's World (1993–1995) (as Liza)
- South Park (1999–2003)
- Spy TV
- Episode 1.2. (2001) (as various characters)
- Girlfriends (Season 2)
- Episode: "Sister, Sista" (2002) (as Lynn Searcy's sister, Tanya)
- Invader Zim (2003) (episode The Girl Who Cried Gnome as Moofy)
- Squirrel Boy (2006–2007) (Martha)
- Popzilla (2009) MTV
- Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2011) (episode The Scorn of the Star Sapphire! as Baroness Paula von Gunther and Georgette Taylor)
- Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2018) (Mrs. Cuddles)
Character voices
This a partial list of Schneider's regular voiceover characters.[2]
- South Park
- Popzilla
- Gisele Bündchen
- Tori Spelling
- Michelle Obama
- Britney Spears
- Beyoncé
- Ugandan Adoption Agent
- Heidi Klum
Video games
- Alice in Wonderland – The Talking Flowers
- Assassin's Creed series – Rebecca Crane
- Blade Kitten – Justice Kreel, Terra-Gin, Squamatan Female 1
- Call of Duty: Black Ops III – Additional Voices
- Call of Juarez: The Cartel – Additional Voices
- Captain America: Super Soldier – HYDRA
- Diablo III – Additional Voices
- Diablo III: Reaper of Souls – Female Necromancer
- Dragon Age: Origins – Iona, Lady Dace, Mardy, Nutella, Lothering Sister, Lothering Refugee, Surface Dwarf, Tapster's Patron, Howe Estate Cook, Alienage Elf Woman, Awestruck Villager, Circle Tower Apprentice Mage, Royal Palace Servant
- Epic Mickey – Additional Voices
- EverQuest II – Generic Female Barbarian Merchant, Generic Female Dark Elf Merchant, Generic Female Dwarf Merchant
- Fallout: New Vegas – Stella, Female Sorrows
- Final Fantasy Type-0 HD – Arecia
- Final Fantasy XIII-2 – Additional Voices
- Final Fantasy XV – Additional voices
- Grand Theft Auto V – The Local Population
- Infinity Blade III – Additional Voices
- Kingdom Hearts III – Elizabeth Swann
- Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning – Maid of Windemere, Additional Voices
- LawBreakers – Bomchelle
- Lego Dimensions – Nya
- Lego Marvel's Avengers – Pepper Potts/Rescue
- Middle-earth: Shadow of War – Nemesis Orcs
- Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer – NPC Female Teen, NPC Female Gnome, Lienna
- Prey – Mikhaila Ilyushin
- Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time – Valkyrie No. 2
- Saints Row – Stilwater's Resident
- Saints Row: The Third – Pedestrian and Character Voices
- Saints Row IV – The Voices of Virtual Steelport
- Shadow Complex – Claire Duncan
- Skylanders: SuperChargers – Mags, Bat Spin
- Skylanders: Trap Team – Mags, Bat Spin
- Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time – Miss Decibel
- The Bard's Tale – Additional voices[13]
- The Last of Us – Additional Voices
- The LEGO Movie Videogame – Additional Voices
- The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest – Eowyn
- Yogi Bear: The Video Game – Rachel Johnson
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Launer, Pat (August 2013). "The Sound of America". San Diego Jewish Journal. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
- ^ a b c d Hancock, Jaynie. "In Her Own Voices". Western Washington University. Archived from the original on December 6, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
- ^ a b "About, Eliza Jane & the Barnyard Gypsies". SonicBids. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
- ^ "IT'S MY PARTY Debut Cassette Release". DiscOgs. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
- ^ a b Eliza Jane Schneider (March 29, 2011). "Cloverleaf Radio Presents: Actress Eliza Schneider "South Park"!" (Audio podcast). Cloverleaf Radio (Interview). Interviewed by Jimmy Falcon; Gremlina. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
5:09 [I got to] "be the best friend of these three life size sea-monkeys..." 6:58 "They showed me a bunch of headshots and were like 'Pick your parents'. 7:15 "Luckily I got to do a audition for the replacement show which was Beakman's World. 13:42 "He brought me in his room, and locked the door behind me, and said 'I don't want South Park to go off the air. I know you can do those voices. Don't you have an agent?'" 14:23 "He forced me to call my agent at ICM, from his room. And so I called, if they need anybody I can do that.
- ^ "Eliza Jane Schneider talks about traveling the country in an ambulance". San Diego Reader. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
- ^ "Woman of 1,000 voices – Eliza Jane stops by Night & Day on U-T TV". U-T San Diego. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
- ^ Weber, Bruce. "Critic's Notebook; A Spiritual Search And a Noir Comedy". The New York Times. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
- ^ a b c Salaam, Elizabeth (October 16, 2013). "The First Time I See Eliza Jane Schneider Onstage, I Want To Be Her Friend: Who is This Multimedia Bombsells". San Diego Reader. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
- ^ Zaragoza, Alex (October 16, 2013). "Spider Baby the Musical, Unmasked: Comic Art in San Diego Revealed, and Sabrosura Sundays". San Diego City Beat. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
- ^ Vicarious Visions. Skylanders: SuperChargers. Activision. Scene: Closing credits, 7:13 in, Voice Actors.
- ^ Traveller's Tales. Lego Dimensions. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Scene: Closing credits, 4:45 in, Voiceover Talent.
- ^ InXile Entertainment. The Bard’s Tale. InXile Entertainment. Scene: Ending credits, 2:10:24 in, More Great Talent.
External links
- Living people
- 20th-century American actresses
- 21st-century American actresses
- American child actresses
- American film actresses
- American video game actresses
- American voice actresses
- Dialectologists
- Actresses from Rochester, New York
- Voice coaches
- 21st-century American singers
- 21st-century American women singers