The Serendipitous Journey of a Multitalented Artist - A Passage Through Friendship - Lea Sakran : 136

Lea, a Swiss author and voiceover artist, shares her incredible journey from a childhood spent honing her piano skills to discovering new creative avenues in theatre and beyond. Hear how her rigorous training at the conservatory in San Francisco and the cultural leap from Switzerland to the United States shaped her artistic path. Guided by curiosity and encouragement, Lea's experiences in Paris and various artistic settings illuminate the serendipity of her career through the passages of friendship and the importance of embracing each opportunity that comes her way.

Lea Sakran is a cosmopolitan with Mediterranean, Eastern, and Western roots. She is a storyteller, author, copywriter, screenwriter, actress, and narrator known for her versatile and globally flavoured voice.

Lea doesn't just stop at her musical journey—she takes us into the multifaceted world of voiceover work, highlighting the significance of rhythm, voice care, and the broad spectrum of opportunities within the field. From working as a counsellor for visually impaired children to creating her own audiobooks like "Gusta and Gusto," Lea emphasizes the deep connection between storytelling and family. This episode explores the rich history of storytelling, its modern evolution, and the enduring value of the human voice amidst the rise of artificial intelligence. Discover how Lea's passion for connecting generations through stories continues to inspire and resonate in an ever-evolving industry.
Let's enjoy her story!

Lea services: Voiceover and narration for Audiobooks, commercials, Corporate documentaries, E-Learning, and Voice acting for different characters. www.leasakran.com

Transcript

Daniela SM : 0:04

Hi, I'm Daniela. Welcome to my podcast. Because Everyone has a Story, the place to give ordinary people's stories the chance to be shared and preserved. Our stories become the language of connections. Let's enjoy it. Connect and relate because everyone has a story and relate because everyone has a story. Welcome my guest, lea Sacran.

Daniela SM : 0:29

Lea is a true cosmopolitan, born in Switzerland with Mediterranean, eastern and Western roots. She's a multilingual and fluent in English, german, swiss, german and French. Lea is a natural storyteller who has worked as an author, copywriter, screenwriter, actress and narrator or voiceover. Her voice is versatile and globally flavored. I had a fantastic time learning about Lea's story. Her life is a series of extraordinary artistic adventures, guided by curiosity and a love for friendship and connections. Lea's experiences across various artistic settings highlight the serendip world of voiceover, discussing the importance of rhythm and voice care in the wide range of opportunities in the field. She even created her own books and audiobooks called Gusta and Gusto, emphasizing the deep connection between storytelling and family. So let's enjoy her story. Welcome Lea to the show. Yes, welcome Lea to the show. Yes, hello.

Lea Sakran : 1:46

Daniela, I'm so glad to be here. Thanks for inviting me.

Daniela SM : 1:50

I am very excited that you're here all the way from Switzerland, because you have a story to share. So tell me why you want to share your story.

Lea Sakran : 1:58

I think stories are everywhere they're in the streets, they're in the sky, they're in our dreams, they're in our hopes. Stories is something where all human beings touch upon, and I'm an author and a voiceover, so storytelling, it's my job, my form of expression.

Daniela SM : 2:22

Yes, how much fun and you're very creative if you have to create stories.

Lea Sakran : 2:26

Yes, absolutely yeah. It's quite interesting also because, since I'm a small child, telling stories or playing with Barbies it was always a form of telling stories, inventing things how I wanted them to be, and so slowly actually, I evolved into me being a storyteller. Coming first from with a strong musical background, I actually wanted to become a musician at first. I studied the piano at the conservatory in San Francisco.

Daniela SM : 3:01

Lea, tell me then. Would you say that your story starts when you were little, or when does your story start?

Lea Sakran : 3:06

When I was little, and then it passed actually through music as a passion and then I went on to the theater Uh-huh.

Daniela SM : 3:15

And so, as a music, what were you playing? What instruments?

Lea Sakran : 3:18

Oh, it was a classical formation because I actually wanted first to become a pianist. I would play competitions, all the terrible beautiful things like Chopin, where you have to be very fast, be in the flow, let go. Then it went on to my theater, in the opera, in dance and all visual arts. So music actually was a very important step because also in storytelling or as a narrator, it is so important that through the voice you can communicate feelings, but not just communicate them, but you feel them and through your voice the other people also hear them and can be part of a story. I see.

Daniela SM : 4:07

So how old were you when you started piano lessons? Four oh wow, yeah, I was like one of those young talents you try to push and you never felt like it was more of a chore than actually something fun, Because you know, if you were four and then you probably had to take a lot of classes and you were really kind of forced to be disciplined.

Lea Sakran : 4:27

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean this is a story of its own, but it was. You know, you get somehow like into a trance when you like practice five hours per day the piano. And when I was 16, then I went to the conservatory, I had a great but very strict teacher, but it is, the pressure is very, very high. Then I proceeded with the theater. Ah, then just moved to the theater. Yeah, because the pressure. You need to be at an emotional state to deal with such high pressure.

Daniela SM : 5:00

I would say and then, how do you know that you like the theater? Well, you didn't have time. No, I didn't.

Lea Sakran : 5:05

I actually didn't, but the people wanted me to go into the theater. I was at an art school at the time in San Francisco, the urban school, and where were you born?

Daniela SM : 5:16

I was born in Switzerland. Okay, in Switzerland. And then? So how did you decide to go to San Francisco?

Lea Sakran : 5:22

My parents they moved there, they work there, so that's why we went to California and I have a lot of family also in the States and you were 16 when you moved, yeah, so how was that?

Daniela SM : 5:32

that change of culture? Well, the States.

Lea Sakran : 5:35

It was always a dream for me and then, all of a sudden, I was there and the dream was over, because it was like you go to school. You don't have anymore this dream, the imagination. But it was a great time. I think there are moments in life, if you're aware of possibilities, it is great to take the steps in the moments where you actually are aware of your potential and of your possibilities.

Daniela SM : 6:03

Well, it sounds interesting. It sounds more like you had a fantasy to go to the States, yeah, and then, once you get it, maybe it wasn't exactly how you thought. Yeah, and then you were, I don't know. The fantasy was gone. That's why I think fantasies should stay yeah.

Lea Sakran : 6:19

And storytelling. It's all about fantasy. I mean, you know it was a great experience and I love to look back to the States and I love New York. I you know it's one of my favorite places. But it was just a passage in my life. But I think it was a very important passage in my life Also, leading me actually to become a storyteller. I went to the theatre and later on I also studied in Paris I was at the Lecoq School, and then I worked in state houses and I worked at the opera, I worked in the free scene. So it was very valuable also, you know, to integrate all the different changes and impressions within my life as an actor. Then it was a great form also to come into voice acting at a certain stage of my life.

Daniela SM : 7:10

But were you very clear of the path that you wanted to go to, or it just happens that you came across people who were guiding you, Because you know, you went to San Francisco and then you went into Paris.

Lea Sakran : 7:23

I was guided in some ways by people's suggestions and I was very curious to discover the world, I see. But it was not that I had intellectually in my mind the clear goal at that point. It just kind of led me into that direction. But it is the pathway I want to take me into that direction. But it is the pathway I want to take. But I was only aware of it later on that this is actually what I want to do when I was like in my 20s I was not fully aware of also the possibilities I had. I just kind of went with the flow.

Daniela SM : 8:00

Interesting, yeah, so you went with the flow and also I assume you had talent for all people.

Lea Sakran : 8:05

I make new friends, so the friendship was actually in the center, which always brought me again into storytelling and into the theater, but it was not. I have the goal of being in the visual arts, so I'm going to make friends to get into there. It was, oh, I can make, they want me to be there and then I can be their friends. It was the other way around. You build a relationship first Because of the relationship which I enjoyed or the friendship I joined projects. Often you know some people. They are very like, orientated. I'm going to connect with these and these people. I'm going to network because that's my goal. I want to be on that stage or I want to work with that agency or I want to be in that production. It was the other way around. I saw everyone as a human being and the potential friendship which could evolve you met people through being in this world.

Daniela SM : 9:23

You met people through being in this world, then through building relationship without any interest. This is how opportunities came across.

Lea Sakran : 9:30

The interest was a friendship. Yes, yeah, without I want to do, but at the time it was the passage through friendship that actually gave me the awareness of what I want to do, and so I was in the right field.

Daniela SM : 9:55

I like the word, the passage through friendship.

Lea Sakran : 9:57

The passage through friendship, yeah, could be a great title, couldn't it? My Becoming Through the Passage of Friendship, okay. My Becoming of a Voice-Over and Storyteller Through the Passages of Friendships, yes. And connections, right and connections. And actually my last audio book, the slogan is Connecting Hearts and Generations, which I can tell you, maybe, later on about. So it is always the connection which is important, yes it is very important.

Daniela SM : 10:29

It is very important to me too. It doesn't have to be strong connection that I want to be with you every day, but that connection with you I feel like, oh, I would love to have coffee with you later. Great. So what happened after San Francisco?

Lea Sakran : 10:43

Yeah, afterwards. Then I was back in Switzerland and then I went to Paris to study theatre at the École Jacques Lecoq and I went to London and there I studied dance, actually at the Laban Centre, which is now called the Trinity College of Music and Dance, and I did more theater. I was also at Philippe Gaultier and then I worked in Basel, in Switzerland. Again, I went back to Switzerland, I worked at the theater and I also had possibilities to work at the opera, and then at some point you get married and you have children and you know it's very difficult. Also if you have small kids and you are sitting in the theater every evening until 11 o'clock looking at the stage, you know you need to find different ways how to yeah, and it's also good to be a moment just, you know, with the kids. I always wrote since I was a kid, so I always kept writing and I then also had the possibility to work as a script writer and I did a lot of promotional videos interesting, brilliant from all the things that you've done.

Daniela SM : 12:02

obviously, the one that you're doing now, that we're going to talk in a moment, is your favorite, but other than that, do you always saw everything good about every piece, or there was one that you really liked most between being a pianist, an actress, an opera?

Lea Sakran : 12:17

I think it's the whole story. You know, like a pearl necklace in a romantic way I could describe it. I think it's the whole story with the different parts. You know, it's like traveling, traveling through this planet kind of thing, and obviously you always have moments which you I hope everyone in this world or people that's what I wish for for everyone that they have moments they really enjoyed and they felt well and at home. And then there are other moments where you feel challenged, and then there are moments where you get to know yourself and there are moments where you get to know others and I think, everything. You always go. If you write, you always go back and then you gradually progress. Yes, it's like a spiral, so you always take some things, some experiences with you which you had and you progress with it on your pathway. So obviously I mean the music. It's a very important aspect for me, also as a voiceover, and I have a good feeling of rhythm. I hope so.

Daniela SM : 13:31

I mean it would be bad if I wouldn't, so how did you get to where you are now? Then Voiceover.

Lea Sakran : 13:38

At some point I also went back to university to get a second degree as a counselor Also good if you can give something to the world.

Daniela SM : 13:48

But how do you come up with that Like counseling, that's like so different from what you were doing?

Lea Sakran : 13:53

Yeah, because it was important to me to have a second stand also in life. Through counseling I actually got into the situation of having a job where I was very unhappy. I really didn't feel comfortable and I worked with children who had visual impairment. That's the point which brought me then to voiceover. It's really interesting. Then I saw a job in the library for people with visual impairments that they were actually looking for voiceovers to tell the stories, and this gave me the idea. I thought, oh, that would be interesting, why not? And then actually this whole journey then started off.

Daniela SM : 14:36

So how was that? Did you apply for the job, and then? What is it that you needed to do?

Lea Sakran : 14:41

I did apply for the job. I made a recording and I had also friends from the past who work also in the theatre and I had the possibility that they gave me their material. I was not sure if I'm the right person for specifically that place I actually was interested in other forms of storytelling but it actually brought me into what I'm doing now, so I'm very grateful for this.

Daniela SM : 15:09

And how long did it take you to figure out that you what you're doing now?

Lea Sakran : 15:13

I actually, I think you know, when I worked also as a script writer for these promotional videos, I mean I did over 100 of these films I already, then already casted the voices. I did the whole production, I created the scenes, I did everything. You know what had to be filmed, the whole storyboard, and I casted the voices often also, but I never had the idea that I actually could be the voiceover, but I was already in there without actually knowing that at some point I will be in front of the mic.

Lea Sakran : 15:50

And what does it take to be a voiceover? A voiceover you can, you know, for e-learning or for audio books, or for publicity, or for documentaries, or to be a dubber. There are many possibilities, you know, as a voice actor. So if you ask me what it needs to be a voiceover, I think it's very important that you take care of your voice, that you hydrate, that you drink a lot of water. Me personally, I also go to the gym because I hear it in my voice. When I've been at the gym, I know that I'm going to drink one and a half liters of water, which is already a great thing to do for my voice. I use my abdominals, which helps me also for my voice. I think you hear so many things in the voice of a person.

Daniela SM : 16:49

Interesting the voice of a person Interesting. Radio was before TV, a kind of art that was developed. You hear on the radio stories right, Absolutely.

Lea Sakran : 16:59

Yeah, in old times storytelling was a form of information maybe you know, before the radio even and you would travel from village to village and you had some people I don't even know if you called them actors at the time but they told the story of the village, what happened there, and they travel to the next village and they say we're going to tell you the story of that village. So storytelling was a form of transporting information. So storytelling was a form of transporting information. And then, as you say, obviously through the radio yeah, it's a very good point where then, actually through the voice, you listen to the news.

Daniela SM : 17:41

So, lea, then now. So you start to do the voiceover, working for somebody else. But then something else happened you decided to be your own storyteller.

Lea Sakran : 17:51

Yeah, I have two audio books which I wrote and I actually heard the podcast of a guy which was a very nice story many years ago and this was the father who traveled a lot but he always told his daughter the goodnight story, apparently. But then when he traveled they really had a problem because the child didn't want to go to sleep without the stories of. So then he had the idea to through a podcast. It was very in the beginning. He would tell the story and send it to his wife and she would then beside the bed say, oh look, daddy sent us when he was traveling for business. Then I thought, oh, that's lovely. And actually through him I thought, oh, goodnight stories, it has such an important. There's this ritual connection, goodnight stories. It's also very important. You know the connection between parents and kids.

Lea Sakran : 18:45

You sit beside the bed, you tell the story and I thought I'm going to write a story about unicorn. But then all of a sudden I wrote a story about rhino. And then these stories they just came to me there is also a unicorn in there and the stories they kind of just develop and I wrote them down and then I made an audio book and they're called Gusto, and Gusto. I can get it everywhere on Audible and it's been published as an audio book by Blackstone Publishing and Spoken Realms. And how did you decide the name? I didn't. I just thought oh, they're called Gusto and Gusto. I didn't sit and think what name could I give it, it just came out like that.

Daniela SM : 19:28

Yeah, wow, and the rhino too.

Lea Sakran : 19:30

You know, for seven years I always gave courses in creative writing where we developed stories. I had a group like of seven people for seven years. Wow, how romantic, I just got away with it right now. I always say don't sit down in front of a blank paper and take a pen and say, now I'm going to start the story. Yes, that's what you hear. You know, it's really a form where you can block yourself, just be inspired. I could write a story about my headphones just because they're here. Once upon a time there were some headphones and they heard everything. I thought. You know, it just comes to me. You can take an element of anything and it can be an inspiration. And you know, just you make yourself comfortable and enjoy the ride Fascinating.

Daniela SM : 20:24

That's more interesting than saying picking a paper and have a yeah obviously I would be blocked if I could never write a story.

Lea Sakran : 20:33

By deciding I want to write a story, I can say, oh, I should write a story, and then I look around what there is. Actually the things tell you the story. That's an interesting point. It's actually yeah, Everything you see in life is a message. You could look at it in that way if you wanted to, and if everything is a message or a form of something which wants to connect with you, again we have the connection. Then just enjoy the ride and look where it takes you.

Daniela SM : 21:06

So you are also kind of spiritual. Yeah, I know everything. You're really funny. How many books have you written with the character of Gustav and Gustav?

Lea Sakran : 21:20

It's 12 stories Gustav and Gustav. It's in English and now we're translating it into German. It's already translated into German.

Daniela SM : 21:29

With your voice, you're doing that.

Lea Sakran : 21:30

I'm doing it with two other speakers because I have different roles in there, and we're going to do it into German With your voice. You're doing that, I'm doing it with two other speakers because I have different roles in there, and we're going to do it in German and I'm also negotiating with Spanish. Those stories it's for everybody. It's about personal development. Also, it is about standing up for yourself, going through crisis, being aware of new possibilities.

Lea Sakran : 21:53

And these two rhinos, you know they are like, very humanized. You can identify with them. There's this humorous aspect, how they look at things. There's this one story where the question is she's taking a hippo workshop because Gusto, her friend, he doesn't have the time, and so she's kind of disappointed.

Lea Sakran : 22:14

Right, the rhino lady, gustav, and she's going to this hippo workshop, but the hippos they don't have a horn, and the hippos, they look at her like something's wrong with you. You're not like we are. You need to get rid of your horn, otherwise you're never going to be a true hippo. So you know, there she gets into a challenging situation what she should do, and also self-doubts and who knows I'm not going to talk about, but you know, those are kind of, with these stories actually situations we also encounter, many people encounter in life. Then the second audio book I did with my daughter also, gustav and Gustav, with commentary, where we actually in interludes between the stories we talk about the stories together reflect also upon personal experiences which mirror some also of the situations of Gustav and Gusto, and we talk about it from the perspective also from different generations, my daughter being in her 20s and me being past my 20s.

Daniela SM : 23:23

Yeah, that's very good to connect generations instead of separate them because they're different or we don't understand them. I think it's always good to connect them so that we can learn from them and they can learn from us, rather than always the older generation thinking, oh, they have to.

Lea Sakran : 23:37

All these young people have to learn from us, when it's never the truth, yeah, and also you know we'd spoken reams, we talked about it and they gave me this inspiration also about connecting hearts and generations. Really it's hitting the spot of the story, but also of why stories. It's about connection stories.

Daniela SM : 24:02

It's about connections. I had one episode where I interview five different 20-year-olds because I wanted to see how they saw life from graduating from high school to university and what were their expectations and disappointments, and I thought, okay, in 10 years I will record again to see how they have changed. Oh, wow, that's cool. Yeah, I believe that my kids are great teachers. Meeting all the kids, I was really impressed how much wisdom they had. I was very happy to share it with their parents, which I knew the parents some of them and I was like here look what a smart child you have. Yeah, so I'm glad that you're doing that with your daughter and giving that perspective of different generations or we're not aware of, and I was very happy when she said I want that role.

Lea Sakran : 25:01

It's like a decision someone takes and connecting generations and connecting passion.

Daniela SM : 25:08

And so what else do you do in besides the books, the audio books and translating it from English to German and hopefully in Spanish too and other languages? What else Are you having more plans, or you just let it flow, because always things come to you.

Lea Sakran : 25:25

I do have certain plans. I like to work also on publicity, to work on global campaigns. I think it's very interesting also where you know you different languages. I love documentaries, for example. It's all a different work. Reading an audiobook doing publicity, there's a different drive to it. Dubbing for a film it's something else, it's another energy. You all do it with your voice. I love this versatility also.

Daniela SM : 25:53

And then Lea, how is artificial intelligence going to affect your job?

Lea Sakran : 25:58

From my feeling. I think it can make certain things maybe easier. The human voice you can say, oh, maybe later on did you take AI or did you take a human voice, and then you say I took a human voice. You know, I really wanted this luxury. So it's becoming like, ooh, I had the luxury for a real human voice. So it could actually become a marketing strategy. Maybe I don't know, it's just something I thought about and I talked with a friend about it recently, putting another spotlight upon the human voice. As you know, I'm wearing the diamond, I see.

Daniela SM : 26:38

It would be nice, you know I'm wearing the diamond. I see it would be nice, you know, to meet opera speaking Spanish and German and Italian and versus just English and then listening to other voices. I think in that part, I think would be nice yeah, I understand this wish also, you can be afraid or you can say, okay, maybe it's actually going to be a tool to contribute to a better of whatever I'm doing, and some things will be maybe eliminated, but other things will be added that could help.

Lea Sakran : 27:06

One thing it's always movement and change. Over all these years, we're going with the change and every change brings questions and brings fear. Obviously. I'm trying to learn what is needed nowadays, but stay loyal to yourself, also to your personal development. There are just some things where you stay rooted. You're being awake to see what's changing in the sky, but you're not losing your ground and, in the same time, not to be hard and not to move at all, just to find this balance of hearing your soul and going with the development of the contemporary world. What you need to learn, which tools to, maybe as a job, maybe as a hobby, maybe it starts as a hobby and becomes a job. We all human beings I believe we have such a great potential to try to help people. We also have the responsibility towards ourselves to nourish our potential.

Lea Sakran : 28:10

It has to do with self-respect that in some form you express yourself and use potential you have.

Daniela SM : 28:17

Yes, and I feel that having that attitude, the being curious and accepting what is coming, you know, for me, I know it changes, I will complain a little bit and then I will be like accepting it. I know now that this is my style and so I'm okay, but I always, I'm always very excited about change and I'm curious about what's coming up. Things are evolving all the time.

Lea Sakran : 28:40

Yeah, music, art, yeah, that's how you you know you stretch yourself a little further. I think Audrey Hedburn said this one I always try to stretch myself a little further, meaning, as I understood it, to push yourself in a good way and also to perceive things in different forms, to know your attitude, but to progress also in your understanding.

Daniela SM : 29:05

Lea, I want to ask you something out of different. What is your favorite color?

Lea Sakran : 29:12

It's the colors of the rainbow, yeah.

Daniela SM : 29:18

That's funny, and so what is something silly that you do something silly?

Lea Sakran : 29:22

yes, I never do silly things. That's my problem. I, I I mean this, you know, sometimes I should just do silly. You don't do silly things. I'm surprised. I'm very reflected. Yeah, sometimes I reflected yeah.

Daniela SM : 29:37

Sometimes I would. Is that a Swiss thing that we can blame too? No, it's a life thing.

Lea Sakran : 29:44

One of these life things. You know, everyone has his story, Right? Do you do silly things?

Daniela SM : 29:54

Yeah, I'm sure I do silly things. Well, I like dancing, but I'm not a professional. I love dancing too. I always dance in the kitchen. There you go. That's why you're a good cook. No, no, no, no. That's why I dance because I'm not a good cook and because I don't like the kitchen as much. So the only thing I can do is put some music and dance to make it a bit more entertaining. Usually it's Latin music. I really like that. I don't know if that's silly. I think that's mostly just a thing that I do.

Lea Sakran : 30:24

But I laugh a lot. I laugh a lot, okay, but I don't think that's silly, I think that's healthy.

Daniela SM : 30:32

That's necessary. Yes, yes, that's necessary. Yeah, I like to make people laugh, but I don't necessarily do it on purpose. I just, you know, when I tell stories, I sometimes exaggerate it to make it even funnier, exaggerate the feeling, just so that it makes it all like more ridiculous. So that's another silly thing that I do. Anyway. So, lea, thank you so much for having this conversation. Thank you so much. Yeah, I appreciate that. Whatever you share with us seems to me you have a fascinating life and many more years to come, with more fascinating things that happening to you. So thank you again for for your time. Thank you and keep in touch. Of course we will keep in and we will put in the show notes all the information about how to find your story from Gustav and Gustav.

Lea Sakran : 31:25

Thank you and have a lovely evening.

Daniela SM : 31:27

Thanks. I hope you enjoyed today's episode I am Daniela and you were listening to, because Everyone has a Story. Please take five seconds right now and think of somebody in your life that may enjoy what you just heard, or someone that has a story to be shared and preserved. When you think of that person, shoot them a text with the link of this podcast. This will allow the ordinary magic to go further. Join me next time for another story conversation. Thank you for listening. Hasta pronto.