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The Simpsons has been on the air for thirty-six years, making it one of the most coveted voice acting gigs on the planet.
My love for the show started in the early nineties. Whilst other kids were watching Garfield overdose on lasagne, I was getting to know the citizens of Springfield. I have a standing reservation every Sunday night at Moe’s Tavern, where I discovered prank calls and Duff beer – oh yeah!
I grew up in Alaska with horrible TV reception. If we wanted to watch something, my brother had to climb onto the roof and hold the antenna perfectly still. Sure, it was cold, icy, and incredibly dangerous, but risking his life for clearer reception was worth it.
Once I discovered The Simpsons, I rarely missed an episode. It was my first dip into the world of animation and voice-acting. I practiced my “D’oh!” and my “Ha-ha!” every day, tormenting my friends and family in the process. Besides mimicking characters from the show, I also built an entire universe of my own. I gave them names and backgrounds, and I would play around with my voice until I found theirs. The Simpsons voiceover taught me that voice acting was not only fun but also achievable.
When I moved to Los Angeles in 2016, a friend who works on The Simpsons invited me to a table read.
The International Screenwriters Association defines a table read as a gathering of a show’s actors, writers, producers, directors, and network execs. The cast then reads a script aloud for the very first time.
I knew how lucky I was to get this invitation. This wasn’t the kind of room you could buy your way into. Well, maybe you could fake a Make-A-Wish campaign, but I wouldn’t suggest doing that.
Once I had arrived at the Fox lot, I felt a wave of anxiety. What if Matt Groening asked me to play Mr. Burns? I guess I could do it even though I’m clearly more of a Ralph Wiggum. The thing about show business is that anything can happen, and you must always be prepared.
I checked in with a security guard, who gave me a map of the lot. I followed it to an unassuming single-floor building directly across from the Modern Family set. Inside, people were casually drinking coffee and eating doughnuts in the lobby. A large chalkboard outside the room reads “I will turn off my cell phone at table reads,” written by Bart Simpson (naturally.) I was handed a script with my name on it and joined the doughnut party. Once the doors opened, I grabbed a seat against the wall.
The room was small and intimate. I could have reached out and pet Marge’s hair, but I used restraint.
Writers shuffled in and sat together in the back of the room whilst the voice actors took their seats at the table. I clocked most of Springfield. Homer, Bart, Lisa, Crusty, Ned Flanders, and Milhouse, to name a few.
The room fell silent as the narrator introduced The Simpsons voiceover script. I followed along, page by page, as Nancy Cartwright flawlessly switched between Bart Simpson and Nelson Muntz – hell, she was half the population of Springfield. Some people are born with a gift for voices, but not everyone realises it. Nancy understood the assignment. Her vocal talent was so impressive that it almost made me forget she was a Scientologist. More than anything, this woman was a legend.
The actors contorted their faces and bodies in such a way that I could see a resemblance to their characters. Dan Castellenata stared blankly, wiping all expression off his face when he spoke as Homer. Harry Shearer sniffed the air like something was rotting when he slipped into character as Mr. Burns. And I truly believed Lisa Simpson was trapped inside Yeardley Smith’s body. I almost leaned over and whispered, “Blink three times if you need an exorcism.”
When the table read ended, the room thinned out. A small circle of guests, myself included, lingered behind to have our scripts signed and mingle with the cast.
It became the first of many table reads I would attend. Each one more addicting than the last. My stack of signed scripts has grown higher and is now amongst my most prized possessions. And when I die, I hope my nieces and nephews battle to the death over who gets to inherit them.
Nobody could have predicted that The Simpsons would one day become the longest-running scripted primetime show in television history. But, after watching the cast breathe life into their characters, it was clear why the show has endured. The town of Springfield, which had only once existed inside my television, was alive in that room, at that table, through The Simpsons‘ voiceover.
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