Heather Dame is currently the VP of Atlas LA and heads up Atlas' west coast branch. Heather built Atlas' Animation department from the ground up, as well as had a close hand and partnership with other agents in developing the Los Angeles commercial, video game and promo/narration/trailer departments. She is passionate about developing talent and creating new business equally and enjoys the creative parts of "agent-ing" just as much as the problem solving and negotiating side. She believes in conducting business openly and honestly, and is one of the best in the business. Want to know what a top agent thinks? It's all here in Episode 30 of Let's Talk, with Heather Dame.  Brian Talbot: ... We've always been different. Randall Ryan: I find that's a good thing as a general rule. Brian Talbot: I don't know. I mean, who wouldn't want to be you? Randall Ryan: There are issues with being... Brian Talbot: Wow. Randall Ryan: I'm not even going to try to answer that. Brian Talbot: Talk about testing the friendship. Ouch. Oh, wow.   THEME MUSIC Brian Talbot: Heather Dame knows a good voice when she hears one, Heather heads up Atlas Talent’s west coast branch. Moving from New York to Los Angeles over a decade ago, she built the western empire full of some of the best voice actors anywhere. Heather built Atlas's animation department from the ground up, as well as having a close hand and partnership with other agents in developing the Los Angeles commercial video game, promo, narration, and trailer departments. She is as passionate about developing talent as she is about creating new business, from agenting to problem-solving to negotiating, Heather is open and honest, and she brings that approach to her business, that makes her the person every voice actor would love to have on their side. With so much to say and so little time to say it, Let's Talk Voiceover Heather Dame. Heather Dame: Hi guys. I don't think that I have ever had my bio narrated before. It's a very weird experience. Happy to be here. Brian Talbot: You're not the first. In fact, I've got a new side niche and it's called Bio Narration, and I'm trying to get represented for it.  So, uh…yeah. Heather Dame: Well, I would be better if you just gave me a pep talk every morning, I think. Brian Talbot: I can do that too. I can do that. I've been known to wash someone's dog for 20 bucks. It's a dog eat dog world. Heather Dame: Anyways, hi. Randall Ryan: So you've been in LA long enough now, because I still consider you a northeasterner. Heather Dame: Okay. Randall Ryan: ‘Cause, you and I met, if I would say to use the word met, literally like maybe a year after you came out to LA, and you were still going back to the Northeast to go camping and hiking and maybe you're still doing that. Heather Dame: I am. Randall Ryan: How do you consider yourself at this point? Heather Dame: I'm a west coast person now. I mean, I go back and forth still, but I've been living out here for 10 years now. It's kind of crazy. I've had to actually shift my language more recently, because I'm like, "You know, we're new out here." And people look at me like they don't even know we were never in Los Angeles. That we only had started this agency out here 10 years ago. They think we've always been here. So to me, it's interesting. I am now fully west coast. I'm married. I have four step kids. My life is very full and it is absolutely west coast, but I go back to visit my family in New Hampshire and Boston all the time. And I go back at least once a year to go visit all my people in New York, since I agented there first and I lived there for seven years before I came out here. But I am firmly planted out here. They like it when I'm out here and helping the office operate. So yeah, I'd say I've fully acclimated to the west coast state of mind. Randall Ryan: No, I was just going to say, did you actually open the LA office? Because, I thought that there was like a small presence here and you kind of ca