There used to be an embeded media player here, but it doesn't work anymore. We blame the Tumbeasts.
Ellen McLain had basically just arrived at the convention center straight off of her flight, but she still came in good spirits; ready to tell stories and answer questions. She came into the room with a bit of an entourage. A MAGFest staffer was attending her luggage, and two teenagers took seats next to her at the table. It wasn’t really the entourage it looked like, and she started off the panel explaining the situation to everyone (which you can see above).
Ellen rolled the ball along, giving the audience a preemptive answer to the question she gets asked the most: “How did you prepare for video game voice work?” Her short answer? “You don’t.” Her longer answer involved her personal path into voice acting, which started when there was no such thing as video game voice acting. She went to school and prepared for life, taking advantage of opportunities as they came. In addition to those two things, she credits her success to the encouragement of her husband to finish her voice demo, a willingness to let life happen, and “By luck. It was luck.” She also encouraged the women in the audience to stay technologically savvy, saying that she wouldn’t have made it so far without John being her tech support.
Afterward came the questions, which were many and varied. She recited a My Little Pony-related letter as GLADoS at the request of an audience member, answered questions about her favorite musical roles, how much she contributed to the character of GLADoS, how she ended up singing “Turret Wife Serenade” and “Cara Mia Addio” (the turret opera at the end of the game for which she sang all the parts), and why rumored parts of Portal 2 were cut. At one point she was asked about her vocal range – it’s a usable three octave range, from E below middle C to a high D, for those who are curious – and also let a member of the audience sing part of an opera to her.
She even fielded a question about Half-Life 3. There was no stunning revelation, though; she’s hasn’t gotten any phone calls, and is just as in the dark as everyone else about it. She did reveal that she did voices for Dota 2, however, including the Broodmother and Krobelus the Death Prophet. Her husband John Patrick Lowrie showed up at the end of the questions, and told the audience the story of how he and Ellen met (they are adorable together, by the by). They then sang “Want You Gone” and “Still Alive,” and were met with a standing ovation and chants of “GLADoS” to close out the panel.
There used to be an embeded media player here, but it doesn't work anymore. We blame the Tumbeasts.
It was a surprisingly fun experience, and a few days later I still can’t decide if her panel or the Earthbound Papas concert was my favorite event at the con. A lot of panels with just a single personality can end up being dull affairs; good for only the opportunity to see someone famous face-to-face. They can likewise be devastating to your perception of someone whose work you enjoy when a panel makes you realize that person is a one trick pony. Ellen McLain ran into neither of those faults, nor any other that is common of such events. She was insightful, encouraging, earnest, and (rare at a fan convention) spoke to the audience like intelligent adults; basically the antithesis of the character she’s best known for voicing.
