Every Tuesday and Thursday, one can find Theater & Performance Studies professor Ezra Weisz teaching tai chi on campus. In addition to teaching, Weisz said he also works as a voice actor and automated dialogue replacement (ADR) director.
According to Weisz, his career in voice acting began after he graduated from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). Weisz said he was asked to do some monster voices for the television show “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” while attending a summer program at the Santa Clarita Repertory Theatre.
Weisz said he first learned of tai chi when he was at CalArts pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theater. Even after college, Weisz said he continued to practice on his own and host workshops.
According to Weisz, tai chi is a moving meditation that can also be a martial art. Weisz said he does not teach it with regard to self-defense or offense, although he says there are elements of the martial art aspect embedded in the movements. Instead, Weisz said he uses tai chi primarily as a way to connect with his body and mind.
“[Occidental students] really benefit from my tai chi class,” Weisz said. “It offers them an opportunity to relax and to have [the] tools and skills [that] allow them to manage their study workload a little bit better and be kinder to themselves, instead of pushing until burnout.”
Occidental student Antonio Vazquez (senior) is taking Weisz’s tai chi class this semester. Vazques said the class helps him ground himself, and tai chi has become something he practices outside of class.
“I really appreciate what he brings to each class, like the energy and the calmness that he presents,” Vazquez said. “He brings so much to the table in terms of teachings in class and showing us the correct movements and what we should be doing.”
Associate Professor of Theater & Performance Studies Sarah Kozinn said she sees the positive effect of Weisz’s class on students.
“The energy that they come into the class [with] feels very different than the energy when they leave the class,” Kozinn said.
Weisz has credits working on popular shows such as “Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir,” “Akira,” “Vampire Knight” and “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure,” all of which originally aired in languages other than English.
“As many voice actors do, we watch the scene, we listen in the [original] language, we hear what the actor’s interpretation of the dialogue is and we do the best that we can to honor that performance when it’s our turn to deliver those lines in English,” Weisz said.
According to Weisz, as the ADR director for “Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir,” he takes on a leadership role in supervising the entire voice acting process. Weisz said he fulfills multiple duties, including providing the voice actors with context of the show and their characters, keeping track of the time so they do not fall behind schedule and ensuring the actors consistently perform to their character.
Weisz said being a voice actor himself has helped him support fellow voice actors he is working with when he is in the role of ADR director.
“Being an actor for several years, I have an understanding of what other actors need,” Weisz said. “I know when someone starts to feel like their insecurities may be growing, or they feel they need some positive reinforcement […] I also want to remind actors to celebrate how amazing it is that they have this role or that now they’re launching into this career as a voiceover actor. I have an appreciation and understanding because I am that same person as well.”
Vazquez said that Weisz had spoken to the class about his voice acting career, and upon searching up Weisz’s Instagram profile, Vazquez was shocked.
“The very few times I’ve interacted with celebrities or more popular people, it’s been very short and like a, ‘Can I get a picture with you?’ type of deal,” Vazquez said. “But, I haven’t really had a connection with them like I do with [Weisz].”
Weisz said that he is currently working on a new series that is going to air on the streaming platform Crunchyroll called “Tougan Anki,” and will also work on a “Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir” spinoff set in Japan.
“I am so proud of the work that I do,” Weisz said. “I know that there could be a demographic crossover where some of my students are also fans of anime or also fans of [‘Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir’].”
Contact Allyson Chan at achan2@oxy.edu
