Gorrondona
OXFORD, Miss. – University of Mississippi graduates have enjoyed plenty of success in the performing arts and Ole Miss alumna Morla Gorrondona is no exception. Gorrondona, who earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2000, voiced the character Eris in the hot new video game “Destiny,” an action-adventure shared-world shooter developed by Bungie and published by Activision.
Eris is a mysterious guide for the Guardian (the character the player controls) throughout all the missions. However, Gorrondona is also responsible for voicing many other creatures in the game.
“It’s an interesting turn of game development events that my character Eris sends the Guardian on missions to eliminate other characters I voiced,” she said
A New Orleans native, Gorrondona lives in the Seattle area, but she began her voice career when she decided to attend Ole Miss.
“Within the theater arts program I was provided the tools with which to refine my craft as a professional voice actor,” she said. “The practices and methods presented in those classes became so ingrained during my college years that I use them now without even considering them. They are second nature”
Her first voice-over job came while she was a junior at Ole Miss, but after college, she worked in theater, film, improvisation and production in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Still, voice acting seemed to be her real calling.
“Though I wasn’t actively seeking it, I kept landing voice-over work.” she said. “When I decided to focus all my attention on a career in voice acting, things really started to take off.”
James Shollenberger, former chair of the Department of Theatre Arts, recalled the years Gorrondona was enrolled at Ole Miss and said he expected her to be successful.
‘Destiny: The Dark Below’
“Morla has always been a very skilled and talented woman who was born with an amazing voice and an even more amazing work ethic,” Shollenberger said. “It doesn’t surprise me in the least that she is finding success as a voice actor.”
Gorrondona said the challenging and promising curriculum at Ole Miss was ideal for her in her search for a university.
“I remember well weighing the options available to a high school senior looking to make acting career,” she said. “But the theater program at Ole Miss with Dr. James Shollenberger as department chair was comprehensive, demanding and encouraging. At the end of my four years, I held a degree from a prestigious university, and I use that degree every day.”