Book Narrator Speaks Up Again at Middletown Library

If you don’t listen to audio books you may not know that there is a whole subculture of personalities whose names are known only to fans of the genre. 

Audio book narrator C. J. Critt is one of those celebrities. She made her second appearance at the Middletown Library recently and is bound to be back. Being the consummate performer, Critt performed as though she was in front of a capacity audience in a theater as she presented readings from a few of the highly popular romantic comedies that she narrates.  

Her solo performance was first class and just plain fun. In addition, Critt happily took questions that she handled with as much verve and humor as her readings.

Critt has narrated the voices in many of Janet Evanovich’s highly popular Stephanie Plum (bounty hunter) series, romances that have an avid following on audio and Patricia Cornwell’s Dr. Kay Scarpetta character. A highlight was her reading from the first Stephanie Plum book that she ever narrated. Critt played all of the characters, her vocal interpretations ranging from high and squeaky to deep and devilish.

She has read nine or ten of Evanovich’s books, and even though novels like Evanovich’s are light and fun, “great beach reads or train listens,” they are still challenging and demanding to narrate well, she said.

Critt said she likes narrating books because she gets to play all kinds of characters. She noted that having good vocal quality and tone is only one criteria.  Being able to portray characters in audio only is another necessary skill for the voiceover industry — one that she has honed for many years.

An actress and performance artist who won critical acclaim for her accomplishments in a broad range of broadcast, television and theater arts venues, Critt has appeared on Broadway stages, local radio programs and in national television commercials.

In addition, she has written two musicals. One, Algonquin, enjoyed a standing-room-only reading at CAP21 in NYC; but according to Critt, the theater’s management changed and the production closed. Right now, her play The Black Dahlia is a finalist for the O’Neill Music Conference this summer, she said.

Critt also likes to keep a journal as an exercise in character creation. Shortly after 9/11 she found herself on a cross-country train trip from Dallas to Chicago and from the windy city to New York City.

Along the way, she met many interesting and quirky people that she kept notes on in her journal. Drawing on that experience, she wrote a poetic, humorous, character-driven piece that she calls By Rail.

In it, she recreates the poignant and hilarious moments along the way until the train arrives in Penn Station, NYC. The solo show is available on DVD and is perfect for small theaters, literary groups or club programs, she said.

Audio book enthusiasts know Critt by her smooth, polished voice and spirited performances. Critics praise the strength and vitality she brings to a wide variety of characters. She narrates with enthusiastic animation and stays true to context.

Critt does have fans that can and do contact her via her Web site, www.cjcritt.com. She added that whenever she receives an email from a fan, she always writes back. “It may not be right away,” she said, “but I will write back.”

There were two people in the audience who said they were “huge fans.” They told her that they had written to Evanovich telling her how much they enjoyed it when Critt narrated her books. She was flattered to hear that Evanovich responded that she favors Critt as well.

But Critt explained, just because an author likes you doesn’t mean that you will automatically be asked to narrate their book. For the most part it is up to the publisher, she said.

In addition, she explained that it is very hard to break into the audio book field. She was lucky, she said, because she had an acting friend who was already working as a narrator and he recommended her to his contacts.

She got an audition and was hired, she said. Then she made an audition tape that she sent around to publishers. But it is not a steady income, so like many artists, she has what she calls her “day job” as a writer for Radio Disney.

In 2008, she was named the best voice in mystery and suspense for Mummy Dearest a Claire Malloy mystery by Joan Hess and Southern Discomfort, by Rita Mae Brown.

She explained that over the years she has recorded books in various studios, mostly in Manhattan where she maintains a very small apartment in the Chelsea section and commutes to and from her home in Texas. These days, she said, publishers have small studios in various cities and occasionally she can work from home in her own studio. 

She explained that in the studio she doesn’t read from the book because the turning of the pages would be picked up on the recording devices. “If it’s before publication, I usually read from an unbound copy of the manuscript or, if it’s post publication, I’ll read from a Zerox copy of the printed pages of the book. I have also read from a computer monitor advancing the copy by scrolling with the cursor.”

But before she even enters the studio she reads the books at home, making notes and absorbing the story. When she comes across a word she does not know how to pronounce, she often has to stop and consult a phonetics expert or dictionary.

Before each reading at the library, she set up the tale with her humorous take on the story and the author. The interpretation provided a warm and funny antidote to a cold winter's day.