Creativity Lies at the Heart of an Audiobook Actor’s Work.

Story is at the very heart of the human experience. It is embedded in our emotional/intellectual

DNA. And of all the technologically advanced methods of communication we have devised, the human voice – that most primal of systems ­– exerts a magic like no other.

The oral storytellers of old, the tribal visionaries and historians, told their tales before communal fires under a darkened sky. Today the audiobook actor (also called audiobook narrator) carries on the oral storytelling tradition while seated in a small booth before a microphone. He or she records the stories that resonate in our world and enthrall millions of listeners. And they do that without the backdrop of a star-filled evening sky, without costumes, props or lighting. They do it with just their voice and their imagination.

Creativity lies at heart of the audiobook actor’s work. What the author puts on the page is given a different interpretation by each audiobook actor’s unique experiences and understanding of human nature. Creativity is a force, an energy that can be activated, harnessed and focused by employing the right techniques. Technique is critical to the performance because it works as a channel through which the audiobook actor can both spark and direct his or her imagination.

Over the years I’ve seen how implementing the proper narration techniques in the recording studio, and teaching them to students, can give the actor access to a broader range of communicative options and allow them to respond more intuitively. And that is where wonderful, sometimes unexpected inspiration occurs. Technique combined with creativity is powerful in any field. One excellent example of this power at work in audiobooks can be elucidated by looking at Paul Zak’s brain research regarding how story is received by the listener. His work demonstrates that a story having a dramatic arc is what keeps a listener engaged.

A story without vital challenges, without rising and falling tensions and dramatic moments where the outcome is unknown, loses the listener’s interest. Now, it’s one thing to have that arc in the written story as the quest for love, power, success and/or survival play out. It’s quite another for the audiobook actor to convey all of that, moment-to-moment, as the story action shifts, as its characters respond to those shifts emotionally – in dialogue and in narrative action. That is where technique comes in! One that I teach, Experiential Immediacy, is specifically geared to enabling the actor to do just that: to convey the experience being described as it occurs in the story, in a manner that evokes an emotional response in both themself and in the listener.

It’s thrilling to be a part of that process, to direct an audiobook actor into an interpretation of a story that is alive, exciting, and engaging. It’s been my experience that implementing the techniques that lead to more creative outcomes is extremely empowering for the audiobook actor. And the more creative the performance, the more engaged the listener.

To purchase the book Audiobook Acting by Taro Meyer, click here.